Will a 300 improve anything

Hi-Fi Corner
62

In common with many other opinions in this thread I would say “yes, a 300 WILL improve everything for you.”

As others have said, it drives pretty much any speaker with ease and will deliver more enjoyment through mid range, bass and high frequencies- especially bass. Vocals will benefit too.

My journey over the last few years was 200 → 250DR → 300DR → 350 mono blocks. The 300DR was a massive improvement. (Note the use of the word “was” - there will be no further changes)

I’ll refrain from commenting on the move to 350 as it’s far removed from the OP question and subject.

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63

Toon, I think the 300 is a endgame for me. Im convinced that the last bit up the stairways to a 500 is a minimum improvement - for me, I should say

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It’s called “the law of diminishing returns” and it’s very real, although not widely recognized in this space, for some even heretical.

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Is this where I can ask for advice or should I find another thread regarding box placement?

I’m waiting for 300 Dr and Ps to arrive at my address one of these days. I’m looking forward to it, but there’s also a lot of work to be done to place the boxes correctly. I don’t have much space in my small living room, so my system is in a stacking order, a column, with about 10 cm between each unit. It’s not pretty now and it might be a bit pressurised, but at this point there’s nothing else to do.

My order is from bottom to top:

My current 250DR (to be replaced by 300DR) 10 cm above floor

CD555PS

XPS

NAC 272

CDX2

None of the current burndy cables touch the floor, but it will be difficult when I get 300 and Ps, if they have to be in the same order, so 300 starting from floor level.
Can anyone here come up with a qualified explanation for the stacking?
I’m actually thinking of a solution where I can “tie” 300 burndy up with a string so they don’t touch the floor.

66

I think I would do something along the lines of the following, with PSUs on the bottom, followed by everything else on top.

—top—
CDX2
NAC272
300 head unit
CD555PS
XPS
300PS
– bottom –

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Thank you Josquin, for this plan with the row order.

I can see the idea of stretching the burndys a little so they don’t touch the floor.

If you count the boxes, there are now six, before there were five, and that leaves me with a Rega Aria Riaa, which is on top of a shelf above the CD player, and it needs to be placed in the ‘tower’ somehow.

The only option I have at the moment is to place it on top of my CDX2.

In your opinion, would it be okay to place it there? As I see it, there is no strong current in the CDX2, as it gets its power from my XPS, which is located furthest away as the second box at the bottom.

Could this RIAA box interfere with any signals, or will there be significant interference if I place it on top of the CDX2? Does it matter if I place it on the right or left side on top of the CDX2?

I would be grateful for any input on this matter. Or am I a bit neardy now?

68

I replaced my 250 non DR by a 300DR in 2017.

The difference was is immediately audible with the 300DR being more precise and detailed. The sound was deeper. No regret.

I should add that I have a NC250 in another system in a different place. It is also clearly an improvement over the classical 250.

If possible, I would try both and choose the one that suits you best.

Of course, there is also the 350. But that is a much larger budget.

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69

So they are only serviced by Naim? The boxes I am receiving tomorrow are from 2016, so I can apparently enjoy them a little longer before they need servicing. I hope they provide service by then, because I cannot afford it right now.

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Mine are the same age and I’m not going to consider servicing until they fail, start sounding noticeably worse or they reach (at least) 15 years old.

That was just Class A that I spoke to by the way.
You might find someone else that will service them.

Anyway, I wouldn’t worry about it, just enjoy them.

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I suppose you try putting your Rega phono-stage on top, although with it that way I’d be inclinded to leave the CDX2 powered off when playing records, and the Aria powered off when playing CDs.

In my system I leave my NDX2/XPSDR powered off when I’m not using it and playing records, but I use it very infrequently anyway.

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Yes Josquin, exactly, the phono amplifier will be placed on top of the CDX2. Okay, thank you that is certainly a good approach. I occasionally switch between both media, vinyl and CD, therefore both are switched on. However, I may need to organise my listening in a different way. Thank you for your input.

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Josquin was kind enough to suggest this arrangement in my setup. I can only have them stacked that way.
It has to be a struggle and considerations have to be made.
It turns out that my Ethernet cable does not reach up to my NAC 272, and I don’t want to buy an intermediary such as a switch and extra cable just to get 20 cm more up to my NAC. I don’t have good experience with new joints and emergency solutions
Now I’d like your opinion on whether it’s okay to leave the 272 on the third shelf from the top and then the 300DR on the second shelf from the top?
There is a good 20 cm between each unit

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That should still work out OK.

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75

I know you don’t like the idea but a Stack Audio SmoothLan comes with 200mm Cat7 or 8 cable together with the box should give you enough of an extension to the network cable. It should also give you a worthwhile SQ uplift as well. Just a thought.

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