Upgrade advice 52 or 552 or Radikal 1 Urika upgrade to Lp12

Yes, I briefly had both when the 252 finally appeared.

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I use the 252 AV input for the TV audio feed. Sounds really great ! The CD555 is a great option as well but youā€™ll be wanting the 2nd 555PS with it so not recommended for nervous wallets !

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Iā€™d have to change the phonostage as well to MC as I have an MM which supports high output MC only, which is what I have. But an Ekos 2 is going to better than an upgraded Akito by Audio Origami. That was why I was thinking Radikal 1 and Urika used and Karousel as upgrades. And get a new cart. Get 52 and job done.

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IMHO, it is very hard to beat a CDS2. I think that that is probably the least contentious view on this whole thread.

I also reckon that Karousel and Keel were worthwhile upgrades, rather like moving up from a Linto phono stage. I got a s/h SL, but for VFM today I would buy the DV and save a packet.

I also note that some can find s/h Keels, and that a Lingo 4 is a good deal cleaner than a Lingo 1 but a good deal cheaper than a Radikal.

I wouldnā€™t swap my 52 for a 252, in the same way that I never considered swapping 82 for a 282.

As others have said, 52 & 252 sound similar (how could they not when playing the same music), but there are differences, and the 52 has fractionally more pleasing/ forgivable apparent imperfections than a 252 to my old ears. As the Pink Fairies said: ā€œDonā€™t forget to boogieā€.

Of course, if someone gave me a 552, I wouldnā€™t be talking about pre-amp imperfections at all, but for what they actually costā€¦

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Iā€™m very happy with my system as it is - assuming that Naim will eventually be able to service /fix my CDS IIā€™s failed transport mechanism.

I donā€™t feel any need to change or upgrade anything, but some servicing and re-capping is long overdue.

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I am not changing CDS2 by the way. I prefer it to CDS3 and will keep it as is.

The Rad1 appeals with Urika as I said before as it replaces two small boxes with one on the Fraim. Plus lots of advantages. Ekos 2 and new cart with those upgrades and possibly Karousel will take turntable to new level. If I do that then it will be a 52 and not 252 with Supercap DR as its too much funds.

I donā€™t see point of Lingo 4 when I can get used Radikal 1 for Ā£1600.

Maybe I get the turntable upgrades done in two hits:

Firstly: Radikal 1, MC cart and Urika Ā£4k

Secondly: Ekos 2 and Karousel. Ā£3k

If I am happy at stage 1 then I can leave it for a while.

Get 52, leave Supercap 2, and factor in services for both as Supercap 2 is 2012.

Thoughts please?

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Or go Ekos 2 and Karousel first of all. Will be cheaper and could be fun!

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If it were me Dan, on the TT in stages idea, Iā€™d follow the Rearsby advice and do Karousel, Rad1 and (if possible) Ekos as my first splurge. Add Urika and MC cart later.

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Given the numbers, your reasoning looks dead right - thatā€™s a great Rad 1 price.

I would probably reverse stage 1 and stage 2, and would check you really like Urika for SQ before buying, but there is of course nothing wrong with doing things that way around.

I would vigorously agree that servicing the boxes should be allowed for in the budget unless already done. Note that a 52 with POTS7 upgrade is (if I understand correctly) almost identical to one with the still-available POTS8 upgrade. Paying up for that, or buying cheaply enough to allow for it, would be my suggestion.

Could you be persuaded to take a trip to a shop near Leicester where you could hear quite a few of these LP12 bits in a fair comparison, and talk to a chap (yes itā€™s Peter S again) whose opinion is worth a lot more than mine?

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Thanks @KJC. Very thoughtful as I get the advantages of new bearing, Rad 1 and Ekos 2 which will be big improvement. My Dynavector cart has plenty of life and my phonostage is excellent. Cost 4k. And with 52 budget 7k with possible service.

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@Dan_M

Agree Nick - Dan , go see that certain gent it will be worth it

Even though Iā€™m in Australia I have met him when he visited and along with my dealer here they have both put me on the right track

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I could definitely have a chat with Leicester dealer. I have dealt with before on phone and am a customer, albeit I live on South coast in Stone Cross near Eastbourne !

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I would definitely keep the Kore but the Karousel is so much better than the Cirkus. It adds on to the definition of the Cirkus deck without losing the ā€œold schoolā€ fun and musicality of the pre-Cirkus bearing. It also adds more weight and bass. Itā€™s the biggest bang for the buck LP12 upgrade you can do and I would start there before anything else. That and the Rad2 absolutely transform the deck.

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And the Rad1 can easily be upgraded to a Rad2 down the road.

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Nice looking 52 just put up on PF , just under Ā£2500, serviced by Class A in 2018

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Thatā€™s what I am thinking. Get Rad 1 and upgrade later.

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If you get a rad 1 then get the Karousel too no point in doing up if the foundation is outdated.
A certain dealer will see you ok just explain. :wink: :+1:t2:

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I hesitate in tossing this comment into the mix as there are plenty of posts suggesting this is considered to be a backward step, and just part of the analogue history of many on the forum. Certainly it is premature for me to take a firm position and I wouldnā€™t suggest you treat this as any sort of consideration in choosing between 52, 252 or any other preamp, but rather a point of interest if you do decide on a 52.

Iā€™m currently listening to my new turntable via my 52ā€™s internal the 523s MC boards. This was on my dealers suggestion. Not through me indicating any unhappiness with the other options I have right now, which are either a 52 aux powered Superline (I donā€™t have space for another SC) or Vertere Phono-1, but rather it just sprang up in a conversation as something he recommended I try. He considers this configuration to be a real strength of the 52. Also lot has changed in my turntable since I last used the internal boards, including having a very nice tonearm cable.

The phono boards are effectively newly serviced as I installed them briefly when the 52 was serviced this time last year. I put them back in yesterday and I have to say they are starting to sound very good. Itā€™s too early to say whether they could usurp the other two options, but I have to say its not totally out of the question from what Iā€™m hearing right now.

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Thats very good advice and if I can get a 52 with phono boards I can use it without phonostage and just use the Radikal or currently Lingo 1.

Full support here as well. Feel fully with you. I can not even imagine how this might feel and crossed my fingers for you as you mentioned the scan in april.
As a pharmacist (working in a pharmaceutical company for chemotherapeutic products) I can tell that there is always hope and a way! Sorry for off topic - my heart tells me to write this down!

As for hifi. I would stay olive as long as you can. Tweaking lp12 for quality sessions and 52 for overall uplift would be my way. I introduced with nd555 the newer sound spectrum, which is really good, but I do not want to miss the 52@olive magic at all. So I am not so much tempted to go full 500 soon. It is a bit the same s with nait 2ā€¦ when I listen to nait 2 in second system it is involving that I even dislike the big boxes when I switch.
You should give the 52 a chance which is 5he pinnacle of olive sound ā€¦

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