I was of course referring to the cost of the products if bought today 
I believe people forget that older products still can be better than new. Itās not always the case that development means better for the individual. Production of products these days are crazy meaning you in general pay more and get less.
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Can we please keep on topic chaps.
There are other 300 threads for chit chat and speculation.
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My thoughts as well @clog and @bruss . I have a particular track that has been a favourite for many years (Jools Holland, Remember me from the Hop the wag album), where the voice is edging towards hard and could do with a bit more warmth. It is obviously the recording as many other male voices can sound fantastic.
I would hate for a ābetterā system to bring out even more of the hardness (my description of the sound may not be great but I know what I mean). Having recordings that you can no longer listen to is not a win to me.
Just for reference, I listen to ripped tracks or Qobuz via my NDX2 but the track sounds the same on my Oppo 105 which is a very decent CD player.
The basic presentation signature is what brought me to Naim, ND5 XS2/XS2 for a few weeks and then NDX2/SN3.
As I mentioned before, I appreciate the comments that raise the issues with sound rather than just the positives so thank you both.
A specific example of more detail on a better system from above.
Kurt Elling. The Questions. Endless Lawns. There is a vocal near the end of the song that is clearly pretty much as loud as he ever sings.
On my Nova and then the SN3 after it, both with 804D3 speakers, that moment made me wince slightly it didnāt quite work.
On the ND555/500/801D4 it is totally different. Itās an āoh this is how itās supposed to soundā moment.
There are moments of loss too because so much music is recorded to sound good on Spotify. A good example is Metallicaās Nothing Else Matters the guitar solo sounds less dramatic than on a much less serious system because it isnāt overwhelmed. On most systems that track sounds good because they produced it with that in mind. (St Anger not so much!).
Two obvious points.
- Listen to new gear with your music and listen to the music not the system.
- For me Iām delighted I spent the extra. Iām constantly finding new things in my favourite music to enjoy.
Maybe point two is a psychological trick Iām playing on myself due to the Ā£Ā£Ā£. But I donāt care
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I think you should take into account the efficiency/impedance curve/current needs of your speakers. Itās not clear to me that the 350s drive like the 500, but it should be investigated. I had a brief discussion about that with the Focal Naim NA guy who brought demo units to a local shop; he offered to get me those specs and I should follow up. Would be interesting to know.
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Yes, Spotify specific or radio specific mixes are not always great.
Many streaming albums are re-mastered and sound louder/more impactful than the originals but not necessarily better.
Always good to have rips of favourite music and indeed, auditions should concentrate on the music. For me, I listen to the differences without judging better or worse. Once I have an idea of the differences for a particular bit of music I decide which gives me the most pleasure.
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My apologies.
Thatās an interesting observation and not one I would expect with the 300. I am actually pleasantly surprised at the quality of the detail AND its presentation in the 222/250 and 222/555/250. Iām hearing loads of instruments, notes, and even non musical sounds, that add so much more to the delivery and presentation of the music, all combining for a more realistic and natural experience. As if Iām many rows closer to the stage instead of in the back of the venue. Iām rediscovering albums I stopped listening to b/c of the requisite harshness and brightness in previous systems. Hopefully the observation the 300s are too revealing is an outlier.
So I figured Iād listen to a few different tracks to see how the 332/300 compares to the 252DRā¦ended up listening to 5 whole albumsā¦
Iāll try again later lol
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Didnāt think of that Richard, of course youāre absolutely right 
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Yes, exactly, the ND555 still sets the standard in this sector of the market they write. Awesome 
Curious - whatās the track?
Ute Lemper - Illusions - 'Round Midnight
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In my mind the 350 was the āculpritā.
The issue showed when I was on the 333/332/350 combination. Adding the 300 to the 332 helped me interpret what it was the 350 had revealed.
There was no problem at all when I played it through 333/332/250. Unfortunately I didnāt listen to this track with the 333/332/300/250.
Well I just listened to the track on my 222/555/250 and it sounded great, she has a powerful voice, my first time listening.
Firstly i have to say all this new kit is out of my reach ,im an NDX1 ndac digital front end , but i got to hear a run in NDX2 against the new streamer at my dealer ,no add on ps on either.The new streamer is immediately and clearly better . Leading edges noise floor and dynamics ,no contest . I could only drool over what it might sound like fronting my system .
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Yes, what is better or not, of course you have to listen for yourself and on the 4th itās time, Swedenās first demo on the 300 series. At Akkelis, of course 
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The 300 series pre and 350 ā¦
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Interesting, just had a listen and I thought I could hear what I would describe as a bit of croakiness in the voice on a couple of high notes towards the end. Didnāt spoil it though, sounded natural to me.