They are in the same price range, how did your dealer compare Statement to Soulution 7 series and Gryphon Apex/ Commander?
My dealer is also a dealer for Soulution Audio. Where and when he listened to these systems, I donāt know. He told me about them between two listening sessions when we discussed other brands.
He told me he was impressed by the Naim Statement and the Gryphon amps. Which Gryphon model, I donāt know, so Iād rather not say.
We also talked about speakers and that having an entirely Swiss system would have been nice. But there are no Swiss speakers that are at the level of Magico.
I donāt visit dealers very often. I only do it when I want to buy something. So I usually enjoy a chat with them.
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I do not know which Naim amp you are using now, but for amplification, give Viola and Dan DāAgostino a try if you have the chance, maybe you can be convienced
Thank you for the recommendation but I have no desire anymore to move away from Naim amplification. Itās a sound presentation that I am very happy with.
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Will you run a Naim pre amp with it?
Yes. Iām hoping to get a 552DR 
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How good is the ND555?
Iād absolutely love to find outā¦
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That should do the trick but keep the head unit away from large power supplies, the 500ps on the same level of an adjacent rack did it no favours at all.
A bit of distance from the ND555 head unit wonāt go amis either and also from the phonostage if it has an internal transformer so if using Fraim an empty shelf between each.
Remove any other digital gear from the system and the powerblock while you try the 555. Wireless works surprisingly well if you donāt want to spend time optimising wired just for a demo. If you already have wired ethernet handy it will probably beat it as long as its power supplies donāt pollute the Naim gear but donāt assume itās necessarily the case.
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Essential. Only your ears know for sure.
I have listened at length, on several occasions to a demo CD555/PS555 fronting 552/500/SL2 at my dealers. This was some years back, so memory maybe not 100% reliable but I know what I heard and perhaps more importantly, I remember what I thought and how it made me feel.
It was the most resolving, detailed and insightful CDP I have ever listened to, both at the time or since. I couldnāt help but be impressed by it but I didnāt lust after owning it. At the time I was using CDX2/XPS2 and hoping for a CDS3/XPS2. It was obvious that the CD555 was bringing detail to the performance which the CDS3 had failed to so fully communicate, yet I preferred the presentation of the CDS3. It somehow seemed more natural, less processed. The CD555 was to my ears a HiFi Tour De Force but not the most relaxed musical communicator. A purely personal thing. Maybe it would have sounded better at home. I never felt moved to try.
I was very keen to get my ears on the NDS. I hoped it would be a kind of spiritual successor to the CDS3 and we were lucky to be able to get our dealerās first demo model at home, a couple of days after they got it from the factory. It didnāt go back. We were so impressed with the balance of the presentation, resolution, timing, realism, poise, etc., that we didnāt want to risk any possible sample variation and kept the demo unit. It was brand new and had only sat at the dealer for a couple of days to warm up and be briefly appraised.
Adding a second 555PS-DR some time later was a revelation. Mixed results were reported here. Mine were all positive. It was a no brainer for me, after I had got over the surprise of how much extra enjoyment was hidden in my music collection. It did turn out to be a kind of spiritual successor to the CDS3 in itās easy and naturally flowing musical presentation, but it was much more and then some. Although āonlyā an S level streamer (admittedly with twin 500 level PSs), it didnāt seem out of its depth with our 552-DR/500-DR.
It could have all happily ended there. And it would have, but for the introduction of the ND555. We were eager to hear it but not expecting a huge leap. If an S level streamer was a kind of modern day successor to the spirit of the CDS3, we figured that a 500 level streamer might be more in keeping with the musical spirit of the CD555. Besides which, just how more information could possibly be in our music collection? Surely the NDS/2X555PS-DR was 95% of the way there already? We were wrong, both in our quality and quantity expectations.
I could write a book on how good we think the ND555 is, with itās two already well run-in 555PS-DR, but to fully appreciate it, you have to experience the music it produces. It doesnāt sound like any other source Iāve heard because it doesnāt sound like anything. It just gets out of the way. I canāt tell you the benefits of running it with one PS and adding a second. It was fully loaded from day one.
But donāt take anyone elseās word for it. Your ears know best. Maybe youāll love it, maybe you wonāt. But you probably wonāt be wasting your time finding out.
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Thanks for that write up. Its a very interesting read. Yes once I have the 552DR, NAP 135s bedded in Iāll try to get a home demo because I honestly believe Iām very lucky with my listening room- it seems to sound better than any listening room Iāve been to.
It will also be very interesting to compare it to the NOS Tube DACs Iāve owned for a very long time now. My current SW1x DAC 3 Balanced is very impressive in its presentation. You might even say Iām silly to want to change but I would very much like to see what the best source component from Naim sounds like.
That sounds rather interesting.
I hope it goes well and I hope that you will be inclined to share your findings.
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That would be the NAT01 then. But at least with the ND555 youāll be able to choose what you want to listen to!
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Lol yes the legendary NAT01. Itās a shame I never got to pursue that. The antenna being the big obstacle. Have you done comparisons to the ND555?
To quote the thread title, āHow good is the ND555?ā, ā¦ ā¦ ā¦ bloody good, 'nuff said. 
Or, to refer to another thread, āNot 'alf badā
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Yes, but mainly when the NAT01 had to go back to Salisbury for service. The ND555 is a fair substitute, but I missed something so bought a Quad FM4 to tie me over during the period the NAT was absent. Thereās something about FM. BBC Radio 3 (FM) has been playing for most of the day today.
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BlockquotekThis is my first post in here -but I did come from many years as a Linn aficionado who converted to Naim after moving from Aus and have never looked back and have a 500 system now with 2x5550ps. There are a lot of variables when listening to music and what your brain is used to listening to is one of them.
Me I love what I have now - but it does not mean that there is not more detailed out there.Iāve been there More detailed does not mean better. Itās the quality of sound after all. I know some say there is not a Naim sound but I think there is and I love it and so do just about all my family and that includes those with The latest Linn kit
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If too many boxes in the rack is the problem, all you have to do is switch to Statment and all of a sudden you only have 2 boxes left in your rackā¦
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But Statemen has no Tape Out, if that is required ā my case. (Somebody is always obliged to point this out to the unwary. )
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I have been enjoying my ND555 with a single 555PS since August 2018 when those nice chaps from Tom Tom Audio first installed it. Iāve been mulling for some time over whether to get a second 555PS, and have finally bitten the bullet and picked one up. I connected the new one to the digital side, powered up again and left overnight to warm up and stabilise to my room temperature. First listen was this morning, and Iām very impressed! Iāve been using Naim kit for over 30 years, so I know a few ups and downs are to be expected, but I was shocked at how good this sounds from day 1. The first thing I noticed was a deeper and more controlled bass, but I also think the soundstage is wider. Iām on holiday at home for the next 2 weeks, so I have plenty of time to listen more and see how the sound develops. I have to admit I was a little sceptical about this, but itās paid off hugely.
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