- My very subjective thoughts, and first impression, about the ND555 with two 555PS DR.
Being a pragmatic person and knowing that, after a certain level, improvements in sound quality often tend to reach an asymptote, I was not expecting tremendous changes. There is no such thing as magic…
And to be honest, I was not totally satisfied with the ND555… Fortunately, the recent firmware updates did really well by allowing more details and a deeper stereo image.
By adding a second PS I was expecting it to improves things a little further, but not much.
So, really, no great expectations here.
I couldn’t be more wrong… not about the magic, of course
As we use to say it the Vaud Canton (Switzerland) I am “disappointed favourably”, which means the surprise is a delight!
In the context of my system, the change is unexpected and, I dare say, astonishing!
But, how to describe it?
I’d say it’s more or less like shedding some light on a nice and well-known painting.
Colours are more vivid. Curves and forms are outlined.
Everything, of course, keeps at the exact same place but at the same time seems more separated. Every detail in the painting is sharpened, but without added contrast.
That added light makes the background of the picture more vivid, but without bringing it to the foreground.
The overall feeling is an increased depth all over the painting giving the impression that, that flower over there is behind that particular tree on the left.
Details previously hidden in the background are now very much visible.
Highs and lows are clearly improved.
Edginess or graininess I could sometimes hear is gone. Highs are now crystal clear (but no magic here, edgy recordings remain edgy).
Double-bass attacks are sharper than ever, giving me the impression of having less bass (and more bass at the same time – strange, isn’t it? This is hard to describe).
Recording venues are much more perceptible/apparent (when present in the recording) which adds some airiness to the presentation. That airiness really is THE big difference.
Microphone placements and the sound engineer’s work are much clearer (this can be disturbing with some recordings).
Another nice thing is being able to “see” the violinist moving around the microphone (this was audible previously but obvious now).
Everything is the same but very much different!
All the above description is especially true with complex music like violin or piano concertos and, of course, symphonies!
The micro dynamics increase benefit a lot to grand ensembles, but to solo instruments as well.
The piano, when well recorded, is a delight. It’s not a metamorphosis, of course. But attacks, decays and timbre are clearly much better.
You get easily tempted to listen louder!
A totally unexpected surprise is cembalo. I’m not a huge fan of the instrument. But know pretty well how it sounds. My father-in-law has one, so I hear it regularly…
On that particular recording, the cembalo sounds simply astonishing! Jaw dropping, really! It sounds almost like a real one (and this is not a hyperbole).
My wife, who usually isn’t that expansive about hifi was totally dazzled. She knows better than I do how a cembalo sounds (she had to hear/suffer it almost daily during her childhood… ).
These are the albums I referred to for my first impressions:
As for less acoustic (more engineered and/or amplified) music like jazz, folk or rock, the difference is very much present but not as much as with well recorded classical music. Or, I wasn’t able to find a lot of well recorded/engineered albums…
The following non classical albums are nice and benefit a lot of the added PS:
Adding a second 555PS clearly takes the ND555 to another, unexpected, level.
Does it compare to sources “at up to twice the price”, as stated by HiFi Critic?
Well, this is hard to tell. I had the opportunity to audition the Soulution 760 DAC (which is twice the price) with Soulution 711 amp and Magico S3 MkII speakers (the ones I have). It’s hard to compare, both systems are brilliant. The Soulution system is incredibly airy and layered. The Naim system is very resolving and has a tremendous grip on bass!
In my opinion, the ND555 with two PS is really a different beast. I dare say it became exactly what it was supposed to be: an outstanding streamer/DAC.
So, is a second PS worth it?
Yes. Very much so! The second PS is, in my opinion, a wonderful addition.