The Naim New Classic range - Part 1

Steady…

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Just a bit of light humour Richard.
Nice to read the old SBLs are still going strong paired with the new NC250 :grin:

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When your house is finished, you need to get those PMC Twenty5 23 out of storage. I have never heard these speakers, have yours and i version, as good in my room, as I have today, with 222, 300 & 250. I have used these speakers with various systems. I would even go as far, as saying, “in my room”, both ATC 40 actives and passives, which I have owned.
I do remember, having a pair of B&W speakers, which had ferrofluid tweeters. Like you, I had them in storage for a few years. When I finally got the out again, there was hardly any sound from the tweeters. When I took the tweeters to bits, to replace the original ferrofluid, it had gone hard :frowning:. All was well after scraping it out and replacing with some fresh ferrofluid. :blush:
I hope PMC Seas tweeters cope better with storage or you get them out now again and give them a blast.
Anyhow I digress. If you get the chance have a listen to the new classic series and Twenty5 23’s, I think you might be surprised :crossed_fingers:

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Thanks for the really informative reply @110dB, much appreciated

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Let me be provacative Steve, is the new 250 a big step up compared the old one in sq and soundstage?

Yes, leaving on will reduce life. However, if the SN3 at idle is not very warm so not too much effect.
Turing it on/off is fine. It can ultimately stress the rear mains fuse. Caps, transistors etc are fine.

Also never powering it will reduce life. If caps do not get used the dielectric does not form.
My advice is use and enjoy.

Once run in it’ll come on song in an hour or so after a power down.
Some listeners are more sensitive, Roy G and Paul S did not like turning their active systems off.
I leave mine on 24/7

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You could always read the thread…:man_shrugging: ATB Peter

Or… what makes the new 250 better than a 300DR

I did but I didn’t find Steve personal opinion. Did you?

It’s great, personally I like the speed, space and slam.

The team is driven by SQ. If the successor is not better, it is not finished.

Each NAP 250 generation has improved. I’ve seen the dev of 3 generations. The new dev starts with a feasibly study of novel circuit techniques. 250DR was the lucky one and took from Statement. NC 250 took longer.

NC 250 has new ultra compliant constant current sources in the amp’s front end and second gain stage. CCSs are the current version of constant voltage sources…IKA voltage regulators. The new balanced input stage was first tried on a 250DR. The new bal stage uses zero feedback, single ended class A buffers and improved sound…this took many prototypes!

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Thanks Steve every your post is really source of lot of clear infos….I was assuming the beginning of your answer and I totally trust it. First time I heard the 250dr I remained shocked by the number of details hidden before.

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No I didn’t, but let’s face it, it’s ultimately your ears and taste that counts. All I would suggest is a dealer demo and ‘go compare’. Not everybody will necessarily like the difference ‘sophistication’ brings in overall presentation.
Just take a look at System Pics where there is everything from Chrome Bumper, Olive to today’s kit amongst members here.
I think what Naim has created with this new range looks excellent and makes complete sense for a 3 box system (and no I haven’t listened to it), and as I assume it’s genome is a result of a trickle down from The Statement, I have no difficulty in imagining how it sounds. This still doesn’t mean that it suits everybody’s taste as I said earlier.
In this long thread there are a lot of valued Forum members having expressed their opinions in favour or have already pulled the trigger. If I was in the market for some new gear, I would be on the phone to my dealer for sure. Good luck Peter

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The new 250 reveals even more detail than the 250DR. The noise floor is so much lower.

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They are likely to be a bit stiff. The storage for the gear isn’t climate controlled and swings from 36c in summer to 5c for most of Dec to Mar. And they’ve been there for three years.

I plan on settling all the gear in the new room and letting it acclimate like a goldfish for a week to let the condensation and drying cycle naturally complete.

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@Akron you are correct about mixing the New Classics with Classics. My 252DR/NC250 combo works fantastic.

@Jurgen with my experience with the NC250 and 300Dr I’d reckon it would be a sideways move to replace the 300DR with the NC250.

To my ears The NC250 does a few things better than the 300DR and the 300DR does other things better than the NC250

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Great post, perhaps @Richard.Dane could consider adding it to the FAQ as so many threads are started on servicing and caps?

As for Steve using SBLs he is in good company :joy:

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Excelent post @110dB - thank you for taking the time to write this… :slightly_smiling_face:

I hope that people will take the time to read & understand this.

We can always learn more… :thinking:

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So funny,
I learned from Naim that a separate power supply is so important (and I agree). Suddenly with the new 250 an external power supply it is no issue anymore…….it seems to be a magic performer with……… an internal power supply…….

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I think he is right, in my opinion the NC250 is not “better” than the 300DR, just different, an altogether different sound signature. The NC250 has obvious Statement pedigree in its DNA the way it drives emotion with the listener. The 300DR is more laid back (more Naim old school if that makes sense). You may prefer either so worth an audition of the NC250 in a new classics set up, I would say. You may or may not prefer it to the traditional Naim 300DR sound signature.,

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The new 250 may not be better than the 300. But, just the fact it is being compared to the 300 says a lot about its performance.

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