ND555 Impressions

Bailyhill posted:

Very interested in this topic of Fraims as mine is at my dealers.  Will pick it up in a week or so.  I have 2 Fraims of 2 levels.  Intrigued by the idea of separating the ND555 and its power supply.  I have not had the separate power supplies before, how long is the cable connecting them?  Can I separate the two Frames by 24 inches so my power amplifier sits between them.  I have a view of the water, and my wife does not mind how many boxes I have, as long as they don't stack more than 2 high.  Original thought was to put the ND555 and its PS on one Fraim, and Unity Core and Preamp on the other.   Seems like not the way to go from what I am hearing here.  What is the max separation laterally for the ND555 and its PS?

 

Bailyhill

I wouldn’t advise to mix up your ps with the core unit on the same stack. Always if you can separate it from each other in two or more pillars. Then with a pillar also the order can influence. Power is mostly at the bottom, unless you have the luxury of an additional free shelf and then you continue with pre and finally source. In my case the stacking order ends with the Melco as this can only go on top given the connects at the back.

Totally agree with NigelB .......... in-fact I recon the 552 is holding ND555 back a little............ ultimately  -  I would imagine the S1 would be needed to release the full potential .... as Bear's system........ perhaps one day the 552 volume control will be updated to that closely resembling the S1 ....... maybe that will happen in the not too distant future........wish - wish.

Richieroo posted:

Totally agree with NigelB .......... in-fact I recon the 552 is holding ND555 back a little............ ultimately  -  I would imagine the S1 would be needed to release the full potential .... as Bear's system........ perhaps one day the 552 volume control will be updated to that closely resembling the S1 ....... maybe that will happen in the not too distant future........wish - wish.

When I recently heard the Statement amp an Preamp with the ND555 I was blown away with the fantastic sound quality . Out of the park awesome . I can never afford the Statement Amp and Preamp but it sure was a treat to listen to it . ND555 is a fantastic source . I know I love mine . I have been listening to the recently released remastered Beatles White album ripped to my UnitiCore and playing it through the ND555. It is a flat out “wow”!  Never heard it sound so great. 

Try the old Simply Red  album - Red Box ....... it sounds amazing.......

Hi Richieroo,l looked for the simply red album yesterday and it is not listed on Tidal.

musicfan51 posted:

Richieroo posted:

Totally agree with NigelB .......... in-fact I recon the 552 is holding ND555 back a little............ ultimately  -  I would imagine the S1 would be needed to release the full potential .... as Bear's system........ perhaps one day the 552 volume control will be updated to that closely resembling the S1 ....... maybe that will happen in the not too distant future........wish - wish.

When I recently heard the Statement amp an Preamp with the ND555 I was blown away with the fantastic sound quality . Out of the park awesome . I can never afford the Statement Amp and Preamp but it sure was a treat to listen to it . ND555 is a fantastic source . I know I love mine . I have been listening to the recently released remastered Beatles White album ripped to my UnitiCore and playing it through the ND555. It is a flat out “wow”!  Never heard it sound so great. 

Out of interest, why would you not get the 24 bit download in preference to ripping from CD?

Bob green posted:

Hi Richieroo,l looked for the simply red album yesterday and it is not listed on Tidal.

Bob, I think Richie means the album “picture book” which has a track called open the red box. This album is on tidal.

The track is called open up the red box not just the red box,just in case anyone else has a look!.cheers Gazza.

Bob green posted:

The track is called open up the red box not just the red box,just in case anyone else has a look!.cheers Gazza.

Funny the post triggered me for some exploration - listening to some material and thinking I am mad....will now listen to this one...

I’m going to give it ago as well ,l had the album years ago,l think it’s produced bi Steve levin?.cheers Bert.

Out of interest - how does a low rez source such as iradio (radio paradise as an example) sound on the ND555? 

Bob green posted:

The track is called open up the red box not just the red box,just in case anyone else has a look!.cheers Gazza.

Just bought it on music magpie for £1.12p

Bob green posted:

The track is called open up the red box not just the red box,just in case anyone else has a look!.cheers Gazza.

Being picky, it’s actually (Open up the) Red Box..... I’ve not played it for donkey’s years; reading about it here made it me play it just now. What a good song, it’s like being transported back to the 80s, which is rarely a bad thing. 

Yes tested it, great song....., never been so much into Simply Red though, besides best off...., saw the guys live at North Sea Jazz closing the festival, was quite enjoyable, while his voice has had it’s best years...

It of course sounds good, while I belief the songs which have a combination of deep low and a female voice even better show the quality of the ND555

Sorry guys you are correct Picture Book it is ........... I had the CD lying around ......... ripped it and went holy moly!  I remember it being fantastic on vinyl.....this album is quite soulful ........... unlike Mick's other offerings .... which to put it politely are not to my taste...........

I suspect ......... if you found an early CD ......... and ripped it ......... it would be even more dynamic.........allot of remastered albums I have listened to have been a disappointment.

Richieroo posted:

I suspect ......... if you found an early CD ......... and ripped it ......... it would be even more dynamic.........allot of remastered albums I have listened to have been a disappointment.

Very true, remastering on cd’s is often a nightmare - the dynamic c range get’s very often reduced in the process. While in the early days of cd’s also some cd’s where created under questionable conditions. So for me it’s pick and choose. Especially in rock it’s quite often a dissapointment.

Bailyhill posted:

Very interested in this topic of Fraims as mine is at my dealers.  Will pick it up in a week or so.  I have 2 Fraims of 2 levels.  Intrigued by the idea of separating the ND555 and its power supply.  I have not had the separate power supplies before, how long is the cable connecting them?  Can I separate the two Frames by 24 inches so my power amplifier sits between them.  I have a view of the water, and my wife does not mind how many boxes I have, as long as they don't stack more than 2 high.  Original thought was to put the ND555 and its PS on one Fraim, and Unity Core and Preamp on the other.   Seems like not the way to go from what I am hearing here.  What is the max separation laterally for the ND555 and its PS?

 

Bailyhill

Still looking for the answer for the length of the Burndy Cable from ND555 to PS555.  Anyone have an estimate?  It sounds like its 1.5 meters or so, long enough to put the ND555 in the left stack and the PS555 in the right stack.  Can I space the two stacks far enough apart to put the 24 inch wide power amp between them?  

Thanks

No, the burndies aren’t long enough. 

jsaudio posted:

Well after following this thread on the forum since inception,I just installed a 552 and ND555 in place of my 272/555PS. While the increase in overall SQ is significant,I imagine that it will gradually increase over time. Very happy so far although I must say that the law of diminishing returns is fully in play here when you consider the cost. The fully run in 272/555PS was really quite good. No regrets though. I do have some questions if I may,since Bert,Mango and Richieroo have a similar set-up and box counts and I believe rack set ups.

I have 2 Fraim stacks with 3 levels per side for now.

Left side.          Right side

552.                   552PS

ND555.            555PS

NAP 300          300PS

First, are these the optimal placements.

I am using Superlumina DIN/XLR mono pair and one of them while it reaches, is slightly pulled to one side. I think they are 1 meter which was the only offering here in the states at the time. Do you think this is a problem?

The NAP 300 Burndies are on the carpeted floor as you might imagine given that the 300 and 300PS are the lowest level.

Overall, cable dressing seems difficult. Not sure I know what I'm doing.

Lastly, the equipment racks are between and behind the Sopra 3s. Would be tough aesthetically to move to one side of the room. How important is this? Sopras are about 3.5 feet from front wall and about 4-5 feet from sides of rectangular room. 14 X 28 feet.

Sorry for all the questions and I hope this hasn't diverged too much from topic but this is a large investment in SQ and want to make sure its all optimized. The level of knowledge and experience with the participants in this thread is impressive.

thanks

 

In order to get the Burndies off the floor with no further investment in shelves, why not put the power supply for the top brains unit (currently the NAC552) on the bottom shelf and the power supply for the bottom brains unit (currently NAP300) on the top shelf? Assuming you haven't swapped the NAC552 and ND555 over yet, this would result in this set up:

Left side.          Right side

552.                   300PS

ND555.            555PS

NAP 300          552PS

OK, you would have crossing Burndies, but nothing on the floor. It's easy to try and won't cost a penny.

Folks have tried that and reported mixed results.

Another alternative is to have hooks on the walls - and use rubber bands to lift the burndies.

hungryhalibut posted:

musicfan51 posted:

Richieroo posted:

Totally agree with NigelB .......... in-fact I recon the 552 is holding ND555 back a little............ ultimately  -  I would imagine the S1 would be needed to release the full potential .... as Bear's system........ perhaps one day the 552 volume control will be updated to that closely resembling the S1 ....... maybe that will happen in the not too distant future........wish - wish.

When I recently heard the Statement amp an Preamp with the ND555 I was blown away with the fantastic sound quality . Out of the park awesome . I can never afford the Statement Amp and Preamp but it sure was a treat to listen to it . ND555 is a fantastic source . I know I love mine . I have been listening to the recently released remastered Beatles White album ripped to my UnitiCore and playing it through the ND555. It is a flat out “wow”!  Never heard it sound so great. 

Out of interest, why would you not get the 24 bit download in preference to ripping from CD?

One,  a person from Naim said often the 24 bit downloads did not sound better than rips from a quality CD  , second , the huge booklet it comes with is very interesting to read . Love having it in my possession. 

That makes sense: I just don’t like having CDs all over the place. I’ve got the 24 bit and it does sound excellent. 

What amazes me is that the ND555 is still managing to eek out more information from red book std data. I have not heard a 24bit version that has really blown me away..are there any suggestions....

hungryhalibut posted:

That makes sense: I just don’t like having CDs all over the place. I’ve got the 24 bit and it does sound excellent. 

Having cd's AND ripping them, to me, would be the worst of both worlds almost.  Reason no. 1 why I went to in-home streaming 7 years ago was to avoid cd clutter; I do not want them in racks in my room, or lying about after or while being played.