Dipping toes into the NAS (world) with no clue and getting rid of the CD player

trickydickie posted:

Stephen

Here's a thought.

A used NAC-172 and NAP200 is within reach of your £2000 budget.  £1400 for the 172 and £900 for the 200.  That makes £2300.

Sell the CD player and amp and the Hi-Line and you will raise £900 to £1000 so back down to £1400,  Add a NAS for £200 and you are sorted! 

I know you didn't want to mess with the Nait but I suspect this would make a much better system.  Hopefully HH will convince you that a NAS is easy enough that you don't need to look at the Core as I think your money is better spent on the main system rather than a posh ripper/NAS good though that is.

RIchard

Thank you Richard for your alternative view point here and it does make for really good sense!

I am just thinking of starting from the top and working my way down as I have always done things the other way round in the past. Not the best way?

My dream system was going to be a CDX2 - Supernait 2 - with well matched speakers.

 However, i have now decided to kill off the CD player full stop and introduce a dedicated streaming solution instead but maxing this out first?  then after I have financially recovered maybe looking at still going for a Supernait 2.

Having said all this, you have now got me thinking and maybe looking at another option...food for thought...

Kind regards,

Steve

Stephen, I’m trying to book my holidays but cannot do it  until you make up your mind: the suspense is killing me!

Stephen Tate posted:

Hi folks,

I can't help myself and i'm probably jumping the gun here (in my mind that is) but the more I think about the Core the more my eye goes on the line of sight with my finger on the trigger! 

It is feeling a bit like a Cain & Able moment - I have to keep reminding myself to keep calm & carry on!

I would say that you may have reached the stage where you have had more than enough ‘advice’ from the forum! Time to find yourself a good dealer or two who can help you to make the right choice. 

Well, I’ve spent a very pleasant evening with Stephen, listening to music and chatting about streaming. Whether he found it pleasant is something else entirely!

Now I have a good understanding of what he wants to do, my conclusion from our discussion is that the way forward is to (1) get a Qnap and (2) listen to an ND5XS2 when it becomes available. We discussed the 272/200 route, but that doesn’t align with a prefence for a separate steamer and amplifier. The new platform will be better than the legacy, as it enables Qobuz via Chromecast. A better amplifier can follow in due course. The only problem for Stephen is that a desire for Naim speakers may have been rekindled!!

Glad it went well Nigel....it was a very nice thing to do. Cannot beat listening in a home environment. And yes the new streamers will do the business for many people.

I haven’t worked so hard for ages. Mowed the lawns, hoovered, dusted, painted and even bought bottles of beer. If Stephen gains nothing from his visit, at least I have a tidy house. 

Firstly, I would just like thank Nigel ever so much for a very pleasant and enjoyable evening listening to some great music. His knowledge and wisdom has certainly help show me a way forward with a clearer understanding into the world of streaming. Indeed, I have now decided to go the Qnap & Naim streamer route. It all makes perfectly good sense to me now, thanks to him.

It was so great to hear a full fat Naim system too and those SL2 speakers are something to behold entirely!

Nigel too was kind enough to go through with me the workings of the Naim app as well as explain clearly how to back up files from the NAS to a storage device. He also went through with me the organising of the metadata, how to down load files from Qobuz, change album covers, how to organise the library and sort the cabling to all the devices.

I could not ask for a better and more insightful evening spent with a great host with which I have to say is very much appreciated!

Cheers Nigel!

Wow, if we had known you were getting the beer in as well as a music evening, we would have all turned up.

Stephen Tate posted:

Firstly, I would just like thank Nigel ever so much for a very pleasant and enjoyable evening listening to some great music. His knowledge and wisdom has certainly help show me a way forward with a clearer understanding into the world of streaming. Indeed, I have now decided to go the Qnap & Naim streamer route. It all makes perfectly good sense to me now, thanks to him.

 

That's good news Stephen. I think you'll rather like the new ND5XS2 and I will be interested in how you get on.

James

All good folks - now to conjure up a plan! 

I'm just going to go ahead anyway and purchase a NAS device, nothing too flashy, just something along the lines of one that is adequate, basic and inexpensive that has already been recommended to me here. Luckily, I have a small cupboard next door to my listening room with a power point which will be ideal for the NAS to reside in and help keep everything neat and tidy and out of harms way.

I am also going to wait for the ND5 XS2 to become available, then go to my dealer and organise a demo or a home audition, hopefully this year if that's possible! 

Oh and go for one of those switch type thingamajig devices to plug the Ethernet cables in, probably the one that Huge has kindly recommended me.

Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed here and help guide me so far, you guys are amazing!

Warmest regards,

Steve

james n posted:

Stephen Tate posted:

Firstly, I would just like thank Nigel ever so much for a very pleasant and enjoyable evening listening to some great music. His knowledge and wisdom has certainly help show me a way forward with a clearer understanding into the world of streaming. Indeed, I have now decided to go the Qnap & Naim streamer route. It all makes perfectly good sense to me now, thanks to him.

 

That's good news Stephen. I think you'll rather like the new ND5XS2 and I will be interested in how you get on.

James

Thank you James.

Now to get the ball rolling!

Just to throw in a curve ball...

If you're looking at the ND5 XS2, it may well be worth doing an audition to compare it to a second hand NDX at the same time, they are both a similar price and you'll then know which sound you prefer.  The NDX is also upgradable with an external power supply (not the case for the ND5 XS2).  

And the power supply upgrade makes a big difference. I was demoing a 252 vs 282 last week. The sound was a bit thin and weedy, added the 555ps and it sounded superb.

Stephen Tate posted:

All good folks - now to conjure up a plan! 

I'm just going to go ahead anyway and purchase a NAS device, nothing too flashy, just something along the lines of one that is adequate, basic and inexpensive that has already been recommended to me here. Luckily, I have a small cupboard next door to my listening room with a power point which will be ideal for the NAS to reside in and help keep everything neat and tidy and out of harms way.

I am also going to wait for the ND5 XS2 to become available, then go to my dealer and organise a demo or a home audition, hopefully this year if that's possible! 

Oh and go for one of those switch type thingamajig devices to plug the Ethernet cables in, probably the one that Huge has kindly recommended me.

Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed here and help guide me so far, you guys are amazing!

Warmest regards,

Steve

Stephen , glad your'e sorted I would imagine the dealers are in for a fairly busy time when the new Streamer range is launched hope the waiting time is not to long.

Gazza posted:

And the power supply upgrade makes a big difference. I was demoing a 252 vs 282 last week. The sound was a bit thin and weedy, added the 555ps and it sounded superb.

Well, that is 555 vs X on those preamps, effect on NDX may be different. 

For the OP, a primary question would be how well the s/h NDX compares to the new ND5XS2, and depending on potential future upgrade budget also see the difference adding external PS would make (to his ears in his system). 

I note that ND5XS2 at £2k is stretching the OP’s budget (after allowing for the expenditure on NAS), and the NDX presently may do likewise - though I guess that prices of s/h NDX are likely to fall after the new models are released (as, incidentally, may ND5XS mk1).

Huge posted:

Just to throw in a curve ball...

If you're looking at the ND5 XS2, it may well be worth doing an audition to compare it to a second hand NDX at the same time, they are both a similar price and you'll then know which sound you prefer.  The NDX is also upgradable with an external power supply (not the case for the ND5 XS2).  

We discussed this last night. Stephen wants to be able to stream Qobuz easily, which is possible with Google Cast in the new platform. It’s possible with the existing, but involves bubble upnp on the nas and other complications. 

No that was the effect on the NDX, the amps were powered by a super cap.

Gazza posted:

No that was the effect on the NDX, the amps were powered by a super cap.

Ah - wasn’t clear in your post!

Innocent Bystander posted:

For the OP, a primary question would be how well the s/h NDX compares to the new ND5XS2, and depending on potential future upgrade budget also see the difference adding external PS would make (to his ears in his system). 

I note that ND5XS2 at £2k is stretching the OP’s budget (after allowing for the expenditure on NAS), and the NDX presently may do likewise - though I guess that prices of s/h NDX are likely to fall after the new models are released (as, incidentally, may ND5XS mk1).

Interestingly, I read a review just recently from a highly regarded reviewer comparing both the older models and their take on things was that the ND5XS with a XP5 outshone a bare NDX. 

Whether it will be true with the new ND5 XS2 beating the older stand alone NDX is anyone's guess, but I doubt there is much in it and in any case, the ND5 XS2 not being upgradable is what is appealing to me just as the Nait 5si has.

Stephen Tate posted:

Innocent Bystander posted:

For the OP, a primary question would be how well the s/h NDX compares to the new ND5XS2, and depending on potential future upgrade budget also see the difference adding external PS would make (to his ears in his system). 

I note that ND5XS2 at £2k is stretching the OP’s budget (after allowing for the expenditure on NAS), and the NDX presently may do likewise - though I guess that prices of s/h NDX are likely to fall after the new models are released (as, incidentally, may ND5XS mk1).

Interestingly, I read a review just recently from a highly regarded reviewer comparing both the older models and their take on things was that the ND5XS with a XP5 outshone a bare NDX. 

Whether it will be true with the new ND5 XS2 beating the older stand alone NDX is anyone's guess, but I doubt there is much in it and in any case, the ND5 XS2 not being upgradable is what is appealing to me just as the Nait 5si has.

Yet my experience with adding XP5XS PS to ND5XS was that the difference was marginal and simply not worth the money, that better spent on an alternative upgrade - as with all things, it is only what you hear, in your system. The new streamers are still an unknown quantity, but I think most people expect significat step up on the models they replace, so it could well be that ND5XS2 will match or better the NDX, though whether that includes latter with external PS also remains to be seen (heard!). If the ND5XS2 will be affordable it makes every sense to wait and hear it, though you might want to consider other similarly priced options with which to compare it (such as NDX mk1, notwithstanding the Qobuz aspect)

I live in Chichester on the South Coast, more than happy to demo my system and help you with setting up a NAS solution.

Depending on how many songs you have there may be more economical solutions than a full blown NAS solution.

Granthar posted:

I live in Chichester on the South Coast, more than happy to demo my system and help you with setting up a NAS solution.

Depending on how many songs you have there may be more economical solutions than a full blown NAS solution.

Thanks for your very kind offer Granthar.

I think I pretty much know where i'm heading now after taking everything into consideration and after visiting HH where he showed me in great detail how to set up a NAS system into Naim.

As mentioned earlier in this thread, i'm going to go the Naim streamer and Qnap/Synology NAS route as I think this to be the neatest and a very convenient way of having access to my music. 

I just need to contact my dealer now and get the ball rolling, which reminds me!

Thanks

Stephen Tate posted

I just need to contact my dealer now and get the ball rolling, which reminds me!

Thanks

Lets hope the ND5XS 2 lives up to expectations when it eventually arrives, then! Good luck. 

Thank you Chris!

Yep, I've certainly got my sight locked onto the Naim ND5 XS 2 network player - I have all the faith in the world that Naim will produce a world class product at it's price point! 

Ask again tomorrow evening or on Monday!