The Naim New Classic Range - Part 2

No, we’re losing the point I think. @Lucifer mentioned his NDS had been compared unfavourably to a 222 and I just mentioned that in todays money that would be a 9K streamer compared to a 5.7K combined streamer/preamp/phonostage. Seems unlikely to me the the NDS would be inferior - that’s all.

mate this is why i responded. im totally with you on this. an nds would be another would vs a 222 and a 333 streamer. it took the nd555 to replace it

Ah - got you :+1:

i just tried to pop some logic in…which is why it got a bit side tracked!haha

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I haven’t had a tt in my system since the 90s and have no interest in doing so. It takes too much time and money to get right. For me streaming is much easier and better SQ comparatively. Perhaps when I’m closer to death and have nothing better to do. :smiley:

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nDAC and 333 don’t share a sound signature.

Which you prefer would be a choice.

After demo we didn’t think we’d move from nDAC/555 to 333/300.

Impressions here

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Hahaha

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Curious. When I compared 222 to 282 the 222 won by a knockout, in round one. Power amplification courtesy of a 250.2.

Hi @IainO, ah yes I remember your post now, yes it’ll be a difficult choice, I very much like the nDAC but I need to weigh in the cost of a 555PS and service for it which will be half way to the 333, the 333 has the advantages of better integration with my new boxes so if the I like the sound it may be the better choice for me. A decent home demo is definitely required.

I’m not doubting you, but it’s hard to understand what that really means without knowing the full setup. Specifically, what source was used with the 282, and what power supplies were used to run the 222, 282 and source?

The common source for comparing the two units was a Linn CD player. Power supplies were HiCap for 282, bare 222 and stock mains cables plugged into a single mains block running off a dedicated circuit.

You’ve already got the 332/350 so you can either get a 333/300 or investigate other high end streamer/DAC pairings in the £10-15k range.

Where you go might very much depend on the sound signature you prefer.

We might investigate this next year, what with a used ND555 being same price as a used combo like Pulse/mScaler/Dave. Sell our 555PS and the latter is half the price of the ND555. Sell nDAC and NDX2 as well and the swap would effectively be free!

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Why? I don’t have a turntable!
:woman_shrugging: :rofl:

Chord has crossed my mind in the past but I’m strongly leaning to sticking with Naim and completing the four box 300 series that I demoed, they were designed at the same time to work together which is quite a strong reason to take that route rather than investing more in the Classic series, and two less boxes … we’ll see!

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i believe the NDS is on the level of the 333, as it’s between NDX2 and ND555, and as the 333 was reviewed and was found inferior to the ND555.

That’s not surprising to me. The NC has altered the old hierarchy in my experience and I don’t find comparative SQ for the 222/555/250 without going to five or six OC boxes.

Very possibly. My curiosity though goes back to my post at 2998 though, and what is the likely split of value between the key functions of the 222, given there is a preamp, streamer/dac, phonostage in there, that’s a lot going on. If the 222 was at ND5 XS 2 / NAC282 level that would be quite impressive.

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Chatting with my dealer a couple of weeks ago he had the pre amp at around 202 level bare and not quite 282 level with the new power supply.

I suspect there are others on here who will refute that. I haven’t heard it or amps at 202/282 level so wouldn’t be able to judge.

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I have had 202, 282 and 252, the latter two with with SuperCapDR and 250DR. These pre/power combos were used with NDS and ND555. I now have the NC222/300/250, so I am in a reasonable position to compare the 222 to OC pre amps.

The character of the sound of 222 is rather different to 283 and 252, and we are also comparing the integral streamer in the 222 to whatever is used with the OC pre amps. So comparisons are spurious.

All I know is that I am enjoying my NC rig more than all my OC set ups, with the exception of my 500 system. I should add however that I used a UnitiServe with all my OC rigs, but now have a pukka Melco server. I suspect the UnitiServe was a bottleneck.

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i replied to you because you said " 222 seems unlikely at the NDS level ". I believe that too.

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