Thinking of getting a NAP 300

Hi
I’m thinking of replacing my chrome bumper 250 with a NAP 300, probably non-DR as a start. The rest of the system is NAC 82/HiCap/CDS3/XPS driving Epos ES14s. Any views on how a 300 would match with the rest would be welcome. I realise that there may be better upgrades to start with but nothing else has come up yet. End goal is a 555ps and NAC 52.
Thanks

I believe the Epos ES14’s were designed with the NAP250.

How about servicing…? Is everything up-to-date…?

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Hi
Yes I understand they were - fair point. Although they do seem to like to be driven.
Yes everything recently serviced.
Thanks

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I had a 32/hicap/250 (chrome bumper) with Isobariks at the point a 300 became available from a friend. It was a big step up for me. I know the ES14’s well as I used to sell them back in the 80’s so I’m sure you will also notice a big difference.

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Ok, good answers.

Can you try the 300 at home…? That would be best…

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I replaced an olive 250 with a 300 (non dr) with a 52 around 4-5 years ago. Lovely big step up from the 250 into the SBLs that I had at the time but I don’t know epos speakers

One of the things I really liked about the 300 was how it was so much better than the 250 at low volumes, so I didn’t have to have it cranked up to enjoy it

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I agree, but not possible with the current opportunities.
Thanks

Thanks
I had read about the low volume benefit of the 300 and it was one of the attractions. The Epos perform much better with the 250 than the previous 200. With the former they were a bit boxy but now the soundstage has bloomed. Could do with more bass which might be another benefit of a 300 possibly

Ok. Well… the worst outcome would be you sell the 300 on… if you don’t like it…
Probably worth the risk.

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I would say bass was improved with the 300, but that was of course with my speakers my room. I think received wisdom is generally that the 300 is a major step up from the 250 - but sometimes can be “too much” for a system not up to it. Your cds3 should certainly be up to it (I had an NDS by the time I got the 300) and a 52 would be great

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Interesting to hear your experience. I moved from a 250 to active SBLs with 135s just to play at low volumes. At a Naim demo a few years back I asked the ‘big man’ if the 135s would ever be made again; the answer was no because that’s what the 300 were for.

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I regret to say I have never heard 135s. From seeing lots of posts on the subject here and elsewhere, it seems that some people much prefer 135s to 300, with others the opposite. Though I think some of the comparisons have probably been unfair - eg, unserviced 135 v new 300

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I think the favouring of 135s v 300 is driven by the mid-band strength of the 135s and their liveliness. The 300 (pre DR of course) when it came out represented the ‘new’ Naim sound, with more detail, spatiality and less punchiness (IME), this stemming from the newer transistors used within the dual-mono 300.

IIRC, the price of a new 300 was very slightly cheaper than an out-going pair of 135s.

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I upgraded from 250 CB to non-DR 300 many years ago and it was a big upgrade in my then system - 552 driving Active Isobariks.

The 300 gave a more seamless easy presentation that allowed me to more easily immerse myself into the music. It just gave the impression that everything was very easy for it and effortless.
The 250 by comparison did the job well but I could always hear that it was ‘there’ and it has its own character, albeit a good character I like. In fact I kept a 250 CB and got it serviced for another system I have in another room for my TV ‘HiFi’ system - Naim AV2-250 based and it works great there.

If you are aiming for a 52 Pre in the end then the 300 should work well with it. Always good to try it first but it should be a safe upgrade, especially if your music tastes range outside of Rock and more into Classical where I found its more neutral seamless qualities very welcome.

DB.

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Thank you Darkebear. My tastes do range but one of my issues with the CDS3 is it can be a bit polite with rock music. A 555ps may cure that but if I introduced a 300 and it made everything sound polite that might be an issue.

I ran a non dr 300 with a 552 into Neat MFS for several years. Had I not moved the system into a considerably larger space, that may well have remained my end game system.

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