Thanks for the reply, the Hicap was brand new so it maybe still burning itself in but on first listen I was struggling to hear much of a benefit , certainly no black and white moment for sure. I have been thinking of removing it and going back to the straight nap200dr just to see or hear the difference.
If I heard anything at all it maybe that the bass has possibly greater depth and control and the blacks seems blacker if that makes any sense but certainly not a huge benefit, money well spent, not 10% sure on that one, maybe as I said a switch back may highlight things more clearly.
I would recommend getting a English Electric 8 port switch and you will experience an upgrade in the sound.
In my system: Router > Cisco C2960C-8PC-L switch > English Electric 8Switch.
From the other ports of the Cisco switch I have connections to my NAS (Synology 8TB DS716+II 2-Bay) used for music storage and to my desktop computer.
The total cost of the two switches at the time of purchase was about $575.00 USD. A small outlay for a nice uplift in the sound.
EDIT: I also added AV Options SuperWiremold Deep-Cryo Power Strip with AV Options TibiaPlus12 Deep-Cryo AC power cables. These are the US equivalent of the Naim Powerline.
Hope that is indeed the reason but I still maybe temped in a few months time to switch it out just to see, but a very good friend of mine passed on a pearl of wisdom that I do tend to follow, if it feels or sounds instantly massively different you may find it is colouration you are hearing and with a longer listen it may get fatiguing, so subtle does usually work for me.
Many thanks for your input and the detailed listing of your setup, makes interesting reading, amazing after 50+ years of enjoying hifi/music how much you can still learn, I have to admit it was lock down that got me back into music again after using an av based system for many years, and streaming has opened a new world of music to me, I listen to stuff I would never of purchased in the passed, absolutely brilliant and if I can squeeze some more from my streaming setup I will be very happy, again many thanks for your responses.
Can I ask where in the USA your reside just curious as I lived just outside Philadelphia for 5 years in the late sixties and have some fantastic memories of the place and people.
One question, can I ask why you use two switches, the Cisco and the EE at the same time
I have both but we were talking about the Powerline. Iād recommend both. Powerline first however. I believe someone mentioned adding a nDAC to the ND5xs2 thatās also very valid. Regardless Iād talk to your dealer and see if they have any 2nd hand items as they come up from time to time.
Definitely worth a try, I have an open mind especially if it doesnāt 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.
You didnāt 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.
Iām one of those with the nDAC. It was a really really nice upgrade (if you can accommodate another box) however I didnāt want to mention it as I know they are really hard to find 2nd hand and youāll 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.
Hi Silverback,
System looks and Iām sure sounds fantastic already.
Some great suggestions already mentioned here so plenty to consider - many of which Iāve 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 nowā¦ā¦
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.
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.
Ā£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 Iām 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.
Think you have been reading my mind, I will try wifi again, ran it briefly but didnāt 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 Ā£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.
