He’s based in the US 
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Are you sure his profile says he is ‘Adrift with a humorless penguin on an iceberg’
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I’m in the US where the nearest dealer is 2,000 miles away from me. I did consider active speakers but decided its putting too much risk in one component. If there were a local dealer then I’d give them a try. Unfortunately I can’t demo any speakers due to my location.
This is one of the frustrating aspects of this forum. In the US, other than a few major cities, Naim, Chord, ATC, ProAc, and most other forum preferred brands simply don’t exist. There is no magical dealer who’ll give you a Supercap or 552 to demo in home or just got a 552 on trade. Pretty confident there isn’t even a single 252 within 400 miles. It’s like we’re living in completely different realities. If I want to hear something from these brands then I have to buy it first. That’s fine up to a point. The markup on these items is sufficient that a dealer should be willing to bring a 552 to my home to demo for a week with a >75% chance I’ll buy it.
My “local” dealer is technically a Naim dealer but they don’t have anything on demo because other than me nobody locally has ever expressed interest in the brand. They’ve never even seen a Supercap. They don’t plan to have an Atom HE on demo which is why I intentionally bought mine from an online discounter.
Sorry if this sounds like a rant. I love Naim but it’s felt like I’ve been swimming upstream for the past eight years.
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I picked the s5 based on a possibly faulty assumption. My primary concern is producing best sound quality at lowest volume in my large room. My instinct is the bigger speakers will sound fuller at low volume vs the s3. Is there any basis in reality for this assumption?
Ironically, you’re just on the verge of getting the killer Naim system!
(An odd moment to jump ship. 
)
You have brilliant source, cables and NAP.
All you need is a 552.
Why not just order one?
Almost everyone who gets a 552 is in a state of audio delight for years afterwards, especially as you have the perfect system to drop it into.
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Your choices seem very interesting. Should be a wonderful system!
Just for curiosity, have you considered the US Dagostino progression, in the price of the Diablo?
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See the first post of this thread Jim. You have the response.
Surely a person in North America can just ask a dealer to send them a 552.
Why is that not possible?
Should be interesting, please post your trials, tribulations and successes as you move forward.
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The die is cast, isn’t that quoting good old Julius?
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Can’t find a dealer interested in selling me a 552. Funny thing is I’ve purchased 99% of things I’ve demoed in home. If someone were to drop a 552 into my system tomorrow for an extended demo then I’m pretty confident I’d end up buying it. I’m probably the easiest customer possible. My calculus is incredibly simple: better/worse and worth/not worth. The 552 is only a question of worth vs 282.
Also… there is a certain zenness with getting “almost there” then abandoning it completely in a moment.
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Agreed- bigger is better at low volumes in a larger room- higher efficiency also is a plus.
I listened to a pair of Stenheim Alumine Five last weekend. If you can, have a listen before you pull the trigger on the Magico’s. Stenheim= similar cabinet to Magico, paper cones, silk tweet, high efficiency. All resulted in a VERY natural, propulsive and dynamic presentation even at lower volumes…
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Technically it’s a protectorate of the USA.
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Local dealer sells both. In their view the Diablo 300 sounds better and nearly as good as the $45k D’Agostino integrated. I’ve given him every opportunity to up sell me to separates but he’s convinced the Diablo is the best they sell under $45k and $45k isn’t worth compared to improving other components. I even gave the Magico dealer an open invitation to up sell me from the Diablo (which he sells) but he didn’t hesitate to recommend the combo. Which kind of sealed the deal.
Not saying just in case… maybe… maybe…
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Now I understand 100% your choice. Just however a bit surprised because I was thinking that Dagostino was among top notch brands. But never heard them.
There’s also the Soulution 330, around 17k. Heard it with Magico. I was not involved.
The Gryphon looks very very nice.
@Dunc I seem to remember that you were singing the praises of the amazing sounds emanating from your lovely dCS front end, and then you mentioned that one reason it probably sounded so good was because it went into your newly-serviced 552.
What impact do you think a 552 would have, replacing a 282, in Katzky’s system?
I would expect that the caterpillar would burst into a butterfly…?
This is what I’d get if I had the $$$. 200w into 8, and 400 into 4. End game integrated.
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Why are some people here so set on selling Katzky a 552? I don’t get it, what do they get out of it?
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