Hi!
As most of you know, I'm planning on upgrading my pre-amp. I will buy a HiCap pretty soon and then I'll change my 92 for a 102 (1 or 2 years).

Now I have the opportunity to buy a s/hand 250 (new style) for UKP850. Now there's not much s/hand Naim in The Netherlands, so it's a great opportunity. Should I buy it, or would it be a real waste? I think it will certainly be an improvement, even though it's not according to the source first principle!

Regards, Bas

Bas,

The upgrade rules are suspended (or bent) if you come across a great deal that's unlikely to pop up again for some time.

But if you're after a bigger upgrade for about the same money get the 102. Your 90.3 has more than enough juice to control the Intros, so using a 250 isn't necessary the way it is with, say, Saras. The 92/102 difference, on the other hand, is much more palpable -- what was noise will be resolved into music.

Joe

Bas,

Forget about the NAP 250! At the moment you have a very balanced system with two great sources. Sit down and relax and enjoy your newly acquired Intro's. Adding a Hi-cap seems like a logical next step to me. Afterwards you can think about a better preamp or a better rack for instance.
The best cure for "power amp first" thinking is to try it out at your place. I did and was cured for good, I bought a NAT 01 and a CDS instead!
As for second hand Naim, I don't know the situation in Holland, but I bought and sold all my second hand Naim gear in Germany. Great market and great prices.

Ciao!

Willem

If I were in your position, I would buy the 250.

May folks here (for example) use 72/250 and are very happy with the combination.

A 250 will not add anything to the signal from your pre-amp, but it will minimise any sonic losses.

Chris

Everyone should have a 250. Buy one today.

You know you want one !

Regards

Darren Miller

I just bought a used 250. If you can get it for a good price, do it. My rationale was that I wouldn't need to upgrade it for ages. It 'could' be the last power amp I buy.

I also bought a secondhand 250 in 1993 when I came across a good opportunity, with the view that I was never going to buy another power amp.

Trevor

Both the 102 and a 250 at a great price are good choices, but UKP 850 sounds a little high.

I always think of the Netherlands as being very close to the UK. Can you get over to the UK to buy at UK prices? And can you get stuff from UK without paying duty?

If so, you still have a difficult choice to make, but either may cost less.

Edwin,

quote:

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I just bought a used 250. If you can get it for a good price, do it. My rationale was that I wouldn't need to upgrade it for ages. It 'could' be the last power amp I buy.

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Don't demo the 135s at home. It'll make you eat your words. My used 250 lasted 3 months before they were ousted by the twins.

James

Bas,

quote:

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I will buy a HiCap pretty soon and then I'll change my 92 for a 102 (1 or 2 years).

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It just occurred to me that 92 (or 102 for that matter) into a 250 without a *cap makes no music. I can't recall what your sources are, but you could go a long way musically upgrading your front-end first. Having a 250 at back end of a modest system can and will probably put pressure on you to upgrade the bits upstream. Much safer to invest upstream and let your financial resource be used when they become available. Also, have a look at the 140 vs 180 thread for some experiences to guide your decisions.

I do agree with Joe that opportunities can bend the source-first principle, but only where better improvement can't be had for the same money.

To cite my example, I had to toss up between buying a new Supercap or trading in a 250 for a pair of used 135s. In the final analysis, the 135s were cheaper, and my 82/Hicapx2 and sources were up to the task of driving the monobloks properly. Had the opportunity come when I still had my 102, I (think I) would have put off the opportunity until a (used) 82 became available.

James

My system is on my profile! I do have a flatcap, so the 250 will work. My sources are CDI and NAT03.
When I think that the 250 will be my final power amp, wouldn't it be a wise buy?

BUT, I can also get a 180 for UKP650. Perhaps this is a better choice? I think the 250 is considerably better, but the 180 can be used with a single box pre, like the 102. So I can trade in my flatcap and buy the 102 quicker then.

What's wisdom?

Regards, Bas

Adding a NAP250 will throw your system out of balance as it will reveal problems upstream.

£850 will buy you a used 72/Hi or 102 wich as Joe has said will give you more music.

Only buy the 250 if you plan to add a NAC82/52 and upgarade the CDI pretty soon.

I use a CDI - lovely machine, but my gut feeling is that it wouldnt be happy through a 52/250.

Rob.

Rob--

CDI works very well through a 52/250/SBL. Not as well as a CDS1 or 2, but still eminently musical.

Cheers,

Bob

Bob,

I'm interested to hear that you find the CDI to work well through 52/250.

My doubts about the combination come from the fact that my Gyrodec is clearly better than the CDI through my 102/NAPSC/HI/180.
I would expect a more revealing amp to widen the gulf, allowing some of the poorer aspects of CDI (and every other sub CDS player) to come through.

Still, my listening is split 50/50 vinyl to CD so I could convince myself to upgrade the amp -

Rob.

Rob--

It is not a question of the CDI being better than my LP12; it is not. It is, however, enjoyable on its own through a 52/250. It is true the 52/250 lets you hear what the CDI does not do, more importantly in my view is that it does allow you to hear and enjoy what the CDI can do.

Cheers,

Bobü