ND5XS/XP5XS vs NDX/NDAC

NDX/nDAC I expect would be the best.  Better transport; better DAC.

And how much of an improvement would adding a XPS be, further down the line?

Mike1951 posted:

And how much of an improvement would adding a XPS be, further down the line?

As an nDAC/XPS owner it adds similar qualities to what a Hicap adds to a preamp i.e. power, bass and realism.

So would I feed the XPS into the NDX or the NDAC (assuming the NDAC has a Burndy input ...) for best results?

The nDac. 

If you use the NDX as a transport then it doesn't need a PSU as the DAC will be disabled.

No contest: NDX + nDAC.

Adding a PSU to the nDAC will elevate even further.

Considering a ND5XS/XP5XS propels the itself only just slightly ahead of a bare NDX, I would expect doing anything to the NDX such as adding a PSU or nDAC puts it in another league.

I think, given the question you are posing, you must be considering what your upgrade options are. If so, a more contentious question with a lot less certainty is

NDX/XPSdr vs. NDX/nDAC

You'll suddenly find a lot of strong opinions for both. There are past threads on this too so probably doesn't need to be discussed again.

I’d try ND5XS into nDAC/XP5XS before swapping in the NDX.  

I’ve not listened to any of these combos.  I bought the nDAC/555 first, then NDX-FM, before the ND5 et al came out.

If I were doing it now, I would be very interested in trying the ND5XS-FM.

Nick

I would suggest to be considerate of East Anglia members and consider NDX/Hugo as well. By now a well proven association. 

Chag -

Guinnless posted:

If you use the NDX as a transport then it doesn't need a PSU as the DAC will be disabled.

Don’t follow the logic here at all. The external PSU on the NDX powers the streamer section, clock, DSP, DAC and analogue current to voltage and filtering stage... in transport mode it’s only the last two components that are effectively disabled. The crucial clock stage, with some DACs such as the NDAC, is impacted by a separate PSU on the NDX in transport mode. I remember enjoying a few years ago a NDX/555 -> NDAC/555... it sounded superb.. and there was a lift over a NDX transport self powered. With other DACs such as Hugo.. the difference is less observable ... I guess all to do with how the systems couple.... and as Chag suggests, that’s worth an audition as well.       .. but if you do search back over the years on the forum on how best to setup... it won’t sound it’s best without some care...

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

Guinnless posted:

If you use the NDX as a transport then it doesn't need a PSU as the DAC will be disabled.

Don’t follow the logic here at all. The external PSU on the NDX powers the streamer section, clock, DSP, DAC and analogue current to voltage and filtering stage... in transport mode it’s only the last two components that are effectively disabled. The crucial clock stage, with some DACs such as the NDAC, is impacted by a separate PSU on the NDX in transport mode. I remember enjoying a few years ago a NDX/555 -> NDAC/555... it sounded superb.. and there was a lift over a NDX transport self powered. With other DACs such as Hugo.. the difference is less observable ... I guess all to do with how the systems couple.... and as Chag suggests, that’s worth an audition as well.       .. but if you do search back over the years on the forum on how best to setup... it won’t sound it’s best without some care...

I had assumed that once you were using the NDX in transport mode to the nDAC then the PSU on the NDX would be superfluous. However it looks like that is not the case.  It make for a very expensive transport though!

On this basis I'd do as Jason Gould suggested and consider an NDX 2.

Guinnless posted:

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

Guinnless posted:

If you use the NDX as a transport then it doesn't need a PSU as the DAC will be disabled.

Don’t follow the logic here at all. The external PSU on the NDX powers the streamer section, clock, DSP, DAC and analogue current to voltage and filtering stage... in transport mode it’s only the last two components that are effectively disabled. The crucial clock stage, with some DACs such as the NDAC, is impacted by a separate PSU on the NDX in transport mode. I remember enjoying a few years ago a NDX/555 -> NDAC/555... it sounded superb.. and there was a lift over a NDX transport self powered. With other DACs such as Hugo.. the difference is less observable ... I guess all to do with how the systems couple.... and as Chag suggests, that’s worth an audition as well.       .. but if you do search back over the years on the forum on how best to setup... it won’t sound it’s best without some care...

I had assumed that once you were using the NDX in transport mode to the nDAC then the PSU on the NDX would be superfluous. However it looks like that is not the case.  It make for a very expensive transport though!

On this basis I'd do as Jason Gould suggested and consider an NDX 2.

Expensive yes. But there are far more expensive dedicated streaming transports on the market. In the scheme of things. An NDX/XPS used as just a transport is not even half way up the ladder in terms of how much you could spend on such a device.

I decided to grab an eBay bargain - NAIM DAC. On it’s way.

Mike1951 posted:

I decided to grab an eBay bargain - NAIM DAC. On it’s way.

I think the nDAC is good value for money at its retail price. A second-hand one is even better.  I'm sure you will enjoy it. hen it arrives make sure it is running the latest firmware. When Naim released that it was a noticeable upgrade. 

MDS posted:

Mike1951 posted:

I decided to grab an eBay bargain - NAIM DAC. On it’s way.

I think the nDAC is good value for money at its retail price. A second-hand one is even better.  I'm sure you will enjoy it. hen it arrives make sure it is running the latest firmware. When Naim released that it was a noticeable upgrade. 

You won't regret it. The ND5XS sounds "small" compared to the nDAC.  Don't forget to turn off the analogue output once you are using the digital out. ☺

How do I load in the latest firmware to the NDAC? (I’ve already done that to the ND5XS, but that’s a different thing?)

Updates to all products are here:

https://www.naimaudio.com/updates

Just follow the instructions to the letter and you will be ok.

Whatever you do, first check that the USB stick you use is working OK on the DAC - it can be a bit picky here.  Format the stick, then try loading and playing some music first, then reformat the USB stick and load it with the fw in the root directory.

"Generic" sticks work better in the nDAC particularly if you are on early firmware and upgrading.   Indeed the stick I used to update played music no problem but is no longer readable by the new firmware; the stick itself works fine though on PC, TV etc.