ND555/252 vs NDS/552, Which Is Best? Only One Way To Find Out - Fight!
Posted by: nigelb on 21 November 2018
I was pretty sure I knew the answer to this one, given all the praise the ND555 has been rightly receiving, and, after all, I have always been a source first bloke. Well it turns out I know nothing!
Thinking it was time to move to the new streaming platform and take advantage of possibly one of the best streamers ever made, I was keen to hear the ND555 at home but, due to the steep incline in costs for future upgrades, any upgrading now will need to be done in stages. That means the ND555 will need to be able to show its capabilities with my current 252DR/250DR and MA GX300 speakers until such time I can pay attention these other components.
There is a problem though. In the back of my mind I remember the praise the 'classic' component in the Naim range, the 552, has received on a continuous basis over the last two decades. But that would need to work with my current NDS/555DR/250DR/MA GX300s. As luck would have it, my dealer happens to have both a mint pre-loved 552 and one of the first ND555s (so well run in). A plan was forming.
To solve this puzzle my trusty dealer set up two systems for me to listen to. The first - ND555/PS555DR/252/SuperCapDR and the second - NDS/PS555DR/552(non DR), both systems used with a 300DR and Kudos Titan 707s. I would listen to both and decide which I would take home for extended dem, the ND555 or the 552. A forgone conclusion, I thought.
I brought 4 favourite CDs which the dealer ripped and I listened to the system fronted by the ND555 first and waited with bated breath for the fireworks. But there were none. The initial problem I had was that the dealer's listening room was over double the size of mine and was less damped. I was also used to listening 'near field' but was further away from the speakers at the dealers. It took me a while to acclimatise and the system was, I believe, improving over that first hour of listening. No denying the detail and coherence on offer but I felt the whole presentation was a bit on the clinical side. I was a tad dissappointed and checked with the dealer that the ND555 was fully run in, and it was. Might it have been the 252 struggling a bit with the detail it was being asked to process, or was it the unfamiliar listening environment. Not sure, but something wasn't quite right.
So onto the NDS/552 based system. From the first track I could tell this was rather special, although I was still struggling with the brighter, slightly echoey listening room. Again, as this session went on things started to improve, either the equipment settling in or me becoming more in tune with the listening room, or both.
After a further hour of listening, I had decided it was the 552 I wanted to take home for an extended listen. But before it was packed up, the very accommodating dealer married up the ND555 with the 552 and this was when things really took off, even in those unfamiliar acoustic surroundings. It seemed to me that the NDS/552 was less of a compromise than the ND555/252, so off I went with the 552 for home demo.
I have been listening to the 552 in my system for much of today and have been pretty much blown away. I will save all the detailed descriptions for a couple of days when I have had a chance to listen more. But this 552 ain't going nowhere!
Great you're enjoying your 552! 
Your listening experience and Simon-in-Suffolks' made me change my mind regarding the next step to make. I was planning to replace my nDAC with a ND555.
The ND555 will come eventually, but I'll have to wait. The NAC552 has its cost. And postponing the ND555 purchase is probably a good idea considering the recently identified software glitches and inconsistencies.
I really look forward to experience the change from the 252 to 552
TomSer posted:Great you're enjoying your 552!
Your listening experience and Simon-in-Suffolks' made me change my mind regarding the next step to make. I was planning to replace my nDAC with a ND555.
The ND555 will come eventually, but I'll have to wait. The NAC552 has its cost. And postponing the ND555 purchase is probably a good idea considering the recently identified software glitches and inconsistencies.
I really look forward to experience the change from the 252 to 552
TomSer, not sure how close you are to a Naim dealer but were you able to demo the 552 or did you buy on spec?
Either way, I don't think you will be disappointed when it arrives with you. I am not however familiar with your streamer/DAC source, although I know the PS555DR very well.
Ken, I mean real world end game pre.
ouch Nigel - now the beast is awake... why did you have to do this to me? Whyyyyy? 
Gazza, I can't think what the ND555 feeding a 552 must sound like. Even though a home demo of both is free, I simply can't afford it, because I know the outcome!
If you go to the Bristol show in February, we would meet up there.
Adam Zielinski posted:ouch Nigel - now the beast is awake... why did you have to do this to me? Whyyyyy?
Adam, you need to get those MA GX 300s in your music room and add a 552, light the touchpaper and stand back!
No need to thank me, my advice is freely given.
Hope you are well.
N
nigelb posted:Gazza, I can't think what the ND555 feeding a 552 must sound like. Even though a home demo of both is free, I simply can't afford it, because I know the outcome!
If you go to the Bristol show in February, we would meet up there.
Oh I wish...we are away for the wife’s birthday in Feb, so unlikely. But perhaps we could meet up in other circumstances next year, who knows. Take care and just enjoy the music. I have looked at some other nondr amps and if you are likely to ever sell on, the upgrade seems too expensive. The 552 is perfect for a keeper and the DR upgrade, enjoy the journey.
nigelb posted:Adam Zielinski posted:ouch Nigel - now the beast is awake... why did you have to do this to me? Whyyyyy?
Adam, you need to get those MA GX 300s in your music room and add a 552, light the touchpaper and stand back!
No need to thank me, my advice is freely given.
Hope you are well.
N
I’m thinking of pairing it with my NAP300DR and Ovators....
But I’m starting to feel like Gollum / Smeagol...
Adam Zielinski posted:I’m thinking of pairing it with my NAP300DR and Ovators....But I’m starting to feel like Gollum / Smeagol...
We all know how that feels . . .
I should have the chance in the coming weeks to listen to a variety of Naim separates . . . perhaps a re-do of Nigel's thread as "552 vs. NAP 300" -- the 552 wouldn't require me to add a Fraim level 
Adam Zielinski posted:nigelb posted:Adam Zielinski posted:ouch Nigel - now the beast is awake... why did you have to do this to me? Whyyyyy?
Adam, you need to get those MA GX 300s in your music room and add a 552, light the touchpaper and stand back!
No need to thank me, my advice is freely given.
Hope you are well.
N
I’m thinking of pairing it with my NAP300DR and Ovators....
But I’m starting to feel like Gollum / Smeagol...
It is a well known fact that the 552 goes beautifully with a 300DR. I was just being mischievous about the speakers.
Go on, get yourself a home demo of the 552, but as it has been said before, only if you can afford it. Not sure if pre-loved 552s are available in Poland from dealers. If so, that is a good option and you could trade in your 252/SuperCapDR, as I did. Far less painful financially.
Adam Zielinski posted:nigelb posted:Adam Zielinski posted:ouch Nigel - now the beast is awake... why did you have to do this to me? Whyyyyy?
Adam, you need to get those MA GX 300s in your music room and add a 552, light the touchpaper and stand back!
No need to thank me, my advice is freely given.
Hope you are well.
N
I’m thinking of pairing it with my NAP300DR and Ovators....
But I’m starting to feel like Gollum / Smeagol...
...and a 552 is precious indeed. 