That is not at all what I would expect from any Chord DAC. Obviously you should be guided by your own ears, and if the Naim sources worked best for you that’s what you should buy, but from your description I’d be pretty certain that the TT2 wasn’t set up properly if it sounded as you describe.
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Hi @ChrisSU
That’s a very good point about the setting up of the TT2. Circumstances meant this could well have been the case. This has prompted me to revisit Chord once we have moved home.
Has anyone had a chance to do a close comparison of NSC 222 vs NSS 333/NAC 332 combo? Are the improvements significant in separating the streamer/DAC from the pre-amp? Would love to hear any impressions…
It would be quite hard to set up a TT2 wrong, it is just an SMPS a connection to the streamer and RCA out.
Having said that I agree, your description is not how I would describe the sound. If anything I found it a bit to clear and detailed in the top end
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Someone on this thread has done that and found the 332/333 combo significantly better than the 222 - can’t remember where on thread. However, you are comparing a £16k set up to a £6k set up so not really surprising?
And welcome to the Forum!
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I did an, admittedly brief, comparison of the NSC 222 and NPX 300 vs NSS 333 and NAC 332 (the latter without any external power supply). The separate streamer and pre was compellingly better.
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Listened to 222/300/250 back to back with 333/332/250 last weekend. Speakers were PMC Fact 12.
The 333/332 was noticeably smoother and more refined. What was surprising was just how well the 250 gripped the PMCs, even at high volume, and the extra definition added by the separate streamer and pre amp in the low registers was what stayed with me.
Edit: I have a max of 3 boxes available space so didn’t listen to 300 power supply on the 333 or 332. I already have the NC250.
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More info:
Currently a proud owner of 222/300 > 250 and it’s December! so time to treat myself for a year of hard work!
I don’t intend to upgrade to 2x350 anytime soon, so likely will be trading in the 222 for:
333/300 > 332 > 250 > QLN Prestige 3s
I have not had a chance to demo the 300 series obviously, but given the strength of my current setup, I can only imagine I will be more than pleased!
Just need to figure out where this extra box goes!
Interestingly I am currently trialing it the other way round, i.e 222/300 into 350’s and B&W 804 DB3 and thus far very pleasing outcome…
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I plan to do one in January - delayed due to my current budget constraints!
That said, at a recent demo, I didn’t think NDX 2 into NAC 332/NC NAP 250 sounded good at all. The NSC 222/NC NAP 250/NPX 300 system sounded much more coherent and musical.
I feared that might be the case!
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I think Chord DACs do respond well to correct setup. Things I found to help were:
• Give it space, preferably its own shelf on a rack, and not too close to any big Naim power supplies.
• Use a decent 75 Ohm coax cable to connect a quality digital transport. (Your ND5 would be ideal.)
• Find a decent analogue cable too. I got good results with a HiLine, but my favourite was a Townshend Fractal.
• Use the variable volume and dial it down a bit below max. This seemed to make a significant difference to me. It also makes Naim preamp volume pots much more user friendly.
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Call me dumb, but after about 2 months of ownership, I’ve only now noticed that I can change the screen color of my NC222 to the green that perfectly matches my “old classics” components. How odd that Naim thought about it, and yet couldn’t do the same with the color of the logo?
Anyway I’m very happy with the set up now. I think the source is my end game (222 and 555PS). Still wondering whether I should upgrade the amp. Currently with the NAP300DR. @frenchrooster made an interesting comparison between OC 300DR and NC250. Food for thought.
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What source did it replace?
How did you do that?
What do people think of the new remote? I do like it, very modern and I like that it lights up when you pick it up. However, I don’t find the positioning of the volume buttons very ergonomic, when I pick up the remote my thumb is more naturally where the less used balance buttons are located, wouldn’t it have been better to swap them round?
With all of the volume dial being useable now I find it takes a long time to turn the volume down from a normal listening level of 12 to 1 o’clock. Flip side is that it’s great for fine control. The 282 had a nice solution for this, a quick press of the button followed by a long press gave fine control, otherwise it moved more quickly.
I can no longer switch inputs on the nDAC, with the Narcom 5 I could use the 7,8,9,0 buttons which matched inputs 1,2,3,4 on the dac… I have to get up off my butt now 
Would be nice to have digital display of the volume in the middle! Even have it a touchpad so you could swipe up/down with your thumb to adjust volume more quickly
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If they only had done it all the way to include the logo 
Nice shot by the way. Looks great in that angle.
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I wish! There are two of them - one for the 333, one for the 332. ISTR the 222 has the same remote as the 333. (edit - I had originally written 332, which is wrong)
Same shape, same size, same number of buttons. Some of the buttons, in the same places, even do the same things on both remotes.
But there are two of them. Why?
I agree about the digital display and touchpad though. There is a touchpad with a button in the same place on the remote for the 333. I can’t seem to get it to do anything though. Perhaps I should read the manual.
I have had two home demo’s the last month.
My current setup:
RegaP8/Apheta3 and ND5XS2 into NAC252/SC-DR → 250-DR → Ovator s400
A week demo with my current sources and speakers with new classics:
setup 1: nac 332 → npx 300 → nap 250NC
And now these past two (!!) weeks with:
setup 2: nac 332 → nap 350
As this upgrade will cost the exact same investment, it makes sense for my personal budget to compare the two setups.
Other considerations are for me, if I can simply enjoy the music system, or want to keep the hobby alive by ensuring future tinkering (and consequently investing).
- If for instance I upgrade to setup 1, that would probably mean my speakers will be left alone for awhile, or perhaps only changed by a step sidewards and my main focus would be to upgrade my digital source. After which I would reach somewhat of an end-game.
- On the other hand, upgrading to setup 2, gives me the same focus on digital source upgrades, but also upgrading the pre with the npx 300 power supply, and give a lot of options to step up the ladder concerning speakers.
Luckily for me, my dealer placed both setups at my home to demo for longer periods. Note: setup 1 was already in use as a demo set and setup 2 came new out of the box at my home.
setup 1: I mentioned this earlier in the thread: Because of the demo, I am sold on upgrading to the New Classics. I am convinced of what this combination does in terms of especially the digital image. Higher quality digital music are portrayed in a more laid back, wide almost analog way that I can not match with my current 252dr/250 setup. Furthermore, I find the experience different and somewhat more modern, the 250nc to have better grip on my s400 than the 250dr.
setup 2: Completely different to setup 1. Compared to that setup, I was initially not convinced on the way it portrays digital sourced music in terms of the mids, and the wideness of sound stage. Piano in Jazz although very well expressed, seemed to be a bit lost in the very good definition of the lower end. The latter being a big pro, the ease and fastness with how bass is handled in my s400s is remarkeable. The power of the mono blocks is hard to miss, it is there and it promised to be addictive. After a few days, the feeling of it all being a bit out balance disappeared. As the system came new out of the box, warming up effect does not seem unlikely. At the moment, I am enjoying detail and dry fast sound on lower levels than I am used to.
Setup 2 will leave our house this week, but as I have made up my mind, will be on order to return indefinitely. The grip and fastness of the 332/350 for me trumps the 332/300/250 and leaves me wondering what different speakers, different source and pre power supply would bring in the future.
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Seems cumbersome to have to use a white marker every time you change the volume 
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