Adding streaming to Olive system

Moon Mind + a Chord Hugo should get you started for a relatively affordable price, given the context of your system.  Alternatively, a used NDX, which could share power duties with your CDS2.  Do check that your XPS is compatible though, as the NDX may require a black XPS2, not the earlier olive one.

You could do it for less, but this would provide a good start point with 2 relatively affordable components.  It does assume that you have already ripped your CDs on to a hard drive or NAS.

I have dipped a toe in the streaming world via a mac, DAC-V1 and NAP140 but in a second system to learn the basics and to get the ethernet switch, NAS & CAT6 wiring in before fully committing to major outlay on the main system.

There are many, many other ways to do it, but this pairing gets you close to the top for real world money.

Best regards, FT

Maybe worth waiting for the Core to be released, if you want a simple way to rip, store and play CDs. Add an NDAC or something from Chord and you're done. Alternatively, go the whole hog and get a streamer - bearing in mind that Naim's range is likely to be updated at some stage. This all depends on how you define 'crazy money', from the current range, an NDX, or even NDS, would not be out of place. 

Alternatively a used HDX... But it's getting a bit old now.

Core and a DAC should be better.

Auralic Aries mini is a cheap way to get into streaming. Also has a built in DAC. Nice app also. 

A google chromecast will allow you to stream tidal, qobuz etc via your smart phone. Cost is £30, but you will need a cable. I don't know if the cd player has a toslink digital input. If not you can go via rca into your preamp and use the dac in the chromecast.

davidf posted:

current system: cds2/Xps/01/52/135s- on fraim

without spending crazy money what is recommended to add streaming to my system?  I have about 600 cd's so I would still like to keep cds2 unless I get something that also rips and plays ripped cd's.  keep it simple I'm a Luddite 

 

David, I had a CDI.82.Supercap and 250 and decided about three years ago to look into streaming so I purchased a Third Party Streamer and ripped my CDs to a NAS.

Whilst it was OK last year I saw a ex demo NDX and duly purchased it to say I was amazed at how much better it sounded would be an understatement the difference was incredible.

With the calibre of your system unless you get something in keeping quality wise you might be disappointed with streaming.

After using the NDX for many months I was so taken with it is now the main source for my new system and I have a big smile everyday I play music also I have bought more CDs since I sold my CD player than ever before.

The basics are a music store, a renderer (aka transport') and a DAC. Most common is a separate music store such as a NAS (Network Attached Storage), connected via a network  to a 'streamer' such as ND5XS or NDX, or combined also with preamp as in the NAC N272. Typical upgrades from that include adding a better DAC like nDAC or Hugo (or higher), retaining the streamer just as a renderer, or adding power supplies, or changing the streamer.

An alternative is a separate DAC fed by a combined music store + renderer (e.g MacMini+Audirvana, Melco, Innuos Zenith, and possible the new Unit Core which  Phil Harris has said that to his ears in his system is indistinguishable from NDx as renderer). One possibly significant advantage of this approach is avoidance of streaming files across a network, which seems to cause some people major problems.

In case it helps: started with ND5XS and a basic NAS, and through several steps noted on another recent thread I achieved a significant upgrade by changing to the combined store/renderer approach with a Mac Mini+Audirvana and the wonderful Hugo DAC (and a Gustard U12 isolator in between to remove the inevitable electrical/rf noise from the coomputer. The MM runs headless - just a small box, without screen or keyboard). That end result was cheaper than the ND5XS upgraded with either a power supply or external DAC, and I wished I had known to go straight in that direction. (But I have since upgraded the DAC further)

searching for some of the above named options will find some discussion of them