Second power supply to ND555

When I auditioned my ND555 I did take the opportunity to listen to it with one and two 555ps. The second psu gives a nice uplift, but it’s not night and day differences......it’s on my list for further consideration and demo, particularly if a bargain appears on the horizon.

There are two schools of thought about adding an additional power supply. Some for and against. I added a second 555DR to my CD555. Another well worth upgrade, but not the cheapest.

Douglas.

I have a second 555DR on my ND555. I could tell you it is a significant upgrade but that is only my opinion which to your ears is worthless.

Go and listen either at your dealers or get one on home dem and see what YOU think. That is what is important.

I thought it a very significant upgrade. But it depends on you and your system - meaning some like a different presentation or the system will not go well with the change in presentation.

I run Active with very good Bass handling and good HF linearity, so the change to two supplies worked well, as it gives more detail throughout the frequency range and to my ears better access to timing - but it does also put more info at extreme HF and more bass weight. If your system does not have a clean low bass then pumping it with more may not sound great - also if your HF response is not clear of distortion then putting more info there may sound 'bright', which is the system not handling it well.

The HiFi is a system and different systems have different presentations - hopefully selected and tuned to the owners taste. The ND555 is IMO very neutral and should sound good in any system, but two 555PS does reveal more music and present a more complex signal - you will only know by demo.

There is a view that 'source first' means that however you improve the source always will work out well into any system, but it is not entirely true IMO. Most good systems will handle mid-band source improvements with no problems, but can differ a lot on how extreme bass power and detail - and extreme HF detail is handled. My experience - goes against the simple 'source-first' logic but I think the source is the prime component in the system-chain, but you also need good components in the chain too to achieve satisfaction.

The improvements in my system were in terms of easy-clarity and tunefulness on complex mixes and the general sense of 'there' to the music meaning I gained better easy access to music and could engage with it. I like the HiFi to get out of the way and it allows a lot more of that in my system.

DB.

m.paul taylor posted:

I have recently upgraded cabling to Super Lumina (ND555 to NAC  552) and speaker cables. Rest is 300 DR. THE ND 555 is currently powered by 555DR. Amp is 300DR. Speakers are Kudos 606 which are as big as the room will take. The new cabling has made a significant improvement. Is an addition of a second power supply to the ND555 going to make any further significant improvement ? If so, what level? 

What are you looking to improve -- any quality in particular?

How are you liking the 606's?  What are your impressions of them?

I would say you would get more benefit from changing your amp to a nap500 .... this will drive your speakers that little bit better.... 

I would also argue that your first step should go into the upgrade to the 500, after that it would be a consideration, with all the remarks DB made already...

The question of 500 or another 555PS is not certain - but I'd think you will get more from 500DR if the money outlay is similar. The areas impacted are different and it may be that what you have already is right for now. If wanting to know then really the only way is to hear it demonstrated to you.

The Power Amp - after the Pre - really sets the performance envelope of your system and improvements in Power Amp seem to immediately give you 'new' speakers, as their sound is the combined effect of how they are controlled. I really like the 300 and run them for several years - the DR is a much better version of it, but when I changed to 500 it was a big upgrade, then 500DR much more again.

If wanting to sink money into yours system you need to know where gives best results.

DB.

I run my ND555 with two 555 ps ,have done from the start,it’s a very nice combination fo me,never tried it with one 555 ps,big outlay though,you must feel it’s tight for you!.

Thanks to all of you. As to the Kudos 606, they work well in the system and in my listening room which is not that big. They are fast with good bass response. I was attracted to the isobaric design as I had a pair of passive Linn Isobariks which I liked. High frequency reproduction in the 606 is impressive and untiring. They took longer to  run in than I expected- they sound great now (200 hours?).

As to a second power supply, a home dem would be essential for the reasons explained. A 500 DR over the 300 DR looks like a more obvious route but the budget would not stretch that far. 

Or.........

buy a Roon lifetime subscription and a suitable core machine (Roon’s own nucleus being a bespoke variety) add a Tidal or Qobuz subscription and for 1/3 of the price you have your whole musical experience changed dramatically rather than the “nuanced” change with the second PS. 

.sjb

.... talking of Roon, when will it work with an ND555?

ND555 currently is a Roon certified endpoint  

.sjb

That in my view would be a very very expensive streamer, personally that would be takin things too far

Hi Drew,l already had 2 x555ps l was using them with the NDS,they are both DRd and bought used for a good price,2 for the price of 1 brand new one,also my dealer gave me a good trade in price for my NDS,also l didn’t need the Hl- line,so brought the price down to a more manageable price.

Fair enough  but imagine buying an ND555 and a PS to go with it and then soon after think about a second ps. That’s mighty expensive.  Suppose there’s lots of different situations to take into account. 

.... oops! As to Roon I meant has Qobuz sorted itself out with Naim compatibility 

I’m not sure about Naim, I think chromecast is the only way to get Qobuz currently , but there are strong indications that Qobuz is coming to Roon which is the avenue I’m suggesting. 

.sjb

You could sell your nap300 for around 4k ish and put the 7k for a 555ps toward a second hand nap500 which you can get between 9 and 12k....ish maybe not a dr but it would still be brilliant....

I bought a NAP 500 for 5 grand,only trouble was there was no serial no on it,it was a Naim employee made it,good our bad l don’t know,might be a problem when selling it on.

Yeah I bought mine for 4800..... it was old but worked perfectly.....I then got it dr ed 

It will be a long time before I sell on my 500, unless Brexit eats my pension (which I can’t draw until 2020).

Hi Yeti ... I am in a similar position....I reckon Brexit will eat my pension or delay me taking it for around 7 years.....great....unless pound is devalued....but that is probably worse...doh

Bob green posted:

I bought a NAP 500 for 5 grand,only trouble was there was no serial no on it,it was a Naim employee made it,good our bad l don’t know,might be a problem when selling it on.

But why would you want to sell it on? I reckon the NAP500 is the end point in my power amp journey. 

That's my view.....the 500dr is a keeper....it's a great fast detailed and punchy amp....