Home Review Naim Classic 200 series – NSC222 – NAP250 and NPX300

Review Naim Classic 200 series – NSC222 – NAP250 and NPX300

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Pros

  • Lovely rhythmic character
  • Sets up a great stereo image
  • Compact and powerful

Cons

  • No XLR inputs
  • XLR is pseudo balanced
  • You do eventually want the power supply...
Build quality
Usability
Sound
Price
Naim 200 Classic

Intro

Some 50 years ago, Julian Vereker founded Naim. In those 50 years, the British brand has managed to rally quite a fan base behind it. The compelling reproduction with lots of drive and high ‘fun factor’ is are certainly responsible for that. Does the new Classic 200 series also have these Naim genes? We’re going to find out for you.

The new Classic 200 series really does look absolutely beautiful again. What a gem. Of course, we haven’t seen every volume knob in the world, but for us, the Naim volume knob is the most beautiful of them all. It turns incredibly nice and looks downright great. The Naims with the volume knob at the top also look great.

Enough about the volume knob…. what else do we see? On the NSC222 (7500 Euro), we see a nice and pretty large, sharp display on the right. The display shows the cover art as you stream. If you want to change inputs, the appropriate inputs and icons appear there. Inputs can be changed via the buttons to the right of it, or via the Naim app or remote control. On the right we also see a button for favorites, play/pause and standby.

Flexible

The Naim NSC222 is a wonderful central hub for those who don’t want separate devices, but do like everything at a high level.

The NSC222 has a streamer built in (Ethernet input), offers digital coaxial, (2x) optical and bnc inputs to link digital devices, a phono input and finally rca and DIN inputs for analog devices. As befits a Naim device, you can lift the ground to eliminate hum, should the need arise.

Naim offers XLR and RCA outputs to connect a power amplifier. The NAP250 (7500 Euro) offers only XLR inputs. Now we do see in the measurements that the separate “pseudo balanced” XLR design ensures that Naim equipment in particular matches well. We get anomalous results when we measure the NSC222 and NAP250 separately. That can only be due to the alternative ‘pseudo-balanced’ XLR design.

External power supply

We also got the NPX300 from distributer Latham. This optional, external power supply connects via two large burndy cables. The advantage of an upgrade power supply is multiple. Let’s just say that it just lifts everything up a level. We describe further in the article how that manifests itself.

If you’re using the NSC222 without this power supply, it’s necessary to use the special caps (in the box) to link a pair of internal connections. If you do not do this, the NSC222 will not turn on.

Power

The NAP250 is, in fact, a completely renewed design. We wrote about that in this background article. So we are not going to explain it all again. But in short: as befits a true Naim, everything is built around a giant power supply. Naim applies DR – Discrete Regulator – technology in this power amplifier. In our experience, this provides significantly more openness and speed.

The NAP250 should deliver 100 watts into 8 Ohms and 190 watts into 4 Ohms. We measure a fairly equal output. More on that later.

Amplifier type
Integrated
Amplifier technology
Class AB
Bridgemode
No
Amplifier inputs
  • Analog RCA
  • Analog DIN
  • Analog Phono MM
  • Analog Phono MC
  • Digital Coaxial
  • Digital Optical
  • Digital BNC
  • Streamer Ethernet
  • Bluetooth
Amplifier outputs
  • Analog RCA
  • Analog XLR
Power
Specification #1
  • Resistance: 8 ohm
  • Value specified: 100 watt
  • Value measured: 101 watt
Specification #2
  • Resistance: 4 ohm
  • Value specified: 190 watt
  • Value measured: 175 watt
Dimensions
  • Width: 43 cm
  • Depth: 31 cm
  • Height: 10 cm
Build in dac
Yes
Production country
UK
Measurements
Naim NAP250 - 1 watt over 8 Ohm
Naim NAP250 - 1 watt over 8 Ohm
Naim Classic 200 - with NPX300 - RCA input - Volume 38 - with NAP250
Naim Classic 200 - with NPX300 - RCA input - Volume 38 - with NAP250
Naim Classic 200 - with NPX300 - BNC input - Volume 38 - with NAP250
Naim Classic 200 - with NPX300 - BNC input - Volume 38 - with NAP250
Naim Classic 200 - RCA input - THD-N- 1 watt - 8 Ohm
Naim Classic 200 - RCA input - THD-N- 1 watt - 8 Ohm
Naim Classic 200 - RCA input - residu - 1 watt - 8 Ohm
Naim Classic 200 - RCA input - residu - 1 watt - 8 Ohm
Naim Classic 200 - RCA input - MAX power - 8 Ohm
Naim Classic 200 - RCA input - MAX power - 8 Ohm
Naim Classic 200 - RCA input - MAX power - 4 Ohm
Naim Classic 200 - RCA input - MAX power - 4 Ohm
Naim Classic 200 - RCA input - Crosstalk - 1 watt - 8 Ohm
Naim Classic 200 - RCA input - Crosstalk - 1 watt - 8 Ohm
Naim Classic 200 - RCA input - 1 watt - 8 Ohm
Naim Classic 200 - RCA input - 1 watt - 8 Ohm
Naim Classic 200 - BNC input - Volume 38 - via poweramp
Naim Classic 200 - BNC input - Volume 38 - via poweramp
Naim 222 - volume 75
Naim 222 - volume 75

Winkels met Naim

Sint-Antoniusstraat 15
2300 Turnhout, BE
Joseph Bensstraat 21
1180 Ukkel, BE
Hooikade 13
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Bredabaan 1031
B-2930 Brasschaat, BE
Pelikaanstraat 126
2018 Antwerpen, BE
Laat 29A
1811EB Alkmaar, NL
Schoenmakersstraat 19
6041EX Roermond, NL
Grotestraat 23
5931 CS Tegelen, NL
St. Ceciliastraat 28
5038 HA Tilburg, NL
Geldropseweg 105
5611 SE Eindhoven, NL
Korte Jansstraat 11
3512GM Utrecht, NL
Sikkel 40 F
3274 KK Heinenoord, NL
Hermesweg 2
3741 GP Baarn, Utrecht, NL
Korevaarstraat 2 e-f
2311 JS Leiden, NL
Koningsstraat 35
2011TC Haarlem, Noord Holland, NL
Spoorstraat 18
7491 CK Delden, Overijssel, NL
Steenstraat 54
6828 CM Arnhem, Gelderland, NL
Theresiastraat 151 - 157
2593 AG Den Haag, Noord Holland, NL
Beethovenstraat 9-b
1077 HL Amsterdam, Noord Holland, NL
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