Digital front end

Hi,

I have an old school setup - chrome bumper 32.5 (CD and MC boards), Hi-Cap, 250, SBLs, Xerxes.

I’m thinking about getting a Naim entry level streamer but is my current setup out of date for the digital world?

Cheers,

David.

I think you will be just fine.

In your position I would be looking for a nice used NDX.

Thanks for the reply.

Presumably the best connection to the 32.5 would be via the CD boards?

Cheers.

I used NDX in an Olive system and it was superb.

Yes, that would be the best option

Good to know.

Thanks.

Have a careful think about what you want from a streamer before you choose. The old streamers are a good deal now, but the new models have a wider range of functionality and better WiFi, so a new ND5XS2 might also be worth putting on your shortlist.

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Thanks.

Found out that the older NDX’s don’t support 24/192 unless they have been upgraded.

Cheers.

I’d agree with @ChrisSU here. If you’re moving to streaming you may as well enter with 2019 tech rather than 2008 tech. You’ll have a lot of other things to contend with like ripping, networks and NAS drives or computer. You may as well not hobble this slightly at the start.

.sjb

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Most NDX will have 24/192 boards as the change came in quite some time ago, but you should certainly check with the seller before committing.

I can’t believe you managed to write that post without using the R word, John! :yum:

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Hi, if you are enjoying that set up now, then it will be fine streaming. I would heartily recommend a ND5XS2… it’s entry level, but top flight SQ performance… savings have been made elsewhere such as the display and control circuitry.
The new streamers (ND5XS2/NDX2/ND555) are a major step forward over the first gen streamers in terms of digital noise management and capability…in other words they sound definitely better than their first gen equivalent… and I think the ND5XS2 sounds quite a bit better than the NDX … and you can do more with them more reliably… enjoy

BTW if you end up replacing your CDP with a streamer, ensure the streamer ground button is set to ‘chassis’. If you keep your CDP connected, ensure the streamer ground button is set to ‘float’

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Oh no! I just recently picked up a gently used NDX. 2017 model with the 24/192 board. I’ve been streaming Tidal and using Audirvana with it. Sounds wonderful to me, 65% less than it’s retail price, thank you to all you upgraders!

Enjoy!

Hi Mayburyds,
A fine system you have there! I too enjoyed a 32.5/hicap/250 for some time and enjoyed a Xerxes as my previous turntable.

When considering a digital source to go with the Xerxes, I found the CDX2/XPS2 (or better) to be a complementary match.

If this is your first venture into streaming, then the new ND5SX2 would be a sensible option. You can always boost it with a better dac later on if you are so inclined. I fed digital into the tuner input on my 32.5.

Hope this helps, BF

All,

Many thanks for input and recomendations.

Cheers.

Congrats - enjoy it. I ran my NDX for many years - in fact I had one of the early NDXs just after they came out - and then had the dealer swap out the streaming/memory (24/192/playlist memory) board to the final spec once that became available… but still remained with the RS232 upgrade interface.

32.5 HC -250 is more than fine for the digital age
I have used several years my 32.5-160 with a nd5xs , then a dcs network bridge associated to a Hugo. I sold my SN2 when i found out that when the latter was being outperformed by the CB combo.

Just be sure that the CD boards in your NAC32.5 are the NA326s rather than the NA328s. The NA328s were designed to “sweeten” the sound of early CD players, but will greatly reduce the performance potential of a high quality modern digital source.

Thanks, I’ll check but I suspect they are the earlier boards.