That’s the Mk1 so they had to have a safe way of terminating the captive mains cable using a pretty common 3 way fused block. It also allowed easy supply voltage conversion by moving the neutral connection and changing the fuse rating.
My home audition of the A3’s was with the NAP 250DR. It certainly convinced me to buy them. And for what it’s worth, I had written to Peter Mackay at Magico to ask him about the match, and he was encouraging.
That said, the 300 provided much more; more total bass and more control over the bass, for example. I would not discourage the 250DR/A3 match, but I definitely encourage getting the 300DR if at all possible. The A3’s are a much better speaker with the 300 vs. the 250; spending the money will reward you.
I tried a few locations for the NAPSC having read comments about its noisiness. On the carpet as far away as it will go, on a board spiked through the carpet and on Fraim lite next to a centrally positioned hicap. I preferred the latter. I’ve repeated after moving the 282 to a room with a floor tiled in what looks like marble but I suspect isn’t, this time without trying the board as I don’t have enough Fraim chips. Again the Fraim shelf shared with the hicap won.
@RedWhite55: Thank you very much. Yes, I enjoy my CD5XS very much and still listen to CDs, especially to those ones not available on streaming or just for the SQ.
To your questions: I use the direct connection CD5XS into SN2. I indeed have thought about an nDAC, but for reasons of laziness and also to keep the system simple I could not convince myself to buy one (yet). Nevertheless, still thinking of it since used gear seems quite reasonable prized in the meantime and can be sold again quite easily if it does not match. Stay safe and healthy!
Thank you Bart! Sure the 300DR is the better amp but it is twice the price of the 250DR. The idea was if the 250 is a fine starting point for A3 and from your answer i understand it is.
I went from 250DR to 300DR late last year. There are no diminishing returns with that. It was a game changer. It was as if I upgraded speakers at the same time. They are in a different league, IMO.
Bit of a shuffle of the system which has resulted in the turntable sitting on a wall bracket and a second hicap on the 282. Despite promising myself no changes this year its virtually a new system since xmas with only the Nat05xs, deck and a hicap not being replaced
I don’t classify the jump from 250DR to 300DR as “diminished returns.” Well, yes, they both are amplifiers. But the differences in my system were significant.