Yes there’s a huge amount of personal preference… If money were no object I’d defo be upgrading my Vinyl sources… and part of me wonders whether I’m missing out … FOMO 
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For the money a NDS/555 costs you can buy a very, very good TT and than you will see 
And yes, a 35 year old Thorens 160 was good 35 years ago but is not really up to date. Even a small VPI for example beats it easily.
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Have read this thread 2 times and this is exactly my main topic here 
Thanks @khan84 for starting the discussion
Same impressions as many people here…
- coming from vinyl era and have already collect vinyl in the 90s with naim amps ans speakers
- around 2000 dismantled my phonosophie TT
- heared a bit and this bit via cdx
- cdx went cdx.XPs
- hdx came with nDAC and XPs (olive)
- suddenly the analogue came in mind with phonosophie resurrected with new cart and prefix and naim PS
… this was the wow moment some of you described.
Vinyl was bettering digital in nearly every test I made - I made a lot. More involving - more dynamics (the drum effect). Especially older records are far ahead. Newer vinyl was also better, but not so massive like e.g. an Paul Simon Album from 1970.
Last analogue update was a SC for the prefix.
Analogue setup coastwise around 12k euro.
Next I tried to give digital a chance.
Hdx gives way for nd5xs2… wow - it was better - more involving, but still less detailed and without that special foot tapping factor.
And a few weeks ago the nd555 knocked on the door.
30k euro against 12k euro.
… Details and dynamics were absolutely present (drums are suddenly fantastic). Music pushes forward …
I still think that nd555 gives an image witch is neither analogue sounding nor digital. Something different.
And this was the really first time in 35 years I thought a digital recording to sound better than vinyl.
I think that you need around 3 times the cost for the digital to match vinyl. And all depends on the recording. As I really like new music and bought a big amount of vinyl I really like to listen to its digital counterpart now.
And next… think I should look onto the Vertere page 
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Conclusion is simple: buy a record player for 30k and see what happens
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Lol
Life is so simple … :o)
I think less is needed to get hard at the nd555.
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Holding $ equal I find streaming to beat both CD and vinyl. I’ve heard some vinyl fronted systems that I prefer but they’re very $$$.
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Have you ever had a Naim streaming system?
Your streamer and DAC may be expensive, but an all Naim system has a sonic signature that imo beats other digital sources into Naim amps.
Can you try ND555 with two 555dr at home?
That’s the acid test.
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Is that a function of you having much better vinyl playback than digital?
In my experience it needs far more money for digital to get in touch with anologue
I’m not trying to get in touch with analogue, my goal is to enjoy the music.
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Price comparisons are tricky. However, if taking new equivalents, my usual analogue source costs a bit more than my streaming source, which cost a bit more than my CDP.
Many years ago, I took a couple of LPs with no surface noise, but with big dynamics and punchy bass but also delicate percussion, female voice and harmonica, as tests. I played LP and CD on a good TT and CDP to 2 friends - one a classical musician and the other a professional (electric) guitarist. Neither used vinyl in their own homes.
I was just being told how much better the second playing sounded, with better stereo separation, fine detail and timing info, and how this proved that digital had overtaken analogue and made the atter an affectation, when we got to the first click.
I have also just lent a mid-spec LP12 to a friend with many years of streaming to high-spec headphones but who has never owned any vinyl. He finds the hisses and clicks from vinyl even more annoying than I do. On the other hand, he wants to know how music recorded from 1960s, 70s, 80s and even 90s sounds more involving and foot-tapping (and with better treble detail and soundstage depth and great vocal realism) on LP than on the streams that he knows.
He did not ask me which of the LPs I lent him would beat the stream and which would not, but seems to have pretty much the same list of winners and losers that I would have.
On some music, this seems to reflect the same weakness in digital music that I hear on many remastered LPs, and it’s not the hardware - the proper balance and subtlety has been replaced with too much exaggerated dynamics than is natural and too much boom & tizz.
If you don’t like my 180g and pristine Abbey Road or Tres Hombres as much as the tatty vinyl I have had for 35+ years, don’t try the CD or stream. The digital versions have no failings versus the heavy vinyl versions that I have, but they lose a lot of subtlety and some boogie versus the scratchy old originals.
The confusion increases with Back to Black - multiple listeners think the vinyl better than the stream, despite when and how it was recorded. By contrast, try though I might, I can’t actually hear anything on any of my Zeppelin LPs that is actually better than the best digital versions, except (just maybe and just fractionally) You Shook Me and Levee, and I gave up on almost all my classical LPs years ago.
My conclusion after all that (and apologies for the rambling) is that, if your front-end is good enough, which is better out of LP and CD isn’t really decided by personal preference but does vary case by case, album by album.
If that is right, maybe we should take this discussion off the Hi-Fi page completely and replace it with a thread on the Music page for which versions of famous albums are best, with all formats (and all pressings) allowed. After all, isn’t that what is driving our choices here?
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The same here … maybe my English is bad. But the thread is on comparison of vinyl vs digital, so it is fine imho to compare the electronics as well
Let’s do such thread on the music page! I have already some Album A-B comparison to offer
With year 2000 plus albums it is more likely for a good streamer to give good results. Older stuff is made for vinyl.
I can only speak to my own experience and I’ve observed the electronics for streaming have reached parity and if your network is optimized streaming outperforms vinyl more times than not. There’s always exceptions of course but the lack of practicality of vinly minimizes those exceptions. I accept some folks need to believe though.
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I grew up with vinyl and loved it and collected it for 40 years.
I had a 1999 RP3 into an all Naim system inc. CD5i from 2004.
Then I stumbled into the old forum and HH soon had me on a 272.
I intended to keep 3 sources going, but once I heard it I wanted more SQ, so the CD and TT had to go, and half the vinyl.
Listening now to ND5XS2/Naim DAC/555DR/52/135s/SL2s the music sounds like a music I always dreamed of having access to, but never believed I would have.
Sublime.
[I have no desire to get a turntable again].
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Interesting. To answer your question. No I’ve yet to demo a high end Naim source at home.
Ive heard a lot of high end DACs and eventually fell in love with Audio Note DACs which is how I’ve ended up with SW1X as it’s a similar valve design.
The reason why I didn’t pursue Naim sources when I began putting together a high end system what 6 years ago now was because people on the old forum preferred the Chord Hugo at the time to the Naim DAC so I guess I was swayed away from Naim source at that point.
Now I’m much more experienced in high end gear and I do not decide on popular opinion. My personal taste has often surprised me. You may be right on the synergy aspect.
Having said that, I will be surprised if the summit Naim streamer is considerably better than my current reference digital setup. It may very well be the case but I’m just saying I would guess it isn’t.
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I accept that
LP12 owner here, Kandid cartridge
Also I have a NDX2 (no PS)
I find the sound of my vinyl is almost always superior…but my comparison may be a little skewed cost wise to the TT.
I also just like it better…I sit and listen to an album, while if I listen to digital, I end up doing other things around the house, or I just skip around from track to track, not nearly as engaging
Also, even digital sourced (ahem Mofi) records sound better than the digital counterparts
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With your TT you need an ND555 with best 2 PS.
I am still a Vinyl guy and tend to say that I like it better (sound - deceleration of my mind…) but I am really impressed what nd555 does.
Got it for a good price - without that option I would have not taken it and would have spend the money into a new or updated TT - preamp
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