Exsactly what i mean, patchwork.
I have no idea about food chains but let’s put it this way I’ve done rough A/B comparisons between a favourite CD (say Ronnie Laws ‘Tribute to the Legendary Eddie Harris’ on Blue note) with my CD5X with a Flatcap 2X power supply against the Tidal streamed version through the ND5XS and to my ears they are pretty much indiscernible… possibly the streamer just edges it. The amp by the way is a Supernait 2 and speakers bespoke redesigned and rebuilt Ditton 44’s (think of a pair of stand mounted speakers you’d pay £4-5k from a dealer).
If you are just ‘dipping your toes’ into streaming it’s s great place to start.
Alternatively…just buy a Superuniti BT and add suitable speakers (mine are AE1’s on AE stands).
My missus and I often go ‘gig loud’ and both systems sound the preverbial dogs gonads 
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AE’s are starting to feature regularly on this forum
That’s because I keep on mentioning them lol. I’ll not mention them again 
I use my CD5XS as a benchmark, as it is more reliable than network replay, which, when good, equals or exceeds the CD, IME.
My CD5XS is currently playing happily through my Qute2’s DAC (because the analogue-in is used for whole-house). I expected to be underwhelmed, expecting the matched DAC on board the CD5XS to be the better one; maybe it is, but the CD into the Qute2’s DAC sounds really good — better, to me, than the Qute2’s onboard network player.
It is evidence to me that neither method of output from the CD5XS is half-hearted. Very flexible satisfying player, IMHO. And the DAC in the Qute isn’t bad either!
Nick
I had a cd5xs for 4 years .I consider it a superb player.
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The rest of your system is definitely at NDX level.
But using an optional external PS on a Naim box also “slaughters” half the box it’s used with. That’s one reason why several 272 users have asked for a streaming preamp without internal power supply. Yet it’s very much in the Naim philosophy.
Actually my system at the time had even more redundancy! There were 3 DACS, one in the CD player, another in the SN1, as well as the nDAC itself which was the only one I actually used. Not to mention external power supplies on the nDAC and SN1. But that’s Naim for you.
Roger
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Great words ratrat - spot on IMHO
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I have an older Sony cd/sacd player and a Sonos Connect feeding into a Musical Fidelity dac connected to a Nait 5i-2. I also have a decent tuner that sounds light years better than any streamed radio broadcast I’ve heard. I have all my cd’s ripped to a NAS and subscribe to Deezer as well. Not up to the level that most here might have but both formats sound good to my ear.
It was mentioned in another thread that there is a trend toward fewer boxes. My first stereo in high school consisted of a receiver, turntable and speakers . . . and records. Then I added a cassette deck . . . and cassettes. After that came a cd player . . . and cd’s. Then came a separate preamp, amp, tuner . . . and phono stage. All of that was followed by a NAS, DAC, Sonos Connect and streaming service.
At some point, squeezing every last drop of audiophile potential out of whatever equipment/recording I owned became less important. The cassettes disappeared long ago. The vinyl gave way to the cd’s. The separates gave way to the Nait 5i-2.
In my case, streaming is carrying me in the minimalist direction. I remember going to homes when growing up where there was a receiver and speakers, source was FM—no turntable, tape deck etc. I think streaming fits that model except that a good streaming service (along with a ripped cd collection if applicable) provides the additional benefit of being able to select from a vast amount of programing via an iPad. It’s hard to argue that streaming doesn’t check all the boxes—no clutter, everything’s available through an app, hi res etc.
I continue to purchase cd’s. In most cases it’s because I’m looking for a particular version or issue of a release; i.e. a black triangle version of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. These can be ripped and thus incorporated into the streaming paradigm. I also purchase SACD’s many of which are not available in the hi-res streaming/downloadable format. I can’t stream the SACD’s at this time, thus an SACD player is necessary. I believe SACD’s can be ripped using certain SACD players in conjunction with the right software and streaming device. An example might be ripping from an Oppo 103 player into the appropriate software which might then be streamable through a hi-res device into a hi-res capable dac. I’m not interested in streaming from a computer.
Being older, having cd’s and a cd player fulfills some residual nostalgia. And as much as ripping and streaming check most, if not all, the boxes, I wouldn’t care if it disappeared leaving only cd’s or vinyl. Even if things had never progressed beyond vinyl, I would have been ok with that–even with all the ticks and pops that used to have me lusting after a reel-to-reel deck. Records and cd’s still make pretty good music–even while ever advancing technology infiltrates and eclipses just about everything.
Nevertheless, If I were advising a newcomer to hi-fi I would recommend the streaming approach through a streaming device that can be fed to an outboard dac. Provided their interests were limited to a steaming service, hi-res downloads or 44.1 cd’s streaming simply checks all the right boxes. Sure, there’s no tactile component but maybe you don’t miss what you never had. If they wanted records, cd’s, cassette, reel-to-reel or 8-track I’d say go for it.
Ultimately, I think it’s difficult to support the argument that, in the modern era, streaming doesn’t represent a fully viable, state-of the-art, obsolescent resistant, audiophile approach. It can accommodate the collector as well as the casual listener. For those wanting or requiring an alternative or additional format—they’re out there—and there’s no reason to denigrate anyone’s choice of format.
As much as I can appreciate the appeal of legacy formats, If I were forced to choose a single format, I would choose streaming/ripping. SQ arguments aside, there’s really no downside aside from the fact that it doesn’t include the use of a turntable, cd player or some other source. For those who want those formats, they’re readily available.
Lastly, assuming we’re not talking about comparisons of cost-no-object equipment, I believe arguments based on relative SQ are misplaced as frankly they can all be excellent.
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I agree 150%!
Choice is always better than being forced!
As Simon has said many moons ago paraphrasing:
A new Paradigm: No longer just the analog TT, digital CDP, and digital streaming, but choice depending on convenience, music, and mood!
“I believe arguments based on relative SQ are misplaced as frankly they can all be excellent.”
But what would we talk about 
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I am not sure that I will ever loose the need for a CD player.
Listening and collecting in the more arcane areas of modern jazz and British jazz at that I find it is not well represented on Qobuz.
Streaming seems fine if you are listening in middle ground but once you wander off searching for smaller labels you are lost and have to resort to Discogs or Jazz house records.
N
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I use Discogs a lot. I rip the cd’s I purchase (except sacd), but I do have the cd player. I digitized some vinyl before I let it go. I made a decision to move away from vinyl. I considered keeping the turntable so that I could digitize recordings not available on cd but that just seemed to defeat the minimalist goal. I recognized that there was some music I might do without and chose to go all digital.
Maybe the Nait XS or Supernait vs the 5i-2. Or something other than my Musical Fidelity M1 dac. My Proac’s could probably use some good stands and I don’t know about the Kimber 4tc speaker cable I’m using. The Sonos probably isn’t the best.
I will say that I’ve used a variety of amplification with the Proac’s. The 5i-2 is the amp that came out ahead of all the rest. I’m not exactly sure why but it’s lively, has nice detail, has good power, controls the speakers and defines the bass better than others I’ve used. I suppose I could do better than the Proacs, but I’m just not ready to pursue that avenue yet. Monitors probably work best in my listening space. If I changed speakers I would be interested in a sealed box or at least one that is front ported. I have no idea where to start with that. So the Proac’s stay.
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