advertisement


Teddy Supercap or PR1

Lucky Larue

Well-Known Member
I have a Naim ND5XS with a Teddy XPS, a NAIM 282 with a Hi-cap DR and a TP ST60. I've been more than satisfied with the Teddy gear. I've heard from someone who's owned the PR1 that it would be a significant improvement over the 282. I've also thought of selling my Hi-Cap and buying a Teddy Supercap. I won't do both, so any thoughts on which would be the best choice?
 
Buy Jimbot’s PR1 from the classifieds. You will be shocked by the Teddy combo. I used Naim for just under 30 years and switched to Teddy with no regrets and a wad of cash saved. Sadly had to sell the Teddy for well documented reasons.

The 282 is nice but the Teddy will kill the upgrade itch. Sell the hicap and buy the PR1. You can sell the PR1 if you don’t like it but it’s the 282 which will appear in the classifieds....
 
I'm in Canada, so buying from the UK doesn't work. One reason for making the switch is a problem I've always had with Naim, albeit to a lesser extent as I've upgraded: Sometimes I can't find a sweet spot for the volume. On my albums/tracks, I'll want to listen at what I believe is the appropriate level, but it will be too bright/harsh to do so. I have to then turn the volume down, but then then music doesn't have the energy I want. This happens on both well-recorded albums and more average recordings. I don't blare my music, I just want to listen at a level that moves me. In fact, on my 282 I often have the volume control set under 9 o'clock.
 
The volume thing is for me, very interesting.

I used to find that I was slowly but surely turning up the volume during each listeneing session and hearing what I perceived as distortion. This was when I was using Naim amps.

One of the things I really like about the Teddy and my NVA amps is that there is no distortion as the volume control moves upwards. I now find myself listening at much lower levels than I used to.

Good luck with your search.
 
The Teddy Supercap will make a worthwhile improvement over the Hi Cap you currently use,but my recommendation would be to opt for the PR1.

I changed from NAC 282/Dual Teddy Cap to the PR1 a few years ago. The improvement was significant.

Combined with a Teddy power amp you should enjoy fatigue free listening without harshness whatever the volume.
 
I've owned two 282s, one on the way up the Naim ladder and one on the way down, with a variety of power supplies including a dual Teddycap. Both suffered a degree of harshness which in the end proved intolerable. This in an active setup with SBLs.

Now had a PR1 for several years and I'm completely happy with it, the only thing I miss is remote input switching.

In terms of comparison with Naim, the Teddy is no 552 but I'd characterise it as something akin to a 252 with a bit of life. For the price it's a bargain.
 
I'm in Canada, so buying from the UK doesn't work. One reason for making the switch is a problem I've always had with Naim, albeit to a lesser extent as I've upgraded: Sometimes I can't find a sweet spot for the volume. On my albums/tracks, I'll want to listen at what I believe is the appropriate level, but it will be too bright/harsh to do so. I have to then turn the volume down, but then then music doesn't have the energy I want. This happens on both well-recorded albums and more average recordings. I don't blare my music, I just want to listen at a level that moves me. In fact, on my 282 I often have the volume control set under 9 o'clock.

Hi Lucky Larue

I am also in Canada and I went through the same questioning. Now I have many boxes from Teddy Pardo.

I wrote the first comment on this page (https://www.teddypardo.com/systems/system-60.html) from Teddy`s website, It starts with “First the starting point:

Since, I replaced the CD with a streamer powered with Teddy`s power supply and replaced the Naim speaker wires with Teddy’s.

If you need more information, send me a private message. Please note that I am rarely on the forum, so be patient for a reply.
 
Thanks for everyone's input. Yes, the PR1 seems to be the better investment over going with a Teddy Supercap. An interesting review of your journey over to TP, Michael. I'm curious: what streamer do you have?

I agree with you, Pairgain, that it would be nice to have remote input switching, but that's a small sacrifice for everything else. (I'm old enough to remember having to get up off the couch to adjust the volume. That younger self would laugh at me now.)
 
Thanks for everyone's input. Yes, the PR1 seems to be the better investment over going with a Teddy Supercap. An interesting review of your journey over to TP, Michael. I'm curious: what streamer do you have?

I agree with you, Pairgain, that it would be nice to have remote input switching, but that's a small sacrifice for everything else. (I'm old enough to remember having to get up off the couch to adjust the volume. That younger self would laugh at me now.)


My streamer is a fanless and diskless PC called fit-PC3. It runs without keyboard and screen.

The music software is Daphile. Daphile is installed on USB memory stick. It is free and can be found at http://www.daphile.com/

The fit-PC3 feeds Teddy’s DAC via the optional 192kHz Async USB module.

The above is much better than the NU Vista 3D. So I sold the NU Vista
 
My streamer is a fanless and diskless PC called fit-PC3. It runs without keyboard and screen.

The music software is Daphile. Daphile is installed on USB memory stick. It is free and can be found at http://www.daphile.com/

The fit-PC3 feeds Teddy’s DAC via the optional 192kHz Async USB module.

The above is much better than the NU Vista 3D. So I sold the NU Vista


Sorry, I forgot the following:

The music files, mainly WAV are stored on an old D-Link NAS. The NAS is connected to the fit-PC3 with an Ethernet cable.

Two methods to control Daphile. Via a web browser on a Windows based computer. Or with an iPad running a software called iPeng.
 
I went from NAC52 to PR1 and am happy. I managed to find my PR1 used so it was a low risk experiment. I too have ended up with a fair number of his boxes (7 at the last count).

I've bought used Teddy (and other) gear from the UK in the past (I'm also in Canada). You can go to your local electronics service store and they'll change the voltage for you. Teddy will even send you new voltage stockers.
 
I have heard a 52/supercap and then 52/ teddy supercap and that was better. I then heard this compared to a PR1 and that was better again.

I have been using a PR1 for some years now and it never fails to deliver great music.

Also, FWIW, I was a fairly compulsive tweaker many years back and since I have gone completely Teddy I never once have the slightest urge to tweak.
 
Yes, Bob, that's something I here a lot: the hobby ends up playing second fiddle to the music, as it should.

My PR1 arrived this week. It's been warming up for a couple of days, and I'm about to give it some serious listening.
 
Yes, Bob, that's something I here a lot: the hobby ends up playing second fiddle to the music, as it should.

My PR1 arrived this week. It's been warming up for a couple of days, and I'm about to give it some serious listening.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
 
There's another approach if you don't need actually need an analogue input. I use teddy MB100s fed directly from a with a chord hugo which acts as a digital pre and dac. Other possibilities include the teddy dac vc if you like the teddy sound. The options would also upgrade the sound from your ND5XS.
 


advertisement


Back
Top