My wife is redecorating our family room, and has requested that i diminish the number of boxes, right now i have hicap supercap sn3 ndx2 ee8 appletv etc. ideally id get the main system down to 3 boxes. A dealler not too far had a hegel h590 to sell for a very sharp discount and allowed me to take it home to demo after i tested it against some tunetots which i own, magico a1, devore super9. The hegel doesnt have or require additional power supply, has more power, and a slightly more straightforward interface. The results so far have astonished me. Id have to say the supernait certainly holds its own vs the 2x price hegel. The power difference wouldnt seem to be that much and the presentation from each is different but not really better or worse. Naim is more warm, hegel more detailed, and seems to have ever so slightly more control over the speakers The naim’s warmth is a real factor here. Another thing i am doing is testing the atom he as preamp to hegel vs ndx2. The atom he is VERY good, if not a side by side it would be up to the task as a streamer/pre for certain. Eliminating power supplies would satisfy my much better half. I will say that naim knows what it is doing with system steps although the new classic seems to have upped the cost by enough to consider other brands. Id be very interested to see if there is a new supernait on the way. I was also wondering who has listened to nova pe? Any suggestions welcome.
How about finding a used 282 and HCDR? And the a 250DR, sometime down the road? Or wait until May and see if NAIM releases a New Classic Supernait.
What about a NSC 222 + NAP 250?
I have a Supernait 3 on its own here and a very good friend had a spare Hi cap dr and he preferred it without.
He was very honest and said it wasn’t worth the extra expense and put me off buying from him.
I’ve no complaints about detail and power in my living room.
Plenty of steam more than required. 
Your post mentions a supercap, but your profile doesn’t. Also, not sure if your ee8 and Apple TV are included in the box count.
So ignoring those, NDX2/XPSDR/SN3 fits your three box limit and should sound excellent. A 555PS in place of the XPS would be even better.
Roger
Then i need a source- It might be worth trying the nsc222 into the supernait and then upgrading to a 250 down the road
If you tuck away the ee8 and the Hicap on the floor or behind some books, then you would be getting toward your preferred number.
The Apple TV box can go too. Can you also lose the television to which it is attached or does that not count as a box?
Otherwise a Nova is an excellent one-box. Or you can do as @HungryHalibut did and get an Atom HE and active speakers.
Apple tv does not count! Im trying the atom he with the supernait today.
Update…the supernait 3 really is so good. I tried the hegel h590 with ndx2, and atom he, and its own streamer/ dac. The hegel is really good as an integrated, powerful and very clean, super low noise it seemed, and maybe slighlt better soundstage. Prat was good, The atom he is as pre or just streamer was better than h590, quite good really, but the ndx2 is sublime. Doing a/b all weekend i came to the conclusion that the sn3 is just more musical. The only area where the hegel was superior was attack and maybe slightly better control and deliniation of instruments but at the expense of some warmth that i enjoy and seemingly more real percussion. Id be happy with the hegel, considering the price difference new of sn3 and hegel h590/ or new:h600, naim seems to really know what yhey are doing. Im guessing there will be a new supernait with more power on the way, or not…
A few years ago when I was looking to upgrade my amplifier, after much research and professional review reading I short listed to a Mark Levinson 5805, Hegal 590, Krell k300i and SN3 and after demoing them came to the conclusion that the SN3 was just more musical sounding than the more powerful and more featured opposition, so bought the SN3 as just superior sound quality.
Later adding a HiCap DR improved it more.
Moondrifter I just came to the same conclusion vs the hegel, and ive never warmed up to krell. The hegel did have its merits but needed the ndx2 to come close to the sn3 whixh makes its dac/ streamer redundant, and im trying to avoid redundancy. Less boxes is better. I wouldnt mind a little more oomph, yet im content again.
I think the key message is that you have to spend some really serious money on separates to get something considerably better than the SN3 and in the Naim world that equates to multiple boxes which may not be suitable for various practical reasons, as it was for me when I wanted to upgrade from my SN3 and had to look at other brands for space limitation and asthecially suitable requirements.
Nah-nac202/nap200 bare whupps any sn, they just do
I didnt think so when i got the ndx2 sn3 combo. Was just my opinion, i did go for a better source than i could have got if i went separates.
Atom HE with active loudspeakers makes sense in such request.
There’s still room for a turntable if that count as one box.
Phonostage another box
Voila 3 boxes.
So you’re in the USA… I think you’re missing a few choices. I’d strongly recommend the
Aestheix Audio , Mimas It can have a Dac or Phono stage installed. I have one… It was way way better than my SN2 with HCDR… not even close 150 wpc @ 8ohms, 300 wpc @4 ohms… Then there’s the Pass Labs INT 60 pure class A, A super beautiful option is the Devialet , maybe the 200 pro would be enough very high WAF, and of course there’s the Accuphase integrated’s and the Luxman’s…
Are you in Westport Connecticut ? Great Store in Verona NJ , and Goodwins in Walton, Mass
Was at goodwins and they loaned me the hegel. Im thinking my next move might be a 250 and use the sn3 as pre. Will check out aestetix
Accuphase, Luxman,Pass Labs, Aestheix Audio - these are good devices, but they don’t sound like naim at all. By buying them, you’re moving away from the naim sound.
Actually a close solution to “Naim” sound was for me a Rega Aethos.
Can’t wait for their new Pre/Power to release.
The Hegels I’ve heard were as boring as possible, no involvement whatsoever.
I’d rather not have a made in China amplifier anyway.
Its possible that i just need more boxes.