streaming setup sn2 stays

Needless to say, in the 2nd option I sell the ndac as well

NDX natural partner for the SN2 adding a XPS dr to the NDX works wonders but it is a fine machine on its own.

Thxs!!!

Say PCD, somehow i tend to believe that nd5xs with dac xps might be superior to the ndx xps...   am I on the wrong direction???

Everyone, your thoughts are very important for me, thanks!!!

Don't drop the nDAC unless moving to NDS. This being said I would go for option 3 if staying at SN2 level, option 2 + nDAC if going to 282/250 or higher within a year or two. Possible alternative is 272/XPS/250 for a lesser box count.

Chag -

Third option would be the best one sonically. nDAC outperforms NDX in sound quality IMO. I run exactly the same setup as you now, though in addition I have an aftermarket PSU for nDAC. I owned NDX briefly and had the same idea as you, to sell nDAC and go for streaming. But I found out that I preferred nDAC's sound in the end. More refined, deeper and smoother. I couldn't afford to keep NDX as a transport only and my current USB bridge was at least as good transport as NDX so I sold the NDX. NDX is more in your face and aggressive sounding, very fun to listen to though. Both have great sound though and some might prefer NDX to nDAC. 

oferr posted:

Say PCD, somehow i tend to believe that nd5xs with dac xps might be superior to the ndx xps...   am I on the wrong direction???

oferr, not heard the  nd5xs with the dac xps you would have to arrange a demo to see what is your preference.

Chag... posted:

Don't drop the nDAC unless moving to NDS. This being said I would go for option 3 if staying at SN2 level, option 2 + nDAC if going to 282/250 or higher within a year or two. Possible alternative is 272/XPS/250 for a lesser box count.

Chag -

excellent advise... the truth is that I will most probably remain sn2, and I believe that too  3 is the better choice.

thank you brother.

Pcd posted:

oferr posted:

Say PCD, somehow i tend to believe that nd5xs with dac xps might be superior to the ndx xps...   am I on the wrong direction???

oferr, not heard the  nd5xs with the dac xps you would have to arrange a demo to see what is your preference.

Thxs !!!

Patu posted:

Third option would be the best one sonically. nDAC outperforms NDX in sound quality IMO. I run exactly the same setup as you now, though in addition I have an aftermarket PSU for nDAC. I owned NDX briefly and had the same idea as you, to sell nDAC and go for streaming. But I found out that I preferred nDAC's sound in the end. More refined, deeper and smoother. I couldn't afford to keep NDX as a transport only and my current USB bridge was at least as good transport as NDX so I sold the NDX. NDX is more in your face and aggressive sounding, very fun to listen to though. Both have great sound though and some might prefer NDX to nDAC. 

Patu posted:

Third option would be the best one sonically. nDAC outperforms NDX in sound quality IMO. I run exactly the same setup as you now, though in addition I have an aftermarket PSU for nDAC. I owned NDX briefly and had the same idea as you, to sell nDAC and go for streaming. But I found out that I preferred nDAC's sound in the end. More refined, deeper and smoother. I couldn't afford to keep NDX as a transport only and my current USB bridge was at least as good transport as NDX so I sold the NDX. NDX is more in your face and aggressive sounding, very fun to listen to though. Both have great sound though and some might prefer NDX to nDAC. 

Yeah... thanks brother

Same thread from the OP?

https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...ndac-vs-sn2-ndx-ndac

NDX 100%.... later get a DAC suited to your taste.

oferr posted:

I use an ndac with my sn2+ hicap dr

3 possibilities :

1. ndx bare (sell the ndac)

2. ndx + xps

3. nd5xs + ndac +xps

Will appreciate enourmously your thoughts.

It is not clear to me what are the motivations for your move(s). Are you trying to improve the sound quality of your system? In this case it is important to know precisely what your system is, in particular, what is your current source for the Naim DAC. Are you trying to simplify your system and/or reduce the number of boxes?

In either case, a demo should allow you to choose between the Naim DAC and the NDX (with or without PSUs) as a source for your SN2. I would base my choice on the sound of the bare devices but you can of course try them with different PSU combinations if your dealer offers you this possibility.

Once you know whether it is a Naim DAC or an NDX that will feed your SN2, the rest becomes pretty obvious. If you stay with the Naim DAC you will have to decide whether you want to feed it with a LAN->SPDIF converter or with a USB->SPDIF converter. If you go for the NDX you will have to implement a LAN streaming solution.

I personally would not want to replace my Naim DAC with an NDX but this is not for sound quality reasons, I have never made a direct comparison between the two.

I have the ndx, sn2 and hicap dr. Added a Naim dac early this year and it's the darling of the system now. I wouldn't go back to bare ndx.