Hi all. Over the past few months I’ve managed to source a set of separates as a step up from my Supernait 2, driving a pair of Shahinian Arc 2 loudspeakers.
I’ve read the rave reviews of the 282/250(DR) over many years and now that I have them in place, I can confirm for myself that the level of clarity, weight, detail, and overall quality is quite obvious.
That said… one thing I also notice is fatigue, where I hadn’t really experienced it before. I find myself wanting to turn the music down and others in the house are mentioning some music sounding cacophonous.
So, despite the separates having a clearly cleaner and higher quality sound, I find myself seriously questioning the move.
For the avoidance of a string of ‘your room, your ears, your decision’ responses… am not seeking advice, or at least not really. Just curious if there are others out there with similar experiences, and how they played out over time.
You have great speakers, have now added a great amplifier, and those two together are ruthlessly revealing your source inadequacies. A much better turntable, and either a new streamer or a good dac added to the streamer, is what’s required.
I’d try a secondhand Qutest before an NDX2 - if you don’t like it you can sell it for what you paid for it. It’s cheaper (plenty out there for around £850), the NDX2 offers nothing over the ND5 XS2 purely as a streaming platform, and it’s much more discreet if space is an issue.
I own an SN2 and have recently been talking about an eventual upgrade. Did my wife pay you to post this bad upgrade experience?
Her name is Margaret, although she may have used an alias …
The ND5XS2 is a great streamer and with a separate DAC such as Qutest or NDAC will be much improved. Don’t give up on 282 HiCap 250 combination. It is excellent.
Your sources are a bit below the amplification. An improvement in the DAC should work wonders. I have an NDS with 555PS which is a superb source. It’s all about system matching.
Maybe get a better turntable too. A RP8 or RP10 or equivalent will be more matching your amplification.
When I upgraded to 82 2 HiCaps and 250 I found the ND5XS lacking a bit. An external DAC made a big improvement.
I have B&W 805 D3’s which can push the limits of brightness/fatigue. When i tried a 282/HCDR in my system I found that to be exacerbated so have stuck with my SN2, 250DR and HCDR setup. I’m considering a change to Kudos 606 at some stage and if a home demo finds they work well, I may revisit the 282 after then. My personal experience (admittedly limited) thus far is that the 282 does not play nicely with revealing speakers.
I have a pair of Spendor D7.2 speakers, which I believe to be fairly revealing. They work wonderfully with 282/200DR/HC DR combo; I’ve not found them to be fatiguing at all. That said, I found using less toe-in with my speakers improved presentation and made for a somewhat more relaxed experience.
I guess it’s all in a different level but I also have an ND5 XS and would say the ND5 XS2 sounds a good bit cleaner, a step up in more than just the streaming features.
I have considered a Qutest although it seems many people say it’s totally amazing while others say no difference at all. Gotta love hifi! I do wish I had taken one of several opportunities to nab an NDX2 earlier, when they were trading lower pre-owned.
I’m ok with the turntable for now though - it’s for fun occasional listening vs. streaming where I have something on almost all the time.
Interesting comments here. First - I used to run B&W 804s with my SN2 and I loved the combo. Sold the speakers due mainly to a house move and subsequent aesthetic clash (let’s leave it there) but admittedly they could become a bit fatiguing at times.
Replaced the 804s with the Shahinian Arc 2 which was more relaxed but also felt there was something missing … this and general Naim fixation started my path to separates.
Admittedly a source-first approach may have been better but I began with upgrading the power amp section to 250 and ran the SN2 up front, just like you. To be honest I was pretty happy with this but thought a lot about the power amp section sitting there being wasted, and ultimately started looking around and, well, enter the 282.
Hi, as others have already mentioned it’s a Source related issue now.
I went through a similar upgrade about 18 months ago. Moved from Supernait 2 to Burmester Pre/Power Amplifiers.
My Source, a Chord DSX 1000 was now too bright for me from a system balance point of view. The new amplifier was much more revealing than the original Supernait.
Thankfully I was in a position to resolve the Souce and music nirvana was achieved.
So I believe this is what you need to do. Not sure what to recommend but what’s important is that you demo intended purchase with your setup. Make sure there is a good synergy and that you enjoy the style of replay delivered.
If the OP is using a Naim Hicap dr, then the Nd5xs2 should not sound fatiguing, but less open, dynamic, detailed vs an Ndx2, the natural partner of 282/250. Even if Ndx2 / Xpsdr is really more on the level of the 282/250.
Maybe the OP doesn’t just like for 100 % an all Naim system, from source to electronics and cables.
It was my case personally, as I found an all Naim system a bit bright sometimes, and also sometimes fatiguing.
But for now too many unknown elements. The first may just be the burning effect.
Are the 282 and 250 new? My new 250 took a few months to loose an occasional bloated and at time fatiguing presentation.
But I agree with others, your source is well below ideal and even the SN2 would have delivered benefits with a better source. I ran a NDX2/XPS DR combo with a SN2 before moving to a 252/250 setup.
Just curious if there are others out there with similar experiences, and how they played out over time.