But you would listen to both first?
i wouldnt mate no, id have no issue just buying a 552, its my next logical step anyway
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It was a single Fraim stack and if youāre telling me it needed to be in two stacks to sound good then Iām glad I moved it on. What a waste of time and money. I know what Iād buy too and it isnāt the 552. The NC has got Naim back on track wrt SQ.
It is a lovely sounding piece of kit. I only ask as my next step would have been a 500DR, previously owned. At a similar price the 350 monoblocs could stop me looking at the 500. Better still if by the time I buy them ( next year possibly) they have a dealer discount. I intend to listen and compare though before deciding.
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This is the reason they changed how the psuās work i would think, most people dont want two stacks on the higher end stuff but those that do get the real benefits
Mate i have just looked at your systemā¦congrats on that! bet it sounds wicked. im sort of a level below you. NDS, 555dr, 252 supercap dr, nap 300. i wouldnt mix the new stuff with my system personally. i bought a nap 300dr without hearing it and it was the best thing i have done in ages. like i say in other posts, i think to get the most out of it you do need two stacks. the new 350ās i dont think would matter as much
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My path was from 252/SC DR plus 250DR to 300DR. The 300 DR warranted a better source so went to the 552DR. They work well together.
Im glad you said that, like i say 552 is my next bit i think. like my NDS i like the idea of the sprung sub chassis etc
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Yes, nDAC into 272 has the added benefit of reducing noise in the 272.
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Then I understand 
Yes, sometimes compromises are unavoidable.
In the Austrailia/NZ fire sale, you can get new 222, 259 NC and 300 PX at 40% discount, so that will give an indication of mark-ups.
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Slightly off-topic - I notice you are using the Sonus Faber Sonetto III speakers. Iād be interested to talk to you about your experiences with these speakers.
Not sure if itās possible to exchange phone numbers via this forum for a chat if youāre willing?
Please donāt post personal contact details on the forum, as itās publicly viewable and unsafe to do so.
Provided you are not attempting to circumvent any forum rules, you can flag up this post or one of my posts and message me to ask me to forward your contact email to another member. You need to be be very specific for GDPR compliance. Furthermore, thereās no requirement for the other member to respond, should they not wish to do so.
Ok thanks Richard - I donāt want to break forum rules.
Iāll leave it up to Iain if he wishes to respond - no pressure.
Thanks.
Finally, yesterday I had a chance to listen to NSC 222 at my local dealer. I wanted to hear by myself (if any) diference could be heard. There are minimal, truly minimal sound diferences between NCS 222 and Atom HE.
However, the thing that really attracts me that when I could buy NSC 222, it would be with sep.power supply. Othervise, I stick to my Atom.
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I can give you what we know!
SWMBO bought the Sonus Faber Sonetto iii when we only had a SuperUniti. Walked in, demo, loaded newly arrived set from stock into car!
Before the demo, having read these forums, I likely expected to like other brands more. SWMBO had no preconceptions.
We auditioned a number of speakers up to a similar price point on nait, Supernait and then separates stacks (forum search will likely find this) before settling on the SF.
At audition they werenāt the absolute word in detail. They didnāt have the deepest bass. But the midrange and soundstage - wow. Vocals hang in the air. They were, across a wide range of musical genre, the most enjoyable. Being bottom ported they are quite unfussy about placement.
Now our dealer didnāt recommend running too high volume on them with a SuperUniti, but weād started the journey and a 250DR soon followed. This amp made a considerable difference to the speakers, especially in weight and tightness of lower registers. With the SU (in our room) they were bass light, but with the 250DR the lovely balanced presentation we experienced at audition returned.
When we moved to 300DR again there was an improvement all round. They just sound really tight and controlled.
Now the caveats - if we walked into a dealership now, with current electronics, would we audition these? Probably not, weād be looking at Olympica Novas or other speakers around that price point (606s/PMC etc.). If you like a heavier bass presentation the slightly larger Sonetto V are very good (we heard a short demo of these later - same sound, more bass weight).
Other forum members have auditioned and discounted SF, finding them a little smooth. Speakers are the most personal choice in a system - they have to sound good to your ears, work with the electronics/cabling and most importantly the room. Audition is a must! Whilst we love them, others donāt.
Speaker cable also important - adding SuperLumina cabling opened up the treble, added a little sparkle to the higher notes.
Having heard Sonetto and Olympica Nova on end of naim amps we can see why dealer does a brisk trade in both. Apparently the new 350s and SF Serafino G2 are a match made in heaven, but we are resisting that demo as it could get expensive.
p.s. sitting listening to the latest Izo Fitzroy release, and I remember why we bought these speakers now 
Thanks for the reply - appreciate your thoughts above.
I have SF standmounts and find them a little bass light too hence why I was interested in your experiences with the floorstanders but I donāt want to divert this thread off topic.
Cheers
You should audition the floorstanders, same voicing but more weight.
There is a lower series (Lumina) but we discounted those after only one track.
We bought standmounts for the office, but went back to floorstanders. Thereās something about the weight/balance of sound which goes missing with standmounts!
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Yes, they are very close to my ears too and unless compared head to head, I donāt think you would think of any differences or think of losing anything important in terms of streaming SQ (and for headphones). If you do not need the extra features, for what it does, the Atom HE is just an awesome piece of kit and true hifi bargain.
I am currently running it with the NC250, while my 222 is in another room with my TT.
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Thatās really disappointing if the NSC 222 at Ā£5,700 canāt beat an Atom HE at Ā£2,500 in SQ. So what do you get for all that extra money? It rather forces me to look at the 300 series, which I canāt really afford!
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