To 222 or not 222?

No it doesn’t.

You might choose to do so, but that’s not the same thing!

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Okay we agree we disagree. Of course you buy equipment to last for years, but in the end you keep busy with cables and other improvements and then eventually something new and better comes along and yet you start thinking and eventually you buy.

Sweeping statement - budget, requirements, mullet system et al, influence vfm
What’s broken with your current system? Upgraditis imho only leads to dissatisfaction.
I only upgrade when servicing is due, then just enjoy the music.
Incidentally why is this a new thread, seems likely many posts will go over the same ground as the original thread?

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[emphasis added by me]

No, I don’t. That might describe your situation and history, but to present it as a logical inevitability for everyone who has ever bought a piece of hifi kit is wrong. It doesn’t describe my experience and, judging by the number of people running systems which still have Olive or even CB kit in them, I’m not alone.

Mark

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Well the value is a lot less if you are always thinking about resale value in a more competitive global market and need to rotate boxes regularly to fund an addiction.

The value of something is a lot higher, even at current crazy UK prices, if the intention is to keep the item forever and enjoy it, care for it, service it, and eventually move it to another room rather than flog it for an upgrade.

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You indicate that it is wrong and you are not alone in this opinion. Am very happy for you. But this discussion is about purchasing the new 222 series and trade-in prices in the longer term. And your experiences don’t have to be mine. Let each decide how and what and when.

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I agree entirely - my only complaint is over the presentation of some people’s experience as being universal. In the future, some qualifying phrases like ‘In my experience…’ or ‘What I find is…’ might prevent this.

Mark

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@ElMarko if I recall from other threads had a 252 a while back, but not with Supercap DR.

He didn’t like it at all.

Each to their own. 252 does divide opinion.

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Couple more links I found really interesting.

First is this one: The Naim New Classic range - #1574 by 110dB

Which outlines the fact the NSC222 output stage is basically the HE headphone circuit (which seems like a great case of engineering for reuse)

Second is this one:

Which is Naim’s view that the PSU upgrade isn’t necessary for the NSC222 to improve upon the HE’s performance

My dealer’s opinion as his 200 set warmed up was that it’s approaching NDX2/NAC252/Supercap/NAP300 performance.

It will be interesting to hear if customers agree. He offered me a listen when I go in for a Linn belt.

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It will take a long time for the dust to settle. If you remember, for the first 12-18 months of the 272’s life, nearly everyone who bought one claimed it was better than an NDX/282. Then people came back down to earth. The initial hyperbole period lasts a fairly long time. I expect everyone who buys a New Classic 200 system now will find it beats out a NDX/252/SCdr/300dr. At least for the first year.

I think you’ll have to make your own judgement in demonstration head to head with something you know.

And it may in fact be better than the aforementioned Classic system. But not sure anything I read in the first year or so I would trust much. Just historically, that’s proved pretty risky.

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If collaborated, that would be impressive.

I’m inclined to wait for several results ( more than one) and a consensus from “controlled experiments”.

That is, user systems taken into dealer - or - home demo of New Classic, and compared A/B listening tests with known source material, etc, etc.

That’s interesting though.

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I was originally going to give the Mandy Rice-Davies response to his opinion but stopped myself. Until now!

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So they seem to share a lot in common - same DAC with some implementation differences, same streaming board and same or very similar preamp - the bottom line is that they are not too far. Not to say they sound the same as the same DAC chip is shared with the ND5XS2 and the NOVA and all of them sound different. Still the closest in the bunch (may be too close for comfort?:slight_smile: are the HE and 222, while the PSU would offer clear air ahead.

Thinking about the 222 as a whole I am also wondering how the MM phono is implemented and how it sounds e.g. compared to the SN3 (where it sounds very, very good to me)?

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Certainly not the opinion of the dealer i spoke to - with the 222 pre-amp being below that of 282.

We hear what we want to hear much of the time.

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Exactly - err, in my view…!

It should (IMO…) be universal on here. ‘My experience is/was this…’, ‘I found XYZ the be of no significant benefit’, etc.

Not - ‘You Are Wrong To Do This’. Its not far off saying ’ You are a st$%id g$t…!.’ - which is quite clearly not permitted. Yet its quite common, from … some. IMO…

Please… Try to Be Agreeable - whenever you post…

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Isn’t it funny in a strange way! Naim was kept being asked “where is the 272 replacement”. Now they have delivered, people are bemoaning the fact that is must be a compromise because it’s a combined pre and streamer.
My take is that if the 272 wasn’t for you because it was a combined product then you might not be the 222’s target customer.

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I think you must be referring to yourself, and of course some others - however other people do equipment changes at quite varying frequencies and there are, I believe from reading the forum over several years, a proportion who change equipment far less often and rarely if ever “keep busy with cables and other improvements”, while a proportion seem to change far more frequently than once every four years. Maybe, though it would be interesting to see the data, four years may be about average, but that is different from being a norm and certainly not a frequency dictated by the hobby.

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Yeah, the more I think about it the more I consider the NSC222 as “just” an improved Atom HE X)

From eyeballing the interior pic the MM phono looks like the same board (though it is hard to see, given the orientation!) as the XS3/SN3 (even in the XS3 the board shares PCB space with the rear panel plugs/connectors, whilst in the SN3 it is a separate board). It is mounted vertically just behind the exterior phono plugs.

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Ouff…!!! That didn’t take long…!! :crazy_face:

I can very much see the logic from Naim’s point of view (saving cost & time), in ‘reworking’ the Atom HE into the 222. Or was it perhaps the other way around, maybe…?

But, if so… it seems to have taken a very long time to do… :thinking:

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