Fraim from no rack at all, or very crappy: box upgrade. From a decent rack: little upgrade.
Xps dr on Ndx2: box upgrade.
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I know that I would like an XPS for my NDX2, but I keep reminding myself that the pre-amp upgrade has to come first
So much waiting…
Get the psu.
And add a couple of glass shelves to your rack (as long as your rack is solid).
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Ok, sorry to drop a bomb shell here. I have been to my dealer. He didn’t have a NDX 2 in the store. In fact he had no Naim streamers apart from the Uniti kit. I had a good look at the Naim Fraim. It’s not for me, too blingy and ringy for my liking and i hate the glass shelves. I’ve had a glass shelved rack in the past and i hated it. So, for now, i’ve put in an order for an all black Naim Fraim Lite - 1 x base - 3 x standard shelves. He did have a nearly two year old XPS DR at £3,560, for me over priced, and wouldn’t budge on the price, so now will look further afield, again.
Thanks all for your help and advice folks it has been very much appreciated. No doubt i shall return with a hopefully more ambitious purchase. It’s probably worked out for the best to be honest as i feel i can now take my time and wait for that right moment.
Happy listening!
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sounds like you’ve got a great dealer there then!?
Why didn’t you just take the XPS home for the purpose of home demoing
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I could of done but i was in a bit of a rush to do other things. The laptop i purchased yesterday has a screen defect, so i now have take it back to factory settings and have it swapped. Painful. 
1 x base - 4 x standard shelves. £3,300. 
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I paid much less than that for 2 x bases and 6 shelves normal and medium, by waiting until they were available ex demo or second hand…about £2k
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Yep, I paid £1850 for my full fat Fraim, 6 months old, ex demo.
I specifically wanted black, most timeless and goes best with the room.
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I will certainly keep an eye out Gazza but i’ve rarely seen them going pre-loved or ex-demo.
The used and ex-demo markets seem very quiet at the moment.
3,6 k for an 2 years old xps dr is very expensive I feel. Did the new xps dr price raised so much?
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A new unit here in the UK is £4,199.
Correction:
4 x standard shelves
That’s ok i don’t mind waiting for a much keener priced one. I shall keep my eyes peeled.
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You are correct not much ex demo/second hand on the market just now. A Naim dealer I have used is advertising a 2017 ex demo for £3349 and also a slightly scruffy looking 2016 one though their eBay site for £2175. I guess you have seen both of these.
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That same dealer also has an older upgraded (I assume) one which is slightly cheaper. The problem with both is they have no Burndy. However, there’s also another dealer with a 2013 one at £2.5K with Burndy.
Ive had the full fat Fraim before and for me it made a significant upgrade from a Hutter.
It is very expensive but i like the aesthetics and it is a black box upgrade equivalent as well.
All that stripping down and retightening occasionally would drive me nuts though.
So more than happy with my Isoblue and may experiment with Fraim glass and balls under the critical components one day.
Need a Ndx2 first though.
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I spent quite a bit of my time looking at one with my dealer this morning. I decided on the Lite instead. Less faff. It will still be significantly better than what i already have. I can’t be doing with that glass and ball bearings. Also i have freed up some cash for other things as well. The XPS DR is still on the cards but i’m now thinking of going for a new one.
I know you don’t like separates but I bet a 282/200 would sound brill with the NDX2.
You 'd be replacing two (ok 1.5 boxes) with two full boxes (ok 2.2 with Napsc).
Jason Gould thought the NDX2 deserves a better preamp.
So just another option that could be very worthwhile , but I know not your chosen path.
You’re still enjoying the EE8 so plenty to enjoy for now.
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