So I’m thinking of buying the NDX2, I’ve already ripped all my CDs as FLAC and I can fit them all on a large USB stick which could go into the USB port. Is there any benefit of keeping my CD player or will the quality be at least equal from the ripped files on the USB compared to CD? Also, is there any benefit to using a NAS drive compared to USB stick?
I don’t think we can answer that question for you. Maybe unhook it and pack it away. Then if you don’t use it for a year move it on.
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Last year we ripped all our CDs to FLAC on a NAS. The wife was all about keeping the CD player, “just in case”.
We haven’t played a single CD for over 6 months, CD player removed and space getting filled with an XPS DR!
Now if I want to listen to a CD I can do it in the car before ripping…
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You will find a lot of reports of CD payers not being used after a streamer was added.
In my case I already made the decision, CDX2 was sold when the NDX arrived, it actually left before the NDX arrived.
The additional big gain was loosing the ugly space hungry CD racks, 500 CD’s are now stored in a little black box the size of a large handbag.
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The USB port on the Naim streamers makes life easy, but with a large library you may want to use a NAS instead. With a USB drive the streamer has to rescan it every time you reconnect it (which you would need to do whenever you add more music) or after turning off the streamer. The bigger your music library, the longer this will take.
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Have you done a search on this subject, there’s loads already discussed with views.
Try searching on CD vs Streaming for starters.
No, but I will, thank you
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Is audio quality affected by the type of NAS, USB stick or external HDD?
Even my car no longer has a CD player…
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Hi
I will say that I find that whichever software I use can sound different; I use the free version of Minimserver, I also have Asset on on the Nas. Asset’s ‘sound’ is overly ‘bright’ for me, & if I have both running; they both sound ‘bright’. I therefore don’t have Asset running. I also have the same observations when I use my usb stick, but not as pronounced (maybe someone can explain the reason for this to us/me).
There is also a huge topic around connecting leads & switches if you do a search 
I haven’t used my CD player for a long time as well, but it’s a matter of personal taste and point of view. Few people still prefer the CD player (some forum users have compared the NDX 2 to the CDX 2). Overall I do prefer to use the NDX 2 and the quality is higher for me.
I would suggest to consider to stream music through the ethernet cable, the quality is higher (many people in this forum tend to agree on that).
Only for nostalgia, but you might not use it. I haven’t touched, played, even bought a cd in years.
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I run my cd5xs into my ndx2/xpsdr via spdif using my naim dc1.
I rip, then store all my cds on a synology nas which serves using Asset.
So guess what, the sound of a ripped cd and the sound of a cd is very similar.
However, I do still play cds. I enjoy the experience, the same way I do when playing vinyl.
I don’t need a TT nor a cdp. But I do like the experience. Perhaps it’s an age thing. I also enjoy buying cheap cds. They really are cheap.
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Yes, I wouldn’t sell your CDP if you have an active, wide and varied music appetite. Many small independent artists only provide self publish CDs or lossy streaming… and music magazines like Mojo have their monthly CDs of emerging artists or themed compilations… sure you can rip these… but it’s all a bit of a palaver and the meta data may well have to be manually entered for such CDs which can be a chore.
My CDX2 is to be modified by Naim to work with my Chord DAVE… as I miss the format so much with my streaming solution. I learned my lesson…
I have been streaming since the late 90s and spinning CDs since the late 80s… and I still appreciate the options that both player types bring to the table.
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Hear hear !
I bought a whole bundle of CD gems in a shop yesterday, at good discount price. Meanwhile, all around me punters were delving through racks of beat up crackly moth eaten vinyl searching for PVC nirvana and totally uninterested in the CD shelves. Works for me ! 
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That conjures up interesting images… 
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My experience: own four CD players (Marantz CD94mkII, Naim CDI, Naim CD2 and Naim CDS2/XPS), a SACD/DVD/CD player (Denon DVD-2930) and as storage/music player/DAC combos a RipNAS Statement, Squezzebox Touch, an OPPO DAC/music player and a Soekris DAC (and hopefully soon a Violectric DAC).
Since 2013 I have ripped approx. 2500 CD’s.
In my early years (2013-2018) after installment of the ripper/music player/DAC combo(s) I had nearly completely stopped listening to CD (and vinyl). Always thought about selling at least three of the CD players.
However, in 2018 I rediscovered CD (and vinyl). Today, when I want to hear an album in full length it is always CD (or vinyl; have a LP12 and a Technics SL1210 GAE).
Think CD listening just keeps you more in focus with the music. It’s like a ritual which I had to rediscover: put a CD in, shut off the light, press play and then just listen and relax for 30-60 minutes (same goes with vinyl). No internet searches or other playarounds.
With the ripped files I always have had the tendency to search and switch around in the NAS or to do internet searches. Looking back, I have to say that these habbits took away a good part of my music enjoyment and personal relaxation.
Qualitywise imho and using my equipment (amplification: Naim NAC52/SC/2×NAP135, loudspeaker: Audio Physic Avanti 5) I hear not much of a difference between the formats. However, think the CD sound is slightly better (but maybe that’s just because I keep my focus more on the music?).
Today, when I want to hear randomly music or check out new music, I hear via streaming (Apple Airplay) first. Once I have discovered a new piece of music I like very much, I hear it over and over again and if it still holds its musical value to me I buy the CD or the vinyl.
I stopped listening to my ripped files nearly completely. Use them now simply as backup storage in case something happens to the CDs.
Just my 2 cents and experiences. Sorry for the lengthy post. I could have answered your question “do I still need my CD player?” with a simple “YES”, but in the end it’s all about personal choice and experiences … 
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I swapped my CDS for an NDS nearly 10 years ago and don’t regret it. However, I still buy CDs if I can’t find a reasonably priced download; I just rip them to my music server.
In my experience with an NDX2, no, they all sound good. To be honest I haven’t sat down and attempted detailed A/B comparisons, and if I had, I would be concerned that subconscious bias was clouding my judgement, but I use a number of different types of networked and USB storage on mine and it all sounds good to me.
A similar experience with streaming has led me to source a CDS2 and an XPS is due in the next few days in order to bring it to life
The comparison of sound quality will be as interesting as the level of enjoyment gained from digging out a silver disc and listening to an album from start to finish
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