Next steps from Nait XS 2 ???

Posted by: ratrat on 28 August 2017

Dear members.

I'm taking my first forum plunge with this request for advice and opinions. (Please be gentle).

System is: Rega Ania MC cartridge; Rega RP6 turntable; Rega Aria phonostage; Decent Audio wall mounted turntable shelf; Naim CD5 XS cd player; Naim Nait XS 2 amplifier; Naim NAC A5 speaker cable; Epos ES14 speakers c/w Epos floor stands.

Notes: (1) Just swooped Rega Exact MM for Ania MC. (2) large collection of vinyl and cd and intend to stick with these two source media for now. (3) turntable and CD player relatively new. So contemplating changing amp first and then speakers? (4) budget up to £4K ish for each move contemplated 

Really happy with my system as it stands. But, thinking how can I improve on this. (As with all HiFi journeys, always thinking about the next addition or improvement).

Your thoughts and opinions on next steps would be much appreciated. Thanks in anticipation.

Posted on: 30 August 2017 by ratrat

Anyone have experience of adding a DAC into CD5 XS / Nait XS 2, which might be another option to consider?

Thanks to both Huge & Songstream for sharing above experiences.

Posted on: 30 August 2017 by Perol
ratrat posted:

Anyone have experience of adding a DAC into CD5 XS / Nait XS 2, which might be another option to consider?

Thanks to both Huge & Songstream for sharing above experiences.

Too much wasted electronics left in your CD5xs, quite an expensive cd transport, making a used CDS3 more interesting IMO

Fwiw, in the nineties, I ran my ES14 with olive 250/72/hc and sometime a Nait 2, only source was LP12 and it was great

I could have lived happy last twenty years with all this

Posted on: 30 August 2017 by ratrat
Perol posted:
ratrat posted:

Anyone have experience of adding a DAC into CD5 XS / Nait XS 2, which might be another option to consider?

Thanks to both Huge & Songstream for sharing above experiences.

Too much wasted electronics left in your CD5xs, quite an expensive cd transport, making a used CDS3 more interesting IMO

Fwiw, in the nineties, I ran my ES14 with olive 250/72/hc and sometime a Nait 2, only source was LP12 and it was great

I could have lived happy last twenty years with all this

Nice to hear about your ES14's story. I think maybe I like them so much because I listen to a lot of vinyl..!!!

Thanks for thoughts on CD5XS vs CDS3.

I'm a newbie to Naim, so all the backwards comparisons to older Naim products (which are avialable as pre-loved) is a useful reference. Thanks.

Posted on: 30 August 2017 by ratrat

Anyone else have any experiences of adding a DAC to CD5XS and Nait XS 2..???

Posted on: 31 August 2017 by Peakman
ratrat posted:

Anyone else have any experiences of adding a DAC to CD5XS and Nait XS 2..???

Hi Ratrat

Like Huge I started with a CD5XS and XS2 and ended up with a 272 based system, but my intervening journey was different.  In particular, I added a nDAC to the system, using the CD player as transport.  Like many I found the DAC made a substantial improvement to the system, especially in terms of clarity and drive, but be warned that a one or posters did not get on with the DAC.  I originally bought the DAC to upgrade the CD player and was influenced by some excellent posts by Norman from UHES.  I am not sure how to link to a previous thread but try searching on "Naim DAC - a dealers initial perspective".  However, where the DAC really paid off was as a digital hub as I later purchased a Mac Mini, started ripping my CDs to its SSD and playing them using a high quality optical cable into the DAC.  This gave me a gentle way into streaming without jumping feet first into buying a Naim streamer.  (When I got my 272, the Mac Mini was my initial streaming source and eventually used as a desktop computer when I purchased a NAS.)  Along the way, the XS2 got traded in for a SN1/HiCap and I found the front end was well up to the standard of that amplifier.

Incidentally, like HH suggested I got a Flatcap XS and found it made a subtle but definite improvement.  It's great if you want to stay at XS level but the problem is that it will not move with you up the Naim ladder, which makes the HiCap seem a better bet.  However, I found the HiCap overdid things on the XS system, sounding overblown and manic on some music.  I think that a CD5XS/XS 2/nDAC/Flatcap makes a nicely balanced system (visually as well) if that is where you want to end up.

Roger

PS  I had home demos before all these moves, which I strongly recommend as my tastes may be very different from yours.

Posted on: 01 September 2017 by William

Hi Ratrat,

Good advice here, especially from HH and Huge. I added a Hicap DR to my XS2 and can totally recommend it. But then I got severe upgraditis and I have to agree that one proper upgrade is infinitely more productive than incremental improvements and then you can stop thinking about tweaks and just enjoy the music because it sounds sooo good.

When I got curious about DACs I started by obtaining a low-cost used Chord Mojo DAC. I haven't had a CD player for years but even that little DAC certainly upped the streaming game. From there I upgraded my DAC and amp and you can see from my profile where that all ended.

I would demo some of the big combos at a dealership, compare them to your XS2, only then will you know where you're headed. Then you can still add a pre-loved DAC and Hicap DR and sell them on when you have got the funds together for your game changer.

William