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NAC 82?

So it's not just me then that advocates two HC's over a SC on the 82 anymore.

Even more controversially I rejected the "hierarchy" many years ago when I tried to upgrade my 82 to a 52 and failed miserably. I thought the 82 was better, and not by a small amount. Admittedly the 52 under scrutiny may have been a bit long in the tooth relative to my 82 but any fundamental superiority of design apart from the option of plug in cards for multiple inputs and outputs was not evident.

I've since moved over to Teddy supplies for the preamp and that brings yet another level of benefit. One day soon(ish) I'll have time to try out the 8 and 10 rail options since I have a TSC which is only partially used at present, though since I have no powered input cards I'm initially only going from 4 to 6 rails.

I could not find any obvious difference in the basic circuitry between the 52 and 82 so any difference there actually is must be to do with board layout and case damping.

My 82 lives on some polipods with an empty shoe box sleeve on top to damp the case and I'm convinced it sounds better for it.

If you don't need full tape loop switching I believe MJS can also mod the 102 similarly which should bring it up to 82/52 performance at a pricepoint comparable to upgrading to a stock 82.
 
Thanks for all the responses, it looks like I am on the hunt for an 82. I'm in no rush though, willing to wait until one turns up at the right price. The fact that I'm in Germany doesn't help as most sellers are UK based, but they do turn up now and then. A second HiCap; is this essential? I assume just one could be used to start with? Does the 82 need any mods to work with two? Or is this a standard set up? One pre with a NAPSC and 2 HiCaps does sound a bit excessive! I was hoping to keep box count to a minimum :)
 
The 82 won't sound significantly different to the 102 on just one HC so going half way is pretty poor VFM. Don't buy your 82 solely on price, there are upgrades along its history, most notably the pots boards. Going from one made in 1993 to one of the final production units was quite a big upgrade when I did it. There were likely as not some servicing requirements to my older unit at the time since it was about 10 years old, but I don't think that's all the difference and the Naim authorised service centres can upgrade the pots board as a standard service available.

What you want ideally is late production and pots8.

Rather than 2x HC the way to go initially is the DTC. This is a fantastic VFM upgrade even if bought new, but the TSC may be a better buy if you intend to mod later.
 
colasblue said:
If you don't need full tape loop switching I believe MJS can also mod the 102 similarly which should bring it up to 82/52 performance at a pricepoint comparable to upgrading to a stock 82.
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Not me anymore, but Witch Hat have Superlinked the 72, 102, and 282 in addition to the 82. The 102 would keep its tape outputs.
 
I didn't say it wouldn't, they just can't be switched independently of what you're listening to in the same way as the ones on the 52 and 82 can
 
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colasblue said:
I didn't say it wouldn't, they just can't be switched independently of what you're listening to in the same way as the ones on the 52 and 82 can
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Sorry, I did wonder if that's what you meant. Think of the 102 as a cut-down 82. It still has the tape buffers and time-aligned filter that the 82 does. As a one-board machine with minimal wiring it would have been a lot cheaper for Naim to produce.
 
MJS said:
I can believe that two Hicaps can sound better. In order to make that work, Naim had to wire a 0v connection to each of the 5 pin sockets in the 82. But they also did that inside the Supercap, which means there are two 0v connections between the SC and the 82. Not a star earth now is it?
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It can be if you make up your own PSU2 cable :). And also take out those redundant signal wires…… :D:D
 
There just happens to be an 82 with a DTC up for sale here. I quite like the idea of replacing 3 power supplies with one so I will investigate further. What would be considered a reasonable price for this pair? The 82 is from 97 so not sure if it would be the latest version.
 
Seanf said:
There just happens to be an 82 with a DTC up for sale here. I quite like the idea of replacing 3 power supplies with one so I will investigate further. What would be considered a reasonable price for this pair? The 82 is from 97 so not sure if it would be the latest version.
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I thought that had been listed and sold?
 
colasblue said:
So it's not just me then that advocates two HC's over a SC on the 82 anymore.

Even more controversially I rejected the "hierarchy" many years ago when I tried to upgrade my 82 to a 52 and failed miserably. I thought the 82 was better, and not by a small amount. Admittedly the 52 under scrutiny may have been a bit long in the tooth relative to my 82 but any fundamental superiority of design apart from the option of plug in cards for multiple inputs and outputs was not evident.
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I went from 102/Hicap/NAPSC straight to 82/2xHicap/NAPSC, and noticed a stark improvement in musical clarity. The proverbial veil was well and truly lifted and it was certainly easier to discern previously missed details. In fairness, I did not try the 82 with a Supercap.

Then I went straight onto 52/Super. That's when I realised how much more nuanced and organic music can sound. The 82/HC does hifi better, but I preferred the subtlety and grace of a 52/Super.
 
Gaius said:
I know it is a minority view but I preferred my 82 with two Hicaps.
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I'm also a raving fan of the Hicap, not so much of the Supercap and not at all of the Flatcap !
A chrome bumper Hicap with an Avondale TPR4 is WONDERFUL sound and price wise IMO.
 
I suspect that not all 52's are the same. The one I had was the earliest incarnation on a PS (first version). It was against a '93 82 on 2 x HC.

There wasn't any way to switch the PSU's around because it was a 52PS rather than an SC. I'll maybe try out a later 52 one day, but not in any hurry, and in reality I'm not expecting much if I do.
 
I’ve run my 82 from one Hicap, two Hicaps, and currently from a Supercap.

I felt that going from 1 Hicap to 2 Hicaps was a significant upgrade.
I felt that going from 2 Hicaps to a Supercap was not as great.

OTOH it reduced the box count :rolleyes:. And, anyway, I needed one of the Hicaps to power a Headline :D
 
My 282 also sounded better with 2 hi-caps
2 x CB Hi-caps and then 2 x DR hi-caps

The CB Hi -caps were excellent value for money .
The DR Hi-caps less so !
 
One question I'd really like to answer from experience is how the DR supplies compare with the Teddy equivalents (apart from being a lot more expensive).
 
I've not heard Teddy gear so can make no comparison .
DR Hi-cap were a lot better than the serviced CB's . More detail ,better timing , rick dark inner detail but at a price .
 
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