Have the option to get a 555PS at a great price.
Should I replace the XPS2 with it? Is the NDX good enough?
I ran an NDX with a 555PSDR for a few months, it was a really strong front-end. It sounded excellent through my olive amps, really musical. The 555 was a significant uplift on the bare NDX. I didnāt have an XPS before that, so I canāt compare those 2 unfortunately.
Your amp is certainly good enough to warrant a source upgrade. Whether the 555PS is a good deal is the question. Is it a DR, does it need a (costly) service??
I think you need to work out where you are heading as I believe that an NDX/555 is poor value if you are going to stop there.
I have heard one and whilst it is very good an NDS/XPS DR is way better and not much different in price.
If you are thinking of upgrading the NDX to either an NDS or ND555 then getting the 555 now for a good price makes sense. I use an NDS/555DR and it is a formidable source.
Yep
I have got the NDS with 555PS and it is totally awesome. Caveat is that itās limited with newer streaming platforms. Itās fine for Spotify, NAS drives and iRadio though
Thanks everyone.
Its not DR & the service info is to be asked tomorrow.
Ultimately my intention is to jump straight to ND555 so I think it makes sense.
My concern was really around the suitability of NDX with 555
Lots to ponder
The NDS benefits from a 555PS as there are two Burndies. The XPS DR only has connection for one. Have played the NDS with my XPS2 and there is a big difference between that and the 555PS.
And likewise with my CDS3 the 555PS is a fair bit better than the XPS2 even with just one Burndy available for use. If I could afford it would have 2 x 555PS on NDS and one 555PS on CDS3.
Naim themselves state that the XPSDR is superior to a non DR 555ps as I had this conversation on the phone with them a little while ago.
So I would only look at the 555ps if you are planning a ND555. I would still be wanting it in a DR version however especially as the ND555 has been designed around a discrete regulated power supplied 555DR.
The cost of the 555ps would have to be very good to factor in a service/DR upgrade.
Donāt for get you will need a XPS burndy to use with the 555 into a NDX
And if you get a ND555 head unit that XPS burndy will be useless to you.
Heās already using XPS2 so must have the burndy already ā¦ good point though.
Just if he sells that XPS ( XPSās come with the burndy )
555 / 555drās donāt
So heās out of pocket even more
Not if he sells the second burndy when he no longer needs it. OK enough of spending someone elseās hard-earned
Thanks again everyone
Iām not particularly knowledgeable in the newer Naim kit so this is all really helpful
I wasnāt sure about Burndys & didnāt know you needed specific types for ND555
So, out of interest would Ā£2600 be considered a good price
555 PS should be available in the US for between $5-6K depending on service. DR models are significantly more. 555 PS will work wonders on any high end streamer or CD player.
Depends on age. Bear in mind a service and dr upgrade is probably well over Ā£2000 now. Service is recommended at 15 years. I would check the exact price of service and dr upgrade then add this to the asking price and work out if you feel itās worthwhile, bearing in mind you can pick up a four year old one which is already dr for around Ā£4000.
Service and DR was Ā£2499 in 2019ā¦
Looking at the various āissuesā I think caution is a good idea
As Svetty says Ā£2499 for DR + Service means an existing DRād version would be more cost effective.
I wasnāt aware of the ND555 Burndy requirement - nor the fact that 555PS doesnāt have one - all adds up very quickly & Iāve spent quite a lot this year already!
Again thanks to everyone for your excellent advice - its really appreciated.
The other way of looking at it of course is that for a purchase price of Ā£2600 plus a service and DR at Ā£2499 youād effectively get an āas newā unit for Ā£5100 instead of Ā£8500 or Ā£7500 (price depends on which case finish the unit is)ā¦
The Burndy is extra of course but theyāre readily available on line for a couple of hundred or soā¦
If the 555 is not a DR Iād hold off. If you can get a 555PS DR then youād be good with your existing burndy and youād be able to use it should you go NDS or ND555 later. And FLAC streaming is not a problem on legacy streamers, you can use Kurtās cloud solution for iRadio or run minimserver on a NAS for FLAC radio streaming via UPNP.