DAC choice for CD5 XS

Thank you @Mr.M for kind advice. Really appreciate it.

I definitely know that my Spendors are very much differ price-wise with the Nait XS. SN2 and the nDAC is the way to go for now for me I suppose… I’ll take care the balance issue that way and really think to HiCap it sometime…

And I’m about to get a rack too… nFraim is hard to get around here and expensive too… but I definitely will have a rack. Maybe a custom one and modify it with isolation equipment, like you mentioned.

On cables, oh boy!!! Some years ago, I bought a set of DHLabs Q-10 speaker cable. Then Top of the line I recall. Didn’t know about inductance/capacitance issues back than. Came home so happy, that’s my first ‘upgrade!’ ya know, first modification! Connected and listening… Not so impressed but hey, what do I now? That’s a premium cable and who am I to disagree? Weeks passed and I was restless, couldn’t describe it, couldn’t name it, but gave some thought and came with ‘Joy’. The joy was gone, i assume. Then i went back to Naca5 and the Joy was back! Years passed, learned about more with the electrical ‘thing’ and leave it. In fact now i know about DNMs, TQs, Phonosophies, WitchHats and all but haven’t been able to delve deep in the forum so I feel this topic is not the place, not fair to turn into cable talk. First I have to check the cable topics and definitely will do. (I checked and see you go with Naca5, and that’s saying something😄)

So my cabling is all standard box equipment plus Belkin Surgemaster and a Konig mains extension blocks. I checked and I have other equipment connected to it, TV, satellite etc. They’re mixed into the block. If you’re saying ‘Use one with the Hi-Fi, and other with everything else’ I can do it! And i can think getting more premium marquees than Belkin/ Konig. Any suggestions? (Auidioquest Niagaras, IsoTek Polaris, GoldKabels I know of?)

On Power and IC Cables… I just been offered A Hi-Line with a discount but the price is still a tad steep for me. I see you’re using Hi-Lines and PowerLines but if you have suggestions on that, love to hear em too.

It is a bit of a minefield, but as I find myself answering a fair few of these “next step” or “make it better” type threads I think it’s always worthwhile setting the scene and ensuring that the original poster considers the system as a whole and works towards a synergy within the system that ensures you get the most from the equipment in your environment with your music preferences.
Some things can be generalised , some things are based on similar experiences like owning the same equipment, and other things will come down to personal tastes and your mood on the day to an extent.
Regards AC mains supply firstly, it’s considered to be best practice and one of those “fix that first” steps that many forum members have gone through to ensure their system is, as far as is logistically feasible and within the confines of local electrical regulations, given its own AC input from your local supply.
Mine is split off at the main feed from the street and my office Naim system sits on its own circuit, to all intents and purposes separate from everything else in the house. Mains conditioners are generally not recommended, if you have specific issues with excessive DC noise caused by things like Fridge Freezers, you can add equipment to remove the DC noise, the sign of excessive DC on your AC mains is usually a humming/noisy torodial power supply which is what is inside most Naim black boxes.
All that said to set the scene, putting your HiFi on its own circuit is preferable and usually not that expensive.
In terms of cabling within the system, I’ve dabbled with other manufacturers over the years with mixed results and ultimately ended up sticking within the Naim ecosystem covering speaker cables, AC mains cables and Interconnects, they work well and importantly form part of an overall system synergy.
Depending on where your system is in the range you tend have more flexibility lower down and have to be more careful in to the classic, 500 and Statement based systems.
A Uniti Atom will be more forgiving with cables than say a NAC552 to give two extremes as examples.
In terms of racks, I’ve used both Hutter and Isoblue over the years, probably worth firing off a specific thread on racks to get a broad set of responses.

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