CD 555

This comprises the CD555 'head unit' and the 555 PS power supply.The 555PS is the only component from the 'exotic' range that works with the more lowly siblings and it is available on its own. You need to buy a different burndy lead, but the PS 555 can be used with both CDX2 and CDS3 CD players and the improvement it brings is pretty dramatic. See our description here.

As for the full blown CD555 . . . oh yes! A mighty great step up from any CD player we have ever heard. The stand-out change is in scale. Proper solid stuff, not some vague etherial sense of space but 'over there', 'in front of that', 'next to him' sort of positioning. In fact there can even be instances of 'over your shoulder'. The listening room seems bigger. Wider, deeper, taller. On top of that, the expression in playing, tight control of bass, lack of glare, resolution of textures. . . no, really, honestly. . . you WANT one. (And we would be pleased to help!)

NAC 552 preamplifier

So you've shelled out thirteen grand (give or take) for your new pre-amp. And the only obvious changes between it and its £7.5k sibling are (a) the knobs are different and (b) you get the funky R-Com handset bundled in. The 552 power supply only works with the 552 pre, so there has not even been the normal 'soft' upgrade path to get here.

The vibes are not good!

Now, I'm hardly going to witter on like this to lead on to a "stay with a 252" punch line. And the 552 reveals itself to be a LOT more accomplished than its lesser brethren. After all, the sophistication of the 552 lies inside the boxes. For a start it has suspension. This pre-amp comes with transit screws!

Far from being a difficult analytical listen, the 552 is the most benign preamplifier that Naim make. It resolves detail, dynamics, space and intonation but it does not make a fuss over a duff recording or even a less than perfect source or power amp. Amazing stuff.

And it is better not to listen if you cannot afford it!

NAP 500 power amp

Forget any preconceptions over this being Naim's muscle amp. Sure enough when you first plug in a new one it can seem a bit of a thug with a level of wallop that can seem slightly unnerving. It might even be less than optimal with some (themselves less than optimal?) loudspeakers but in the right context it settles down into being a subtle, agile and colourful performer that just happens to have some dramatic slam available.

Compared to the NAP300, the NAP 500 offers an even more expressive and beguiling midband, faster cleaner more resolved bass and much sweeter, better resolved treble.

In short, mixing it with another Naim power amp in an active configuration can have a down side: it is quite a lot different from it's nearest sibling. In active operation with the Naim SL2s we have found it to work best on the bass / mid, with a NAP 300 on the treble. In our opinion, and in this context, 2 x 500s sound a whole lot better than 1 x 500 working passively and 1 x 500 passive better than 2 x 300 active, although the areas of change brought by active operation are quite different from the amplifier steps.

We now carry the whole 500 series on permanent demonstration.

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