Supernait 3 + Supercap DR

DR upgrade and service combined - by Naim - is £2499 IIRC

The icing is often the best part of a cake though. Wires can also get the maximum out of a box before the box needs to be replaced - often the most common mistake made in upgrading.

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So after 4 months of listening to my SN2 with an HCDR I found I wasn’t listening as much. So I removed it tried the system without it and damn I liked it better! The HCDR certainly added gravitas and heft to the sound but it also added a slowness, not as quick sounding. SN2 is more fun to listen to without HCDR.

So here’s my issue I’m moving my system into a bigger room and I’d really like more power, I feel my Dynaudio S40’s aren’t being served by the SN2. Problem is Naim prices in the US are really inflated and represent a very poor value, as an example: 282 preamp and 250DR amp as a combination are$14,000 and a 250DR is still only 80wpc. A 300DR which would be the right power amp is a ridiculous $13000. Without a preamp So I’m pondering what to do. I’d love to get a home demo of that new Krell 300i or the Sim Moon 600i v2.

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The benefit of the 555 dr on the 272 is huge, because it powers the dac, the streamer, and the pre.
On Ndx2, the benefit of 555 dr vs xps dr is real, but not huge.
Better put the money elsewhere on the system, or find a good not old serviced non 555 dr .

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When I bought my NDS I had an XPS DR. The dealer informed me that the 555DR was the way to go and a non DR would be better in some respects but wouldn’t have it all its own way. They advised against moving to a non DR as some could view it as a sideways step.

The non DR’s still go for quite a lot of money and the cost to service and DR is quite high. I’d also be less keen on putting a non DR unit with the latest generation streamers which were designed in the DR era.

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That’s great. If you can get one that is not too old and needing a service soon, then it’s a good option. There’s only been one on the market here, it’s about 10 years old and a few thousand more than a new XPS DR. Unfortunately gear here is getting very expensive.

I paid £50 more than a new XPS DR for a dealer supplied 555 DR in classic finish.

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I’m in UK @Mike_S so used or ex demo examples are in relatively good supply.
My mindset here is to aim to do these things once and do them right. It’s at this stage a thought process rather than a pile of cash looking for a home so will map out over a number of years.
Yoy can certainly find viable units used at around XPS DR new retail prices. Both these PSU’s are more than capable and work well with the NDX2, I guess my reasoning here is despite the upfront cost hit, is it worth the investment for the longhaul. I’m not likely to step up to an ND555 but may look to evolve the system with a mind to it becoming a 282/250 down the line so maxing out my investment in the NDX2 by adding a 555PS makes sense to me and I don’t think it’ll end up a bottleneck or limiting factor regardless of what system it ends up feeding.
This remains a planning exercise and opportunity to knowledge share with the wider community.

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The inevitable question arises… SN3/HiCAP/555PS/ND555 versus 282/HiCAP/250/555PS/NDX2…

It never ends…

Was that for a brand new 555?

No in classic finish it would have ben an older ex demo or trade in i would think. At one time you could buy in either classic or the 500 series finish, now only 500 series finish.

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No, it was used and included the Powerline. I already had the 2 Burndys which came with the NDS.

The classic finish is still listed in the current pricelist (02/2020) for £6999.

My dealer said it was discontinued which seemed odd when they struggle with 500 series sleeve quality.:+1:worth knowing as even in a 500 series system, buried in the bottom of the rack you cannot tell, and its £500 cheaper.

Anyway, apparently 2 555PS’s is where its at…

I know…thanks for reminding me Mike😉

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My current thinking is to get the system to the following point.

SN3
Supercap DR
NDX2
555PS

There’s an arguement that this is not in a sense an optimised system but it opens up the path to a 282/250 follow on and even gives the option for a stretch to a 252/250.

First step would be the 555PS for the NDX2
Second step the Supercap DR
Third step add a NAP 250 DR
Fourth step swap in a NAC 282 or 252

There’s also a thought that Step 1 could be all I need/want in a very good 3 box system, my reasoning being that this would be preferable to going down the more obvious route by adding an XPS DR then a HiCap DR.

I’m still undecided also about the relative merits of adding a PSU to the SN3, certainly against what it adds to a SN2 by comparison, so the intention is to take a bigger initial hit to add the 555PS then live with that as a source first optimised system and evaluate if the later steps are needed or make sense.
I’d think Steps 2,3,4 only make longer term sense if the goal is a migration to a NAC/NAP based system.
If that proves to be a solid system and I’m happy with that it may not need any other changes however swapping the IC from Hi-Line to SL could be a viable option to further evaluate optimising the benefits of adding the 555PS to the NDX2.
Apart from the additional cost I don’t feel these PSU choices will prove negative additions to what I have today.

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Sounds like a sound starting point with logical additions later if you want too. Quite exciting really.

My SN3 has HCDR.
Headline has Supercap2
Superline has SCDR.

Tempting to try a SC on SN3.
But I wouldn’t want to lose either SC from their current roles (the SC2 is the obvious one to swap out, but I really don’t want to go back to HCDR on Headline)…nor can I afford another SC, £££wise or Fraimwise.

So at the moment, I stick, sorry :slight_smile:

If you’re game, would be good to hear what you felt the SC DR did to the SN3 when powering it.

I think it’s hard to get away from the fact the best power supplies you can afford give the best results, starting from the source upwards.