No I didn’t. I’ll email customer support. Thanks for reminding me.
Update. No response from customer service but the guys from Signals kindly contacted Naim for me and managed to get confirmation that there is indeed a small difference between the DBL and Isobarik variants of the Snaxo. Given that mine was specifically ordered to work with Isobariks this is more than a little dissapointing. I’ll be following this up.
Don’t think it was.
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I would have enjoyed a controlled A-B comparison, a tall order.
Either way, active S1-500 or passive S1, or active S1… it’s cloud 9 listening.
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For what it worth, my opinion is just that, not necessarily better so much as different. Yesterday I was listening to Klimax LP12, 252/300 into Kudos Titan 808. Superb, but very different from my three NAP250DRs into old Linn Isobariks. I prefer my set up but then I’m used to how that sounds in my room.
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Hi Phil,
Seems you have edited your post quite considerably. 
Yes, I didn’t feel comfortable “hijacking” the original thread, so decided to trim it.
Perhaps less is more.
Yours is a wonderful system - I can almost hear it from here on the Forum. 
Happy for you, Charlie! Enjoy.
No worries, you werent hijacking the thread at all, quite on the contrary so. I think you did raise some valuable points related to the snaxo but more importantly then in a broader context with statement based active systems. Many thanks, yes, its really has been quite a journey and just provides so much pleasure 
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Did the 552 make an appearance?
The 552 is still a reference-level pre-amp, especially the DR version, despite the Statement NAC-S1 having made its appearance moons ago. Too easy to forget this just because it is “second” from the top of the range. It still takes no prisoners.
I’m sensitive to the use of the term “reference-level” - but as a friend put it once succinctly, we’ll call a spade a spade - at Naim, 500 series components are reference components, and those of us who are still deeply into “the Naim sound” as I am, will attest to that reference quality.
We need to have a healthy respect for friends with different systems and preferences who will feel otherwise and that’s just as well, as their parameters and considerations are for a different type of sonic.
To each their own, to keep peace.
Naim reference gigs are revered for what they do for our music the way we Naim folk love it, through “Naim sound”, the same way active drive does through the SNAXO 2-4-2 and the 3-6-2.
It did @Gazza 
. I had kind of hoped the hyperbole would be just that. However within two bars of Joni Mitchell’s Coyote it was instantly clear how much better the 552 is vs the 252. Having said that it was interesting that my cousin, who accompanied me for a day out and is not a hi-fi nut by any measure, said he thought the difference between Radikal I and II was more distinct than that between 552 and 252 which would make that a great value upgrade. Personally I thought the 552 was the bigger step up but that may have been expectation bias on my part.
Listening at home today with the Karousel equipped LP12 I’m not feeling the need to sell a kidney to finance the 552. But at least I know now for myself what is out there if the money becomes available. I will be doing the Radikal II fairly soon though.
And the conversation regarding who cocked up by telling me the DBL Snaxo is the same as Isobarik Snaxo has advanced to the next stage!
Out of interest @MNn, could I ask, did you use your Snaxo on your Isobariks before getting it converted? And if so can you comment on the difference after the conversion.
Rgds
Mark
It is a great preamp….but these or any days for that matter you never know when those kidney’s might come in useful. Sounds like you had a good day out, hope you gave the Signals coffee machine a hammering😉
I didn’t find this too reflective and am glad you heard differently.
Could have been but the differences between the 252 and 552 are clear.
Mark… that’s denial I went through when I was mulling a 72 to the 52 centuries ago. I’m glad I bit that bullet.
Enjoy your system meanwhile.
Cheers
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Yes, very nice indeed last time we ate there…….precovid, seems too long ago.
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Ok. Thanks anyway.
Apologies if someone has posted this but I had a peek at the SNAXO manual yesterday and it states ( I assume for SNAXO 362 and 242) that from the factory the pots are set to minimum gain and that the user should contact their dealer to establish the correct levels. This seems a little odd to me if the SNAXOs are ordered and tailored for specific speakers.
I have a SNAXO 242 on order to replace an ancient ‘pre-loved’ NAXO with SBLs, something of a gamble perhaps but it seems odd that it might arrive with pots at minimum level and I may have to guess with the dealer how to adjust them?
Seems very sensible to me. The individual driver level settings will very room dependant so Ideally a dealer could bring along a laptop and calibrated microphone to dial in the correct levels. Could be done purely by ear by the end user but ….