The Naim New Classic range - Part 1

Just spent 3 hours in the company of 3 black boxes and 3 pairs of speakers. All equipment has hundreds of hours of play, SL cables all around, hi-res or CD ripped albums on a USB stick and Qobuz streaming.

I’ll be blunt and you can attribute my conclusions to the fact I couldn’t comfortably afford this system.

It sounds composed, clean and airy. Even more so with the Focals. And that’s a bad thing. Eventually, I’ve settled for the Confidence 20 for conveying a bit more soul. Unfortunately, the experience is the same you have while listening to elevator or mall music. Very hi-fi sounding and ultimately boring, regardless of what volume or genre.

I’d assume the Heritage Specials would have injected some joy into that politeness but had other engagements so left without testing that hypothesis.

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I suspect that the issue with that system for a real comparison with your home setup are the speakers: the ones you have tested are very very different from what you have at home (PMC 25.23 speakers, right?).

I would suggest to listen that setup with a different pair of speakers, similar to what you have at home.

@Dan.S , You defined the SQ as composed, clean and airy, that is true and correspond to part of the new classic sound signature, but you are missing the big sound coming from your speakers, right? Just speculations…

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I wasn’t making a comparison to what I have at home but rather against other Naim & Dynaudio systems auditioned in the very same room over time.

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I understand, thank you.

What I could suggest (but it could be dangerous for your wallet :sweat_smile:) is to ask your dealer to lend you the components and try them at home, in your own environment and with your own speakers: what seems good or boring in the dealer’s room could be diametrically opposed in your own environment.

I always try to test at home, having a really kind and helpful dealer, with whom I have established a great mutual trust over the years. The dealer never sells me a component, but instead helps me try different mix and match options, if I’m interested in a particular system.

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This sounds like a significant move away then where some people will argue better in HiFi terms than music and vice versa, which I was tempted to reply in response to the posts from @Musicraft. I see where you are coming from with the old classic stuff where at times depending what is played and when, it can be a tad straining. Fortunately most of my favourite music sounds great. If you are both enjoying the new stuff then that is the main thing

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After reading all the many posts in this and other Threads, I had a listening appointment at my dealer (Audiovinyl in Zurich) yesterday. We listened to the new 200 series (full set with NSC 200, NAP 250, NPX 300) compared with Uniti Atom and Uniti Nova (I use Atom at the moment). Speakers were Scansonic MB 5B and Marten Oscar Duo. We listened to classical, jazz and pop tracks.

  • We started with the Atom. I am always amazed at how good it sounds, especially in the ideal listening conditions at the dealer. With sensible accessories and suitable speakers, I think it’s a bargain, and in terms of price/performance ratio, it’s Naim’s best unit.
  • The Nova has the same sound signature, opens up the soundstage a little wider, slightly better resolution and a little more detail in the bass, depending on the music material. Clearly audible especially with big band jazz and great classical, but no day&night difference.
  • The new Classic series is very different: after switching from the Nova, the sound stage immediately moved a lot further forward. The resolution in highs and mids increases dramatically, the bass is drier. The overall sound signature does not change fundamentally and is typical Naim, perhaps a little more direct. We listened to a classical piece with vocals in a church. With the New Classic, you immediately sit in the middle of the church in the front row, hear the voices in detail and you are surrounded by the reverberation of the church - quite fascinating. After switching back to the Nova, everything moved further away. It was as if I had switched to the open entrance of the church instead of being in the front row. I moved even two steps further back outside of the church when I switched to the Atom. The effect was noticeable with all styles, most with classical and jazz.
    The Scansonic speakers had a large soundstage and passed on the differences in electronics immediately. The soundstage of the Marten (as standmount speakers) was a little narrower in height. Nevertheless, I prefer the Marten. The resolution in the mid-high range is magical and beguiling - a good match with Naim
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Sounds like your dealer needs to contact Musicraft if they’re going to sell some units.
Thanks for providing feedback - always interesting and does highlight their subjective nature.

Very nice summary, which I think shows the impact of the additional PSU, pre and amplification as you go up from the standalone Atom and Nova to what the NPX300 and NC250 bring along together to what is essentially a very similar streamer and DAC hardware.

Btw very useful for me to hear your experience with these speakers as it also shows how friendly and easy to work with the Marten Oscar Duos are, which I always thought about mine but never had a chance to try them from an Atom or Nova only.

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I’d be astonished if a £17,100 separates system was not significantly superior to a couple of £2,500 and £4,800 all in one components.

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Just looking at the inside picture (from the show report) of the “New” Classic NAP250 I see there is a star washer on the inside earth connection, and I wondered if this was enough to avoid the star washer under the countersink screw head on the outside of the earth tag connection to the chassis that was offending some folk by spoiling the neatness of screw heads fitted into countersink holes properly.

Have I located the right connection in the NAC222?

Based on what I am hearing the NSC 222/NPX 300 and New Classic NAP 250 are worth the premium.

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Had a listen to the focal Sopra 2’s at the Bristol show, for me it made the visit worthwhile and have added them to my shopping list (list of preferred) as I am looking to change from my K’2s.
a great show and probably hard to find a more suitable venue albeit a little weird visiting hotel rooms !





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It starts off that way but mellows (and significantly opens up) as it burns in…

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Great. I’m going to have a demo of the NC250 vs 250DR connected to a SCDR fairly shortly. 222/and 300 are not my direction of travel. If the NC250 makes a real difference I may take the plunge. However I feel that waiting for the 252/SCDR replacements are will be the sensible decision point.

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Very wise decision AWillby

Keep wallet closed until then :grinning::+1:

Absolutely love my NC250 with my 252/SCDR. Replaced a 250DR.

Literally took 30 seconds to discover it was better. And I’m using cheap designacable 4pin to XLR’s since the Naim cables aren’t in the US yet

Look forward to hearing what you think!

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30 seconds

Now that’s what I call excitement :grinning::+1:!!

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I was a bit shocked to tell the truth. I thought I may had had the 250DR wired out of phase since I had moved the system to a new house a few months before but I didn’t.

First thing I noticed was a much lower noise level and it was much faster. Notes started and stopped on a dime. The scale was much bigger as well and had more drama and slam.

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29 seconds more than me :slightly_smiling_face:

Btw, I am towards bringing this down to zero :grinning:

Even more so with movies in particular (in an AV system) there is no place to hide. Listening near or at reference level shows that the New Classic NAP 250 is better, stronger and faster then the NAP 250 DR and the NAP 300 DR. Needless to say the dynamics the New Classic NAP 250 is capable of conveying can be startling.

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