ND555 Impressions

The ND555 must have a pretty high demo to sales ratio ?

Well I haven’t heard a ND555 in my system  but based on what I heard at a dealer demo it certainly is not replacing my TT and I’m not sure even I had the £ that it would replace my CDS3?

The Strat (Fender) posted:

Well I haven’t heard a ND555 in my system  but based on what I heard at a dealer demo it certainly is not replacing my TT and I’m not sure even I had the £ that it would replace my CDS3?

 

 

 

Till you hear it your system you really can not judge it completely! Also takes near 4 weeks run in to reach full potential! 

Bart posted:

james n posted:

I'm sure Bert will be happy if his ND555 screen freezes on the Melody Gardot 'Live in Europe' album cover 

STOP!  lol

LOL  ???? 

musicfan51 posted:

The Strat (Fender) posted:

Well I haven’t heard a ND555 in my system  but based on what I heard at a dealer demo it certainly is not replacing my TT and I’m not sure even I had the £ that it would replace my CDS3?

 

 

 

Till you hear it your system you really can not judge it completely! Also takes near 4 weeks run in to reach full potential! 

Well I’m not sure about the 4 weeks - must depend on usage - but certainly home evaluation with your own music is the only way to trial a piece of high end equipment.  

Been following this thread since the beginning.  

Has anyone done a comparative demo between the ND555 and a latest spec Katalyst KDS?  Ever since I moved from my CD555 to the KDS I have been happy (each time upgraded to current KDS spec) so I am not going back - however curious to hear if anyone has done the comparison.

It certainly seems like Naim did an excellent job with this new one.

Best

Gregg

I had a spectacular experience last night. I went round a friends house to be plied with wine and curry and then forced to listen to his full statement and ND555 system, with the obligatory (two) power supplies, until almost midnight. 

It was frighteningly good, and once again re-sets the audio reference bar for me. I came straight home a played the same tracks heard earlier and on my CD555/552/500 system they sounded quite crude and basic.

I'd try to summaries the sound of his system but it's difficult to find the words. The ones that seem most appropriate are: delicacy, depth, distortionless, interplay atmosphere, tone and a few hundred more, including expensive!

However, like most things in life, you get what you pay for and if you want the best this is about as good as it gets.

Beautiful! 

Hi .... is your 552/500 setup of dr vintage???

French Rooster posted:

David O'Higgins posted:

TOBYJUG posted:

Does this sound any good on the ND555 ?

Seen her a few times live and can report that her behind is not that large, being more slimmer and snake hipped. I think they must have tampered with that other image.

It sounds great. The final track ‘Iemanja’ sounds particularly good to me.  I don’t see her in a Norah Jones, Diana Krall etc. box at all. 

I had a listen on this album yesterday and had to confess that it is a bit different from Norah Jones, Diana Krall bunch.  More personal and original.  

Out of interest has anyone heard the album Strangers on Earth by Lisa Ekdahl? When I bought this Disc decades agi i was on a Onkyo Marantz, her voice sounded tight and screechy on that setup. Ever since then I tried this disc on different system. It was still not listenable up to Uniti. In 272/XPS I was finally able to appreciate her emotion and voice. Wonder if this would sound magic on 555. 

Richieroo posted:

Hi .... is your 552/500 setup of dr vintage???

 

The 552 is non DR but the 500 is full fat DR. 

I wonder Dark Bear if your ND555 has arrived, installed and burning in or are you still waiting.

Geko posted:

I had a spectacular experience last night. I went round a friends house to be plied with wine and curry and then forced to listen to his full statement and ND555 system, with the obligatory (two) power supplies, until almost midnight. 

It was frighteningly good, and once again re-sets the audio reference bar for me. I came straight home a played the same tracks heard earlier and on my CD555/552/500 system they sounded quite crude and basic.

I'd try to summaries the sound of his system but it's difficult to find the words. The ones that seem most appropriate are: delicacy, depth, distortionless, interplay atmosphere, tone and a few hundred more, including expensive!

However, like most things in life, you get what you pay for and if you want the best this is about as good as it gets.

Beautiful! 

BOOZE/CURRY/FULL FAT NAIM - why no Doner Kebab 

Cheaper option here would be a friday night curry at your mates house every week.

Obsydian posted:

Geko posted:

It was frighteningly good, and once again re-sets the audio reference bar for me.I came straight home a played the same tracks heard earlier and on my CD555/552/500 system they sounded quite crude and basic.

Beautiful! 

BOOZE/CURRY/FULL FAT NAIM - why no Doner Kebab 

Cheaper option here would be a friday night curry at your mates house every week.

Let’s lie to ourselves and say: it was the booze. ????

When you have a 500 series and use words like that to make a comparison... 

must be be scary to ear ... a Statement 

 

BOOZE/CURRY/FULL FAT NAIM - why no Doner Kebab 

Cheaper option here would be a friday night curry at your mates house every week.

Donee Kebab and beer is for us Nova plebs.

Obsydian posted:

Geko posted:

I had a spectacular experience last night. I went round a friends house to be plied with wine and curry and then forced to listen to his full statement and ND555 system, with the obligatory (two) power supplies, until almost midnight. 

It was frighteningly good, and once again re-sets the audio reference bar for me. I came straight home a played the same tracks heard earlier and on my CD555/552/500 system they sounded quite crude and basic.

I'd try to summaries the sound of his system but it's difficult to find the words. The ones that seem most appropriate are: delicacy, depth, distortionless, interplay atmosphere, tone and a few hundred more, including expensive!

However, like most things in life, you get what you pay for and if you want the best this is about as good as it gets.

Beautiful! 

BOOZE/CURRY/FULL FAT NAIM - why no Doner Kebab 

Cheaper option here would be a friday night curry at your mates house every week.

Hmmm, I seem to recall my very first system, put together on a shoestring budget, with rumbling idler-wheel TT and DIY speakers having single 8” nominally full range driver with serious treble roll-off , sounded spectacularly wonderful to everyone who came round for an evening of  music listening, always accompanied by my home-brew...

The excitement for tomorrow is slowly building  ............... not helped though, by the fact that it's strangely quiet around here, what with the NDS now boxed up for collection. 

dave marshall posted:

The excitement for tomorrow is slowly building  ............... not helped though, by the fact that it's strangely quiet around here, what with the NDS now boxed up for collection. 

Looking forward to your feedback Dave.......I think!

nigelb posted:

dave marshall posted:

The excitement for tomorrow is slowly building  ............... not helped though, by the fact that it's strangely quiet around here, what with the NDS now boxed up for collection. 

Looking forward to your feedback Dave.......I think!

Nigel......very unlikely he @Dave Marshall will offer the comment wish I had kept my NDS???? Sorry it is better, but the NDS is a great streamer, lock yourself in with your music and forget the ND555 exists.

Gazza posted:

nigelb posted:

dave marshall posted:

The excitement for tomorrow is slowly building  ............... not helped though, by the fact that it's strangely quiet around here, what with the NDS now boxed up for collection. 

Looking forward to your feedback Dave.......I think!

Nigel......very unlikely he @Dave Marshall will offer the comment wish I had kept my NDS???? Sorry it is better, but the NDS is a great streamer, lock yourself in with your music and forget the ND555 exists.

I fear you may be right there Gazza.

Innocent Bystander posted:

Hmmm, I seem to recall my very first system, put together on a shoestring budget, with rumbling idler-wheel TT and DIY speakers having single 8” nominally full range driver with serious treble roll-off , sounded spectacularly wonderful to everyone who came round for an evening of  music listening, always accompanied by my home-brew...

You’ve virtually described my first system. Mine was a BSR turntable with one of those flip-over styli. I made my own speakers in school woodwork classes using 1/2” chipboard and teak veneer. I knew there were better systems, but to me at the time it was superb. 

Gazza posted:

I wonder Dark Bear if your ND555 has arrived, installed and burning in or are you still waiting.

Still waiting.
But I was expecting it at the end of the month and we are not half-way through it yet so no surprise.
I'm told Naim are still battling with the Casework gnomes to get the required finish-quality and the Melco is apparently caught-up in a Typhoon on a ship... sigh!

If anything happens I'll report.

DB.

Clive B posted:

You’ve virtually described my first system. Mine was a BSR turntable with one of those flip-over styli. I made my own speakers in school woodwork classes using 1/2” chipboard and teak veneer. I knew there were better systems, but to me at the time it was superb. 

Mine was Garrard SP25mk2, Shure M3D magnetic cart, speakers were Eagle FR8 drivers in reflex boxes design based on much reading, made of plywood, with I” fibreglass insulation mat lining. Did reasonably extended  bass but rather woolly. I didn’t have benefit of woodwork training, but they didn”t look bad - with the grilles on, as the driver and reflex port holes were multiple drill-holes cut between less than evenly... Amp was Sinclair Project 60.

My first system Pioneer 512 TT, Pioneer Amp and Wharfedale Dintons. My mates came round with cans of Watneys Party 7

Darke Bear posted:

Gazza posted:

I wonder Dark Bear if your ND555 has arrived, installed and burning in or are you still waiting.

Still waiting.
But I was expecting it at the end of the month and we are not half-way through it yet so no surprise.
I'm told Naim are still battling with the Casework gnomes to get the required finish-quality and the Melco is apparently caught-up in a Typhoon on a ship... sigh!

If anything happens I'll report.

DB.

Ordered my ND555 and 555PS on the 16th of August with anticipated delivery of late September they were both installed last Friday ?

Pcd posted:

Ordered my ND555 and 555PS on the 16th of August with anticipated delivery of late September they were both installed last Friday ?

I'm thinking Naim use a 'spin the bottle' approach to delivery scheduling.
To be fair I did order mine a week later than you, so not too bad.

I'll survive!

DB.