Perhaps the Supernait 3 is worthy of a SCDR:
9 of the best Naim Audio products of all time
By [Becky Scarrott
First Published 3 months ago
Mr. Vereker makes exceedingly good Naits…
Naim 32/Snaps/250 power amp (1984)
Naim Nait 1 power amp (1983)
Naim ARO tonearm (1989)
Naim CD5si (2012)
Naim ND555/555 PS DR (2018)
Naim NA SBL floorstanders (1986)
Naim Supernait 3 (2019)
Naim NAC-N 272 (2015)
Naim Statement Series NAC S1/NAP S1 (2014)
It’s worth doing just to be able to refer to it as a Super Supernait, I think it sounds decent without a PSU personally and I’ve not found myself pining for my traded in HiCap.
I’m actually hoping adding a 555PS and maybe a SL DIN IC to the NDX2 will be all it really needs. At that point I’d need to take a long think if I want a big stack of boxes for more of the same just a slightly nicer and expensive version of it!
@Mr.M
I’ll be in a position to try the SN3 with my Supercap2 in a few days to a week, I hope (as I’m trying a new headphone amp very soon, so freeing up the SC).
I’ll post once I’ve had the 3/SC running awhile.
Many thanks, be curious to see what it brings to the mix.
Did you ever set that up and have a listen?
Hi @Mr.M
Sorry to be so slow. I set up the SN3/SC2 a little less than a week ago and was going to swap the HC back in, in about a week. I did think that things became more ‘holographic’ with the SC2, more divorced from the speakers if that makes sense (sorry, tonight I’ve been on the Bourbon) and easier to follow. I was really noticing details, and just plain enjoying listening. I’m listening with headphones right now and everything sounds spacious and layered - which is what I thought over speakers. But…still to swap the HC back in. I’ll report back when done. I’m returning this week to work, so please forgive any delay…
Where I’m not so sure is the £££ of it. Would I buy a SC to add to to the SN3? In that situation, I’d have to seriously look at the numbers. I’m very lucky in that I had the SC2 already and waiting. It impressed the heck out of me when I hooked it up the Headline (superceded now by Violectric) which was coupled with HCDR previously…and with SN3, I’m certainly not unhappy. Not at all…
Does anyone know if you can use the SN3 as a preamp by using the sub-out RCA?
There is a diagram in the manual showing how to use the SN as a pre-amp.
For 1,5 k more ( around), you can have 282/hicap / 200. I found clearly better sound from 282/ hicap / 200 vs SN2/ hicap. Quite night and day.
So personally the only advantage of SN3/ Supercap vs 282/ hicap / 200 is 1 box less and 1,5 less expensive. IMO.
I think you’re missing the point. The main interest is gaining a deeper understanding from direct experience of what effects adding options to a Supernait 3 brings.
More money and more boxes is the basis of the Naim upgrade path and well understood but not everyone wants to go that way despite it being what many advise as the “best” approach or use of system budget.
Consider this thread more about the theoretical than the practical!
Remember SupercapDR’s all go for around £2500 on a well known auction site and used examples with dealers. So your point is only valid based on full recommend retail price and brand new.
So if you have an existing HicapDR and trading or selling that on also, the upgrade to a SupercapDR isn’t overly expensive and well worthy of consideration in my opinion.
Obviously then if you wanted to make the step to pre/power you have the option of skipping the 282 completely and going 252.
Yes, I’m aiming to stay off the upgrade path - because I know if I had 282/200, I’d then be thinking about the 250, 252, then the 300. Then…penury and divorce!
And given how the SN3 is sounding right now, I’m very happy to stick.
The best way to give up the habit is to stay away from the dealers!
From a casual look in a Hi Fi shop I’ve gone from Mu-So to Nova to SN3/Hi Cap/NDX2/XPS DR. Brilliant sound but I’ve started wondering about 282/ 300DR.
Your only limits are time and money ultimately, and maybe space to an extent.
I kicked off this and a few similar threads in an effort to paint in some detail around my optimised NAIT line of thinking.
The inputs typically fall in to two pots, either I have a simple low box count system and enjoy it for what it is including its limitations/constraints, or comments along the lines of you can only reach audio nirvana with a move in to pre/power territory with a multiplication of black boxes and system budget.
There are a few that buck the trend and run an ND555 on a Supernait or add a Supercap to a Supernait as obvious examples, whilst on paper and certainly financially these combinations may not make complete sense they are valid configurations and within the capabilities of the equipment and do have the potential to offer a really nicely optimised system without having 2 Fraim racks worth of kit.
I’m now at a pause and enjoy stage with the SN3 + NDX2 + full Fraim setup.
I’m prioritising source and looking to add a 555PS to the NDX2. If I felt I’d get a meaningful improvement to the SN3 I’d be willing to add a Supercap to it, primarily to see what the best PSU’s Naim offer can do to maximise the performance of the SN3. It may not be the best/obvious/optimal end result, but really that’s not the point or purpose here.
The fact that @steviebee has at least tried this part out to an extent is meaningful feedback and helps to better understand what bringing these boxes together delivers.
I would say that the SN3 is a very capable and enjoyable NAIT all by itself and continues to provide enjoyment and engagement when fed by the NDX2. The intention remains to stick with the SN3 and push it to its limits.
Just for what it’s worth, I spoke to Naim technical the other day and asked opinion on XPS DR vs 555ps non DR. And they went away to seek more advice and the advice was it’s a close call but the XPS Dr edges it and said that the DR is extremely worth it’s value.
Just thought I’d say, in case you were thinking non DR 555.
Good to know, it would be a 555PS DR, ideally one less than 5 years old and built as a DR unit from new at the factory.
I’m sorry for changing the topic but I’m interested if this comparison would be true for connecting XPS DR to nDAC. I have read a lot of opinions that suggest the nDAC is an exception from the general upgrade path and it likes best 555ps without DR technology. So it would be intriguing whether XPS DR would edge 555PS in terms of nDAC upgrade.
I think the nDAC is a curious product in many respects and certainly something I pondered over myself as I made changes over time. It’s mostly well thought of even though it’s now discontinued it remains attractive at it’s used value as an enhancement to other products, the ND5 XS2 springs to mind here.
I have no personal experience relative to your question but my belief is that it works best under certain conditions and standalone and added to something like an ND5 XS2 may not perhaps be considered as good value for money in the longer term.
It was often seen as an enhancement to the NDS and when driven by a 555PS gave a meaningful improvement to the level of system performance overall, that said, it’s sensitive to what is input to it and will perform at its best with a 555PS although of course many people own and use it within a different system configuration as you yourself are today.
Looking at your system profile, I think I’d be more inclined to replace your nDAC with an NDX2 and then if funds allow add an XPS DR to that. I’d expect your inputs to your nDAC would become the limitation overall if you were to add a PSU to the nDAC hence my suggestion to combine both digital transport and DAC together whilst still maintaining the option to add an XPS DR later to the NDX2.
I completely agree with your thoughts and suggestions. At the beginning I wasn’t so familiar with Naim’s range of products and was looking just for a decent DAC and I chose the nDAC, which I really like. The more I read the forum the more I got familiar with other members’ systems and their feedback from different upgrades (so I am very grateful to Naim’s forum 
).
After reading the same advice as yours, that the nDAC is sensitive to the input I got the idea to upgrade my entry level Innuos Zen Mini streamer, so that I get more of the DAC. My first suggestion was also to get ND5 XS2 but I started hesitating after a while. While it is probably a great product and have the latest streaming technologies from Naim, I was curios to try the NDX range. So… I found a good deal for a pre-loved NDX which I will receive and test after a couple of days.
The NDX2 is out of my budget so I decided to make a step by step approach. Since my furniture free place is almost full I will be strongly limited for the number of black boxes I can use in my system. Having in mind this and the great feedback for the NDX2, one day I might replace the nDAC and NDX indeed for the NDX2. Unless the NDX/nDAC combo satisfies me enough, so that I stop thinking of upgrading my source (who knows…).
Thinking in this direction I think that if I found a good deal for XPS DR, even though it might not be the best PSU for the nDAC I still can buy it and use it either for nDAC or the NDX and one day if I upgrade to NDX2 I would have been already set with a great PSU. The bad think about the old PSU versions (without DR) is that they are usually around 10 years old and will need servicing soon after buying. And the service fee for this level of equipment is not so cheap I think, so this should not be underestimated.
It sounds like you’ve done your homework and for sure the approach you suggest makes sense and will give you a lot of enjoyment. I’d be inclined to focus on an XPS DR if you’re serious about adding a PSU for any of the hardware you have or plan to have in the future, you can service and DR an older unit but as you correctly point out that will add cost but with some careful searching could work out to be cost effective wven factoring for a service and DR upgrade. I can’t recall the cost but it’s probably around £1000 to service and DR an XPS PSU.
A benefit of an NDX2 is a more capable streaming subsystem in the NP800 and having 1 box not two of course.