Buying New Equipment

I would say that both your digital source components are totally outclassed by the amp and speakers, and the system would greatly benefit from much better source components.

I can't comment on the Rega TT & cartridge though.

I'm very surprised that a dealer would recommend that system as it seems unbalanced to me; however that does depend on what you asked for.

Huge, thank you for your response the Marantz and the Cd are mainly due to budget restrictions, the way I figured it was that those might be the easiest to upgrade down the road. Do you think I might be wrong?

I think you are wrong. A system such as the one you are thinking of will sound a lot worse than one with better sources and a more basic amplifier. 

A question - do you really need CD, streaming and a turntable? If you could lose CD you could start to assemble something much better. Is vinyl a significant source for you? If so, an RP6 is where you should be looking. 

If you could lose CD I'm thinking that a 272/200 with an RP6 and Rega phono stage would be a lot better. The alternative would be an NDX and Supernait, again with the RP6. If you need to compromise, you could run either setup with a pair of Focal 906, and then upgrade later to larger models. 

if not using Naim sources, please don't stick entry level interconnects on the sources.

Good interconnects are not very expensive, but are essential for the Marantz and others sources to perform properly

I think your system should be ok actually.

I don't think it's quite as bad as that . The cd5si is very capable in the all important midband but doesn't go as deep or high with as much control as higher models, if that suits your listening material you might not tell any difference between a cd5X or NDX or Ndac over your cd5si.

you could go all out crazy and put a Powerline and a Highline on it to get the best out of it.

I would tend to agree that the proposed system is out of balance:

I have the SN2 and with all the other stuff that I added afterwards I can confirm that the sources in consideration are way below level. The Rega is ok but even that sounds a lot better with a high end MM system such as Ortofon 2m black. 

Take the SN2 and the speakers and build pre-loved Naim gear around it which is up to the Supernait level. PhonoPre and cartridge should be same level. If you stick with the Elys both entry level devices you are mentioning are ok.

Best

Chris

Having recently upgraded from a third party streamer to an ex demo NDX the difference is incredible this in a 20 year old olive system the NDX is an absolute joy to use, streamed music from  NAS takes on an entirely different spectre words fail to describe the difference, therefore I would agree that the source is critical in this calibre of system.

Pete

Hello, I have they are all Chord interconnects

Andres,

You could forget the CDP and Marantz streamer and possibly consider a MacMini/Western Digital HD/Audirvana/Hugo system. In the UK this would cost £2500 - £3000 with a decent IC such as a Hiline. It's simplicity itself to use and sounds superb.

Good luck

Steve

Get a Uniti2. Dump the Marantz and CD player. Upgrade to Rega 6 with Ortofon 2M Black cart and Stageline N. Sit back and enjoy. that would be a sweet sounding setup, everything you want and in your budget. Is there better sounding Naim gear? Sure but the U2 is a very nice sounding bit of kit and very flexible for your audio needs. 

Way too risky

have you heard Focals, very divided opinions, I would buy some used cheaper speakers for example Epos 11 or Rega, along with a Nait 5i amp and best possible cd player and TT

say CDX2 and RP8, this would walk over SN/entry level source

I bought a cd5X around 6 years ago, along with a supernait. Somehow it just didn't quite gel together and I upgraded very quickly to the CDX2 that absolutely rocked with the supernait.

i would be careful of going for something that could give you the upgrade itch almost immediately.

i would also think twice about going down the CD route now. I have just built an audio server on a Qnap NAS for about £300 and swapped out my source and amp for the 272/250DR combo - I have not missed CD once and am amassing more and more hi res albums.

i have also not had my gyrodec TT since getting the 272/250 as its been in the shop for some maintenance. I've not missed that as the new boxes are giving me a very "analogue" sound. I fact I'm trying an XPS at the moment and I think if my TT resale value was close to the cost of an xps, I think I'd swap it it. 

I tried an NDX with my supernait and that sounded great, I'd strongly consider that as another option and not go for the seperate cd / streamer option at least.

i can't advise on the focals as I've no experience but they do seem to devide opinion here.

I hope you enjoy whatever you decide to go with, I can honestly say that my hifi gIves me enormous pleasure and I am so pleased I have gone down the Naim road.

I'd also recommend to focus on one source. My experience is that, given multiple sources, one ends up listening to only one, the best one. Which would be a shame for the other two.

For that reason I'd avoid to buy a new CD player altogether, better invest that money in a good streamer instead. If you already have a vinyl collection then you will need a TT of course. If not, you might consider to skip the TT too.

That little lot has cost $10 k or £6-7k maybe more or less, not the greatest choice of parts.

And your constructive suggestion would be?

wow, naim in colombia. muy bien! 

Andres, do you need vinyl, cd and digital streaming? what are your investments in these formats? consider ripping cds and therefore drop the cd5si. drop the vinyl too if it is not in your heart. replace these with a naim streamer and together with a sn2 and the focal speakers you would have an excellent system setup for the future...

timster

p.s. be aware that most (uk) folks are unaware of naim (un) availability in colombia, from someone who spends time in bogota each year with family...

Thank you all for your answers, as I said before the equipment options here in Colombia are not high, So many of the suggestions are not very feasible. I have to say that I have all three media types since I have about 300 Cd's about the equivalent in Flac files discs, and about 80 LP's that is why for me it is very hard to just concentrate on one type of source. More then being an audiophile I guess music has a lot of what the experience of finding that CD I want to listen to, or the LP, or the convenience of the digital song.

What do you think If I do the following. Supernait 2, Rega Rp3, Ndx, Focal 936 (I have been able to test these), and Cd5si? IN other words just change the Marantz?

If you are here in colombia give IM me and will gladly take you around! It is not easy to buy Hi-Fi equipment here since 99% of the population considers Bose to be the utmost in hi-fi! My Naim Dealer told me if he is lucky he will maybe sell 1 or 2 pieces of equipment a month!!!!!

Hi Andres,

Like others, I would put more emphasis on sources, less on amplifiers and speakers. So, Naim CD5XS into XS2 amp. Rega RP6 and Rega Fono with Rega cartrdge. Streamer as before. Naim Naca 5 speaker wires. Focal 926 speakers, which my dealer rates highly.

Oh, and a decent stand for the boxes. Record player on its own lightweight support.

Cheers, Chris

edit: I've just read your post a couple above. Now you are considering NDX and SN2. Clearly this will work beautifully. But a CD5si is a mismatch to me. Naim recommend a CDX2.2 for a SN2 amp.

NDX and Supernait 2 are well regarded together by a number of very experienced dealers in the UK

I would ditch the CD player and replace it with NDX.

Also look into PMC, Neat, Kudos, Ovator or Dynaudio speakers.

May not be available. Chap's in Colombia, and has already said Bose is considered the zenith. 

C.

I'll chime in.. I would keep things simple and in starting off I would focus more on the sources and sound enjoyment rather than features... I have found you get a more enjoyable sound for your buck with CD over streaming.. and so given your existing CDs I would look at something like a CDX2 into a Nait of some sort. That CD player rocks and gives you a concentrated Naim sound..it's more about enjoyment than total neutrality.

Sure a streamer is ultimately more versatile, but to get a more enjoyable sounding streamer than the CDX2 will cost a lot... and even then you may, if you are like me keep it in addition to the streamer for those discs and moods when you want that CDX2 sound...

You can dip your toe in the water for streaming when it suits, and there are some reasonably descent very low cost non Naim streamer solutions which you can change to Naim at a later time.

I would take the opposite view to Simon. With only 300 CDs, and already being someone who is happy with streaming, I'd simply forget the CD player. Rip them all and use the NDX. With the money saved on not getting the cd5si, you can get a better record player, though quite honestly with only 80 albums, I wouldn't bother with that either, unless the albums are particularly rare and cannot be replaced with digital equipment. With lp and cd out of the equation, you only need two boxes: NDX/Supernait or 272/250. If you really must have a turntable, the former will power a stageline, whereas the latter won't, so the former would make more sense. 

I think that last option you mentioned sounds pretty good. Supernait and ndx are quite a good match. I can't help get the feeling that you'll buy the cd player and find you never use it, ending up ripping your 300 cds (which wouldn't actually take that long to do) and selling it on. Everything else sounds fine to me. I love my ndx and wouldn't go back now. No experience of the rp3 but rega and naim do play well together, started out my streaming with a home made streamer and a rega dac, sounded good from what I remember.  

If you should purchase lower priced stuff I'd order a complete Rega setup

say something like Apollo/Brio CD/amp w/RS1 or 3 speakers depending on size of room

Ad a RP3 or higher if funds available and your going a very musically satisfying setup at much less money, personally I'd choose this option and much much better than Marantz streamer source