In my experince adding or upgrading power supplies usually makes a noticeable difference and certainly not one that you need to strain to hear. However, one thing I would say is that the improvements can be variable, not usually quantitatively in my experience but rather qualitatively.
It can sometimes be a little disconcerting. You may expect certain sort of change to occur and in fact you get something a little different. I’ve certainly experienced that. At first, you can feel underwhelmed. It wasn’t what you quite hoped for perhaps. But after further listening the penny suddenly drops, it all makes sense and you realise that it’s perhaps even more of a worthwhile improvement than you expected. That’s been my experience anyway.
I added a XPS DR this year to my NDX2 and was pretty astonished, what happened. The bass was tighter, more substance down low, the imaging also got tighter while the stage opened up, in the mids and upper regions it didn‘t do a lot more, minor improvements, but they were noticeable.
Impressive upgrade for me. I think, it always depends on the system, the room and personal preferences.
When I added an XPS DR to my NDX 2 both my wife and I were astonished at the change - both of us had low expectations when we home demo’d. That was with a SN2 (no Hi-Cap) and Focal Kanta 2s. More and better better quality bass, improved soundstage, and just a more “organic,” together presentation. We were so impressed we eventually traded it in for a 555PS DR (that we also home demo’d) which took the NDX 2 to a whole new level.
The 282 really shows off the XPSDR and 555PS DR upgrades extremely well. For some strange reason I liked the NDX2 better without XPSDR on the 252DR. Would try a 555PS DR but it’s a secondary source.
The question for me now is do I stick, twist or fold? Would I get more of an uplift if I added a Hicap dr to my sn3 or should I be happy with the still excellent sound of a 2 box setup? The sonic improvements the xps dr brings to my system listening with my ears is not enough to justify keeping it.
How long have you had the XPSDr? Mine did take about 2 weeks to start living up to its potential. I know it sounds suspicious but try massaging the burdy cable having it as distressed as possible.
im not sure what your rack arrangement is like but can you have xps dr and supernait together and your source next to them? i have found with naim once you start to seperate psu’s it makes sense to get them away from the none psu stuff. something to think about
Just to add my two-penneth and this is slightly different to your usage but I found a huge difference when I added an XPS DR to my n-DAC - it took it from a good DAC to superb - just so much more of everything - PRaT in abundance - etc etc! What power cable are you using on the XPS - I had a recent PowerLine Lite. Mine was a preloved unit with a no-name power cable. It was much better with the PowerLine Lite. Just a thought….
Interesting comments about the XPS. My only experience is with an olive on the CDS2 and XPS2 on the CDS3. No comparison experience. I jumped straight to the 555 for my 272, no regrets there.
And it should not touch the floor, or any other cable, or the rack, or anything else.
The time when the user often notices how good an Naim external power supply is, is when they remove it from the system, and realise what it was adding.
Interesting to hear those who took these two steps compare with the NDX2.