NDX 2 - awesome
Posted by: Alley Cat on 09 September 2018
Bloody hell, something of a bargain I think.
I'm currently in the midst of figuring out what classic olive gear to keep vs upgrading to similar/better pre/power amps or possibly upgrading my LP12 to more recent specs.
My Nova has provided great service for around a year, though admittedly I far prefer the audio of an earlier firmware version with every combination of ancillary equipment, old or recent I've tried. I may be in the minority but it's consistently reproducible. (Just to add I've barely used the Nova's own power out and have had it connected to an olive 250 the majority of the time.)
Just borrowed the NDX 2 which has only been with the dealer for a few days and it is head and shoulders above the Nova as a streaming source outputting to old/new pre/power combos, despite only a few days of use by them - admittedly the Nova has no fixed output so perhaps being cautious with the level on that to external pre inputs (in the 80's, plus 85/100 limit), but this is really night and day, and I'm utterly gobsmacked as I confused the price with the NDS - NDX 2 £2500 cheaper, but even if the NDS is better overall (I've not heard one) this is a massive sonic upgrade over a Nova if used primarily as a source.
True, it's not a fair comparison vs Nova perhaps, but this could be the first digital source that equals or betters my LP12 in terms of enjoyment on a lot of material (separate thread pending).
In fact, and I'd love to know from ND 555 owners, I think this streamer really shows the benefit of hi-res audio files vs CD quality, where the Nova showed a marginal difference at most.
Due to unforseen circumstances I missed a recent demo of the new streamers, I really wanted to hear the ND 555, but for the price with power from a hi-cap the NDX 2 is utterly fantastic, though also brings surprises.