Having enjoyed being an Internet idler for the past couple of days, reading this and several other threads across various fora, I am still not really any the wiser as to whether to reach up to a new 222/300/250 upgrade, or perhaps update, to my 272/XPS DR/250 DR system which I’ve enjoyed for several years.
Everyone who has heard the new systems, presumably still not fully run in, describes them as truly excellent. Several folk have purchased complete systems, circa £17.5k, sans listening, others have placed deposits for early delivery.
Technical folks, some very esteemed indeed, rate the new hardware a significant step change from its predecessors, having enjoyed the development phase for in excess of a year, and who is to argue with them?
So what’s not to like, what could possibly go wrong as they say?
Well, a few point out the less impressive DAC chip, others that the new connectors require some quite expensive adapter cables to coexist with previous generation kit, a cost which might be lost should a more complete update follow and others despair of the new design aesthetic.
Truth be told, the answer today must be ‘don’t know’ - whatever one decides it’ll be expensive and dealers indicate it will only get more so the longer one waits as used values will continue to fall.
A real upgrade might be delivered with an NDX2/282/SuperCap DR added to the XPS DR/250 DR but then that’s a whole different story.
Hifi cannot ever be about value, perceived or real, but rather the individual’s enjoyment and whether or not they can quite simply afford it.
KR, J