Upgrading the system

Hi,

Well of course if you like what you have you don’t really need to change anything.  But if your speakers work well in your room then I think you should be content with the synergy between Dyna and Naim.  In which case I would look at your source.   An NDX is the obvious choice but other guys will advice you on other choices e.g Chord.  

Alternatively upgrading from NAC 202>282 is a big improvement.  

Good luck. 

Regards,

Lindsay

I think The Strat has summed up your options pretty well, I would consider either an NDX, or an external DAC with your ND5XS. NDAC or Chord are the popular options here, but there are lots of DACs around these days. I would probably do that first, then consider a 282.

This assumes you have the basics sorted - a decent rack, mains supply, and room acoustics. Do these first if you haven't already.

It’s also worth considering replacing the ND5, 202, napsc and Hicap with a 272 and XPSDR. Better sound, fewer boxes. 

Actually I have no decent mains supply and I have no clues about room acoustics adjustments.

Hi Franz -- at the risk of repeating what's already been said, for me the obvious paths forward are:

• 272 and XPS
• 282 and Hicap
  • With an NDX
  • Or keep your ND5 and add a Chord Hugo 2 DAC
  • Or sell the ND5 and get a streamer (Auralic Aries Mini, Sonore microRendu) to go with the Hugo 2

202 to 282.

Hi Franz

I had exactly the same system as you apart from the speakers although I now do have Dynaudio.  My first upgrade was 202>>282 then ND5XS>>ND5XS/Chord 2Qute then 200>>250.2 and finally 250.2>>300 and the biggest improvement (apart from changing the cartridge on my LP12) was probably 282/250-2 >> 282/300. But if I were you and your main source is the ND5XS then I would add an external dac first or if not that then 200 >> 282. 

Franz

I had a similar jouney to Bob, I put an NDX in my system 4 years ago, and working on Source first that would be my advise, but then as HH pointed out there is another choice with 272/XPSDR - only you can deciede were you want to go i would advise demo on way forward

but as with Bob biggest improvements were from 202/HCDR > 282/HCDR and the 200 > 300 non DR which i love and has really moved the music on from my 200

Franz67 posted:

Actually I have no decent mains supply and I have no clues about room acoustics adjustments.

I’d sort out the mains before getting better boxes. There is no point building on wobbly foundations. 

What the old fish said.  

I though, seems wrongly, that once you have an external supply, mains are not relevant.

Some suggestions about which mains to choose?

thanks for the inputs so far. 

Franz67 posted:

Some suggestions about which mains to choose?

We have to be a bit careful here, as we are talking about the mains wiring in your home, which has to comply to local safety regulations. Many of us in the UK have successfully installed a dedicated mains circuit with its own consumer unit, cabling and sockets. As you are not in the UK, any recommendations we make may not be safe or legal for you, and such discussion would be axed by the moderator.

Adding an external DAC to the ND5XS is one upgrade option, whether that be Naim n-DAC, or something else such as Chord Hugo (or higher models) which it seems a majority (but not all) who have tried find brings something desirable to the music. Much on people's experiences with both n-DAC and Hugo on the forum.

Hello, 

Sad that you can't find anyone in your area that you can put your trust on to build your ideal music system. Because for me, it's an essential.

I share the suggestion about your room's acoustics and quality of the mains.

Strictly now on the system itself, work could be done on the source. Try your ND5XS with a Hi-Line interconnect and also a NDX and Naim DAC when you can... But not before you have a good meeting with Naim's top range system, because there's no better way to choose than to have the reference as point of comparisson.

You may end up with a NDS, 555PS, Hi-Line and a Supernait 2 with Hicap DR, but hey, that won't be my fault... Good luck to find someone you can trust for your upgrade journey.  ;-)

Bye.

Franz67 posted:

Hello to everybody,

this is my first post here and I hope to get some help from you experts. I live in Milan and seems difficult to get some real expert resellers of NAIM. My questions is pretty trivial: which are the first moves I cold do to upgrade my actual system ?

I am a happy owner of ND5 XS, NAC 202, NAPSC & HICAP, NAP 200, Nac 5, Dynaudio Facette. Loudspeakers are a small masterpiece of the early ‘90, tough to pilot. I discovered their potential once I moved to Naim. Tried other loudspeaker s but I always miss the elegance and balance of the Dynaudio. At the same time I recognize that I cold achieve much more when I listen to live music ...

thanks is advance for some advices.

I would consider adding NDAC as a first step. You will be surprised how far the NDAC can move you towards (near to) NDS level.

So the following moves: changing the WiFi over mains with Ethernet cable (the ND5 has continuous annoying drop outs on 192 MHz files with WiFi connection ...).

I Will add the music-line Netzleiste plus plus PL to have better foundations, since I cannot change house wiring

Next move not easy to decide: all your suggestions make sense, I don’t have the possibility to listen before, and my budget is about 5K€. Maybe Chord 2qute and 282.