Are you still on the 552 DR Simon? What power amp are you using?
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Agree, the DR did a lot. The 252DR also love a really good source to show its true colours, it took a long time before I discovered how good it really was.
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Mines warmed up and running in nicely now…. I’d have to say it’s hands done better than the 252… (takes about 30mins to really get on song thou) guess that’s the NDX2 warming up from standby…
Simon the real acid test will be to place a 252DR into your system to see if you still enjoy it as much or more than the 552DR. I have a feeling may be surprised by the result
Hi Mike, for the time being I have moved away from Naim amps… I might return at some point.
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I have moved away from Naim a few times in regards to pre and power amps but I have always returned. Each time with more conviction that this is definitely the best amplification I have heard.
There was a post not so long ago criticising Naim for using old tech in their head units. I really don’t understand the argument when a 30year old NAC52 design imho makes modern day alternatives sound whimpish and worthless.
I could possibly live without any other brand in my hifi chain but never without Naim.
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I don’t understand that either. The Naim NAC technology is current for the performance it is required to deliver.
Sure there are alternative architecture and design strategies to achieve similar goals, but that is nothing about ‘old’ or ‘new’ technology… that is design choice and ultimately customer choice. I am not going to say the Naim aporoach is the only valid approach to good sounding Hi-Fi , that would be ridiculous… but it is nothing to do with so called ‘old’ technology…
I suspect some who make these comments do so from no or little experience of electronics design and associated engineering.
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Fascinating to read the comparisons here from those who have made the change from 252 to 552. I never got as far as the 552 but I came to the 252 from an olive 82. I remember being shocked and disappointed. I was expecting more of the same. This was not the case. The 252 was voiced entirely differently to the extent that to my ears it really didn’t sound much like a Naim product at all. Gone was all the boogie and fun factor - replaced by a very civilised silky smoothness. I remember thinking to myself ‘this is very lovely but it’s not why I’m into Naim kit!’. If I had wanted that sort of presentation I would have bought a Sugden amp or some such.
Both the 252 and CDS3 were, for me, the strangest Naim products that I ever purchased. From what I’ve read the 552 brings back the ‘boogie’ and is at once much more resolving and also more forgiving of mediocre recordings or sources.
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I agree. Naim has an addictive sound compared to anything else. I’ve found myself disengaged whenever I’ve listened to another brand. Even on longer listening sessions. However my source and speakers are usually not Naim. I guess I use those two areas to balance the overall presentation although I’ve never heard the best Naim sources & speakers.
I never heard the lack of “boogie and fun”.
Still got both but with added body, refinement and sheer ‘musicality’ - whatever that is, lol.
The Stooges, MC5 etc still kick out my jams and jazz just bites and swings harder then ever.
Guess we all hear differently, thank the gods.
I could have agreed with you until recently. I considered the 252-purchase a failure and parked it in the attic while I enjoyed 52/300.
But when I started to crank up my source (borrowed various streamers at first) and then went SupercapDR and 300DR the 252 really came online!!
I have no views on the 552 - I decided a long time ago to ban the 500-series due to the ridiculous pricing. O.k. I powered a 272 for a while with a 555DR but they are both sold now, evidence gone!
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Interesting Ian. I had the Supercap (not DR) and never got my 252 DR’d. My source was CDS3, which to my ears shared the character of the 252. I’m aware that some folk share these views while others have a completely different experience of both products.
It’s something that’s always puzzled me and still does all these years later. It’s been suggested that I didn’t have them set-up optimally, but they were on full-fat Fraim with all cables nicely dressed so what else is there to set-up?!
A strange one for sure. I half expect Rod Serling to appear and announce that I’ve been for a journey into the Twilight Zone!
You can’t get a 252 DR’d. It’s only the Supercap.
Sorry yes - very silly of me! DRing came in after I moved away from Naim kit!
I made the change from 252/SC (non DR) to a freshly serviced 552. Both wonderful pre amps but the 552 is a whole different level imo. That said I would have loved to hear the 252 with a SC DR, from everything I’ve read that would have made a big difference. But the difference in cost between a nearly new 252/SC DR and an dealer ex-demo serviced ten year old 552 DR wasn’t all that great in the overall scheme of things.
I’m sure I would very happily live with either though. I agree with those that say the 552 is considerably more forward, and to my thinking ‘attack minded’ with no loss of finesse.
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I can’t comment on the 252 as I’ve never owned or heard one. I would agree with others though having gone from a 282 to the 552 that the presentation is similar, but the 552 gives you so much more in every department - its fabulous. I can only imagine what its like in a full 500 system which of course is megabucks. Nevertheless with a 300DR and NDX2/XPSDR it has resulted in a better system than I have ever dreamt of owning… The most important thing though is to enjoy the music whatever system you have.
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The most important sentence in this thread.
552/300 is a hugely capable, musical, enjoyable combination. The 500 does something very special for a 552 and for me introduced cohesion and clarity that I would not have thought possible - until I heard it.
Had I not been in a position to go from 300 to 500 with the 552, I would have been delighted to have got that far and found something so enjoyable and endlessly rewarding to listen to my music with. Much as I loved my 252, the 552, as would be expected for the premium, deliverd much more.
You would expect something special for the asking price of the 500, and it delivers. But a 552/300 system isn’t broken in comparison. Far from it.
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Thanks Harry! Whether I will be able to get a 500 in the future I’m not suure… I think I may need to upgrade my NDX2 before I could justify that move. Having said that I already have a system which would be the envy of many on this forum, and I am already very happy with what I have. I think having a demo would be a dangerous and very expensive move!!
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I changed from a type B 16amp breaker to a type C 20amp breaker and now have no problems with Naim gear tripping when turning on!
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Yeah. I know the feeling.