My current setup is at the moment CD5/Hi-cap/Hi-line to 72/Hi-cap to 250 to SBLs.

As i know next to nothing about active setups I would like to get your comments on the following:

If I would like to go Active (as I have heard that it makes SBLs even better.) with another chrome bumber 250:

a) is the 72 or my source a bottleneck?
b) is the snaxo 2-4 the only reasonable choice or would the newer active crossover work? (The reason why I am asking is that I haven´t found any SH snaxo 2-4 yet...)

Thank you for helping.

Hi,

Yes your 72 and your source are bottlenecks, but do not let that stop you.

Any of the Naim crossovers will work provided that they are set up for sbls. Obviously the snaxo 242 is better than a naxo 2-4. Best to get whatever is available and then upgrade to a snaxo 242 later, and sell the older crossover (that is what I did).

Regards,
John

Since I have a similar system, and similar intentions, I'll be looking for a Snaxo, too. But how do I power it? Will it need a HiCap, or a Snaps may be enaugh, or what?
I learn that SBLs are much improved by going active, but this will mean three more boxes...

I think a Snaxo will work even with a Flatcap. Hi-Cap would be better of course...

Hi Hip,
I was in a similar situation as yourself a couple of years back. The advice I received was to upgrade the pre amp. I went for a s/h 52. I was, however, using vinyl as main source. Active can be ultra critical, and demands the best of sources and set up. But don't be put off, active is worthwhile, and there are many different routes.

http://forums.naim-audio.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/4801938...382970807#2382970807

Best wishes, Paul.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Adam Meredith,

Thanks Paul,

I read about your experiences and other people views about using 72 with active setup. It´s quite clear that 72 is a bottleneck.

The thing is that I really like my 72. I got it quite recently to replace my Nait5i.(I had re-capped 250 just waiting.) There is something quite unique in it´s sound and design and I think I stick with it a bit more.

But it won´t stop me from hunting SH naxo 2-4, extra Hi-cap and another 250... After it´s all here the new preamp would be the last step...

Not long after having my active 52 set up I sent the 52 to Naim for service. I replaced it for six weeks with my 72. Whilst there was a big difference, the 72 held up very well in the active set up. So I wouldn't rule out using the 72 in an active configuration, or on the way to something else. If you like what the 72/250 does, then in active you will certainly get more of it, character wise. But the overall difference in going active is often described as a suble one. Best wishes, Paul.

Hi Hip,

The fact is that until you get to a 555/552/active 500/DBL system it could be argued that there are bottlenecks in most systems. Why not think about what your system could be doing for you in terms of improved music reproduction rather than worry about possible bottlenecks?

There is no harm in giving active a try. As has been identified, all you will need to get going will be a snaxo 2-4/hicap/additional 250. What will you gain? Well you will find the music is more dynamic, more controlled and more fun! By releasing your current 250 from the constraints of the passive crossover and adding a second one, you will be allowing both 250s to breath and take charge of their respective drive units.

Don't worry too much about tweaking the pots in the snaxo - leave it well alone on the factory settings. Where you will achieve real gains will be to look at your overall system setup - and do consider playing about with your speaker positions. You may find that the optimum placement for your speakers in active mode is different from where you currently have them.

Ultimately, if you find that active is not your cup of tea, you can always sell the additional boxes and invest the funds in different aspects of your system.

I had an 82 before going active but then again if you are going second hand route then it can be a question of what comes up.

I started with Naxo and hi-cap which worked well until I had 52 and at that point the crossover became the weak link so that I swapped out to Snaxo-supercap.

The active sound is a good improvement so if you have the opportunity then go for it and think of pre amp improvements somewhere up the line.

Thanks for all your replies!

I´ll give it a try when I get the parts.

In my view, you'd be a fool to go active at this point. You'll just expose the limitations of the front end. If you decide to continue regardless, I strongly recommend that you consider the 242 crossover. The SNAXO 2-4 was OK, but I never really enjoyed it to the full. The 242 is quite a different animal and even I would be tempted to upgrade to active operation before maximising the electronics passively first. This is a big change in approach for me!

quote:

In my view, you'd be a fool to go active at this point....If you decide to continue regardless...even I would be tempted....

Wow, don't hold back fella!! I don't know you from Adam, but boy do you have a persuasive line in argument

quote:

In my view, you'd be a fool to go active at this point....If you decide to continue regardless...even I would be tempted....


Wow, don't hold back fella!! I don't know you from Adam, but boy do you have a persuasive line in argument

He's right though.....

quote:

Don't worry too much about tweaking the pots in the snaxo - leave it well alone on the factory settings.

and this is completely wrong IMO!

Hi Everyone,

Don't forget that the first Naim Active sets were based on the 12s pre-amp and NAXO - sounded bloody good to me in the early '80s. Things have moved on and my first active set was a 52, 250s Snaxo 24/HC and SBLs. I have progressed from there and it all gets better but the basic set is still very good and merits a first class source.

Read the comments about how good the 72 really is and go for it, the 242 is the choice of crossover though!!

FF

I just realised that NAXO 2-4 and SNAXO 2-4 are different units, not just former being wrongly written... The Naim website shows only SNAXO on product history -section...

It just keeps getting more complicated. If SNAXO 2-4 is just "OK" and 242 is better, just how "bad" NAXO 2-4 is? The thing, why I want to get SH crossover, is that I want to end up with a system that has merely olive or older boxes. And that´s because they are neat!

So, I realise that 242 would be good (and 282 would beat 72 hand´s down), but I´d like to find the most modest and old school way to "go active" without ruining the lovely sound of 72/250/SBL and maybe a bit better it... And by "old school" I don´t mean top flight olive with six-pack 135s driving Isobariks.

I wouldn't call the Snaxo 2-4 'just OK'. It would be an excellent choice for your system, and they are very attractively priced when they come up. You could use a Naxo, but I think all these were CB whereas the Snaxo will be olive. Using a Snaxo leaves you with the possibility of maybe using a Supercap to power it at some point, but a HiCap will be more than sufficient at the moment.
I think what might be more important is finding a 250 with the same kind of history as yours - when was it last serviced, or if not serviced, when was it built.
This is important, as the Snaxo shares the driver load, so each 250 will drive a bass unit and tweeter each (Bear this in mind also when you come to connect up!). Therefore, any mismatch in the quality of the 250 will show up between left and right
If you go down that route, I think you'll have a very enjoyable system, which will clearly benefit from any improvements upstream when you come to it.
Going active is a lot of fun!
Enjoy
John

quote:

and this is completely wrong IMO!

How so?

OK. Is it that with a 242 it is not so critical that the amps are just the same age?
(Or serviced same time.)

The 242 splits the signals in a different way, so one amplifier handles both bass units, and one amplifier runs both tweets. So if there are differences between the amps, then it won't be so noticeable (in principle, before I get flamed). You could even use different amps, e.g. a 250 and a 180 (thinking old-style) but that wouldn't be a good idea with a 2-4

As with any Naim system, stay focused on building a balanced system

I'm inclined to agree with Garfield's comments on leaving the pots alone - it opens a can of worms too far IMHO
John

The whole "going active" starts to feel like opening a can of worms too far.

It´s clearly more sensible to go "better source and better pre" -way unless a nice matching 250 lands on my lap sometime in future... Then I´ll start again looking for an active crossovers.

Thanks for everyone for your opinions!

-Heikki