Mynamemynaim
38yrs a Naim owner
The NDS is Indeed a great performer
Especially with a good PS behind it (ie NOT an xps)
When the ND555 came out I was not in any rush to buy one....a little better...yes but not double the price an NDS sold for new
They are a hifi bargain (at 2k to 2.8k) that they sell for
Especially with a good PS behind it (ie NOT an xps)
When the ND555 came out I was not in any rush to buy one....a little better...yes but not double the price an NDS sold for new
They are a hifi bargain (at 2k to 2.8k) that they sell for
They cleverly named it ND555 instead of NDSII, moving it comfortably up in price range.
Nds is a bargain as far as dac goes, just let down these days now by its poor streaming ability, but you can obviously get round that.
As far as the nd555 goes it brings very little to the party over the nds and probably most of the gain is from the better streaming board rather than inpovement in dac
As far as the nd555 goes it brings very little to the party over the nds and probably most of the gain is from the better streaming board rather than inpovement in dac
Paul Hindle
Do you mock me?
I’ve just moved from NDX to NDS and am enjoying the huge uplift in sound quality. It’s XPS powered and that’s how it will stay. Got both for around £3k which I think is incredible vfm.
Suffolk Tony
Aim low, achieve your goals, avoid disappointment.
Might be worth investigating Avondale Audio's upgrade to the XPS.
Paul Hindle
Do you mock me?
OP stated that the NDS (with his XPS) is in a different league to his NDX. I agree, why on earth would he want to upgrade his PS? Maybe sometime in the future but the NDS is awesome powered by an XPS. Might as well just upgrade to an ND555/555PS using this logic. 
. No wonder they call us sheep.
. No wonder they call us sheep.
Mynamemynaim
38yrs a Naim owner
Sadly the NDS is not "awesome" when powered by the xps
And unless you try it with a 555PS or equivalent (CHC555 / TP xps+ etc) you will not find out....so ignorance is bliss
However there really is NO comparison when powered from a single xps.....the NDS cannot really show you what it can do
And unless you try it with a 555PS or equivalent (CHC555 / TP xps+ etc) you will not find out....so ignorance is bliss
However there really is NO comparison when powered from a single xps.....the NDS cannot really show you what it can do
Paul Hindle
Do you mock me?
I totally agree. Which is why I’ve not listened to the ND555 either
. I would argue however that the NDS/XPS combo IS awesome. Upgrading PSUs just makes it a bit more awesome. Depends whether you are happy with simply awesome, which I am.
Hook
Blackbeard's former bo'sun.
I totally agree. Which is why I’ve not listened to the ND555 either
IMO, the 555PS is a significant upgrade over the XPS, and DR’ing is also worth it, but I think you have the right attitude. When you reach the point where you no longer feel a need to analyze the sound, when you find a sound that makes you completely relax so you can simply enjoy the music, then it’s time to stop upgrading (at least for a good long while).
Admittedly, I gave the ND555 a listen. Great player with a bit more clarity, energy and drive than the NDS. But not enough in it for me to justify the cost.
Only other thing I would think about is Roon. The NDS can be an endpoint using UPNP bridge software. IMO, Roon’s consistent interface makes a lot of sense for homes where you listen to music in different rooms, or if more than one person in the home wants to listen on their own.
You certainly got a bargain there!
How do I “get around that” as a matter of interest?
Thanks. I’ve always been happy with the Naim ap on my iPad but I hear and read a lot about Roon without really understanding what benefits it would bring over the native Naim ap. I store my music on a unitiserve powered by a Vee 1 by the way. So what would Roon bring to the party?
Hook
Blackbeard's former bo'sun.
The biggest benefit IME comes when you have multiple rooms, multiple playback devices from different manufacturers, and multiple people using them. No need to learn multiple apps and interfaces. Just launch Roon, select an endpoint and play.
For day to day use, Room’s extensive use of metadata and links lets me easily find my music, or explore new music. Also allows me to easily integrate my own rips with Qobuz. I have one library that spans both.
Well worth trying IMO. Best of luck!
Thanks for explaining that, it’s the first time I’ve really understood the benefits of Roon. Thankfully, I have a one room, one user and one manufacturer system so by the sounds of it I have less need for Roon than others
If you dare to go on the naim forum and do a search you will come up with lots of options