Supernait 3 + Supercap DR

HH whats your view for this given scenario, do you not think it would be excessively unbalanced given that a NDX2/555DR is a £12,300 source into a £3500 combined pre/power amp.

I suppose there isn’t much option tho if you want to get the best out of low box count in the current range.

All good feedback and broadly in line with my own reasoning. I did kick off a few threads today which do consolidate under the same umbrella of how far can I take my current system and at what point is it just spending money to make a point rather than giving real gains and whilst adding more expensive PSU’s comes with some advantages I’d expect them to fall outside of the accepted norms and begin to trigger the inevitable “sell it all and spend another £20K to get to something better” type responses with a path towards either swapping it all out or migrating it gradually to a NAC/NAP based system.
I don’t think my music listening hobby, my family life or my disposible income warrants me delving too far beyond where I’ve found myself today.
If anything I’d prioritise adding in a HiCap and XPS to what I have and migrate away from a NAIT to a NAC 282 and probably a NAP 250. Usually where you mention a NAP 200 in the same sentence as a NAP 250 most responses lean towards the 250 as a longer term keeper power amp and pairing it with a 282 shouldn’t cause too much concern.
Of the threads I created today that seperate the though process out to specific topics, I think the NDX2 PSU is the toughest to make a call on. The HiCap and even to an extent the NAP added to the NAIT I think are easier decisions to make given that I’m highly unlikely to swap in a 252 preamp any time soon so if a 282 option should present itself then a HiCap would again be a natural pairing.
I’m certainly not getting a feeling that others have either added a Supercap to a Supernait nor would they recommend that over other possible changes for example a 555PS instead of an XPS on the NDX2 .

If I thought it was excessively unbalanced I wouldn’t have suggested it.

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A HiCap DR all day long from me. Good luck with your choices. :slightly_smiling_face:

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If I can I’ll add a 555PS to the NDX2, doubt it’ll do any harm and won’t be any worse than an XPS at the end of the day, mapping its system benefits and my enjoyment to financial penalties is a tougher call but at this point it’ll come down mostly to my tinker fund and priorities at that point in time. I don’t think it’s a step too far if the funds allow ultimately. I’d think for a SN3 or a 282/250 that would be a very good source pairing with the optimisations associated with adding the 555PS. I’d be inclined to do that and leave the SN3 bare than add an XPS and a HiCap but that’s just my instincts leading me in that direction fundamentally.

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Blunt :joy:

NDX2 sounds incredible with a 555ps :+1:

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This has got the cogs turning in my mind all this talk now…

Subject to demo, what would you guess is likely to give the best all round enhancement tho. This is based on having a bare NDX2 already.

New 555ps onto Supernait2/3 with or without HicapDR already or…

Ex demo/young used 252,250and SupercapDR.

Both options basically the same price.

:thinking:

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If the SN3 has not to be upgraded in some later future, I feel that Ndx2/555dr into bare SN3 is not the most balanced system. Xppsdr and hicap dr more.

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Yes.

Re the XPS DR versus the 555PS, the later may be better, but it will also not be fully utilised and rather than in-balanceD, out of proportion as an investment. I’d put the cost difference into a Superlumina full loom.

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Over hear tho mike, you can get good used 555DR for new XPS money.

This not utilising aspect is a funny one as let’s face it, half the stuff on all of our boxes isn’t utilised but it’s all inside sitting there.

My Supernait2 I only use one input. NDX2 I only use one input also.

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Unless you have heard what the 555 does it’s hard to understand it. It’s an amazing thing. When I picked mine up a guy from Naim was in the shop. He described what the 555 does as being like magic. I have a 555 and SL leads and the difference the 555 makes is massively greater. Wires can never make up for boxes. They are the icing on the cake rather than the cake itself.

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How does the 555 non Dr fair to XPS DR, have you ever heard? :+1:t2:

I’ve owned them both but not at the same time so cannot answer conclusively. Instinct suggests the 555 is better.

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I had a loaner non dr 555 on my NDX2 for a few days, granted it was quite old and maybe needed recapping but it did nothing positive, in fact it was detrimental much to my surprise. Perhaps I should have spent more time messing with the burndy but it it just dident sound right at all

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I’ve only ever heard the current DR 555PS and XPS driving an NDX2 and in both cases a SN3. The only difference was the room and speakers as it was at my dealers demo room.
I do trust my own ears first and foremost but do additionally value the insight from those who have lived with these boxes over an extended period of time.
Cost aside, I can only see the 555PS being a benefit against an XPS DR. I think the benefits are less clear with my other points of consideration namely the PSU for the NAIT and the relative merits of adding a NAP 200/250 to the SN3. In both cases there it is partly dependant on if/what further system changes lay beyond that which would involve replacing the NAIT entirely with a NAC/NAP system.
My instincts are leaning towards the 555PS added to the NDX2 being a beneficial choice regardless of what happens to the rest of the system. That’s about my ceiling in terms of optimising my source.

From my experience a non-DR 555PS is 90% of the way to a DR version and markedly better than an XPS - this was on a CDX2 so comparable to the NDX2.
On the CD555 the non-DR 555PS is closer to the DR version - say 95%.

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Opens up some options in terms of sourcing a non DR 555PS and as needed having it serviced and DR’d.
I’ve not done a number crunch but that could be an interesting incremental approach.

The generation of older non-DR units is now reaching the end of its un-serviced life-span. You might struggle to get a good unit that doesn’t need an (expensive) service. A decent serviced unit might be a better bet - the DR is nice to have though.

No idea on service/DR upgrade costs but not trivial sum I’m sure. Older pre 2012 examples do appear occasionally but as you say the service cycle window gets pretty short in those instances.