I do indeed, though the SN2/NDX2 now has added power supplies and a full superlumina I/C and speaker cables - so now 3.5 boxes (plus a headphone amp and PS!).
Anyway, they are both very enjoyable systems. The Nova has the smaller speakers and is in a smaller room and is perfect for a media room/office system. I’ve added a Powerline and EE8 switch and a sub. My Core is there to, so a nice 2 box system.
The SN2/NDX2 etc is in our lounge - a much bigger space and with bigger speakers. The beauty with these boxes is how you can improve on them with power supplies and interconnects - though more cost of course.
Hi Steve,
A Nova has also crossed my mind and i could almost exchange my Star for it with no money loss. So it may be worth a try.
As for the EE switch: it is quite expensive - i would only use one of the ports. There is a german company which makes switches for medical institutions which is supposed to filter out everything harming the signal. It is not cheap either but is unobstrusive and can be hooked up just behind your device. It is called EMOSAFE EN-70 HD. I don’t know if anyone in this forum has tried it…but this is a matter of another topic
But the biggest advantage of the Nova is of course that the wife won’t notice the upgrade
True, you can initially, but the are times when you might come across a CD in a second hand shop or one that was copy protected and can’t rip, so it’s quite nice to have the option. When I was deliberating over whether to get the Star or the Nova the fact that I already had a CD player made the decision a bit easier, plus I didn’t want to get the upgraditis urge of “if only I’d have got the Nova”. I wanted a one box solution to avoid the never ending train of upgrades Naim offers higher up the ladder and a room full of boxes.
I made a decision a while ago not to discuss hifi upgrades with partners. It never ends well! Fortunately she does not live with me! I added a CDS3 and XPS2 last week. She noticed something different in the living room but didn’t say anything.
Money spent on hifi is money not spent elsewhere on ‘more important things’. To me what could be more important.
The person who bought my 250DR added it to his Nova and told me it made a negligible difference. He later swapped the Nova for a source and preamp.
The Nova/250 makes little sense as a destination system, aside from the non matching boxes. If I was limited to two boxes and the current range it would be the NDX2/SN3. Two, of course, do not have to decide four, though it is of course a tempting option.
I guess another option is add a 250 to the Star and then swap out the Star for the updated 272 when (if?) it arrives. Then you are comparing a NDX2/SN2/3 with a 272-xx/250, which may come down to preference and speaker matching.
That’s interesting. Do you think the power amp stage in the Nova is much better than the Uniti2, where we are discussing adding the 250 as a good option in a different thread?
So to wrap this thing up: it looks like the superb deal on the NDX2 is gone so i do not have to take a hastly decision anymore
Current plan is to wait and save and go for the SN3 first - no rush here. Then after some time get rid of the Uniti when another sweet deal on the NDX2 appears.
Changed speakers as i still have to decide which one to keep. Let’s see how the Star handles them. Also made some small changes to the whole setup (added a Powerline) which has improved the solidity of the bass.
As you can see the bench could be used for a 3 box setup
I kind of like this minimalist setup - 2 box would’t clutter it.
@conlegno I just noticed that I forgot to reply to your message. This is probably out-of-date now but it only seemed polite to reply.
The Star has a preamp section, I believe, so you’d have to use just the amplifier section of the SN2/SN3. I had the same situation when I had an SU before I got the NDS. And I always felt that the preamp section of the SN2 was way better than the pre in the SU.
I lived with it for about 4 long months, then luckily an excellent NDS came along. And everything improved so much, part of that had to be the better SN2 preamp.
And honestly, I actually believe that I can stay where I’m at from an upgrade prospective. Other than adding PSs, cables, and isolation treatments. (and maybe eventually an ND5XS2 to include the new digital tech)
Cheers.
So i finaly came around a SN3 and want to hook it up to my Uniti star. So until i upgrade to a dedicated streamer, what is the best way to connect these:
preamp out RCA from the Star onto stream input on the SN3?
Using the SN3 as a power amp only by connecting the preamp out RCA from the Star into the power amp in DIN 4 pin ? Any cable recommendation for this scenario ?
Of course the speaker cable has to go into the corresponding device according to option 1 or option 2
