You could be spot on with your findings, after replying I did give it some more thought and would probably agree with you.
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Right. I tentatively look for alternatives to the lavender power cord now and then and it is my next step for refining my very balanced system.
The problem with me is that rather than plan the purchase by saving, I tend to leave it to serendipity….and that takes eons. 
Yeah I must admit I got pretty lucky with 2nd hand items. Mostly they just happened to be available when I was looking.
Definitely worth a try, I have an open mind especially if it doesn’t cost me any money, so a visit to my local dealer may well be worthwhile.
The Ndac does seem to get mentioned quiet often on the forum especially in regard to the ND5XS2, I think with me another black box or a pair of cables, I would nearly always go for the black box, rightly or wrongly it just seems better vfm weither it would be the correct decision only a listen would confirm that.
Note to self, must stay open minded 
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You didn’t mention speaker placement, but always worth investigating. If you hold on, there may be lots of used stuff appearing on the used market following the launch of the new classic range.
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The above link may be useful. Contentious, but it works for me.
G
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I’m one of those with the nDAC. It was a really really nice upgrade (if you can accommodate another box) however I didn’t want to mention it as I know they are really hard to find 2nd hand and you’ll still need a coax cable like the DC-1 from the nd5xs2 to the nDAC.
Looking back on my journey I wish I would have paid more attention to cheap options like cable dressing, support, power and speaker placement. All of them can be small changes, but they really add up.
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Hi Silverback,
System looks and I’m sure sounds fantastic already.
Some great suggestions already mentioned here so plenty to consider - many of which I’ve indulged in.
Those PMCs speakers you have are beasts, in a good way of course, with a couple of crossovers they might respond well to more power - wonder if there may be a few original classic 250drs kicking about now……
Enjoy the journey.
Your welcome and happy that I could be of help. I am originally from Boston but have been residing in Seattle Washington since January, 1996. I fell in love with the year round weather in the Pacific Northwest and have decided to call it home.
As far as switches go, I started with a small 5 port Netgear switch when I purchased my first streamer, ND5 XS, since it was recommended by someone on the forum at the time. Then as time past there were threads on the forum reporting that the use of Cisco switches demonstrated an uplift in sound quality by many. I eventually invested $75.00 in a used Cisco C2960C-8PC-L switch. The small investment did work out since I did notice a positive difference in the sound.
When the Chord English Electric 8Switch was introduced there were threads discussing the improvement in sound. So I spoke to my dealer and he gave me new unit to demo and a few days later I dropped by and gave him a check. Yes there was a positive improvement in the sound of the music.
The reason I have used two switches is at the time I purchased the EE8 the router and Cisco switch where located a flight below my living room and just had a long run of cable running to the back of my NDX 2. When I brought the Chord EE8 home I unplugged the ethernet cable from the NDX plugged it into EE8. The EE8 is sold with a short Chord company streaming cable which I used to plug into the NDX 2.
There has also been discussions, many which are beyond my technical capabilities to fully understand, that state multiple lines in use can cause problems/interference with music stream.
I have enjoyed building my system overtime and have enjoyed making these minor tweaks over the years and for me they have improved the sound.
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Thanks GraemeH will give it a read.
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Everybody will hunt me for saying it but you can also try using wi-fi and see what it brings to the table. The switch may or may not bring any improvement. I find that adding expensive interconnects and power lines (bought at retail price) to the nd5xs2 make it rather expensive and brings you close to a used ndx2.
Ndac will add another set of cables but may be an improvement.
Ultimately you will need to ask yourself how much you are willing to spend and how much more complicated you want your system to be.
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£300+ for another cable, seems you cant escape which ever route you take 
Cable dressing I do try to keep things simple and neat but I mainly stick to keeping 240v cables away from signal cables where possible the rest of the Naim dark art of cable dressing I struggle with but again I’m prepared to learn.
Speaker placement has always been an issue for me, the best sound I can remember, the speakers firing down the length of the room at a solid wall, bay window behind them and pulled out well into the room maybe a metre from the back wall maybe slightly less at the sides ( Room dimensions are not huge,5.5mx3.5m) but sadly this is domestically not acceptable by swmbo and to be fare she has put up with a lot especially with the av system, 7.1, projector hanging from the lounge ceiling and a pelmet at the other end to conceal the drop down screen. I had even thought that life would be so much easier if more speakers could handle room boundaries better or maybe fit casters to the bottoms so you could wheel them into a more acceptable listening position then wheel them back again the wall out of the way when you where finished listening, simple stuff.
Attention to details as you pointed out can be so important.
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Hi conlegno,
Think you have been reading my mind, I will try wifi again, ran it briefly but didn’t really give it a good enough listen.
Your thoughts about getting close to the cost of an NDX2 did come to mind but even s/h they are still £4000+ and I would guess a trade in value on my ND5XS2 would not be fantastic even though only six months old, so still a pretty large outlay and at the back of my mind I have read that some people after comparing them side by side in a demo thought the benefit of the NDX2 against cost not good vfm so that has clouded my judgement some what and yes I know, have a dem and draw my own conclusion, which makes total sense.
Lots to go at and contemplate for sure, thanks for you reply.
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I had to chuckle at this comment since there have been so many threads with members having problems with wi-fi connections and the many solutions offered to make it work in their locations.
Wireless is great in many applications but I found direct connectivity to work best for me with my music system.
I chose the innuos as both nas and Roon core as it’s so easy to use and I don’t think Naim core will support Roon rock? Might be wrong tho.
Of course i was assuming that the wi-fi connection itself is stable at any time. Otherwise it is always best to use a cable indeed.
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Got an email today from a certain Naim dealer in York- they have an s/h nDAC. I have no further details I’m affraid
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My experience here (and it may not be the same as other people’s) is that a significant box upgrade to your HiFi system massively outclasses the network tweaks, cables upgrades, switches etc. that get so much airtime on this forum. A DAC upgrade would therefore be my suggestion here. I went with Chord, and there are many others, but the NDAC is a great option too, especially at used prices now.
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Like the OP I started with the ND5 XS2 but itched to make it better. Next came a S/H nDac. This seriously impressed me. Bringing a way more luxurious sound. I then added an XPS DR to the ndac and I was left drooling.
I was so happy for a while until I needed to free up some rack for a PSU. So I got the NDX2. Thinking to power it from the XPS DR snd a plan to sell the nDac and ND5 XS2.
The new streamer sounded great but wasn’t really better than my previous 3 box source. I then made the mistake of adding back in the nDac which I had been tardy in selling. I powered it from the XPS DR fed by coax from the NDX2. Suddenly I was drowning in aural elixir. There was just so much of everything I could barely breathe.
Trouble is now I want to get a 555 PSU for the nDac and want to try running the NDX2 from the XPS DR. (Oh I had to get another shelf).
So long story short :- nDac will make a big difference in my opinion. It also has the option of a worthwhile upgrade with a psu in the future. IMHO this will sound better than NDX2 raw or even powered by XPS.
Conclusion - that nDac is pure fire.
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Lol yeah I didn’t want to mention these options to the OP as he mentioned he’s looking “fine tune” his system. The nDAC if you can find them is a steal when paired with the ND5XS2 or with the NDX2 as some have done. I fell into this trap (a most pleasant trap) nd5xs2-nDAC-XPSDr. It’s going to be an interesting year with all the new kit.
Dear OP you really do have a nicely balanced system. Take your time with any upgrades.
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