I should say that if I ever replace the Harbeths then I will go back to Naim amplification at the drop of a hat .
In my experience the ābottleneckā in the system starts at the source. Best thing is for you to listen to the Supernait 3 with suitable speakers then decide. Upping the quality of amp over and above the Supernait will require a good deal more outlay and you donāt want to get to a point where the source begins to get exposed by the amp - of course both sources can also be upped too, at a price, as always.
Have you an idea of speakers yet, or are you going to wait to see what the dealer recommends and provides for audition?
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Richard, the OP has Devore Gibbon 3XL. Monkey Jim has reported that he uses an SN3 with the same speakers, fronted by an ND555 and that it works really well. I really donāt see why an NDX2/555PS might be an issue. As some of us, yourself included, repeatedly say, you wonāt go wrong with source-first. Itās source-last where people run into problems.
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Ciao Richard, my speakers are devore gibbon 3xl and I donāt plan any change.
Iāve to change my turntable and it will be rega p10, the digital one will remain ndx2
Best phono I heard since now is the superline and Iām trying to trade it with hcdr.
My concern is if with these sources and my speakers with 282/250 there would be a real uplift
Thanks, somehow I missed your post where you mentioned the speakers, but I see it now. I think Monkey Jim has the answer hereā¦
The 282/250 would be substantially better than the SN3, yes. A 252/300 would be better again. But the SN3 will still be excellent. Just decide how much you want to spend and how many boxes you want.
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@piebia
As I inferred in my post earlier, adding a 250 really makes a big difference to the Gibbons even thought they are an easy load. The issue then is that a 250 deserves a better preamp to give of its best. 282 HiCap 250 would be great with the DeVores. Only you can decide whether the extra outlay and complexity is worth it. Itās definitely worth investigating though! Interested in your thoughts.
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The SN3 will be an excellent amp for your set up and certainly wonāt be a bottleneck. I run a NDX2 and added an XPS DR on a SN2 and the amp was well good enough to deliver on the source improvements.
Off course even better amplification can give more once the foundations of a very good source is there. But what an amp canāt do is deliver something that hasnāt been supplied by the source. So Iād suggest adding a power supply to the NDX2 before worrying about a bottleneck.
This off course depends on the SN3 being matched with speakers it will drive, which @Monkey_Jim has demonstrated is the case.
Sorted!
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Aaah, but it will! The OPs RP10/Superline is capable of holding its own in a system of much higher calibre than a Supernait, probably even up to 500 series level. Thatās not to say that it will sound bad with a Supernait, a source first approach wonāt do that, neither is it to say that itās not a good choice of system for some people, but there is simply no getting away from the fact that an RP10 has more to give than you will ever get from it through a Supernait.
I think weāre saying the same thing.
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Apart from the bit where you say it certainly wonāt be a bottleneck, and I say it certainly will, yes!
A bottleneck to me implies that the amp is stopping the signal being amplified fully. Thatās not the case. As I said, I added an XPS DR to the NDX2 and the SN2 delivered the result of an improved source. To be bottleneck implies blocking aspects of the system, but the higher quality amps donāt process more, they just process with better resolution.
I donāt know what you mean by that. A better amp will improve the detail, resolution, frequency range, just about everything, including some some things that are harder to define that sometimes get described as musicality. If the source is up to the job (and an RP10 certainly is) a Supernait will allow quite a bit of thise qualities to shine through. A 252/300 will allow a whole lot more of the RP10s abilities to shine through. Thereforeā¦the Supernait is a bottleneck.
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Yes, the better amplification allows better processing, but the SN2 is not constricting material being delivered from the source, so technically itās not a ābottleneckā - to be pedantic!
It absolutely is! Perhaps you are underestimating what an RP10 is capable of. In effect, you are saying that there is no point in anybody buying a better amp than a Supernait.
The first job of speakers is to match up sonically with your amp
The second job of speakers is to look good in your lounge/sitting room or wherever you have your system
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I think itās more correct to say that better amplification processes the source signal better, not that any amp constricts (or is a ābottleneckā) in a system. Itās common to see amp upgrades before the best is got out of existing amp by improving the source. In the OPās case improving the NDX2 with a power supply as the SN2 is more than capable with the speakers?
In the end only the OP can really define what he means by bottleneck when he listens to the options. Undoubtedly pre power amplifiers from Naim are better than the SN3, as has been said many times above already but, if the OP doesnāt hear a bottleneck then does it exist?
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Itās a bit of bottleneck because it can allow all the capabilities of the Rp10/Superline to express themselves. This is not saying that it will not perform very well with an SN2.
Speakers can be a bottleneck too, for instance in a 500 series system paired with a 2k speakers.