ND555 Impressions

Hi Bert. How about an update on your findings? Thanks

We're thoroughly enjoying our ND555 music chez Bart.  Listening to Mark Knopfler's new album tonight.  Love Dire Straits, but usually not so much his solo albums.  This one's pretty good!

ND555 + Roon = flawless playback.  I remain a big fan of Roon.

I was not sure that my ND555 was actually going through run in until quite suddenly the bass has gained in detail and texture (to the point that I just noticed a slight wah effect on a track I have been listening to for many years). The system is sounding great.

Having said that, for those of you hankering this level of involvement on a lower budget, try a decent turntable. The ND555, as great as it is, does not surpass my Rega rig, and in some ways trails some way behind. 

Hi Robby,how much run in time have you got on the 555? , lve got 230 hours,  Bass can be a bit to much,lm hoping it will tighten up & have a bit more detail & less oomph.regards bob.

Hi Bob

I’m about 8 weeks in, which probably equates to 160ish  hours.

Another thought Bob, did you tweak your speaker positioning for the ND555? I moved mine out slightly as I was also experiencing slightly strong bass in my room.

Thanks Robbo,lm lucky enough to leave mine on for about 10 hours a day,so clocked up about 230 hours so far,are you happy with how it’s improving,if it is,cheers,bob.

Overall I have been very happy with the ND555. Adding this strangely felt like I was adding an extra power supply - much more control and finally my speakers started to really sing. I always felt a slight hollowness to the system previously, when on digital medium. That has gone. My wife is not into all this hi-fi stuff,  but she appreciates the difference too, even when it’s on as background music. The ND555 has proven to be transformational in my system.

There’s still room for a bit of vinyl now and again though

Or rather like adding an extra power amp

My Scalas are about 2 foot into the room & about 18 inches from side walls,the reason l mentioned about the bass is l wasn’t getting it with my NDS,lm hoping this will improve with more run in time,other wise it might have to bo different speakers,thanks again Robbo.

All it took for mine to lock in was a few cm

cdboy posted:

Hi Bert. How about an update on your findings? Thanks

I could just echo DB’s finding. It’s really a wonderfull machine. I now understand what I missed in the past. The music now immediately emotionally attached. And it just doesn’t need this perfect recording and this great bla bla bla, it pretty much works for all music. What I think creates the magic are the following aspects...

1. Timing is spot on, and it’s something one can not 100% percent describe as it always is partly something which influences your unconscious.

2. Rendition of tones is spot. The real test is how well it renders Piano.

3. Low end performance is great. While in the run in process you sometimes even have the feeling it’s a lot. It gives this feeling of completeness.

4. Soundstage is also much improved onto the NDS. While Naim has always a rather focused sound, others do more.

5. Rendering of live performances are brilliant. It gives really a three dimension picture which you need. Always amazing for me.

6. Detail rendering is also great. While it doesn’t go to the level where the sound almost becomes artificial. I think a right balance with staying very musical.

For me it’s now really the question if it would be once beneficial to move to an additional ps..., something in me tells me that it might push some of the elements of it’s performance over the edge. Meaning it get’s less forgiving in some scenarios. I think it’s the most musical digital source on the market. The best other sources might just beat it on the last 0,00000001 percent on detail and soundstage. But no source that I know of digitally beats it on musicality - which is my key criterium.....

And yes it’s still running in. I have the feeling it might fully stabilize in the Christmas holiday in which I have two weeks of intensive listening. But let’s see it might even take a bit longer.

Hope this gives you all a good overview. And one additional aspect which I have started to appreciate is the ability it has to render 352....., which even adds some unconscious completeness touch...

By the way with regards to run in. I have now a full 14 weeks under my belt. Got the machine on the 27th of July. And as DB i am not permanently running... so it should get anywhere between 12 and 20 hours a week. And I still am not completely done with the run in. While I don’t think it will require close to half a year like with my former 252 to show the full potential.

Thanks Bert!.

Bert - as to adding another PS to the ND555, only trying it will give you your answer.

Horrible answer I know, as we are meant to just say better or worse - so for me 'better' with two but for a lot of people, especially while new and running-in 'worse' will be said with two PS on the ND555.

It was an immediate and obvious yes for the use of two PS for me from the off as I'm used to two PS on the CD555 source and find that with large speakers of any kind that can render low-bass, either in my Active 3x500 system or in my Dealer's Passive Statement system I heard the extra definition of deep note clarity as something I wanted as it improved bass timing. Otherwise, for me, the ND555 with single PS was worse than CD555 with two PS in that department and I would not have upgraded to ND555 if it was limited to the one PS performance.

Two PS also do far more than just improve LF clarity but IMO also add extra crispness and openness at top-end extension and more lucid mid-band so just better. But if you have a system in a room with low-bass problems then adding more weight there may not be a good thing, so a single PS may work better.

Also the single PS version sounds fantastic in its own right and it is only by comparison it becomes clear that you can get more - but the individual decides if the extra price is worth it for them. It is also a nice future upgrade allowing ND555 purchase without the extra cost of the second supply initially even if you do eventually want that.

Mine is still running-in and opening-out on week 7 plus now. The odd dip of dull over-full sound lasting a few hours then lifting off the sound has happened but it seems just part of the run-in process. More generally it is getting clearer and more seamlessly tuneful and very lucidly-communicative - nothing in the way feeling.

DB.

Darke Bear posted:

Bert - as to adding another PS to the ND555, only trying it will give you your answer.

Horrible answer I know, as we are meant to just say better or worse - so for me 'better' with two but for a lot of people, especially while new and running-in 'worse' will be said with two PS on the ND555.

It was an immediate and obvious yes for the use of two PS for me from the off as I'm used to two PS on the CD555 source and find that with large speakers of any kind that can render low-bass, either in my Active 3x500 system or in my Dealer's Passive Statement system I heard the extra definition of deep note clarity as something I wanted as it improved bass timing. Otherwise, for me, the ND555 with single PS was worse than CD555 with two PS in that department and I would not have upgraded to ND555 if it was limited to the one PS performance.

Two PS also do far more than just improve LF clarity but IMO also add extra crispness and openness at top-end extension and more lucid mid-band so just better. But if you have a system in a room with low-bass problems then adding more weight there may not be a good thing, so a single PS may work better.

Also the single PS version sounds fantastic in its own right and it is only by comparison it becomes clear that you can get more - but the individual decides if the extra price is worth it for them. It is also a nice future upgrade allowing ND555 purchase without the extra cost of the second supply initially even if you do eventually want that.

Mine is still running-in and opening-out on week 7 plus now. The odd dip of dull over-full sound lasting a few hours then lifting off the sound has happened but it seems just part of the run-in process. More generally it is getting clearer and more seamlessly tuneful and very lucidly-communicative - nothing in the way feeling.

DB.

Thanks DB as always a precise answer from your side. And with the things I feared to hear. I even have the potential to add a level in my frame.... Let’s see, so far I a, very happy with my one ps based system, and would first considering upgrading my 500 to dr spec.

You do not have to use two PS! If you are enjoying it now, jut continue and have that extra possible upgrade ahead in future when it all fits-in financially best is my advice.

Sometimes you can reach what is 'good enough' for you and I've exceeded my own limit for that by enough margin to be happy with what I have. I know on fairly good authority of people I tend to believe that there are further tweaks I can make with better cables but I'm happy for that to be down the road for me to try as I'm happy with what I already have. That is the sweet-spot to reach at any price-point - to be content with the performance and not have any niggling feeling of something not as it should be.

Balance is the thing that matters with any more elaborate multi-box HiFi system - meaning a balanced presentation to your own way of hearing for things there in the mix. Presently I have that - for me. I have heard I can improve areas but that opens a can of worms as you can unbalance a system that can be difficult to describe to someone or even yourself but easy to hear and be unhappy with.

I will - once the winter season is over and my ND555 is more run-in - try some more things like other Ethernet Cables and some other things, but it is not a priority for me. I'm enjoying the music and have that feeling that 'nothing is lacking' which is nice to run with as long as you have it with a system. This feeling of balance in a system can manifest at all levels of system cost envelope and can be easier in my experience to reach with less expensive systems and easy to get more wrong as you go higher-up the price and performance league, as you can easy unbalance the presentation for you - another my love it but it can leave you cold and uninvolved.

The ND555 is very even-handed in what it does musically in that it does not, to me seem to emphasise anything over another - everything gets its say musically and in this sense it is much more 'Statement-like' in the neutrality in the way it gets out of the way of the music and leaves it free to run as it was before being sampled. This freedom from digital artifacts in the presentation is most pleasing for me - or very 'analogue' as some may describe it.

DB.

ND555/552/500 kudos super 20s sounding scary good this morning. Leonard Cohen at 630 am.

So - listening to music at low levels extremely important- and this system does it well. The other window of opportunity to listen is late nights when the family is sleeping.

I tend to wake up at 5am since several months - either hit the gym, or have a couple of hours to myself before the kids wake up and take over the HiFi. Thankfully, it’s classical music for the kids and not Black Sabbath. Soma is learning the violin - and we listen to a lot of his music. Also listen to music that he will be playing in the next several years - Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart, Brahms etc..

Trevor Pinnock/English concert now my favorite.

Still - the kids will be older before too long and leave home. I’ll have too much time listening to music - and even more time missing them. Still, they have to fly away. 

I would trade the all the hifi in the world for their laughter. Even if it’s insane maniacal laughter at times, just to tick me off. Theyre 18 months and 8 in a few months. So I still have some time with them in the house. :-)

Mango - I’ve got so many Pinnock recordings - lovely music.  Sorry for diverting the thread!

Talking about kids MM - we had a fun kids-Dance time tonight playing lots of fave music. I was truly amazed about how much cleaner/unconstrained the nd555 goes when playing loud vs the NDS. There seems to be no coloring nor edges, just beatifully fully resolved live music. It was never a problem w NDS that it was not great fun playing loud. The ND555 just once again showed it is a different league.. wonderful player!. Br Lars

Hi mine is just over 4 weeks in ........... and it is sounding incredible.........all the detail seems to be brought cohesively together ........ to render great music. The top end detail is terrific and dynamic in contrast .... something the NDS somehow did not quite pull off........ voices have gained inner detail and inflection, small acoustic nuances are now apparent and of course the bass performance is as tight as a ducks proverbial........... the whole of which is amazing as the sum is greater than the individual parts. I am astounded at progress Naim have made - it is a tribute to careful fastidious development .... 

Hi Richieroo,what do you think that is in hours?,mine is at 300 hours at the moment,lm lucky l can leave mine ticking over for most of the day.regards Bob.

Richieroo posted:

Hi mine is just over 4 weeks in ........... and it is sounding incredible.........all the detail seems to be brought cohesively together ........ to render great music. The top end detail is terrific and dynamic in contrast .... something the NDS somehow did not quite pull off........ voices have gained inner detail and inflection, small acoustic nuances are now apparent and of course the bass performance is as tight as a ducks proverbial........... the whole of which is amazing as the sum is greater than the individual parts. I am astounded at progress Naim have made - it is a tribute to careful fastidious development .... 

Very much in agreement I’ve had mine for nearly three months and it is something very special indeed.

I never heard one at a show or a dealer but had a home demo. I don’t think you will appreciate all of the qualities of the ND555 until you  hear it over a period of time in your own system a remarkable achievement by Naim Audio indeed.

Have to agree I struggled with the Naim demo and a listen at the factory, had to hear it with my system and music.

Hours.....around 750-800 ... it has improved allot. Regarding auditioning I was able to hear the differences - at a demo - but at home in a better system wow ......... familiar albums I have had for years sound epic........I played Simply Red ... Red Box last night ......... it was a revelation what a stunning recording ........ I'm not keen on Mick's other offerings but this album is something else.... try it. Another thing of note the ND555 also seems to bring alive - live venue recordings ........ which I now enjoy.