What (& how big) is the difference between 282 and 252?

Not for me it won’t be! I use MF pre and power amplification.

I can’t afford a slippery slope of 282, 252, SC, 250dr, 300dr da,da,da. You could be in at least £15k before you think you are happy.

Nah. Some people buy a new carriage for their model train, others a ps for the amp. Nothing wrong with a good hobby.

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Roberto - it isn’t compulsory. You can stop at an ND5XS/XS3 or even a Muso.

Regards,

Lindsay

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Or spent north of £300 for a OO Sutton Loco Works Class 24/ Sulzer Type 2, with sound fitted and stay alive cap. :grinning:

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Do you drive a car?

Is it a Ferrari/Lamborghini/Bentley/McLaren…?

Why not? because you’re perfectly happy with the car you have, and the others are not worth the extra money to you. Doesn’t have to be a slippery slope in cars, doesn’t have to be in hi-fi.

But if you do want better, more specialised, more nuanced, then you can go there if you wish to spend the extra - it’s all a choice…

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I drive the car I can afford. I’d like a McLaren though. But not very practical.

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@billywindsock

Sounds great, whatever it is…

I look at it in a different way. I started with a humble Nait 3 and made a few changes until I reached my current 552/300 DR. However, I was happy all the time. If I needed to, I could easily go back to the Nait and listen to music for hours on end, although admittedly listening fatigue would set in more rapidly

So no, I personally don’t have to spend £15K before I think I’m happy.

Claude

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Those were the two areas that I spotted straight away as well.

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The problem is that it may be quite clear to someone that has knowledge of Naim. However to someone like me who has not got a clue it is very confusing.

For example, these are the thought processes in my head when reading the info:

“the 282 comes with a NAPSC” - in my brain that translates that it comes with power supply and is ready to use. Similar to the NAP300dr.

“In addition it needs a separate power supply” - Errr, what? Confusion starts to invade the brain.

“This can come from one of the smaller power amps” - Hold on! How can the smaller amps power the 282 but the bigger ones can’t?? It goes against the belief that bigger and better models can have more features than the smaller ones.

“power supply can come from a separate FlatCap XS, HighCap, or SuperCap…The 282 however cannot use all the supplies from the SuperCap” - Which one is better? If the 282 can’t use the full potential of the SuperCap then what’s the point in spending substantially more on the SC?

Consequently :exploding_head: :exploding_head: :exploding_head:

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Except that it doesnt. The 200 can power the 282 but the 300 can’t, despite being a better amp and with a separate power supply. :man_shrugging:

Well, realistically it is not £2k but rather £7k because with a 252 you have no choice but to buy the SuperCap powersupply.

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I do suggest you pop along to your Naim dealer… make a day or trip of it… spend some time to get familiar with the products, listen to them (after all the main difference, is difference in sonic performance), and let your dealer answer your questions…

It’s what I did when I first got into Naim all those years ago…

There is a reason why Naim only sell their higher end products through dealers…

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If you read the threads of old…the 252 has always been a bit marmite
The 282 less so

For me…I found that I disliked marmite…but not before I’d gone ahead and bought a 252 and SC dr
you live and learn… but a LOT longer home trial would have helped… as initially I was impressed

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I think that was more with the old non DR power-supplies. The 252 was transformed when it was upgraded with its SuperCapDR. But even so it is not as forward as the 552 and a lot less forward than the 282.

Sadly…the SC dr didn’t help me love it

Sure, it’s not for everyone which is why there is a choice, as after all speaker choice and room acoustics become pivotal here. I didn’t really fall in my love with my 282 when I had it, but I did with my 252 and then 552.

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Yes, this is what the page is saying: " one box houses the amplification circuitry, while another – the 300 PS – hosts the power supply components." These are the PS components for the 300

what-how-big-is-the-difference-between-282-and-252/11996

Sophistication…big to some and not so much to others. So many things at play, not least musical taste.

G

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I know, I was there not too long ago. It could indeed be made easier, but it is doable with some patience. By the way, the amplifier product pages have the amplification connection guide in the manual section at the bottom. This has diagrams for how to connect the various phono amps, preamps, power supplies and power amps together, which is helpful to get a complete picture.

For example, these are the thought processes in my head when reading the info: “the 282 comes with a NAPSC” - in my brain that translates that it comes with power supply and is ready to use.

It comes with a power supply but is not necessarily ready to use as is somewhat explained in the subsequent sentences :slight_smile: - “The NAPSC independently powers the NAC 282’s digital and control circuits, leaving its audio circuits to either the power supply of a NAC 155 XS or NAP 200 power amplifier, or to one of our standalone FlatCap XS, HiCap or SuperCap power supplies”

Similar to the NAP300dr.

The 300 comes with its own complete power supply, true.

“In addition it [the 282] needs a separate power supply” - Errr, what? Confusion starts to invade the brain.

Yes, because “The NAPSC independently powers the NAC 282’s digital and control circuits, leaving its audio circuits to either the power supply of a NAC 155 XS or NAP 200 power amplifier, or to one of our standalone FlatCap XS, HiCap or SuperCap power supplies.”

“This can come from one of the smaller power amps” - Hold on! How can the smaller amps power the 282 but the bigger ones can’t?? It goes against the belief that bigger and better models can have more features than the smaller ones.

Smaller power amp models try to keep the cost down by having circuitry to supply part of the power needed by the (lower) preamps. Larger pre and power amp models prioritize sound quality over price by focusing on themselves, with the expectation that you (have to) buy a separate power supply for the preamp.

Think about it in the way that a race track Ferrari does not have all the convenience features as a family car, although it’s a bigger, better, and more expensive car. But the thing is, the Ferrari focuses on performance, ignoring other considerations like price and convenience. It kind of expects you to buy another car that is optimized for shopping trips

“power supply can come from a separate FlatCap XS, HighCap, or SuperCap…The 282 however cannot use all the supplies from the SuperCap”. Which one is better?

FlatCap XS is the lowest model, then HighCap, then SuperCap

The FlatCap is from the lower XS series, the others from the Classic Series. As mentioned before, the series are ordered from lower = left to higher = right if you go to the main Products page, this is rather obvious IMO :slight_smile:

In the second paragraph of the 282 page: “Performance upgradable with FlatCap XS, HiCap or SuperCap power supply; can also be powered from the preamp inputs of the NAP 155 XS or NAP 200 power amplifier”
This one is it’s just straightforward, the FC, HC, SC are listed from low to high as usual, it would be weird if it was different. It’s easy to overthink it :slight_smile:

If the 282 can’t use the full potential of the SuperCap then what’s the point in spending substantially more on the SC?

Although the 282 cannot use the full potential, the supplies that it can use are still better. The SuperCap has a larger transformer, larger capacitors, different circuitry

Consequently :exploding_head: :exploding_head:

I know, you will get there soon :slight_smile:

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