In a dilemma at the minute. Running a nova on a pair of neats and love it. Unfortunately got the upgrade bug, but cant decided what to get.
Went and had a listen to a 222/250 on my neats last weekend and noticed a nice upgrade on the sound compared to my nova. It wasn’t night and day tho and some tracks sounded bright.
I cant find anyway to demo the supernait/ndx2 combo.
What would you do haha
Personally I’d stick with the Nova and run it off a Powerline (which is exactly what I intend to do with mine). Less is more.
@Longjb I had the SN3/NDX2 combo. It was very good. I had both with their respective power supplies. Was very pleased. My dealer felt that the 222 would be a step back in streaming quality. I moved to the 332/333/NC250/NVCTT/NPX300(2) snd have no regrets. I also wanted a MC cartridge on my Rega TT. Budget may be a factor and I understand that. If I did not have the funds and needed less boxes, I could easily have lived with the 222.
I can get the 222/250 for around £7500
The supernait3/ndx2 is coming out around £4700
Obviously i can trade the nova in against these
My 10p’s worth.
The 222/250 is very much an integral part of Naim’s current line up and probably unlikely to be discontinued any time soon.
The Supernait and NDX2 are not, they are products that have been discontinued by Naim, in the case of the Supernait because parts are in short supply.
So yes the Supernait/NDX2 looks good on paper at 2/3rds of the price of the 222/250 but how long will you be able to continue to get it serviced? My money would go on the 222/250 which is just a superb combination - and yes as I own one I’m biased.
FWIW I returned a 222/250 and kept my SN3/NDX2, diden’t really like the sound signature and like you found it a little bright, NDX 2 seemed to me as a more refined streamer. I used no power supplies on either combo. Re the discontinuation thing - the NDX2 uses the same streaming platform as current NC models and Naim have stock piled spares for the SN3 so I don’t think there’s much of an issue there.
Yes I did find the 222/250 a tad bright on some tracks with my neat sx5i
The supernait/ndx2 combo sound more organic?
To me, yes, but that depends on a lot of other factors such as personal preference, speakers, room etc
Are you limiting yourself to either option ?
I’m biased, but SN3/NDX 2 is the play here IMO. Esp for the price differential.
No im open minded but im limited to two boxes
Can add smaller power supplies like the hicap dr tho.
Perfer the sound? Or just price haha
Which Neats do you have? The 250 will be better if they are demanding speakers.
One question - do you plan to add an NPX300 to the 222 in future? If you don’t, you could get an Atom HE instead of the 222 and save a lot.
Speakers are neat sx5i, the aluminium tweater can sound bright
Room is 6m x 3m
Speakers are neat sx5i
I like the upgrade path of the npx300 if i ever wanted.
The atom he as good as the 222 as a streamer/pre amp??
HE is very similar, if not identical. I’ve not compared the two personally so this is based on what I’ve been told and have read. If you value the upgrade option, the 222 is the one to go for. I have the HE with active speakers and it’s a fabulous setup.
The 250 would grip the Neats more firmly than would a Supernait. Have you tried reducing toe in of your speakers to stop the treble beaming at your head. Start with them pointing directly towards, then toe in just enough to get a stable central image on vocals. If that doesn’t work it may be worth considering new speakers.
They are only bright on certain tracks, on other tracks i love the highs/tweater haha
Can’t comment on the 222/250,but the NDX2/SN3 is a superb pairing and probably within the budget of the 222/250 you could add a 555PSU (make the space it’s worth it!) to the NDX2 and that is a superb pairing.
Honestly, I would pay more for the SN3/NDX 2. It’s what I have now after I canceled an upgrade to better amp/pre.
Have you listened to the 222/250?
What speakers do you have?