I’ve never owned an 82 or 282 but they are, after all, part of the classic heritage. I do still own a 52 and a 252. And a 72 and the … 272. The 272’s went down in price as soon as the (by then) ‘new’ streamers were announced and a 272 update was expected after they went on the market in the autumn 2018. I picked up a cheap 272 late 2018 from someone selling in anticipation of an updated 272.
So I have preamps - but I can only buy expensive naim boxes as long they are few and look nice (and no ugly floorstanders). And 272/555DR/300DR in a Fraim is compact, look nice and delivers the music. I agree the 272 is starting to look like an old soviet oscilloscope but still it passes.
But I need to deliver Airplay. Today I do it with several boxes (appletv4, hdmi splitter, format converter, reclocker) hanging at the back of the 272.
Naims mistake was not telling everyone there would no updated 272. Instead delivering vague ‘hints’, But I can understand they dont like to leave money on the table for Linn (272+555DR leaves you in DSM price area) to grab. Now the trust is starting to go - if I buy an updated 272 I know everyone else will have Airplay 7 before I get version 3.
I love the 272 and I loved the 72 when I had it. I tried the 252/SC2 route and I’m not interested in accumulating boxes again so I’ll continue to patiently wait.
I am sure it was the Munich high end of 2019 that we expected it, but who knows you might be right. The passage of time is an elastic concept right now!
I have been thinking about this for a while now and have come to the conclusion that for myself a streamer + integrated would be the smartest option. My theory is that the streamer dates fastest due to continuously developing streaming platforms and apps etc and a good integrated will last many many years without need for an update. So having a pre amp in the box with the streamer means switching the pre section unnecessarily when the time comes.
This doesn’t seem so logical. Or am I missing something?
People have Naim preamps and power amps for 20+ years but I highly doubt a streamer would be current in that time.
Maybe this as well In 2019, the Mu-So 2, SN3, and XS3 were released, and I am sure someone was unhappy that the 272-2 was not. But the email to Signals came in March 2020,
@jmtennapel only in terms of the streaming board/part. @Mark84 No reason why the rest of the preamp can’t work for 20 years. I always and still do kind of use my 272/555DR as a receiver, not relying on the streaming part as the main source so perhaps this is why I’m relaxed about a replacement happening or not. Still sounds great to me no matter what the source!
Yeah that’s not really something I’d want to do. Each to their own I guess. I thought that maybe the preamp being in the streamer box might make for better sound quality or something.
IMHO it depends on whether the streamer has sufficient performance and headroom for developments, and the new platform seems to. The rest is just software. Data rates for audio won’t grow much, I doubt that in our lifetime we will go beyond 32/384. I had my previous laptop for 10 years, from 2009 to 2019, and for a limited set of functions like audio streaming there would have been no reason to replace it even then.
Mark, I’m afraid my experience shows my other sources are better than streamer/UPNP/Asset/hard wired network. So I have no worries continuing to use as mainly a preamp if I have to.
Many who have the n272 have nap250 (which was a sweet spot system 5 years ago) so would have to start all over again with Naim integrated plus NDX2. Other options (staying with 100% Naim system) means more black boxes. I have 2 boxes which is ideal for me, I’d like to upgrade but may have to look at other options e.g. Linn.
My current solution is Sonos port which covers airplay etc etc as I have Sonos units in the rest of the house
Ahh yes, understood. That would definitely be a tricky decision. Also come to think of it it’s the natural upgrade path for uniti users who purchase a power amp. I suppose it has its place.
Yes For some replacing the nap250 with the Nait might feel like a retrograde step, and losing the nice volume control and usability of the 272 interface imo. I previously had a unity 2 which I upgraded to my present system
The previous generation of streamers head no headroom for future, more calculation intensive processing needed for the current stuff. The new generation has been designed with much more processing power, with future updates rolling off quite fast when a new streaming protocol / format etc. is available. I cannot imagine what kind of thing it can’t do that i would like to have in the next 10 years.
Of course the best thing would be to design this preamp / streamer with that in mind, where the streaming section could be upgraded. The problem is that the DAC is integrated in that unit, and i could imagine that implementing the new streamer into the DAC and the preamp at the same time is not an easy task.
Great to see so many kind comments here, hopefully Naim appreciated this enormous patience over the last 2-3 years now (at least) but if what I read above from communication excerpts means that Naim 1)does not want to or 2)cannot integrate a contemporary 272, a separate streamer or DAC, or integrate a pre in existing new streamers, honestly, of the two, I can only believe the lack of willingness?
You really do need to factor in almost 18 months of a global pandemic, which has put immense pressure on supply chains and component supplies - across every industry. No-one could have planned for that.
I did exactly as you and bought a 272/250, which was a lovely improvement over my SuperUniti. That grew over the years, adding a 555PS and swapping the 250 for a 300. Then came the fancy Super Lumina leads and whatnot and while it was great it started to feel a bit much. So out went the 272 and 300 and in came a NDX2 and Supernait 3. It’s smaller, simpler and a delight to use. System automation lets me control the volume via the NDX2 remote or the app. New features are being added, such as high res radio and of course I can use Qobuz. I can’t say the integrated feels like a step back, but then I changed speakers to match it.
I was pretty convinced that a new 272 would appear that was effectively an NDX2 with volume control and analogue inputs. The release of the Atom HE means I’m not so sure and I suspect it may be a Nova HE instead. I’m not keen on the Nova design and wouldn’t want something that didn’t match.
In 2019, the Mu-So 2, SN3, and XS3 were released, and I am sure someone was unhappy that the 272-2 was not. But the email to Signals came in March 2020,