ND555 Roadshows

All your stars must be aligned in the heavens Bert.????

On a french naim forum,a member heard the nd555 vs nds, one ps, on S1 and nap 500dr, with big Focals.  He found the nd555 a bit more detailed, with a bit firmer bass, but not night and day differences.   It was not a shock for him.   

I hope to hear it in the next months....

Gazza posted:

All your stars must be aligned in the heavens Bert.????

The reality is always more brutal. My car dealer told me that the car was still on the boat and he didn't know when it would be delivered now...the original committed date of next week - I would need to forget, and he couldn't predict as it also need to still go through customs.....

Bert, these are very annoying I must agree.......but the fun when delivered is a wonder. I hope your ND555 is everything and some more

Bert, i didn’t want to spoil your pleasure.  The nd555 is certainly much better than nds.   My goal was just to share an nd555 french roadshow i read on a forum.  

Nice to see Roy George get a special RG555 as he semi retires. On Naim Facebook page with a rather special Rick Wakeman gig in Sailisbury Cathedral for Roy. That’s the way to go out in a new world.

gazza

French Rooster posted:

Bert, i didn’t want to spoil your pleasure.  The nd555 is certainly much better than nds.   My goal was just to share an nd555 french roadshow i read on a forum.  

 

No worries, besides reading the forum I also trust my own ears....

Bert Schurink posted:

French Rooster posted:

Bert, i didn’t want to spoil your pleasure.  The nd555 is certainly much better than nds.   My goal was just to share an nd555 french roadshow i read on a forum.  

 

No worries, besides reading the forum I also trust my own ears....

Gosh Bert, that's a novel idea.  I think I might try that 

I certainly remember the days when I bought all  my kit like amplifiers and cassette decks purely on specifications, and manufacturers used to encourage that by printing all the specs they could cram into their brochures.  With your library of brochures that you'd collected beforehand, you always knew exactly what you were getting and how good it was going to sound before you ever visited the dealer.

As I get older, it's maybe going to be the way for the future... when my ears no longer can tell the difference, it'll be back to the spec sheet... now, what's the THD for the ND555 ?

When Philips launched their first range of 16/44 players the HIFi press went mad with adoration. I couldn't open a comic without being told I couldn't hear my CDs properly (I must have owned about 25 by then) unless I played them on a CD160. I couldn't get one fast enough. The asking price of around £200 took a lot of coming up with in those days. But I managed it. And regretted it for every second of the next few months that I was stuck with it. Never again. Everything gets auditioned at home. No audition, no sale.

I wonder also, to add on what Harry said, if is it a good choice to buy the first items in production.   The uniticore bought today is better than some first productions, and i am not talking of software upgrade.

One member exchanged a debut production nova for a new one, and found the last much better vs the other, with same 2.6 1 upgrade.

French Rooster posted:

I wonder also, to add on what Harry said, if is it a good choice to buy the first items in production.  

The uniticore bought today is better than some first productions, and i am not talking of software upgrade.

What evidence do you have for that other than anecdotal?

One member exchanged a debut production nova for a new one, and found the last much better vs the other, with same 2.6 1 upgrade.

A single example does not give sufficient evidence for claiming that first items in production are not as good as later items.

Apart from software updates which apply to all production runs , Naim does occasionally  make small hardware changes but usually not immediately unless there is something seriously wrong.

It is in their interest to make the first units in production sound the best they can  as these are the units that will be reviewed, the results of which have a big influence on future sales.

rjstaines posted:

Bert Schurink posted:

French Rooster posted:

Bert, i didn’t want to spoil your pleasure.  The nd555 is certainly much better than nds.   My goal was just to share an nd555 french roadshow i read on a forum.  

 

No worries, besides reading the forum I also trust my own ears....

Gosh Bert, that's a novel idea.  I think I might try that 

I certainly remember the days when I bought all  my kit like amplifiers and cassette decks purely on specifications, and manufacturers used to encourage that by printing all the specs they could cram into their brochures.  With your library of brochures that you'd collected beforehand, you always knew exactly what you were getting and how good it was going to sound before you ever visited the dealer.

As I get older, it's maybe going to be the way for the future... when my ears no longer can tell the difference, it'll be back to the spec sheet... now, what's the THD for the ND555 ?

....if your “ears no longer can tell the difference......” is their any need for more than the old Dansette..........

Anyone going to the Naim ND555 Roadshow at Billy Vee Sound systems in Lewisham on Saturday 7th July?  If so, what time is your demo booked for?  It would be nice to say ‘hi’ to any forum members there on the day.

ATB.

George.

Jonn posted:

French Rooster posted:

I wonder also, to add on what Harry said, if is it a good choice to buy the first items in production.  

The uniticore bought today is better than some first productions, and i am not talking of software upgrade.

What evidence do you have for that other than anecdotal?

One member exchanged a debut production nova for a new one, and found the last much better vs the other, with same 2.6 1 upgrade.

A single example does not give sufficient evidence for claiming that first items in production are not as good as later items.

Apart from software updates which apply to all production runs , Naim does occasionally  make small hardware changes but usually not immediately unless there is something seriously wrong.

It is in their interest to make the first units in production sound the best they can  as these are the units that will be reviewed, the results of which have a big influence on future sales.

 

i saïd i « wonder », so it is not evidence but question.    The reviews are not always showing the truth, even in such a good magazine as Hificritic.  The review of the core was only positive, the same in What hifi mag.  If you read all the problems with the core at the beginning, in this forum, i would not say it is anecdotal.

For the nova, 2 members had the same experience, exchanging recently their first production nova with recent ones.

But perhaps same problems or differences between items will not occur with the new streamers (?).

I’m going at 13:30 on Saturday 

Thanks Kane - I think my demo is at 11:30, so may see you afterwards in the shop.

Lots of fun - looking forward to hearing the beast!

ATB.

George

I do not think the ND555 has been demo’d anywhere in the USA yet !  Wonder when it will be ? 

https://www.stereonet.co.uk/ar...work-player-roadshow

Anyone else been to a demo of the ND555 yet? Hifi Lounge, Billy Vee etc, any feedback?

It would be good to get another ND555 ‘fix’ based on the latest roadshow events. Based on everything I hear, units should start shipping in a few weeks, so the inevitable ND555 @ Home thread can’t be that far away. It will be interesting to see how Naim fulfill the early orders... will it be one unit each per dealer, or will dealers who placed orders early to satisfy customer demand (e.g Me!) get the full order fulfilled in the initial batch. I guess we will all have to wait and see.

My understanding is that no matter how early a dealer put in an order.....Naim will ship demo units to all UK dealers on the same day. Not sure this has gone down well in all quarters with those that felt they had their act together on the UNiti  launch and others launches beside.

I am reliably informed that the first batch is dealer demo units only. But I don't claim to have top secret inside knowledge. I just talk to people who have never steered me wrong. Yet. I'm sure that if something was highly confidential it would not be disclosed to me.

How confident are we again that first units shipped to dealers, demo or full sale, will be the final product? I still remember the NDS that kept changing for a while and I am traumatized by the agonizing launch of the new Uniti range. ????

Exactly Chag, i would not be confident enough to buy one of the first units.  But maybe we are wrong and the first new streamers will be 100% perfect.... Personally i prefer to wait some months after the launch.

First ones will be better special units to spread the word) then the people’s streamers