If I were to make a guess, I think Naim is slowly moving away from dedicated power supply boxes. My guess is, Uniti product lines have been pretty successful in netting new “naimers” with a taste of “naim sound” with minimum footprints, and to get them upgrading to suddenly many boxes would be difficult and waste the potential of new loyal customers.
Speaking of myself, upgrading from my one box Uniti Star, I wish I didn’t have to suddenly adding up to half a dozen boxes to enjoy the full naim sound (tho’ I did it anyway), had the NC lines were on offer. Had I were to do it now, two boxes NSC222 and NAP250.3 would be the one to go, and better yet, if I can jump tp 300s class with only two or max 3 boxes.
I am confused about this discussion on power supplies. I have looked at the Naim site and find that the 250nc replaces the 250 dr. Both are integrated psu and amp. No change there.
I look at the nsc 222. It replaces the 272, an integrated psu, amp and streamer. No change there.
I look at the NPX 300. I don’t know what it replaces but the suggestion is that it allows a separate psu to augment the performance of a number of products yet to be released, plus the nc 222. As I recall the 272 could be augmented by the addition of a psu. No change there.
Until the next new products are released, why do we believe that Naim is changing its policy of separate psu’s to improve performance?
This discussion about reduced box count is interesting. I have had the urge to reduce my boxes over the last couple of years but have found that it is more for aesthetic reasons than any other. As my main system is in a dedicated listening cabin there is actually no benefit in having less boxes. However, for my 2nd system in my living room it would appear to be beneficial. Then you look at what else is in there. SkyQ, AVR, Blu-ray, xBox. Moving from my ND5XS/Nait5si to an Atom for instance would achieve what? The Atom was my first thought before I got the other boxes but then I realised that I liked the look of it and idea of it more than anything else. I now think that for me, box count is dependent on where it will be installed and what else is there. If I had a room with just music gear then I would be very tempted by something like the Dynaudio Focus 30s but only as a 2nd system. So in some situations compromise is desirable.
The big change is that the NPX 300 will power everything; there will be no need to a Hicap or a Supercap for some things and and XPS type supply for others, which has got to be good and will save lots of confusion. As I understand it, both the new 300 streamer and preamp will be able to take one or two supplies, giving the potential of a six box source and preamp; the whole idea of the benefits of separate supplies is very much alive.
Bruss I don’t think members here are saying Naim will change their ways overall re box count moving up the range
I think there are a few comments sort of indicating it would be good if they could whilst retaining or bettering SQ
I’m a big fan of their stand alone power supplies knowing what they bring to the SQ party, but the good thing is that they have streamlined their PS range which is a big plus
As you say, it’s very much horses for courses. If someone has the space and the depth of wallet, then why not stack ‘em high? I’ve owned multi box setups ever since discovering Naim in 1983 and until very recently have always had at least two Naim boxes in the sitting room. I’ve had the twin Fraim setup with burndies galore. But I have to say that having just a single box with just one mains lead, two speaker leads and an Ethernet cable is rather delightful. Of course, it can easily be bettered with more boxes, but that’s not the point. It’s simply a matter of choice.
I don’t think it’s all good. Now there is no way to power a pre with less than 4 times the outlay compared to a Hicap. Or at least soon it will be like that. That is suggesting one of two things. Either the new pre line will start a 252 level or there will be pre amplifiers with built in power supplies. That is if the Hicap disappears.
But that’s just it, it is ONE box, you can’t have the bottom box on one side of the room and the top box on the other can you, because its ONE box, it can’t be anymore simple really.
It is as i say one box with good isolation, many manufacturers do it, even the real top end stuff, and they do it well, so no real problems come from it
It’s all simply a matter of choice. If you take your DCS and Vitus, the two boxes together must be at least as large and heavy as a Naim 555, 552 and 500 with its six boxes. Of course, you need only a single wire to connect them, rather than nine, which is a benefit in itself. The only real way to de-box and retain quality seems to be to use something like a Linn KDS and some active speakers.
Wasn’t really talking about all that sort of stuff, just transformers/power supply in the same box as what it’s powering, and not a complete system in a box.
The 500 system you quote certainly takes up twice as much space, but again not what i was getting at, as for weight not sure, but my vitus is 67kg on it’s own. Yes it’s heavy.
It’s certainly interesting seeing all this new gear from naim at last coming out, even if you are not in the market for it, it’s good to see.
Plus interesting to see what new idea’s they come up with, and hopefully push things along somewhat for them, as so far the new bits have certainly inpoved things, and hopefully that’s only a good sign for whats to come.
I have not read the whole topic. But I wonder if there are people who have been able to make the comparison between the NDX2/SN3 and the NSC222/NAP250, by listening to music they know well.