I’m in west Kent but I’ve built up a good relationship with the local dealer and I’d prefer to support them if I can
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I tried to find out a bit more about the ND5XS2 and how it works by looking for the reference manual on the Naim website. All that was there was a quick start guide shared with the NDX2. Does a reference manual like there is on the website for the ND5XS exist for the XS2 or is all of that in the Naim app?
The quick setup guide explains how to set it all up and have it power up (same as the booklet that comes with it). The rest of the settings are pretty much self-explanatory via the app.
So, I have a cd5si which I bought just after Xmas. And a week ago bought a nd5xs2.
Bit odd you may think. Is there that much of a sound difference? I can’t really hear one if I play a ripped cd from my NAS to the nd5 vs the same cd played via the cd5si. So I think that is good. And yes, I buy a few CDs via eBay for peanuts.
Where the streamer does excel is when it’s pulling music from qobuz at hi Res. But then it should.
I enjoy them both. And yes you are right to support your local dealer. Especially now. Mine just happens to be in Ashford btw.
If that’s Ashford in Kent rather than Middlesex then that’s my dealer too.
Interesting that you should say you can’t really tell much of a difference between a ripped CD from the NAS and the CD5si when @Stephen_Tate says there is a big difference. So you’re the one that bought the ex-demo unit from them last week 
Basically sound Norfolk has one and he’s my local dealer and is very decent.
Tell ya what, starting shortly after the arrival of the CD format, 1983 if I recall correctly, I amassed over the decades an ungodly number of CDs. Still have them and 3 CD players. However, when the first Logitech Squeezebox boxes came out around 2003 or so, I bought one to stream internet radio stations. I discovered that the silly little box worked pretty impressively and tried streaming ripped CDs from a remote hard drive. The beginning of de-materialized music for me. Took weeks to rip my CDs. For maybe 7-8 years now, I haven’t listened to a single CD. My players are stocked away. My CDs are boxed up. Cannot ever see myself playing an irradiant disc ever again. Hi-res streaming has replaced them beautifully for me.
Yep. Ashford Kent. And yes, I bought their demo nd5. Sorry! ( I also bought their demo cd5si)
Both are great machines. But when fed with the same(ish) material sound similar to me. I did a lot of a/b tests before buying the nd5.
Feed the nd5 with qobuz and it takes off.
If you want a streamer at £2kish, the nd5 is hard to beat.
I’ve just picked one up but there are others out there that we’re also pointed out.
Someone mentioned Basically Sound in Norfolk… I think that would be a good starting point when looking through classifieds.
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That’s undoubtedly true but my thinking was that if I’m going to drop £2k on a box I want it to sound better than the CD5si when playing a ripped CD or a CD quality stream from Tidal. If it isn’t going to sound that much different I’d prefer to put the cash towards a turntable upgrade. I guess the only way to know for sure is a demo but that’s currently impossible.
Give a few local dealers a call. If they know you they should be able to help with posting demo items. There is really no real alternative to trialling in your own home.
And to complicate things( and because I have a bit of working from home to do) I’m trialling a Chord qutest DAC shortly. Why, because I have the oppertunity and am curious.
The dealer in Ashford is the only one who knows me and I’m sure if they had a nd5 in stock they would have been able to sort a loan demo out for me if somebody else hadn’t bought it in the meantime 
Without a doubt the CD5SI is a formidable player and punches well above weight but then again so does the ND5 XS 2. I also had a moment when I thought the two sources were almost inseparable but things have evolved a lot more for me since then. Ever since the latest firmware update, along with sorting the rest of my system out, such as perfectly made up NAC A5 cables and having my HiLine fixed, I can assure you that the ND5 XS 2 is streets ahead. Also there is a long running in period to take into account as well.
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‘‘Twas me, I was only chatting with him today and still has it and Is currently posting orders Tuesday and Thursday…
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Yeah… close 2nd that one for me. I’ll have my hands on one tomorrow!
I think it’s really important to stick with the dealer you know and who can support you. By the time the lockdown ends you may have saved enough for an NDX2.
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Haha. Now there’s something I do not want to be considering!
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…Or a ND555 
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I was going to refrain from posting this, but having read the way the COVID thread has gone down a rabbit hole of stupidity I now have no problem pointing this out.
Mr Tate’s thread on getting going with the ND5XS2 was a comedy, his opinion swinging wildly from one extreme to the other and back again on almost every aspect; cable or wifi, streamer or cd, which amp to use? Almost every possible permutation was reached on numerous occasions. From a distance it was quite a good joke being able to dip in and see why this week the streamer is back in its box and the cd player taking pride of place, next week the exact opposite. And then back again. It went on for months. In short, I wouldn’t place any bearing on the apparent discrepancy above coming as it does from someone whose opinion changes more often than I change socks and who would have us believe that David Icke ‘may have a point.’
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Yes, indeed. Once again, I think it’s about willingly recognizing the point where good enough is good enough. I hear no discernable or appreciable difference between spinning irradiant discs and streaming hi-rez audio data from an optimized configuration. Therefore, for me anyway, I no longer fool, worry, tweak, obsess, wonder, ponder, fantasize, imagine, hallucinate or attempt to revert to another solution to my streaming setup. With Roon as a capable controller, I just listen to music at this point. I’ll freely admit to desiring a HiCap to finish off a modest 3 box system but my music source configuration is clear and the solution is in place. I guess we all undertake the journey differently and sometimes it’s an insight into aspects of our personalities.
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