I had a demo of a ND5 XS2 into my XS3 and Neat SX3 speakers. The dealer swapped in a Superlumina IC in place of the standard Naim DIN lead. It was definitely noticeable, even if the total price is then second hand NDX2 territory. Try and have a listen to a Hiline, or other high end IC, might be worth it.
Might also be worth a try of a nice RCA to RCA lead - some on here rate it over the DIN, might be worth a try if you can.
Hi gthack,
The Hiline as mentioned before seems to definitely add to the performance just struggle to be honest with the vfm.
Not heard anyone running their setup with rca to rca simple enough step to try, worth a go, thanks.
I donāt want to pester people, but try a search for āRCA @ skeptikalā - removing the space in the username. Hereās one post, but I think there are more, with rationale/explanation. A bit of a hot topic, but worth reading and an experiment.
I also struggle with the VFM aspect, thereās always pre-loved to help a bit 
@gthack and @silverback It takes time to find the PowerLines and the Hiline etc but itās worth the wait. All my Powerlines and Hiline were bought pre-loved. Hell so was my nDAC.
Thanks to @gthack
For resurrecting my post.
Yes I run all my Naim gear with RCA throughout I did a direct comparison with a pair of cheapo RCA against the Din that came with my cd5si and simply switched between the outputs on the CDP remote.
Not subtle at all itās most defo obvious and costs nowt to try.
Iāve now got Linn Silvers everywhere to match with my Urika Phono Stage.
I had organised to go all din and have my deck modded but when I tried this not a chance. 
After a short listening session I would say it sounds better with the ND5XS2 connected directly to the port on the router, going through the switch it sounded a little more congested, a bit out of focus, the girls are off on a shopping trip tomorrow so will try over a longer session just to confirm.
Donāt judge using a network switch with just one test, switches do sound different.
Apart from brand & model variations, some go through internal design/component changes, the most common are power supplies, all can have effects and not always for the better.
I agree with your comments and plan to give things more time, adding the Phantom speaker cable and putting the Bryston into the system has altered the sound quiet significantly, so I do need to spend a few more listening sessions to acclimatise totally to the new setup, then start to try a few simple adjustments.
I have a recently purchased ND5 XS2. Digging the sound and the app. I am curious about the Naim glass and cups. Can these be purchased through Naim? I did try vibrapods, didnāt think they improved things.
Leave it as is , my friend , and just enjoy your very competent streamer.
A Naim dealer can supply Fraim glass and accessories. It would be cheaper to get a glass merchant to cut the same 10mm Pilkington toughened glass to the same size.
Can anyone tell me the difference between the USB ports front and back is one better sound quality and doesnāt matter what size of HDD drive you can have
No difference.
Either can run large drives but take a look in the manual for limits.
Thanks for your quick reply mate
Interesting thread, but for us 2 years ago, placed on fraim, utilised mains and interconnect from the box and havenāt touched it since. The whole family enjoy it. I was a bit concerned about changing the balance of the system adding a supercap. Nothing of the sort! It just goes to show what a sweet-spot device it is. Highly recommended.
@silverback Hi, just stumbled on to this threadā¦ have another cable option for you 
My first upgrade was a Witch Hat Morgana between the ND5 XS2 and SN3, thought it extravagant at the time but very pleased with it, and itās still in use now. Hard for me to describe the difference, a bit more refined, a bit less forward maybe. Currently Ā£450.
Witch Hat have a 30 day return policy, so itās quite a safe way to see if you like it. Thereās also one on EBay currently (no affiliation!) which you could resell pretty quickly I imagine.
Edit: I have a Mark Grant mains cable on the ND5 XS2 as well, great quality cable and nice improvement with a very modest price. I have not compared it to a Powerline, just the standard Powerline-lite.
Cheers,
Mark
Just received my nd5 xs2 Saturday and been scouting thru posts here on Tidal/Qubuz and stumbled upon your post concerning din vs RCA. I also did a direct comparison but found RCA did sound better āifā both din & RCA were connected and I toggled between the two within the Naim app and almost contacted Naim about this BUT when I unplugged the RCA and ran only din and vice versa din came out on topā¦ Iām curious, did you try the comparison unplugging whichever connection you werenāt designated as the output?
Hi Mark, thanks for the advice, something along the line of the Morgana could be worth a try especially with the thirty day return policy.
Iām a little undecided at present, I have recently refurbished a Linn LP12 for a relative and have really enjoyed having a turntable back in the house, he has now asked me if I would like to make him an offer for it as he wants to sell it, so Iām torn between the turntable or carrying on with my original plan, lifeās never simple 
.
Connecting both DIN and RCA outputs concurrently is not recommended, whilst you can enable either or both analogue outputs, having both connected to an amp at the same time has the potential to cause grounding issues.
One of the main benefits of DIN connectors and a reason why even now Naim continue to use them is their ability to provide a seperate common ground using 3 of the 5 pins or all 5 pins where a record out is enabled on an input/output.
The system as a whole is then star grounded. The exception to that being where you have a Naim CD player and a ND digital source connected to the same Naim amp where the CD player by default is the system ground.
Typically you would set to Default unless your ND is in a system where another source is acting as the ground (Naim or other brand).
