What was the last bit of gear you bought in 2024?

Instantly with the streamer, I noticed a difference in the bass, tighter and deeper, then space between instruments, better imagery and a more articulate presentation. The noise floor was lowered. The tops were smoother and you could better hear the different voices when multitracked. There is a similar improvement with my LP12 through the NVC TT & NPX TT. I now feel that I have two excellent sources where the 332 gets the best from then. Whilst from a pure hi-fi perspective the 333 might be slightly better I see them as being different and giving two equally good presentations of the music. So far the impression I have is that the 333 is slightly tighter whilst the LP12 voicing comes through. But the system is still settling in and I think will get better over the coming days and weeks.
I have no plans to change my NC250 for a 350.

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Good plan if you want to hear both channels! :upside_down_face:

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Many thanks for the details Paul, I appreciate it. I was afraid that if I go into 333/332 direction, I’d need to replace NC250 as well. Good to know that there’s synergy across 300 and 200 series. I’m now even more tempted to try it out myself. :slight_smile:

Some say the 350s are a bigger step up on the 250 than the 333/332 over the 222, even without the 300. I suspect this will depend on room and speakers to some extent though. I’ve ruled them out due to cost :open_mouth:.

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Watching the delivery van on the moving map…… an interesting evening beckons.

ATB, J

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Incoming ready for case clean

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I guess this might need a service :joy:

Fairy liquid and a soft bathroom scourer

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Afternoon Keltik, is it much of a faff to get the covers off, thinking my 282 could do with a wash and brush up.

Tbh the pre amps are very easy to clean.
Hope it’s ok to say … 4 screws and a hex bolt and slip inner tray forward ( so you don’t snag facia and chip crack or even shear off a bit)
Edit … Classic series inner tray only slips forward .

Please don’t open anything with a transformer or mains supply unless you know what you are doing .My knowledge is restricted to CB and Olive equipment . Items with suspension also need extreme care .

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These are also very usefull

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Well it’s here, and, apart from tidying up some desk space…

Aside from the trashed packaging and running in the worst possible environment, Apple Time Capsule providing household WiFi and LAN default gateway to the left and Synology dual LAN NAS to the right and using the supplied wall wart PSU, what do I think?

Streaming to my Atom HE, overall a slightly cleaner sound, a little brighter top end, neither of which I find offensive/unnacceptable, so overall worth it…. at the price. Undoubtedly a nice to have 7.5/10.

Edit #1: After a bit of listening to Jerry Goldsmith et al through Tidal and Qobuz, I’d say the bottom end is up a notch or two as well.

Edit #2: An overall cleaning up of the soundstage, best shown, so far, in The Old Lie (Jormungandr), a complex mix of voices, sounds, explosions and and underlying musical theme (in other words, a totally chaotic mix). Using the Cisco 2960, the voices in particular were muddied to the point of being almost unintelligible, using the EE8 the various streams in the mix are dramatically separated and clear. I’ve used this as a test album in the past and definitely separates the wheat from the chaff.

Enough for today.

Will report on listening through my main system, on the far side of a WiFi bridge, a bit later on, but undoubtedly so far so really nice :grin:.

Edit #3: Listening on my NC system, no change whatsoever - because the data path completely bypasses the EE8 :smiling_face:. Might consider adding an EE1 to the NSC222 network interface, what do you think?

ATB, J

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A Heed Orbiter turntable powersupply/controller.
A very good upgrade if you have a 110 AC synchronous motor.
The effect is a bit similar to adding a Hicap to an amp.

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I just bought a new rug to go in front of my speakers, due in about three weeks. I also just upgraded my internet provider to one gig fibre, so a new box for that. Up until today I could not stream high res Qobuz without pauses, and 4 K video without buffering. Now I am currently listening to high res AND streaming 4 K videos at the same time. Qobuz is now allowing me to hear just how good my Lumin P1 streamer really is.


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Speaking of opening… Would love to see what my 250DR looks like on the inside but don’t know which screws to loosen, anyone know? On the other hand, I don’t want to make mistakes, so if it’s difficult, I’d rather refrain.

Here some pictures.

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Yes, It’s really neat. That’s why I would like to see it with my own eyes.

  1. Flip the amp over.
  2. Remove the feet.
  3. Remove all of the screws on the bottom.
  4. Slide the amp out of the case.
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Thanks, but which of the screws are the set screws?

All of them. Remove every screw on the bottom.