ND555 Impressions

Ps anybody with an experience on how the ND555 perform against the top Linn offering ?

Bert Schurink posted:

Gazza posted:

My dealer recommended to just use the hiline and standard interconnects which comes with the nd555, let it all burn in, and then decide on superlumina  etc

I think the super lumina’s are on absolute requirement at this level of replay, otherwise you would limit the ability of the ND555.

When I had my NDX I was using a Hi Line upgrading to a Super Lumina was a dramatic improvement Well worth it.

When I ordered my ND555 I did query why Naim never offered the option of a Super Lumina with the ND555 as I would have thought it as must at this level.

Bert Schurink posted:

Gazza posted:

My dealer recommended to just use the hiline and standard interconnects which comes with the nd555, let it all burn in, and then decide on superlumina  etc

I think the super lumina’s are on absolute requirement at this level of replay, otherwise you would limit the ability of the ND555.

That or ChordMusic . 

Bert Schurink posted:

Ps anybody with an experience on how the ND555 perform against the top Linn offering ?

Good question Bert !

I haven't done an A/B. I find it difficult to stay au fait with the rate of Linn development. I can attest that when I listened a few months ago it was the top spec system. It could be well out of date by now. Since a lot of the electronics were in the speakers, the system had a really nice, minimalist presence, but anything but a minimalist presentation. Put it this way, if Naim didn't exist I would be a very happy Linn streaming system owner. The detail, the resolution, the timing, the bottom end grip. It was all there and more. And the "more" is the bit that keeps me on the Naim side of the street. Playing stuff I know well, the Linn never fails to convey a grand sense of occasion. To me Naim delivers a more life like, visceral presentation. Where Naim is just on the right side of sweaty, Linn seems to stray into the realms of a little bit too refined.

Biased? Me? Well, maybe....

I heard the nd555 today, with 252/supercap /500 dr / cisco 2960 switch ( they followed my advice)/ apertura adamante speakers.  ( studio Hifi Versailles).

i brought my usb memory stick with hirez and listened to tidal too.   The nd555 was brand new for demo, perhaps 20 h burn.

The sound was marvelous : so much solidity, confidence, vast soundstage, very well defined bass. The drums and percussions were so crisp and alive, the voices so real.   There was no nds to compare. The room, amp , and speakers are better than mine, so difficult to compare. But I heard the ndx/ melco n1a in the same system ( but nap 300 dr), and the sound today was 3 steps better, like going from nait 5i to 282/ 250.    I am sure that the nds could not give what I heard today.

My next upgrade will be the nd555, I am sure today !    But I will have to wait.....

Harry posted:

I haven't done an A/B. I find it difficult to stay au fait with the rate of Linn development. I can attest that when I listened a few months ago it was the top spec system. It could be well out of date by now. Since a lot of the electronics were in the speakers, the system had a really nice, minimalist presence, but anything but a minimalist presentation. Put it this way, if Naim didn't exist I would be a very happy Linn streaming system owner. The detail, the resolution, the timing, the bottom end grip. It was all there and more. And the "more" is the bit that keeps me on the Naim side of the street. Playing stuff I know well, the Linn never fails to convey a grand sense of occasion. To me Naim delivers a more life like, visceral presentation. Where Naim is just on the right side of sweaty, Linn seems to stray into the realms of a little bit too refined.

Biased? Me? Well, maybe....

You describe also my opinion about Linn, refined but a bit too refined perhaps. Perhaps it can work well in combination with Naim amplification.

French Rooster posted:

I heard the nd555 today, with 252/supercap /500 dr / cisco 2960 switch ( they followed my advice)/ apertura adamante speakers.  ( studio Hifi Versailles).

i brought my usb memory stick with hirez and listened to tidal too.   The nd555 was brand new for demo, perhaps 20 h burn.

The sound was marvelous : so much solidity, confidence, vast soundstage, very well defined bass. The drums and percussions were so crisp and alive, the voices so real.   There was no nds to compare. The room, amp , and speakers are better than mine, so difficult to compare. But I heard the ndx/ melco n1a in the same system ( but nap 300 dr), and the sound today was 3 steps better, like going from nait 5i to 282/ 250.    I am sure that the nds could not give what I heard today.

My next upgrade will be the nd555, I am sure today !    But I will have to wait.....

And the ND555 will get a lot better after 4 weeks of run in . 20 hours of playing time it is not where it will be when completely broke in . That will be something to look forward to! 

Bert Schurink posted:

Harry posted:

I haven't done an A/B. I find it difficult to stay au fait with the rate of Linn development. I can attest that when I listened a few months ago it was the top spec system. It could be well out of date by now. Since a lot of the electronics were in the speakers, the system had a really nice, minimalist presence, but anything but a minimalist presentation. Put it this way, if Naim didn't exist I would be a very happy Linn streaming system owner. The detail, the resolution, the timing, the bottom end grip. It was all there and more. And the "more" is the bit that keeps me on the Naim side of the street. Playing stuff I know well, the Linn never fails to convey a grand sense of occasion. To me Naim delivers a more life like, visceral presentation. Where Naim is just on the right side of sweaty, Linn seems to stray into the realms of a little bit too refined.

Biased? Me? Well, maybe....

You describe also my opinion about Linn, refined but a bit too refined perhaps. Perhaps it can work well in combination with Naim amplification.

A friend of mine into this stereo hobby said his opinion is Linn streamers had a more polite &  polished sound than Naim. Naim sounded closer to live music . Which is why he preferred Naim streamers. But I am sure you can find people who lean the other way. 

musicfan51 posted:

French Rooster posted:

I heard the nd555 today, with 252/supercap /500 dr / cisco 2960 switch ( they followed my advice)/ apertura adamante speakers.  ( studio Hifi Versailles).

i brought my usb memory stick with hirez and listened to tidal too.   The nd555 was brand new for demo, perhaps 20 h burn.

The sound was marvelous : so much solidity, confidence, vast soundstage, very well defined bass. The drums and percussions were so crisp and alive, the voices so real.   There was no nds to compare. The room, amp , and speakers are better than mine, so difficult to compare. But I heard the ndx/ melco n1a in the same system ( but nap 300 dr), and the sound today was 3 steps better, like going from nait 5i to 282/ 250.    I am sure that the nds could not give what I heard today.

My next upgrade will be the nd555, I am sure today !    But I will have to wait.....

And the ND555 will get a lot better after 4 weeks of run in . 20 hours of playing time it is not where it will be when completely broke in . That will be something to look forward to! 

Yes Musicfans, I am aware that 20 hours burn in is not enough, and that the nd555 will improve in 2 or 3 weeks.  But quite just out of the box, the nd555 impressed me.  I will return on Saturday to listen again.

French Rooster posted:

musicfan51 posted:

French Rooster posted:

I heard the nd555 today, with 252/supercap /500 dr / cisco 2960 switch ( they followed my advice)/ apertura adamante speakers.  ( studio Hifi Versailles).

i brought my usb memory stick with hirez and listened to tidal too.   The nd555 was brand new for demo, perhaps 20 h burn.

The sound was marvelous : so much solidity, confidence, vast soundstage, very well defined bass. The drums and percussions were so crisp and alive, the voices so real.   There was no nds to compare. The room, amp , and speakers are better than mine, so difficult to compare. But I heard the ndx/ melco n1a in the same system ( but nap 300 dr), and the sound today was 3 steps better, like going from nait 5i to 282/ 250.    I am sure that the nds could not give what I heard today.

My next upgrade will be the nd555, I am sure today !    But I will have to wait.....

And the ND555 will get a lot better after 4 weeks of run in . 20 hours of playing time it is not where it will be when completely broke in . That will be something to look forward to! 

Yes Musicfans, I am aware that 20 hours burn in is not enough, and that the nd555 will improve in 2 or 3 weeks.  But quite just out of the box, the nd555 impressed me.  I will return on Saturday to listen again.

I know , I know , you were aware as any Naim owner would be , I was just saying it cause if you were that happy with the sound just 20 hours in, you have a lot to look forward to when in it run in all the way.    I was saying that in a excited ....isn’t this fun .... way ! Hope you took it that way French Rooster. No negativity attached to it what so ever . 

musicfan51 posted:

French Rooster posted:

musicfan51 posted:

French Rooster posted:

I heard the nd555 today, with 252/supercap /500 dr / cisco 2960 switch ( they followed my advice)/ apertura adamante speakers.  ( studio Hifi Versailles).

i brought my usb memory stick with hirez and listened to tidal too.   The nd555 was brand new for demo, perhaps 20 h burn.

The sound was marvelous : so much solidity, confidence, vast soundstage, very well defined bass. The drums and percussions were so crisp and alive, the voices so real.   There was no nds to compare. The room, amp , and speakers are better than mine, so difficult to compare. But I heard the ndx/ melco n1a in the same system ( but nap 300 dr), and the sound today was 3 steps better, like going from nait 5i to 282/ 250.    I am sure that the nds could not give what I heard today.

My next upgrade will be the nd555, I am sure today !    But I will have to wait.....

And the ND555 will get a lot better after 4 weeks of run in . 20 hours of playing time it is not where it will be when completely broke in . That will be something to look forward to! 

Yes Musicfans, I am aware that 20 hours burn in is not enough, and that the nd555 will improve in 2 or 3 weeks.  But quite just out of the box, the nd555 impressed me.  I will return on Saturday to listen again.

I know , I know , you were aware as any Naim owner would be , I was just saying it cause if you were that happy with the sound just 20 hours in, you have a lot to look forward to when in it run in all the way.    I was saying that in a excited ....isn’t this fun .... way ! Hope you took it that way French Rooster. No negativity attached to it what so ever . 

No problem or negativity.  Completely burned in , it must be the killing streamer !   If only I could buy it now.....

About 4 weeks into the burn in process, and I noticed a step change in performance a week ago and again today...

I have kept up with this thread but does anyone use the ND555 with an Olive system?

MangoMonkey posted:

About 4 weeks into the burn in process, and I noticed a step change in performance a week ago and again today...

For me it has been a more gradual process after the first two / three weeks. After that it’s improving but almost unnoticed in the sense of bumps. The initial bumps where however for noticeable in harshness and focus....

As it already so good it leads every now and then to these aha moments, especially if you play something which you know well but hadn’t played on the ND555 yet.

Dustysox posted:

I so want  to be No 2000th post!!!

Dusty I belief we are getting close to the point. So suggest you stay 24/7 online to be able to post Nr 2000........., and I predict it will also hit 2500 as we still have new people joining the party..... 

Like watching your car odometer flip to 50,000 miles. 

Doh....still waiting for mine :-((

Richieroo posted:

Doh....still waiting for mine :-((

The longer you wait the bigger the excitement....

Just been told  it's the dreaded casework quality issue.........doh....

I have also just been told that ours is delayed due to casework.....maybe next week....let the excitement grow!

Then just like DB and myself......almost given up hope, and they turn up out of the blue last week. So a trickle of cases/ finished product is getting out of the factory. It really is worth the wait.

Yes, worth the wait but not much comfort. Sorry to hear of these delays.

Good things will come, as they say....

I've been playing old Stones albums earlier this afternoon, and am now onto The Stranglers, and this "burning in thing", which I attribute as much as anything to the new Burndy cables, is far from being in the imagination.

I'm hearing details, never before heard, on these old recordings, and the music just seems to be more "real".

I've just finished listening to "Nice and Sleazy" and "wow", the power of the performance is quite overwhelming, it's like having them play live in the room.

That's my final thoughts on the ND555, other than to say "well done Naim, this is, indeed, a quite stunning piece of kit. 

Bert Schurink posted:

Dustysox posted:

I so want  to be No 2000th post!!!

Dusty I belief we are getting close to the point. So suggest you stay 24/7 online to be able to post Nr 2000........., and I predict it will also hit 2500 as we still have new people joining the party..... 

Bert, do you have a webcam on me...I’m always on

dave marshall posted:

I've been playing old Stones albums earlier this afternoon, and am now onto The Stranglers, and this "burning in thing", which I attribute as much as anything to the new Burndy cables, is far from being in the imagination.

I'm hearing details, never before heard, on these old recordings, and the music just seems to be more "real".

I've just finished listening to "Nice and Sleazy" and "wow", the power of the performance is quite overwhelming, it's like having them play live in the room.

That's my final thoughts on the ND555, other than to say "well done Naim, this is, indeed, a quite stunning piece of kit. 

Don’t say that Dave, just another 26 or so comments then i can chime in on the 2000th!!

Just to add, sorry to hear for the delays people are experiencing. The ND555 is really special and worthy of its Referernce status. Naim have really raised the bar here considering their relatively short time on streaming technology and as many have said it will be worth the wait, which i know doesn’t help much, but it really will be.It’s that time of year where we can dim the lights and turn the music up!!!