Upgrade ND5 XS, with Naim DAC or XP5 XS?

My gut feeling would be NDAC, or possibly a non-Naim DAC. I would also consider changing to the ND5XS2 when it is released. 

Hugo DAC 

Definitely a DAC .....

The XPS5xs is no longer in production.

I use a Hugo on mine and to my ears, it sounds better than a ‘bare’ NDX

When I had an ND5XS I was persuaded to buy the XP5XS. It was disappointing, only marginal improvement and, in my view, poor value for money. I sold it and bought a Chord Hugo DAC instead on the strength of what I head read about it on this forum. And it made a significant improvement, quite marked, bringing a naturalness I hadn’t realised the ND5XS lacked. I was very pleased with that as an upgrade - yet it, new, was about £400 cheaper than the ex-dem XP5XS.

Sp that would be my recommendation, and from my reading most people who have put a Hugo on ND5XS or NDX have loved it, though a few nave preferred NDAC - best bet would be to try to audition both (when I later upgraded to Dave DAC, I found a dealer that would let me audition at home, simply jphaving to pay the ful proce as a deposit, and me paying return postage, but whether they’d send to Canada Indon’t know). But I bought my Hugo unheard and was very happy with it.

I was in the same situation I went for an NDAC after a home trial against a XP5XS with my ND5XS. Then eventually enhanced the NDAC with an external power supply.

Another for DAC followed by XPS 

Definiteluy nDAC

Definitely Hugo 

If you must go Chord a Qutest but the Ndac has a less fatiguing sound signature

I added the nDAC (pre loved) to my ND5XS, the best upgrade and Naim kit i've owned. I did have an alternative XPS on the ND5XS but moved to the DAC which is an extra improvement. I did consider other DAC's but having a HiLine made sense to go for the nDAC.

Another happy ND5XS / Hugo owner here. The Hugo has an ability to make voices sound more natural, somehow; that was what convinced me.

Qutest

Thanks for the replies everyone. Did I make a mistake and post this in the Chord forum? ;-)

I thought the XP5 XS power supply would get more votes. According to the replies so far, it seems a DAC would be a bigger upgrade. Used Naim DACs and power supplies come up for sale often enough. I can get either one at a good price. I have an empty shelf in my rack and it's begging to be filled... 

Why not look for a second hand NDX and sell your ND5XS? With the upcoming NDX-2 there will probaly a lot of NDX's offered against good prices. The NDX is quite a step-up from the ND5XS and is great value for money.

Still think a Hugo DAC added to it would outperform a ‘bare’ NDX ????

Mr Frog posted:

Still think a Hugo DAC added to it would outperform a ‘bare’ NDX ????

Well, a number on this forum have upgraded their NDXs by adding Hugo...

NDAC even beats NDX so for ND5XS it should be a great upgrade. 

One more for nDAC or... Hugo (I still have and enjoy both). 

Chag -

nDAC is the obvious choice, to which you might want to add a power supply like the XPS ou 555PS. 
The nDAC is a nice piece of kit!

nDAC has a unique advantage - it can be further upgraded, with a power supply. It’s also part of Naim’s system automtion protocol, for automated input switching.

Innocent Bystander posted:

Mr Frog posted:

Still think a Hugo DAC added to it would outperform a ‘bare’ NDX ????

Well, a number on this forum have upgraded their NDXs by adding Hugo...

Yes.. though the Hugo uses quite a different approach to reconstruction compared to the traditional Texas Instruments PCM1704K chips that Naim use in many of their products  .. so I would call it more a separate evolutionary path than call it an upgrade, as it’s effects and benefits (and some might feel limitations) will be evident when compared to the CDX2, CD555, NDX, NDS, ND555 etc...so far my listening experiences absolutely confirm this. 

For the record I prefer the Hugo over PCM1704K based reconstruction on every device I have heard so far... but clearly this is entirely subjective and personal, as all digital to analogue reconstruction is a collection of compromises.. and you choose the collection that sounds the most pleasing to you.

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

Innocent Bystander posted:

Mr Frog posted:

Still think a Hugo DAC added to it would outperform a ‘bare’ NDX ????

Well, a number on this forum have upgraded their NDXs by adding Hugo...

Yes.. though the Hugo uses quite a different approach to reconstruction compared to the traditional Texas Instrument PCM1704K chipsets that Naim use in many of their products  .. so I would call it more a separate evolutionary path than call it an upgrade, as it’s effects and benefits (and some might feel limitations) will be evident when compared to the CDX2, CD555, NDX, NDS, ND555 etc...so far my listening experiences absolutely confirm this. 

For the record I prefer the Hugo over PCM1704K based reconstruction on every device I have heard so far... but clearly this is entirely subjective and personal, as all digital to analogue reconstruction is a collection of compromises.. and you choose the collection that sounds the most pleasing to you.

Whilst you are technically correct, and your final point is key, in my book the term ‘upgrade’ refers to the sound I hear, and not whether the process is evolutionary, so there is no contradiction at all with recognising that Hugo can be an upgrade on the DAC in ND5XS or NDX ...or ND555 might be an upgrade on ND5XS (or any other renderer)+Hugo - not that I have any idea if it is, as I haven’t heard.

I would eventually be looking at comparing Hugo with Qutest. While it is true that it is still based on 1704 construction, 555 should be another story. ????

Chag -

I have an ND5XS too. I preferred to upgrade with the nDAC and then maybe add power supplies to that down the road instead of maximizing the ND5XS. I also bought a used Hugo to hear what all the fuss is about. The Hugo is a different presentation and excellent, easily on the level of the nDAC and maybe beyond, depending on your taste. Used prices on both are compelling now. I enjoyed the Hugo presentation for about 6 months and then switched back to the Naim nDAC to see which of the two I would be selling. With a Blue Jeans BNC cable (Blue Jeans was the brand used for the Hugo, so to get a better A-B comparison, I used similar cables on both) the Naim nDAC was more engaging to me than the Hugo and I haven't gone back to the Hugo since. There's something about the nDAC I prefer, especially when using the Blue Jeans BNC cable instead of the Naim DC1. Both Hugo and nDAC are fantastic options for the ND5XS.

I'm wondering if the nDAC will still be the upgrade path for the ND5XS-2 once it's released.