Oh yes…. Typo. Fixed it. 222/300/250.
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It’s hard to give a right answer here. The only aspect I can guarantee is that the magic you get with the 222 will be lost until you add the 333 to the 332. You’ll still get the added benefits of the 332, but you won’t be able to ignore that your source is suffering.
I ran the 222/250 for over a year and then acquired a 332. During about 6 months or so, while waiting for a good deal on a used 333, I ran a Chord Qutest, then ND5 XS2 (alone), then NDX2/XPS DR, and now the 333. While they all did a good job, none of them had the same magic the 222 had. When I finally acquired the 333 the system was taken to another level. The 332/333 combo are undeniably made for one another.
Another option would be selling the Atom and acquiring an ND5 XS2 on the used market. Use that until you can purchase a 333. I thought it did a very good job running alone into the 332.
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interestingly I got my wife to have as listen to her favourite Max Richter last night. she has very good hearing. blind. switched from 222 to Atom-222 and asked her which she preferred and why. Atom-222 by far. Deeper bass, wider soundstage and more depth and insight into the music. Very very strange result. I agreed btw. It shows how good the Atom HE is… I will get the 332 and then take a long careful view on sources.
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all a bit confusing, the power supply is a 300
What is your point? We are discussing sources for the 332.
sorry, yes it’s me that’s confused!!
Fascinating.
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I had 2 HEs and replaced one with the 222 after some hesitation, so now I also have both the 222 and HE (have compared them previously and still sometimes do and swap them). Both work extremely well with the NC250 (222 with automation) and I believe I’ve seen Naim staff who have shared here they have the HE+250 so may be they know what they are choosing! For streaming alone this is all I would need and recommend.
The 222 is only slightly better for streaming but I decided to keep it as I wanted also the fully analogue line in and the phono stage, which I happen to like but my plan is to add the NVC TT which the 222 can power - had it for an extended home demo with my P8 recently and liked it a lot.
No plans for the NPX300, however quite curious to try the 333 with Nait 50.
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Interesting
I picked up a NAC332 today for under 5k on the auction site. Arriving Tuesday so my set up for now will be (Vertere DG1 TT-Vertere Phono1)+(Atom, HE /Audirvana) to 332 +NPX300 and then 250NC. I also would have gone Atom HE and 250 but wanted the phono stage and additional PS for the 222. However I soon realised the phono stage wasn’t up to the the one in the Devialet 250 I had used previously so had to get the Phono1. In fact adding the NPX300 made a very big difference to me, and along with adding Vertere Redline XLR and speaker cables saved the 222 from being sold after 2 months. Looking forward to the 332! The seller also has a 333 but I can’t afford that as well at this end of the year!
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Best use of money is fewer bigger steps, so if happy at the moment wait till you can afford the jump you want.
Not necessarily so. Anyone selling decent hifi kit will either be a dealer or an enthusiast (and if not be wary). They are therefore likely to understand, and even expect, the desire to hear before buying. I once (with prior agreement!) lugged a pair of large and heavy (60kg) IMF speakers into someone’s home to compare with speakers he was selling. He not only was welcoming, but clearly thoroughly enjoyed the evening I spent at his house, even though when I left I was not yet ready to commit to buying his speakers.
Edit: perhaps I should have read past the opening post before posting, as I see my contribution is too late (and from the effectiveness of others’s posts would likely not have made any difference as it appears you had determined what you wanted to do from the very start).