I sold my 272, 300 and largish speakers last year, and bought an NDX2, SN3 and some ProAc Tablette 10 Signatures. I kept the power supply I had on the 272 and used it on the NDX2. No loss of enjoyment at all, in fact it’s much more engaging. I put that down to the better source. The SN3 is a superb amplifier, whether you need the phono stage or not.
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Easy enough to look beyond this thread. Biggest growth area across the industryis single box systems or multipurpose boxes. Whilst we all have aspired to separates at various levels and many have achieved that you do tend to find that people with separates aspire to upgrade regardless, whereas people with less boxes only aspire to separates if a single box was where they started.
People who have downgraded aren’t lining up to tell us what an awful mistake they’ve made.
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There’s a difference between a generation not wanting all the boxes, and older people with larger systems downsizing… and I wonder what proportion in fact of hifi enthusiasts are choosing to downsize.
This prompts a poll, albeit that it will only reflect members of the forum, and only those whose eye is caught by the thread… So I’ll create one!
Biggest growth doesn’t necessarily mean it is people with existing good systems that are going for it, it could be just that manufacturers have found a way to tap into the people who haven’t gone the more conventional separates hifi way. Anyway, my poll might elucidate a quantitative indication of people here.
I imagine if it is a real trend to reduce, among hifi enthusiasts, Naim will need to recognise it.
Oh no. I totally agree with you. A bit of both clearly. I do think Naim have already recognised it though. It’s just not something you shout from the rooftops.
No-one is going to sell a single box solution as a means to downsize though. That would be bizarre. “Get rid of our stuff to buy less of our stuff” or similar.
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More realignment than downsizing perhaps, rationalisation of the need for CD players, turntables and preamps in a digital environment. The focus moving to streaming platforms, DACs and servers and as a consequence some downsizing.
Others may decide to stay with what they have.
Oh for sure Nigel the Tablettes 10 Sigs will get a look in any downsizing situation, based on your and others’ reports - will depend a lot on the room, wherever the next room may be.
Mike,
May I ask which flight cases you used? 1900 cds into 2 sounds very efficient.
Thanks
Steve
Spot on. Went to a Nova , kept CDX2 and NAT03 -
Appreciate that the Nova is a compromise, but unless you get a Statement most things are.
Thanks - I will post some candid feedback when I get it hooked up to the 250DR; I am almost as excited about the prospective power amp journey ahead as I am about the Mytek itself. Maybe I will end up with a NAP 500DR 
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Sure, I got two NEO black aluminiums off Amazon. Cost about £58 each. They come with rails and 1,000 hanging paper holders per case. You can only store the CDs rather than the covers but it works beautifully.
I’d make no great claims for the quality of the product. One good kick would dent it but in terms of doing the job it’s needed for they’re great.
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I think it also depends where you are on your journey. I have certainly been through a ‘manfi’ stage where the more boxes and the bigger the better! Then went through a minimal stage where I had a CD player and an integrated amp, probably somewhere between now.
Thinking about it I did the same thing with my other passion, Photography! At one stage I had all the SLR camera bodies extra batteries, big lenses, filters, studio setup ect…now pretty much use my phone for photographs!
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I do feel that just about everyone will at some point in their life downsize, or just shut the door on the hifi.
I am also sure naim and all the other manufacturers still in this game, know for sure where the market is and heading right now and its not 10 plus box systems, yes you will always get a few guys like us, but there are not that many younger people jumping in.
I go round 100s of homes each year, you dont see much hifi gear at all, and if you do they tend to be the older generation.
But what i was getting at more so is, with what i have said above, i think we will see much more very good one box gear coming out to fill the gap, plus there’s already some very good gear you can buy, that is very nice sounding, just neeed naim to join in
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I hadn’t come across this particular DAC prior to your post, but given its price point (no guarantee of quality of course) way above that of both the Brooklyn+ and Manhatten DACs, I would wager that it will sound very good indeed. I have the (much cheaper) Brooklyn DAC+ in my second system, and it sounds pretty good. I deem it to be slightly better in this system than my mk1 Chord Hugo, so it’s certainly no slouch. Your Mytek Empire streaming DAC will almost certainly be much better.
On word of warning. You say that you are attracted by the offer of a lifetime Roon membership. Bear in mind that you will need to install the Roon Core on an appropriate piece of hardware. I would very strongly advise you to purchase an Intel NUC (something like an 8i5) and install Roon Rock on the (dedicated) NUC. In my opinion, this is the best, easiest (without purchasing a stupidly expensive Roon Nucleus ) and most stable way to install and run Roon.
I hope your Brooklyn Empire streamer lives up to expectations!
SN555 
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When I was 10 my $9.00 Sony transistor AM radio sounded fantastic. At 12 my $30 Stars and Stripes portable record player sounded amazing. At 16, my parents’ built in sound system blew me away. At 18 my Harman Kardon-NAD CD- Mirage speakers sounded phenomenal….my Bowers and Wilkins, my Marantz, my Geneva,…my Naim…sounded astonishingly good….!
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That’s how it is when it’s about the music more than the gear.
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A move to a different voltage (from the UK to Canada) caused me to totally rethink my system. My starting point was to consolidate my owed media from LPs and CDs to flac files. From thereon, the path was clear and I ended up replacing a 7 or 8 box system with just a SuperUniti and a NAS device tucked away in another room. My biggest challenge was to find and configure a music server that would give me an old-fashioned browsing experience, just like a shelf of LPs or a rack of CDs. Nostalgia really, but part of the overall experience that I enjoy.
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What did you do with your physical media?
I gave away the LPs and CDs to charity shops or to friends (who in turn pledged a contribution to charity). Hopefully a win-win, somebody will get enjoyment out of them and some good causes will benefit.
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