NDX vs ND5XS2

Dan, bear in mind that Naim will never talk about any upcoming or planned new products.  If anyone at Naim is asked whether something specific is coming, they will deny. 

I think the ND5xs2 could be rather interesting and well worth investigation, particularly when partnered with a s/h Naim DAC...

If you’ve not already bought the 282, I’d hang on a while. What the person on the phone says and the reality are often not the same. 

282 is a better preamp than a 272

I don't think the ND5XS2 is available to dealers yet.

The N272 replacement has been mootted for years … seems logical to update to their new streaming platform but I can't see them compromising their pre-amp line by significantly updating this part … could be a long wait too!

I am interested in the NDX-2 and NDX5XS2 comparison since \I think this may be my next upgrade in the coming years.

Allan

Does anyone have an inkling of when the ND5 XS 2 will be available?

And Richard, I'm afraid I don't understand why it would be good with a Naim DAC. Could you say a little more, please? Thanks!

It was always due late October

Nagoya posted:

Does anyone have an inkling of when the ND5 XS 2 will be available?

And Richard, I'm afraid I don't understand why it would be good with a Naim DAC. Could you say a little more, please? Thanks!

I've compared my ND5XS to ND5XS/nDAC/XPS and it is significantly better in pretty much every respect.  The ND5XS is still good though and had I not owned an nDAC I would be really happy with it.

I'd expect the ND5XS2 to be much better but I think Richard would expect the adition of the nDAC to be better still.

Jason (from Naim) reckoned the NDX2 could better my 3 box set up....

Nagoya, I like the Naim DAC very much and feel it performs superbly - I'm on my second! It takes key elements from the very top of the Naim source tree, such as the PCM1704 DAC chips and discrete filter and output stages. The latter in particular I think lends it something that separates the best Naim sources from the rest.  Which means at the current s/h prices it's a bit of a bargain. All it needs is a source with a good quality s/pdif output. 

However, reading Guinless' posts above, if Jason reckons the NDX2 could better ND5xs/DAC/XPS, then I would definitely take notice...

Thanks very much for the replies. End of October isn't too far away, and adding a Naim DAC makes sense now.

Is Jason from Naim an engineer? Thanks!

Jason is one of Naim’s senior sales guys, has been with the company for ages and has a massive knowledge of all things Naim. He changed my SBL drive units in my front room once. He’s a top man. 

"Jason" here is Jason Gould; he is part of Naim's UK sales team and also a global brand ambassador for the company. He is fantastic at setting up Naim systems and knows as well as any what makes Naim special, and he knows when things are off. If he says something sounds good (or not sot so good) then I would certainly take note.

That's a really bad piece of news for my bank account. Why do I come here everyday? Why??! 

It had crossed my mind so I asked him for his opinion.  I don't think he'd been asked this question before - it was clearly a very interesting judging by his illuminated face 

hungryhalibut posted:

Jason is one of Naim’s senior sales guys, has been with the company for ages and has a massive knowledge of all things Naim. He changed my SBL drive units in my front room once. He’s a top man. 

You mean “my” SBL drove units? Or did you have a previous pair? By the way they are being used daily in my study  

He did my original black ones I think. Yours are original Mark 2 with the all over veneer - the ‘real’ Mark 2. Memories fade and all that. 

What about ND5XS2? Is it close enough to the old NDX?

Am interested in ND5XS2 review too. As i manage to sell less than a month teac streamer which causes hum connecting to my SN2. 

How much will i lose if i choose nd5xs2 over ndx 2 and the old ndx. Kindly share your review. 

Another option is the $200 Allo DigiOne with a s:h naim dac for now. Wait until the smoke clears to make your decision.

State of emergency!!! My dealer got back to me with an offer of a year old used ndx 1 with bluetooth feature. The nd5 xs 2 have not reach my shore. It will be in next 2 weeks.  Should i just grab the ndx1 while it is still available or wait for nd5 xs2? Am afraid in 2 weeks the ndx1 be gone. Anyway my streaming source will be Tidal. I dont have an NAS. Not sure if tidal offer flac file up to 32bits 364khz?? Hope someone naim senior can advise. 

I would either wait for the ND5XS2 or try to score a really good priced NDS. I wouldn't bother with the NDX at this point.

e24djenggos posted:

State of emergency!!! My dealer got back to me with an offer of a year old used ndx 1 with bluetooth feature. The nd5 xs 2 have not reach my shore. It will be in next 2 weeks.  Should i just grab the ndx1 while it is still available or wait for nd5 xs2? Am afraid in 2 weeks the ndx1 be gone. Anyway my streaming source will be Tidal. I dont have an NAS. Not sure if tidal offer flac file up to 32bits 364khz?? Hope someone naim senior can advise. 

You may find that Tidal is more reliable on the new streamers due to their larger buffer, as this has been a problem for some (but not all) users of the old range of streamers. As for sound quality, until the ND5XS2 is available, we can only guess.

Tidal streams are 16/44. If you have questions for Naim, you should contact them directly, this is primarily a discussion forum, not a support forum.

Dan.S posted:

Should I go for an (sh)NDX or ND5XS2? Being plagued in the past with streaming issues, I'm kind of leaning towards the newer platform but I don't want to skimp on the SQ. An

Dan

I have an NDX (2014) which I use with 282/HCDR which I really like,  and therefore at the moment in no rush to go and spend ££££ on NDX2 - I really like the deal, focus and music which the NDX has, I have heard the NDX2 and ND555 on demo's - and they are an uplift on current models but not night and day

for me the choice is upgrade to NDX2 or older NDS - I would like to add a 555 PSU to my NDX soon anyway before I upgrade streamer and now something else to think about from a Glasgow company!

only true test is demo ND5XS when with dealers, but I really like the NDX as is

Have make any comparison yet. Since the nd5xs2 is out

You need to ask yourself whether the new streaming platform brings anything to the table you actually want to use. If you will use a streamer entirely for upnp from a NAS with the odd bit of internet radio, then the new platform isn't going offer anything that an NDX cannot do perfectly well already.

Also bear in mind, the NDX has power supply upgrade options, wheras the ne ND5XS2 doesn't. 

If your streaming needs are more varied, the new platform may have a lot to offer you. 

However I do think Feeling Zen you are missing the point.. surely it’s all about SQ... the ND5XS2 has taken a lot of the learning from the legacy streamers to supposedly improve this significantly for the later streamers such as the ND555 and ND5XS2.

Therefore I would audition carefully the options. My view is the NDX is a great streamer transport work horse... but it’s DAC section and audio output is not its strength... I disable mine... I’d be surprised if the ND5XS2 audio output did not sound better than the NDX.