Where does the 272 lie in Naim’ hierarchy of amps?
I was thinking of getting Naim streamer and replacing the 272
but not sure with which preamp ?
And would a move to a lesser ,so to speak, preamp impact greatly with my 250/XPS?
thanks
Mike
Where does the 272 lie in Naim’ hierarchy of amps?
I was thinking of getting Naim streamer and replacing the 272
but not sure with which preamp ?
And would a move to a lesser ,so to speak, preamp impact greatly with my 250/XPS?
thanks
Mike
A 282 would be a good start…needs a HiCap as a minimum though.
General consensus seems to be about 202 level maybe a bit below. Som282 is the next logical step, or wait for the 272 replacement which I hope will be a bit better, especially in terms of its pre-amp
I’m not sure that really is the consensus. Whatever, to move from the 272 one is looking at an NDX2 and 282/Hicap.
When you say 250/XPS, are you aware that the XPS powers the 272, not the 250?
Having spent quite a bit of time comparing the 272 with other Naim systems I would put a bare 272 at a similar level to a Supernait, and a 272/XPS at around 202 level.
The level of the 272 very much depends on what you are powering it with. A bare 272 isn’t comparable to one powered by a 555PS. Granted this applies to the other pre-amps but you don’t find many 152s or 202s powered by Supercaps.
When I was about to sell my 272 (with 555DR) I tried it using the preamp section only fed by ND5XS2.
In that configuration the 272 preamp was (not surprisingly) by far the best I ever heard it.
I ran a non Naim DAC directly from my server into my ex 272/555, and it was a massive improvement over the 272’s DAC/ streamer. Beg, steal or borrow one to try for yourself - you may well find that a modern DAC for few £100 into your 272 gives you a very large improvement putting off your desire to spend a shed load of money moving up the hierarchy.
Streamers have moved on quite a bit since the 272.
To get a worthwhile upgrade, I’d agree with @anon4489532 - an NDX2 , 282 and Hicap will give more of what everything good about the 272 with modern streaming architecture.
Can you keep the XPS and use it to power an NDX2? I added a s/h XPS2 to mine and thought it worthwhile versus the NDX2’s internal PS.
Some rate the ND5 XS2 via an nDAC as about as good as the NDX2, though a naked ND5 XS2 is to my ear not that close to the NDX2, if that helps your options.
If you’d rather spend less in one hit than anything involving a 282 and don’t want to step back toward the old 82, then @JimDog 's suggestion looks a strong one - you can put (say) NDX2 or ND5 XS2 through the pre-amp section of the 272, at least for now.
I think @JimDog, @NickofWimbledon and I are saying pretty much the same thing although my advice takes account of the cost of living crises, lol!
yep just speaking comparatively
right might try just using preamp of 272
thanks
I went from a SU to a 272/250DR and the 272 by itself is quite good with the 250DR. I added a 555PS a couple months after which was a considerable upgrade. The VFM of these three boxes should not be ignored if you’re not wanting to spend a lot of $$. If you’re going separates I agree with others you’ll likely want a NDX2/282/HC but that’s a pretty good $$ outlay but to be expected going with separates.
If you ever fancy an experiment, try running any basic streamer/dac into 272/555 as just a preamp - and let us know what it sounds like.
I’ve read where people have had good results with that. Not sure what streamer/DAC I would try though. The 555 benefits the digital side, right? So would the external dac still benefit from the 555?
10 points below 282 perhaps?
If you look at the naim price list you will see where the 272 fits in the hierarchy.
indeed I will thanks
I disagree, i owned a 272 and now own a supernait. The 272 is a better pre amp . A good streamer and you need an ndx2 for an Sn3 to compete with a 272 soundwise. but i think the 272 is better purely as a pre. I went with sn3 because i wanted ndx2 and i didnt want any redundancy in my system. Also went source first for a clearer upgrade path. I dont think either combo is a lot worse or better than the other. The streaming platform is better with ndx2 and the 272 is not a roon endpoint like the ndx2 is, however the SOUND of the 272 as pre is way underrated.
I am running a NAC 202 and NDX, both bare, into a NAP 200. I previously had a 172. I did look at a 272, but found the NDX/202 superior. You can of course say that the 272 deserves an XPS or 555 to perform, but looking at the dollars, I feel the better way to go is always in favour of the separates. Especially now there is the NDX2.
I have also put better power supplies onto both my pre and streamer, and having tried a few permutations, think they always favour putting your money into the source first. So I am heading for an NDX2, PS555, 252 combo before I jump to a NAP300.