My Supernait 3 arrived today, and is currently breaking in on a wide range of music. It sounds unexpectedly fabulous right out of the gate. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
I started on down this path 3 years ago after buying a pair of Focal Sopra 2s. I’d heard their predecessors at a shop in Chicago and fallen in love. My Thiel’s weren’t cutting it, so I sold them and bought the Sopras to go with my McIntosh integrated (which had replaced some awful amplification from Wyred4Sound).
That spring, I was at Axpona and swung by the Focal room to see what else they had to show, and that’s when I saw the Naim Nova, months before it’s commercial release. It sounded great, in a totally different room, driving a bookshelf version of my speakers, and I thought hmmm…
That brought me to this forum, where I asked if I should get the Nova, or separates, or go half-way with a 272 and power amp? A certain flat fish we all know and love pushed hard for the 272, but many others insisted the 282 was better. Of course the 252 is better than that. And we all know the 552 is where you really want to be. And… Yes, you know how this forum works.
I flew to Oxford on business, and emailed two dealerships in advance to audition 272 and 300. I had already decided the madness of five (five!!!) boxes for a 282 preamp was not for me (1 for the preamp, 1 for the Hicap, 1 for the NAPSC, 1 for the phono stage, and 1 for the headphone). The first dealership had nothing ready, they just wanted to sell me a Devialet (garbage to my ears). The second was much better. I really liked the 300, but was a bit underwhelmed by the naked 272, plus it was already old tech compared to the Nova. That night in my hotel (Oxford Parsonage - highly recommended!), I found a good deal on a Classe Sigma SSP preamp, done! I bought the 300 the next day, and when it arrived at my Oxford address, I forwarded it to the US. Half price from US prices, not bad.
I lived happily this way for a year and a half, waiting for an updated 272, and then Naim released the NDX2. Having read the manual carefully, I saw that I could connect it directly into my 300 and voila! No need for a preamp. I sold my Classe, bought the NDX2, and prepared for audio nirvana… only to be terribly disappointed. Denizens of this forum (including one Mr. Dane - what does he know?!) warned me I needed a preamp, but I just figured audiophiles say you “need” all sorts of things you don’t need at all (e.g. directional speaker wire, thousand dollar ethernet cable, etc, etc). Alas, the denizens were right. The NDX2 sounded awful going directly into the 300.
Preamp time. I already had a source, a new 272 was nowhere to be seen, and it was obvious I needed something betwixt source and power amp. 202, I thought, but no they told me! That’s a missmatch. 282 then? Well, you really want a 252. And a Supercap. But I may want a turntable? Then you’ll need a box for that. How about headphones? Another box. So either 5 boxes for a 282 and feel like a cheapskate, or four for a 252 (and a lot more money!)? Either way, I’ll always be thinking of the 552…
No! So I followed a certain Gallic chicken into vacuum pre nirvana. PrimaLuna Dialogue Premium Preamp arrived and worked wonderfully! For 3 months. Then a tube went. Replacement tube lasted 1 month. Replacement for that replacement lasted for 2 months. Then I lost the left channel. Return period over, I was stuck with an unreliable pain in the neck. Busy at work, I didn’t have time to play fix-the-stereo so I stopped listening to music.
This brings me to December of '19. On vacation I vowed to sort out my system. Debugging revealed that I was wrong, the preamp was fine for once. It was my NDX2 that had lost the left channel. So I sent it in to replace a bad relay. But I still didn’t want to muck with finicky tubes anymore. And I wanted a turntable to go on the shelf currently occupied by the enormous tube amp. Still no 272.
But the new Supernait 3 had come out! It has a phono stage, power supply, pre, power, and headphone in one box! The review on HiFi Critic (which I trust, base on experience) is glowing. I find a brand-new unopened unit at a steep discount from UK retail. Bought. Shipped. Delivered. Converted to 120V.
Which brings me full circle to listening to it right now as it breaks in. It really is wonderful, already. Instead of seven boxes (five for the 282 and two for the 300) I have one. Just one. Instead of 3 boxes (one for the primaluna and two for the 300) I have one, and it has a phono stage and a headphone amp!
Sound comparison? Well I’ve never heard the 282 into 300 so I don’t know, but I don’t want a seven box system so I’ll pass on hearing it. What about the Primaluna into 300? The Supernait is better.
The Naim faithful will be nodding their heads now, muttering about synergies and so on. Some may find my old threads and point out that they had told me so! They had. Synergy apparently matters a lot more than I presumed. I really should listen better.
The Supernait doesn’t have quite the bass of the Primaluna and 300 (which was better than the McIntosh and Classe preamps into the 300 in every respect). It’s maybe not quite as good at huge orchestral passages, though that may evolve during break in. But the Supernait is more, how shall I say, delicate? I hate audiophile descriptions. But it’s more touching, emotional if you will. From the female vocals to Johnny Cash. From Mozart’s Requiem to Dvorak’s Piano Quintet (81-Richter). It’s just marvelous.
I can only imagine what a fully specced out 282 and 300 would have sounded like, but I’m happy to not find out. This is all the amplifier I need. Of course I’ve said that before, but I mean it this time!
With the money made by selling Primaluna and 300, I bought the Supernait, and a VPI Super Prime Scout turntable which arrives on Wednesday. And I put some cash in my pocket for LPs, Digital Downloads, and maybe a HicapDR… No!!! No more upgrades.
What a journey. Sorry for the long ramble, but I figure we’re all trapped in our houses so hopefully it was at least interesting.
The moral of the story? Some denizens of this forum are right more often than I care to admit (though not about freaking wires!). Naim makes the best audio kit (kit? I’m starting to sound English!), I’ve ever heard. At every price point. And finally, climbing down the ladder and off the upgrade train is much easier than I had thought. Thank you Naim.
Now that I’m happy, I expect the 272 successor will be announced tomorrow, but I’ve moved on. And I’m delighted. Again, thank you for the NDX2, the Supernait 3, and the combo of the two. Naim earns every penny.
—Pedro