…if a 250DR at £4K makes little to no difference to a Nova at £4.2K, that must make the Nova with its broader functionality an absolute bargain 
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Well, I think paired with the right speakers, the Nova probably is the sweet spot in the range for overall value for money.
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I’ll go out on a limb and go as far as to say the Nova is the replacement to a 272
I’d go to your dealers and try a Nova with a 250.2 Dr it’s a amazing combo and in time move up it you wish.
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The problem is the preamp inside the nova , not enough good to control the 250.
With Naim, the key is always the pre.
I have had both a 250 dr and then a 300 dr on a Nova both were great improvements and fun. But for me were a stepping stone while i waited for the now current streamers.
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I’ve been told by those that know about these things at Naim that the pre-amp section of the Unitis (particularly the Nova) is of a very high quality, so I’m not that surprised at Steve’s or Gazza’s experiences here. Certainly has to be worth a listen, I reckon.
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I added a 250DR to a Nova. Save your money, unless you plan to change Nova, and buy some more music.
…what speakers? are you saying no improvement at all?
“ …Nova is probably the sweet spot…”. No, that’s the Atom. 
Roger
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I would guess most people with a Uniti went for the one box solution, so adding two boxes is probably not a logical next step. I’m definitely in that camp, I would consider adding a box, but not two.
The speakers are PMC Twenty5 26. There is a difference, but to me, it was a small difference and certainly not enough to justify the cost of a new 250DR. In my case, I purchased a new 250DR with 25% off and had already planned to move on from the Nova. My current expenditure would be 5 times the cost of the Nova. Do I think it is 5 times better…NO.
Unless, you are prepared to spend a significant amount of money, for diminishing returns, then stick with the Nova.
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So, I am hearing from some that with the Nova (unlike the SuperUniti) a power amp upgrade does not bypass the inbuilt power amp section of the Nova which remains live and still drawing current, so the assumed benefit of allowing the preamp and streamer to “breath” and perform better does not happen. So you are left with only the better circuitry of the 250DR making the difference.
This might explain why the difference is marginal? Can anyone confirm if this is the case as to my mind, if no speakers are plugged into the Nova (i.e. plugged into the 250DR instead), how can the power amp in the Nova be drawing current?
If true though it seems a strange way to encourage customers to commit to a £4K 250DR upgrade that would seem to be limiting the Nova’s upgrade capability deliberately by design.
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Yes, that is the case, as I discovered when trying to run a headphone amp of the pre-out with the speakers plugged in, and couldn’t turn off the speakers. Conversely, though, you can bi-amp using the 250 via the pre-amp out plus speakers connected to the Nova.
I can only assume that leaving the power amp powered when using the pre-amp doesn’t impact performance on the Nova, but it’s a nuisance if you want to run a headphone amp. In the end I used a spare Unti2 as a Dac/pre for a headphone amp in the same set up in my media room.
Its a shame that the amp is still switched on as you would hope based on adding power supplies that the Nova power supply just feeding the preamp and digital side would be better.
Yes, it’s a bit pants really, the Uniti2 has that functionality, but the Nova seems to have been dumbed down a bit, which is a pity.
BTW, is that pre-amp 4-pin Din out on the Nova a special cable, as it’s different than the 5-pin Din out on the SN2 pre-amp out, from what I can tell? What did you use @Gazza?
When i added the 250 dr my dealer just made up a cable from a naim cable that he had. And again for the 300 i had din to twin xlr if i remember correctly, again my dealer just got out the soldering iron and made it.
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