Hi
I have a NAIM NAIT 3R Amp with a CD3.5 player and would like to hook up a NAIM Streamer, can anyone please advise which models are compatible?
regards
Any and all would be compatible - however, it will really depend upon your budget. Closest equivalent to your current kit would likely be the ND5XS2. Stepping up in price and performance you would be looking at an NDX2.
If using alongside the CD3.5 you should set the streamer signal earthing to Floating.
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Thank you Richard, I will investigate the options you have recommended
Hi Richard
Just looking at some options, would the NDX and the ND5-XS both be compatible? Is the digital display subject to ‘dimming’ on the older models?
Yes, they would work just fine although they use the older streaming platform. They use OLED displays and they can sometimes fade down to almost nothing if left on all the time. It’s advisable to set the display to off, only showing up briefly when you operate a function on the streamer. That way screen life should be maximised.
Remember that the older Naim streamers were really designed to stream from a UPnP server on your home network. Some years later they had Spotify and Tidal compatibility shoehorned into them, but if you want anything more than that you will be using workarounds to get access to other popular services such as Qobuz, Apple Music, Airplay, Roon etc.
If you can live with that these older models can give you great performance at bargain prices, but make sure you understand their limitations before you wade in.
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Hi Richard
Thank you for all your help, I have purchased a second hand ND5 X S2 and are awaiting delivery.
With regards to connecting it to the Nait 3r amp, which port should I use?
I currently have the CD connected the the CD port and the record deck connected to the AUX.
Kind regards
Tim
All the Din inputs are line level so any should do fine.
Thank you Richard
Hi @Corkeykat - FWIW, I have three 1st gen streamers (UQ1, NAC172, NDX) and am extremely happy with them all. They’ve all had screen replacements, so that’s a thing to consider given Richard’s comment above. Most importantly, @ChrisSU’s point on the feature set vs price is extremely valid.
I stream ripped CDs via UPnP (highest audio quality to my ears) CD-quality TIDAL (pretty good) and listen to internet radio (Radio Paradise, classical, etc.) It would be nice to have Roon across all three and Bluetooth on the QU and 172 for podcasts and the like, but I can live without that for now. So I’ve got a feature set that 90% works for me and provides a ton of enjoyment.
Doing that for the prices I’ve paid for those is just added enjoyment. The total for all three was about the same as a new ND5XS2 I think…
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