I have no plans to move to the new kit - but I’m rather hoping that as others do there might be more pre-loved choice out there…
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Does this mean it safe now to use bi-wire? Like AudioQuest ThunderBird Zero & Bass Bi-Wire Speaker Cables?
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Yesterday I brought home my NAP 250 and NSC 222, along with a Fraim base and shelf and after fuddling for 2 hours with assembly, I’ve managed to clock in about 4 hours of listening.
My first impression was fantastic. More detail, more clarity, more separation of instruments, more everything. Parts of songs that seemed subdued relative to the feature instrument were noticeably more pronounced. For example, in Max Richter’s Vivaldi’s Seasons Winter 1, the lead violin heavily dwarfs the accompanying strings ensemble in terms of presence and impact on the Nova. With the New Classic, its a much more balanced presentation.
The improvement in detail and clarity was immediately apparent to my ears. On Taylor Swift’s Exile, there’s a smattering of bird noise that was always muddled with the Nova, but incredibly clear on my Dan Clark headphones. While not as clear on a good par of cans (as expected), that small detail is now unmistakably obvious on my speakers. Did you know there was a tambourine on Daft Punk’s Touch? I certainly didn’t.
I listen mostly at low to moderate levels (I live with my GF), a constraint that limited the performance of the Nova. With max volume setting of 80 in the Naim app, I had to bring the volume to at least 45 to before the soundstage and dynamics would appear. I know it isn’t an apples to apples comparison without true level matching, but the system starts coming alive when the NSC 222 is beyond just 20 in my room.
As far as usability goes, which was my main gripe with the ND5 / Supernait combo I demoed at home, it’s exactly the same as the Nova. With the optical remote cable between the NSC 222 and the NAP 250, the two units are working in complete tandem. The experience is exactly the same as the Nova, where you are interfacing with a single device. You turn on the system, choose songs and adjust the volume from the same remote / app. There is no HDMI port, so I’ll have to hunt for an optical toslink cable soon, but I’m currently too engaged with the music to care about TV for now.
Take all of this with a grain of salt and the caveat that there might be a non-negligible amount of recency / confirmation bias sprinkled in my write up. I did just spend $20K USD on this stuff, but to revive the old audiophile adage, even my girlfriend noticed the difference!
Edit: My speakers are the KEF Reference 3, btw.
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Why not? From a technology perspective?
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I’m booked into @Cymbiosis tomorrow morning for a demo of NSC222/250/NPX which I am really looking forward too
never owned a 272 but an NDX since 2014 - Mr pre journey 202/282 and now 252 through the years with 200 and now 300DR my current speakers are Kudos T505 - not sure what the guys have set up for Saturday
will post my thoughts later saturday
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The DAC chip used in the NSC 222 is the same as the one in the ND5 XS 2. Some have argued that perceived sound quality is less about the chip itself and more about the implementation. Considering the NDX 2 was released in August 2018, it might be possible that Naim has made some strides in improving the implementation. Might be wishful thinking?
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i don’t think so. It’s more than possible that advances have been made in other areas of the equipment design that, when coupled with a seemingly ‘inferior’ dac push the performance ahead over all. Hi-fi kits performance comes from the sum of it’s parts, not from an individual component.
I don’t disagree with you. I just pointed out a possible reason some might consider the NSC 222 to be on par performance wise with the ND5. Naysayers aside, ultimately, your ears should be the judge right?
Why not on par with an NDX2 or higher, if things are to move forward we need to stop comparing the new with older models otherwise things kinda stay as is.
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I don’t know what you’re saying here. Maybe it’s time to turn the wifi off. 
Or turn off the ‘white noise’ instead.
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Hi Stover, I was merely using your post as a generel reply, no offence at all.
I will certainly listen once convenient.
Greetings
Per
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You’ll be missed for sure.
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Upgrade to man cave.
Early days but enjoying the uplift in SQ from XS range gear I had previously.
Some pictures - still sorting out so go easy 
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Good looking Isoblue rack.
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Hey Tapp, what’s the big black box at the bottom of the rack?
Shhhh it’s an AV amplifier, I know I’m a heathen mixing on rack, but sometimes practicality outweighs philosophy - I’m cool with it anyway 
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Hi Per
Thank you for clearifying. I don’t disagree, but wondered how I came along with your conclusion. Sorted, happy weekend 
S
The three Naim boxes look fantastic together on the rack.
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