I have a CD5 XS for source material. Would an ND5 XS give higher quality music? It has the potential to (no reading of a disk that could have read errors tgrough dirt/damage, a plus high er res possible.
What does it do that a computer hookup does not. If you mean computer doing the whole caboodle, outputting to amp., hugely better quality, not least the DAC. If you mean computer output into a decent DAC, that s another matter, depends on Many factors, most notably the computer setup, the rendering software, the effectiveness of rejection of RF by the DAC concerned, any/or other measures to remove RF from the signal.
Are there 24 or 32 bit master recordings that it can access? Yes
Are all recordings today done in 24 bit digital? No
How can I justify the cost of an ND5, or NDX or the ref model. Increasingly better sound quality
I am looking to get the highest SQ possible or do I have to go vinyl. Certainly not. All being equal with the recording, in absolute terms vinyl has more inherent limitations. Digital really is capable of better sound quality - though sadly a lot of recordings are over-compressed for commercial ressons, and don’t do it justice, and of course some people simply prefer the sound of vinyl, which is a whole different matter. These days some DACs in particular have a naturalness of sound that has finally persuaded some people that at last digital truly can beat vinyl - but others find vinyl better to their ears (Personally I think it is not sound quality, but sound character that makes some people prefer vinyl while others prefer digital - and of course it is how it sounds to the individual that is most important).
Seems like they are pretty pricy, what do they do that justifies the cost. They sound good! (High quality vinyl also is pretty pricey, as indeed is CD).
There are streaming solutions other than Naim streamers: notably Chord DACS (Hugo in particular) being pretty popular on this forum, with some people using them to upgrade Naim streamers (and of course they can be used with a different rendering front end, rendering being the process of converting a digital file into a continuous digital audio stream, to all intents and purposes rendering being done in a computer whatever the system, just that it may part of a Naim (or other) streamer, a dedicated audiophile renderer (often combined with the music store), or a personal computer of some description (usually best dedicated to the purpose). Searches of the forum should find you much.
