Not this again…
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It’s the one really annoying thing with the pres that fits the topic of the thread
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I believe the sensitivity is due to the gain of the pre-amps, which was kept as it was because it sounded best that way, and it also had the fortuitous advantage of ensuring compatibility across the line as well as being backward compatible.
Understandable, but the forwards compatibility is so-so 
Do you happen to know if unbalanced up to 7:45 is acceptable? It seems excessive. I borrowed my dealer’s 252 and it does not have the issue at all, volume centered nearly down to 0. My 252 was sent back to the distributor who said that they would put in a “selected poti, best we have”, and when it came back it was frankly not different at all - or, well, the only difference was that apparently they put the balance knob on a different notch so now the LED is not centered at normal levels. Which obviously did nothing to fix the real problem.
I did try to get a hold of my dealer to discuss this, and I am sure they would be super helpful as always, but it is difficult right now with Christmas looming and a full lockdown starting tomorrow. In any case, it would be helpful to know what Naim considers acceptable.
(and frankly the “work” by the distributor is a bit disappointing - me driving units back and forth, not having new unit at home, etc., and then not only no discernible improvement but making it worse)
Edit a few months later in case anyone comes across this in a search: I was too hard on the distributor as I was being a bit confused by the whole situation. They did NOT recenter the balance knob as far as I can tell. The exchanged volume pot DID make a difference; not huge, but it did make it so that volume is balanced down to 7:30 (not 7:45 as I wrote - maybe this got better over time? I don’t know), when previously it was unbalanced below 8:00. This was actually a useful improvement that fixed the issue in most listening scenarios. I only go lower than 7:30 if it’s after midnight and listening to bass heavy music. So all good. If you encounter the issue (as others have, too), I suggest talking to dealer/Naim.
It’s the Red Book that’s wrong and has been since it was written. Why was the output voltage set so high? To try and give CD a much needed edge over vinyl, things sound more impressive in a comparison if they’re louder. We then get the loudness wars down the line and Chord going for an output of 3V to make matters even worse. It’s the audio equivalent of polyphosphates.
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I am just guessing, but possibly the CD output level arose from the voltage levels already in existence for digital signals pre digital audio, the conversion process to an analogue waveform simply yielding a voltage level in the Volt range, and it seeming a negative step to reduce it to then have to amplify again.
It does seem to me that preamp inputs are unnecessarily sensitive, though I understand it if they are designed for lower level analogue inputs - though an attenuator on the digital inputs would make more sense than using the VC over only 1/10th of its travel.
Better would be a separate preamp section designed for the level of digital source signals, or of course if no analogue sources the higher sensitivity input can be dispensed with completely - or the preamp can be dispensed with completely if either the VC and suitable buffering etc are incorporated in the DAC, or if it is incorporated in a power amp, given that there is not the same need for separation at the voltage levels concerned. Incorporating in the DAC, as for example Chord has done, makes sense because it enables the usual wide choice of pre-existing power amps.
And yet a Chord DAC was a solution to this problem for me. My 282 had a ridiculously limited usable volume range requiring the tiniest nudge to adjust it. Dialling down the variable volume of a Chord DAC (first Hugo, then Dave) was a great way to attenuate the excessive 2.1V output from my NDX.
I believe CD players in the 80s started around 1.5v and have been creeping up ever since. But the mid 90s everything was >2v.
I have a feeling that a new all in one streamer/pre/power will come out soon and a new streamer pre but for me the more interesting question is, where amplification is concerned have Naim been left behind by the competition over that period?
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where I am? I am in a very happy place musically which is all I ever wanted from my system
DR on AMP’s & PSU just added to the music, having owned 202.282 and now 252 all of the Pre’s so I am at the end on 252/300DR
Vinyl is my preffered source and the introduction of the new Karsouel bearing (under £800) is a revelation on any LP12
stuck in the mud??? well may be but I am more than happy to Wallow for some time to come
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I am with you Antz with same amps but non DR. Since adding a Urika 1 I find the relative volumes between my LP12 and CDS3 very similar with little adjustment of volume necessary if I switch sources. I don’t t have the problems of volume control that others are mentioning here. All seamless and sounds great. A useable range of 8-11 seems fine to me, perhaps I have just got used to it?
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I’m all for a 500 series all integrated but let’s keep the core products; 500, 552,300, 252,250, etc… That way the upgrade path is clear and readily available.
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a 572 in 2021 
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Since the Statement launch I have been expecting a StatementNait, bet they have one in the work
Well Vitus have one at the bargain price of £89K, so it won’t be long😀
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Seems to me that in an all-Naim system of the same generation, you shouldn’t need to add 3rd party components in the middle of the source and pre in order to get the volume right… even if it is a Chord!
It would be nice if that was the case, yes, but using a (Chord) DAC as a volume attenuator has the added side effect of a subjective uplift in sound quality. In the case of the Hugo/Qutest it can be quite a cost effective upgrade too. I guess you could just use an attenuated cable instead
I bet anything they don’t.
Seriously tempted with vitus SIA-025 mk2… and I can reduce box count from 252/sc/300dr 4 to 1
But hell no… or should I? 
This is true you can find early recordings done in a all valve studio that have amazingly open and life like sound. You can even find similar from later years when Transistor technology was in its infancy and a poor substitute.
What you have today is sound personal who have never experienced a Analogue studio and its fine tuning of microphones and the nuance of analogue. Their knowledge comes from 2nd rate digital and Toys that do everything for them. And so no recording quality has not advanced.
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