ND555 Impressions

Installed the new ND555 yesterday 2pm and the sound is not as good as I expected.

May be my expectations are too high, after all the good comments, may be I am too impatient.

I had NDS before, which was 2 years on the mains, so the 555PS was really warm.Also, I bought this NDS 2nd hand,

so it had 2 years before of playing and I had not to burn in the NDS. My impression is, the sound is much too hard and bright

and also my favorite voices are not so in front of me, as they have been on the NDS, a little laid back in the background.

What burn in time should I give the ND555 and will it sound at the end, as good as my NDS or better ?

Laurence

Are you sure the set-up is correct and you have removed all the transit screws?

I don't want to come across as rude, but comparing the NDS to my CD555, it was immediately clearly nice but lacking, whereas the ND555 was definitely superior, so you should be hearing a big jump even brand new after giving it a few hours to warm up and settle down.

Hi ,lm sure you may have read other forum members comments on this subject,lMO your not even close,as I’ve said before l have clocked up over 700 hours so far and still having ups & downs,don’t get disheartened,it will come right and yes it much better than the NDS.

Two thoughts. First, definitely give it some run-in time. Plenty of reports that refinement comes with some burn-in.  Second, the "improvements," no matter how hyperbolic the language, are probably subjectively subtle.  At NDS > ND 555, we're really in the upper echelon of problems to be solved. 

Ps,was it installed buy a dealer?.

Bart posted:

Two thoughts. First, definitely give it some run-in time. Plenty of reports that refinement comes with some burn-in.  Second, the "improvements," no matter how hyperbolic the language, are probably subjectively subtle.  At NDS > ND 555, we're really in the upper echelon of problems to be solved. 

Bart, well said, and on the end of a Statement system I found the difference between NDS/555PS and ND555/555PS relatively  subtle, but clear... it was in the area and resolution of vocal harmonies that there seemed to be a very clear nod to the ND555

The odd thing though is that most users found the ND555 sounded noticeably, if not significantly, better than the NDS straight out of the box. That was certainly what I found. Even in the dips during the run-in period it has mostly been at least the equal of the NDS. 

Clive B posted:

The odd thing though is that most users found the ND555 sounded noticeably, if not significantly, better than the NDS straight out of the box. That was certainly what I found. Even in the dips during the run-in period it has mostly been at least the equal of the NDS. 

For me the demo,s I heard from Naim and then listening to the ND555 with my dealer and my system.....was totally different. The Naim approach of showing improved detail with “not nice” music on purpose, getting to a point of OK....is an interesting approach. Sitting and really getting to grips to the music you play is a must. 

Gazza posted:

Clive B posted:

The odd thing though is that most users found the ND555 sounded noticeably, if not significantly, better than the NDS straight out of the box. That was certainly what I found. Even in the dips during the run-in period it has mostly been at least the equal of the NDS. 

For me the demo,s I heard from Naim and then listening to the ND555 with my dealer and my system.....was totally different. The Naim approach of showing improved detail with “not nice” music on purpose, getting to a point of OK....is an interesting approach. Sitting and really getting to grips to the music you play is a must. 

I was responding to what Laurence had found having just installed his ND555 at his home. The improvement relative to the NDS should be clear as soon as it is switched on. I thought most users who'd switched from an NDS had reported this.

From new it takes a couple of days before the improvements start to become apparent, before then it can sound a tad hard and disjointed. After the initial burn in it continues to get better and sounds sublime. The improvements are far from subtle.

The ND555 is well-ahead of NDS, as good as the latter is. The only thing that tempted me to upgrade from my CD555 was hearing the ND555 which had all the qualities I was looking for that the NDS did not do as well as the CD555 and then some more extra musical rendition qualities of its own.

The 'hard and bright' comment would have me at least ensuring you have tried an ordinary non-HiFi, non-CAT7 Ethernet digital feed, as I found they tended to push the ND555 in that direction - I use CAT5. Possibly when well run-in and losing some of its own run-in new brightness then these other cables may sound ok or better, but for initial run-in if you are not wanting hard and bright try CAT5 Ethernet.

If still sounding wrong after a few days get the Dealer to sort it out as it should really be obviously in a higher league than the NDS, as good as the latter is in itself. Some things the ND555 does if you are only doing a brief demo between it and NDS may seem small improvements but once you get used to what is presented it is difficult to compare them and say it is a small upgrade IMO.

DB.

Clive B posted:

The odd thing though is that most users found the ND555 sounded noticeably, if not significantly, better than the NDS straight out of the box. That was certainly what I found. Even in the dips during the run-in period it has mostly been at least the equal of the NDS. 

It should sound vastly better straight out of the box. It clearly begs the question as to whether it was ssupplied and installed by a Naim dealer.

Thank you for all helping comments.

The ND555 is on the same network cables as the NDS was (Audioquest Diamond) and the ND555 was also installed and set up as it should be (transit screws, Burndys in the right position,......).

I think, when I heard the ND555 from my dealer at home, which had many hours of burn in time and sounded fantastic (if the difference  would have been marginal, I never would have bought the ND555), I hoped the difference to my NDS is bigger right from the start, from a completely new ND555. I will mail my findings over the weeks and will also try a Cat5 cable instead of the Audioquest, which I also have. I will also borrow a Melco from my dealer instead of my Core over the next weekend, may be this will also be a difference in a good way soundwise.

Hi Laurence, if you go back to the dealer borrow a Melco Ethernet cable, cheaper than AQ Diamond....£60 a metre in the UK, but sounds just right to my ears with my ND555.

I found the ND555 a bit bright and harsh the first day, it had eased by the next morning having played on repeat into a muted pre overnight. That was with the Core on the adjacent rack but via a switch and repurposed CAT5e cable. 

laurence posted:

Thank you for all helping comments.

The ND555 is on the same network cables as the NDS was (Audioquest Diamond) and the ND555 was also installed and set up as it should be (transit screws, Burndys in the right position,......).

I think, when I heard the ND555 from my dealer at home, which had many hours of burn in time and sounded fantastic (if the difference  would have been marginal, I never would have bought the ND555), I hoped the difference to my NDS is bigger right from the start, from a completely new ND555. I will mail my findings over the weeks and will also try a Cat5 cable instead of the Audioquest, which I also have. I will also borrow a Melco from my dealer instead of my Core over the next weekend, may be this will also be a difference in a good way soundwise.

I use a Naim UnitiCore with ND555 with Chord Ethernet Cables and  it was very easy to tell that the ND555 was better than NDS was out of the box . Yes the ND555 had a lot of  ups and downs during burn in . But your issue may be you heard a fully burned in ND555 and it does improve improve quite a bit over 700 to 800 hours . Quite a bit . So you may not have to borrow a Melco , just play your new streamer 24 hours a day for a few weeks and it will smooth out . It is surprising how long it takes to settle in.  But it is well documented that it has a long burn in. Good luck . 

yeti42 posted:

I found the ND555 a bit bright and harsh the first day, it had eased by the next morning having played on repeat into a muted pre overnight. That was with the Core on the adjacent rack but via a switch and repurposed CAT5e cable. 

Yes, I think running in the ND555 for awhile may solve all the issues . 

I am on my second ND555 and perhaps it’s because I have got over the analytical listening the new one just sounds fine. Initially it was a bit of a jolt from almost burned in to fresh and new.....but I don,t seem to be hearing the ups and downs this time. Weird, perhaps it’s 2019 and a new forum looming?

This thread seems to have been going almost as long as it takes to run a ND555 in.  700/800 hours.  Glad it doesn’t take that long with vinyl, that’s halfway through a stylus!

laurence posted:

Thank you for all helping comments.

The ND555 is on the same network cables as the NDS was (Audioquest Diamond) and the ND555 was also installed and set up as it should be (transit screws, Burndys in the right position,......).

I think, when I heard the ND555 from my dealer at home, which had many hours of burn in time and sounded fantastic (if the difference  would have been marginal, I never would have bought the ND555), I hoped the difference to my NDS is bigger right from the start, from a completely new ND555. I will mail my findings over the weeks and will also try a Cat5 cable instead of the Audioquest, which I also have. I will also borrow a Melco from my dealer instead of my Core over the next weekend, may be this will also be a difference in a good way soundwise.

Laurence, you should not need to change your music store (Core to Melco) to hear the clear superiority of the ND555. Has it been installed correctly?

One thing to also check is the overall system installation, as the ND555 does (to my hearing) have a wider resolution bandwidth and will put a lot more high-frequency information into your system than I hear the NDS does. Some 'brightness' can also be the presence of more information but not rendered quite right.

If you have Fraim then do try moving the position of the ND555 (and some of the other boxes) either a little forward or back on the glass top (a few mm) and listen to what it does. In my system this is important enough to get right as it can 'ring' a little enough to add a glare to the presentation which when properly positioned is gone and sounds a lot better.

It may make no difference, but is easy and free to try.

DB.

laurence posted:

Thank you for all helping comments.

The ND555 is on the same network cables as the NDS was (Audioquest Diamond) and the ND555 was also installed and set up as it should be (transit screws, Burndys in the right position,......).

I think, when I heard the ND555 from my dealer at home, which had many hours of burn in time and sounded fantastic (if the difference  would have been marginal, I never would have bought the ND555), I hoped the difference to my NDS is bigger right from the start, from a completely new ND555. I will mail my findings over the weeks and will also try a Cat5 cable instead of the Audioquest, which I also have. I will also borrow a Melco from my dealer instead of my Core over the next weekend, may be this will also be a difference in a good way soundwise.

The difference should also from the start be quite big, so please check your installation.

Bert Schurink posted:

laurence posted:

Thank you for all helping comments.

The ND555 is on the same network cables as the NDS was (Audioquest Diamond) and the ND555 was also installed and set up as it should be (transit screws, Burndys in the right position,......).

I think, when I heard the ND555 from my dealer at home, which had many hours of burn in time and sounded fantastic (if the difference  would have been marginal, I never would have bought the ND555), I hoped the difference to my NDS is bigger right from the start, from a completely new ND555. I will mail my findings over the weeks and will also try a Cat5 cable instead of the Audioquest, which I also have. I will also borrow a Melco from my dealer instead of my Core over the next weekend, may be this will also be a difference in a good way soundwise.

The difference should also from the start be quite big, so please check your installation.

I agree