ND555 Impressions

When I auditioned the 252/supercap I asked about automation and they fitted the cable as described above, but did say that sound quality does suffer a bit?

analogmusic posted:

Digital can sound very musical as much as the best turntables....

a demo of NDX with XPS DR against LP12 convinced me.. the NDX sounded spacious, full of musicality and engaging...

 and ND555 is completely ahead of NDX!!!

 

 

analogmusic, I've been using a NDX/XPS dr for a number of years an excellent and very enjoyable source.

I did have a ND555 on home demo last weekend the ND555 is on a different planet altogether will be ordering one on Tuesday..

David Hendon posted:

Surely there must be a market for an audiophile system automation cable? There is a niche here waiting for someone to exploit it pointlessly and expensively.

Give it time... there is a SQ change with automation leads one can sometimes hear, in fact my dealer sometime leaves disconnected for higher end demos because of it, and I don’t usually connect on my 552. For me it’s mostly likely linked to the same effect one gets with different Ethernet patch leads, and mains cables, ie circulating ground currents... so if the circulating ground currents affect Ethernet patch leads (especially shielded ones) such that different leads can sound different on different systems, they will almost certainly affect automation the same way.. and as far as I recall these are  not even  galvanically isolated.

Laxton posted:

Richieroo posted:

Quick question I have a 552 and when the nd555 arrives I will loose the ir remote volume control of nds. So apparently I need to connect nd555 to 552 with a system automaton cable....what is this? is it an rca to 3.5 cable ...mono...can u advise   ....

Richie, You will need a RCA to 3.5mm cable. It may be a little difficult to find mono ones (ie. 1 x RCA to mono 3.5mm) these days. Stereo RCA to 3.5mm cable will work fine as well as you only need to use only one RCA (red).

My dealer gave me one when I bought my 282, which worked fine but was too long and contributed to the mass of spaghetti behind the rack. I bought a shorter one from an online seller called Kenable, who do mono versions in a range of lengths. Google MSR-008245 and you’ll find it. Hopefully after that ND555 purchase your bank account can still manage a 65p purchase. 

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

David Hendon posted:

Surely there must be a market for an audiophile system automation cable? There is a niche here waiting for someone to exploit it pointlessly and expensively.

Give it time... there is a SQ change with automation leads one can sometimes hear, in fact my dealer sometime leaves disconnected for higher end demos because of it, and I don’t usually connect on my 552. For me it’s mostly likely linked to the same effect one gets with different Ethernet patch leads, and mains cables, ie circulating ground currents... so if the circulating ground currents affect Ethernet patch leads such that different leads sound different, they will almost certainly affect automation the same way.. and as far as I recall these are  not even  galvanically isolated.

Yup,  give it time & the gullible will be exploited (again)

There was a discussion on the forum a while back on the SQ effects of system automation. you were involved Simon,  I don't recall the detail but a search will find it for those so inclined.  I think it was agreed that it did affect the separate amps (552, 252 etc) but did not do so with Supernait as that RC circuit was separate & isolated from others.   

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

LarsDK posted:

Hi Simon,

i am not having problems at all. I have 300/60mbit and 3 hubs. Without wifi priority, an iphone easily gets 80-90mbit, and nds gets more. I am not saying it cannot be complicated, but to me this really made a good difference. Fit and forget...

br Lars

That’s great... as long as you understand the limitations, it might well be the right solution for you.. where perhaps reach as opposed to throughput is the most important ... as opposed to needing both which is what I was talking about.

You see I like to screen share hidef video from my iPhone and iPad to an appleTV whilst streaming, others YouTubing, and lossless audio playing on Wifi speakers, laptop file transfers etc... and in my set it all works perfectly at the same time .. no hidef video lagging over the Wifi at all, or troublesome latency, or dropouts.... and on my Wifi management software, I can see Wifi devices moving around APs to optimally load balance... it’s all rather neat..

A great example of something that comes around again and again ... it applies to all technologies that normally require site specific or use case specific planning and configuration to be effective that are then simplified for generic consumer use, a prime example being my old favourite Ethernet Over Mains devices ... which work-well-enough for most people that they will recommend them based on their experience of them (which is of course perfectly valid for their specific use case) but without also recognising the potential downsides and when someone else then hits those downsides they are quite possibly insurmountable.

Myself - I'm very wary of the current mesh type network packages out there and regard them as only slightly removed from the evil that are basic wireless extenders (although some do at least dedicate a band for the backhaul to try to keep clear bandwidth for connected devices) but I'm interested to see how they develop...

For my own network at home I work on the premise that anything that has a permanent power feed that needs to connect to my network gets an Ethernet cable - I am aware that this conflicts with how I have the kids consoles / computers set up as I previously said they are "on WiFi" but that was by design to make it easier to manage their access by giving them their own time scheduled wireless network (which can also be turned off from either my or my OH's phones should their current round of gaming be deemed by them to be more important than a mealtime or whatever) and you can minimise the potential bottlenecks in the case of multiple wireless devices conflicting by a bit of sensible planning - so in that instance I have their 2 computers and 2 consoles hard wired to a wireless bridge so their WiFi network only has one device connected sending more data but that one device doesn't conflict with anything else rather than there being four devices which send less data individually but which will conflict for airtime.

Best

Phil

Laxton posted:

My ND555 has been running for slightly more than a day now. Since it replaced the NDS, I felt that the sound was very uneven and lack focus as compared to the NDS. So last night as I was checking the connections at the back of the ND555 and I discovered that the earth switch was set to "floating". I was quite surprised as the factory usually sets it to Chassis (or "default" in the case of the ND555) for most source products. Switching the earth switch to "default" made a huge difference. Everything is now back in focus and the ND555 is now showing what a beast it is. Interesting times ahead.

I found this for the Nova also "If you are using the Uniti Nova connected to a mains grounded CD Player, the Uniti Nova Grounding Switch should be set to Floating. No damage will be done if the wrong Signal Ground Position is chosen, however the system sound quality may be compromised."

Wonder if leaving the factory they are being set incorrectly

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

David Hendon posted:

Surely there must be a market for an audiophile system automation cable? There is a niche here waiting for someone to exploit it pointlessly and expensively.

Give it time... there is a SQ change with automation leads one can sometimes hear, in fact my dealer sometime leaves disconnected for higher end demos because of it, and I don’t usually connect on my 552. For me it’s mostly likely linked to the same effect one gets with different Ethernet patch leads, and mains cables, ie circulating ground currents... so if the circulating ground currents affect Ethernet patch leads (especially shielded ones) such that different leads can sound different on different systems, they will almost certainly affect automation the same way.. and as far as I recall these are  not even  galvanically isolated.

You are most probably right. But we are at the same time talking about a level of adaptation which starts to loose it’s practicality. One would need to disconnect that cable, one would need to only play the Melco directly ........., I know it all matters, but for me there is also a certain level of comfort in using the system needed...

Bert, exactly, there is a balance between OCD rituals of tweaking SQ, and simply enjoying your recordings.. but my point is there is clearly a market to satisfy those OCD tendencies as evidenced by the consumption of such audiophile products that pamper to these fetishes that we read about time and time again on this forum, and at times I am guilty of such indulgences as well.

Obsydian posted:

I found this for the Nova also "If you are using the Uniti Nova connected to a mains grounded CD Player, the Uniti Nova Grounding Switch should be set to Floating. No damage will be done if the wrong Signal Ground Position is chosen, however the system sound quality may be compromised."

Wonder if leaving the factory they are being set incorrectly

There is no ‘standard’ setting.. you need to set to suit your setup. A dealer install, which Naim often recommend, will set this for you. 

As said, all Naim NACs or hybrid NACs must have one and only one grounded source. Naim CD players by Naim convention are always grounded. Some non Naim sources may also be grounded. Therefore if you have any such source connected to your NAC all subsequent sources connected to that NAC should be set to floating for optimum SQ. if you have no other grounded source, you can elect which of your sources will be the ground, and flick the switch on it. Clearly if you have only one source it should be grounded.

If multiple sources are grounded, then circulating ground currents will probably  be induced to varying extents raising the noise floor and undermine the performance of the your system .. or in extreme cases, even a mains frequency current may be induced resulting in an audible hum in the audio.

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

Bert, exactly, there is a balance between OCD rituals of tweaking SQ, and simply enjoying your recordings.. but my point is there is clearly a market to satisfy those OCD tendencies as evidenced by the consumption of such audiophile products and leads that pamper to these fetishes that we read about time and time again on this forum. and at times I am guilty myself of such indulgences.

For me it's like tuning a car - you can spend huge amounts of time and money tuning a car possibly with the actual "tuning" becoming more of the hobby than the driving for some people but for others they would just rather buy a faster car and enjoy that.

I do love fettling my system too to a degree - and a lot of the "tweaks" that I do I know are simply to facilitate some kind of OCD-like desire to obtain some kind of mental balance to something that is in some way irking me but the last network cables I bought I bought because I was rewiring the system and I wanted all the cables to look the same and I liked the snag-free latches on them and they weren't "kinked" from having been in the same position for a couple of years etc. rather than because I felt that they sounded better than what I was using before. I recently built my own oak-and-glass rack for my kit to get it all into my new place but there's also a part of me that says that the system would sound better on a "proper" stand however I enjoy it as much as I ever did and my old "proper" stands just wouldn't fit (I have 2, 8 foot stacks of my old stands in my storage container now... )

When I get home I want to just sit back with a nice coffee and enjoy listening to my system rather than start thinking about the next tweak.

Phil

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

Obsydian posted:

I found this for the Nova also "If you are using the Uniti Nova connected to a mains grounded CD Player, the Uniti Nova Grounding Switch should be set to Floating. No damage will be done if the wrong Signal Ground Position is chosen, however the system sound quality may be compromised."

Wonder if leaving the factory they are being set incorrectly

There is no ‘standard’ setting.. you need to set to suit your setup. A dealer install, which Naim often recommend, will set this for you. 

As said, all Naim NACs or hybrid NACs must have one and only one grounded source. Naim CD players by Naim convention are always grounded. Some non Naim sources may also be grounded. Therefore if you have any such source connected to your NAC all subsequent sources connected to that NAC should be set to floating for optimum SQ. if you have no other grounded source, you can elect which of your sources will be the ground, and flick the switch on it. Clearly if you have only one source it should be grounded.

If multiple sources are grounded, then circulating ground currents will probably  be induced to varying extents raising the noise floor and undermine the performance of the your system .. or in extreme cases, even a mains frequency current may be induced resulting in an audible hum in the audio.

There are no right or wrong settings for the grounding switches - they are there to allow you to more effectively manage the signal and chassis grounds.

There are guidelines for how you would normally set them in specific use cases but if it happens that in your setup your kit sounds better with the grounding switch set contrary to those guidelines then that's perfectly valid.

Best

Phil 

Adam Meredith posted:

Phil Harris posted:

I want to just sit back with a nice coffee

 

How are you making that, Phil?

Who rattled your cage Mr Meredith! (Manhugs)

Phil

Phil Harris posted:

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

Bert, exactly, there is a balance between OCD rituals of tweaking SQ, and simply enjoying your recordings.. but my point is there is clearly a market to satisfy those OCD tendencies as evidenced by the consumption of such audiophile products and leads that pamper to these fetishes that we read about time and time again on this forum. and at times I am guilty myself of such indulgences.

For me it's like tuning a car - you can spend huge amounts of time and money tuning a car possibly with the actual "tuning" becoming more of the hobby than the driving for some people but for others they would just rather buy a faster car and enjoy that.

I do love fettling my system too to a degree - and a lot of the "tweaks" that I do I know are simply to facilitate some kind of OCD-like desire to obtain some kind of mental balance to something that is in some way irking me but the last network cables I bought I bought because I was rewiring the system and I wanted all the cables to look the same and I liked the snag-free latches on them and they weren't "kinked" from having been in the same position for a couple of years etc. rather than because I felt that they sounded better than what I was using before. I recently built my own oak-and-glass rack for my kit to get it all into my new place but there's also a part of me that says that the system would sound better on a "proper" stand however I enjoy it as much as I ever did and my old "proper" stands just wouldn't fit (I have 2, 8 foot stacks of my old stands in my storage container now... )

When I get home I want to just sit back with a nice coffee and enjoy listening to my system rather than start thinking about the next tweak.

Phil

Now that’s a real TVR owner talking from experience????

Gazza posted:

Now that’s a real TVR owner talking from experience????

Surely that's "fixing" rather than "tuning"? *sigh*

Phil

DaveBk posted:

Want smoother more precise volume control? Then you need the new SysAut Ultra! A snip at £500. 

Or £2500 for the Naim Super Lumina version, voiced for the 500 series.

best

David

Apparently there is a short delay in the latest shipment of  ND555s due to the implementation of new firmware. Anybody aware of this and what the firmware update does (Phil)?

Jonn posted:

Apparently there is a short delay in the latest shipment of  ND555s due to the implementation of new firmware. Anybody aware of this and what the firmware update does (Phil)?

Not as far as I'm aware - we're shipping ND555s as expected. (I also just checked to see if there were any issues with ND555s shipping and was told not.)

Phil

Phil Harris posted:

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

Obsydian posted:

I found this for the Nova also "If you are using the Uniti Nova connected to a mains grounded CD Player, the Uniti Nova Grounding Switch should be set to Floating. No damage will be done if the wrong Signal Ground Position is chosen, however the system sound quality may be compromised."

Wonder if leaving the factory they are being set incorrectly

There is no ‘standard’ setting.. you need to set to suit your setup. A dealer install, which Naim often recommend, will set this for you. 

As said, all Naim NACs or hybrid NACs must have one and only one grounded source. Naim CD players by Naim convention are always grounded. Some non Naim sources may also be grounded. Therefore if you have any such source connected to your NAC all subsequent sources connected to that NAC should be set to floating for optimum SQ. if you have no other grounded source, you can elect which of your sources will be the ground, and flick the switch on it. Clearly if you have only one source it should be grounded.

If multiple sources are grounded, then circulating ground currents will probably  be induced to varying extents raising the noise floor and undermine the performance of the your system .. or in extreme cases, even a mains frequency current may be induced resulting in an audible hum in the audio.

There are no right or wrong settings for the grounding switches - they are there to allow you to more effectively manage the signal and chassis grounds.

There are guidelines for how you would normally set them in specific use cases but if it happens that in your setup your kit sounds better with the grounding switch set contrary to those guidelines then that's perfectly valid.

Best

Phil 

So in my case I have an LP12 powered by a Radikal and ND555 connected to my 552 and to be honest I cannot hear any difference between ground and floating. So technically should I be on ground or floating?

If you can't hear a difference (any difference may well, in some instances, be very subtle) then I'd set it to ground.

That’s where it’s set thanks Richard.

Phil Harris posted:

Jonn posted:

Apparently there is a short delay in the latest shipment of  ND555s due to the implementation of new firmware. Anybody aware of this and what the firmware update does (Phil)?

Not as far as I'm aware - we're shipping ND555s as expected. (I also just checked to see if there were any issues with ND555s shipping and was told not.)

Phil

That’s interesting as I asked a dealer today about availability and the answer was what I just posted.  ????

Phil Harris posted:

Gazza posted:

Phil, Have you got a power supply on the NDX2 or just bare?

At the moment I have it running on the internal PSU ... I haven't popped my XPS-2 onto it yet just because I couldn't face disturbing the jungle of cables behind the rack.

Phil

A man of the people!

When it's been so long between upgrades:  My "dealer," and I say that with affection but with every meaning of that word, offered me a deal to trade my NDS, with essentially zero wait-time, and I couldn't pass it up:

Then the system as seen above started to realllllllly look like (and IMHO be) the proverbial "reverse mullet" and so:

I had an empty Fraim shelf anyway!  But I did refuse to add a Fraim level.  And my "dealer" made it too easy.

Now as to the ND555 -- I only had it in the system about 72 hours before the second photo was taken. Right out of the box, absolutely I could discern that it brings something differently special to the presentation of the music, even via the "lowly" (just kidding) SN2/HC2DR.  I made it a point to listen to music that I know REALLY well.  Others have used all the adjectives, and to me the sound stage really opened up, and that ability to hear individual instruments and individual strings on those instruments was quite 'amplified.'  But within the context of an entire musical performance.  And with undamped drum sets, a favorite listening test of mine, there's this ability to hear the drum head and the snares that exceeded what I'd been hearing before.

Oh well a weekend to listen to the Qute2 system before the Fraim gets re-populated come Monday.

Re-populated with what?......pray tell.

BTW Bart, the official Forum term for a reverse mullet is a Monkfish - big mouth, medium body and a little tail.