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From Naim 200 + HiCap to 250 or HiCap DR

C

Cdb3

pfm Member
These questions are of course difficult for others to answer on behalf of individuals, but I would welcome thoughts from those who have made such choices. I have a Meridian CD player; Linn LP12; Naim 282 and 200; HiCap; Harbeth 30.1 speakers.

Would I be better upgrading the power amp or the HiCap first? Certainly if I were to go with the 250, a HiCap DR would have to follow eventually.
Thanks
 
If you already have a hicap, I would save up a bit more trade it in against a nice second hand supercap rather than a hicap dr. A 282 powered by a supercap is a very nice beast indeed and will usually show the hicap, or dual hicap 282 a clean pair of heels.
 
The choice I made was to move from a nac 282/d/t/c to the Teddy pre & power with amazing results.If you like a low noise/distortion system this could be a fourth option.
John.
 
Ive just purchased a Teddy Supercap(my second one )- the chap i sold my first TSC to had a 252 naim Sc and emailed me the following day how delighted and how much better the TSC was
So longterm this may be a direction to consider
 
I went from non DR Hi-cap to Supersup and was pleased with the results but would have liked to have compared against the Teddy
 
piggy said:
I went from non DR Hi-cap to Supersup and was pleased with the results but would have liked to have compared against the Teddy
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Thanks. I tend to go for secondhand so that limits the possibilities for comparison, which mitigates against brand changes.
 
Interesting comments on the power supplies - obviously a key element of the Naim upgrade path, but does anyone have experience of the 200 to 250.2 move?
 
I almost the same set as you have 282-SC-200 and went all the way from single HC2 to dual HC2 to Supercap (all non DR) and every step gained something, but the biggest one was from dual HC2 to Supercap.

I also tested "the Bears" but I felt it just got it all wrong. It wasn't the latest spec dual Teddy, but all I can describe the results is that the Bear sucked the soul out of my music. I know people have had great results with Teddy powers, but I won't connect them to my set ever again.

I'm pretty happy now :)
 
I run a pair of 250.2s actively. I have heard the 200 and would describe it as being softer. You will get more drive by moving to the 250.2, but as the bass is better defined with the more expensive amp, you may feel it is 'bass-light'. I would demo this carefully, especially with the Harbeths, although they won't complain about some extra current
 
I must comment for that more defined and "bass-light" statement. I discovered that 250.2 run passively gave much more bass than 200. That was the only reason why I still use 200. The room mode were just too much.
 
I've just gone from 202/200/HC to a 282/250.2/SC DR, and I felt the biggest change was the 200 ->250.2. It is quite a change in sound, with the 250.2 sounding fatter and a touch warmer, but the added control makes the 200 seem a bit harsh at louder volumes or with more complex music. I'd go 250.2 first then a Supercap when possible. There are loads of Supercaps around as people are upgrading to the DR via the PX route rather than via Naim. They are therefore cheapening up. One option is to therefore get a Supercap (which I suspect would outperform a HiCap DR) then get it DR'ed at a later stage.
 
Cdb3 said:
These questions are of course difficult for others to answer on behalf of individuals, but I would welcome thoughts from those who have made such choices. I have a Meridian CD player; Linn LP12; Naim 282 and 200; HiCap; Harbeth 30.1 speakers.

Would I be better upgrading the power amp or the HiCap first? Certainly if I were to go with the 250, a HiCap DR would have to follow eventually.
Thanks
Click to expand...

Don't go for 250.2 its way too bloated, pick the older olive or CB, better yet some 135.
Definately go for nac 52/SC
maximize the LP12
maybe a CDS, Isis or
 
Although there maybe some synergy with staying all naim. I had a similar system to you, but found that short of £10k there was no way of making a significant improvement.

I looked into Supercap, 250 etc, but it took CDS3/555PS and the Supercap to make me think I was getting anyway (which bugged the dealer immensely, to saying that because I'd created my test CD-R from iTunes ... He put on some Snorah Jones to reassure himself).

Anyway, I think a 72 with some kind of Avondale or Teddy PSU is as good as a 282 on the same psu, and my choice at the time was to get one of these

Paradox Preamp

Now I'm running this which is even cheaper and can be had with a phono stage :

Angle Audio LDR Preamp

Both of these are a fraction of the price of a naim 282 and, IMO, outperform it by a comfortable margin.
 
You can't compare a £199 passive preamp with a Naim preamp imo allthough I'd certainly don't think a 282 is worth its asking Price, no way
 
boegelund said:
You can't compare a £199 passive preamp with a Naim preamp imo allthough I'd certainly don't think a 282 is worth its asking Price, no way
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Why not ? Depends on what's needed. If it's tape outputs, home theatre pass through and I can't remember what else, then definitely not.

If it's transparaent sound, fine low level detail, etc. Then a passive pre, running CD level sources etc, is not at a disadvantage as opposed to active pre.

I run a dac into mine on one side and my TT on the other. The dac covers my switching for Streaming & TV (digital output on TV), and I have a spare input on the dac, if need be.

I went 282 -> Paradox -> LDR with a definite gain in transparancy going to the Paradox, and no detectable loss with the LDR. The only thing I don't have is a remote control.
 
Staying with the Naim stuff, I also feel that 250 is too warm and bloated compared to the 200 but you should audition if possible to see what you prefer.

The DR reduces noise in the hicap and that's always a good thing. But I have a feeling that the supercap will really put a smile on your face. Then you are also a good step closer to a 252 if you wish to go that route. The rails from the supercap into the 282 should impress you right out of the box and show you what the 282 can really do.

Arun
 
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