Managed to pick an ex demo up for nearly half price as you say its discontinued. The reviews point to one hell of a streamer, let’s see how it compares against the Pulse.
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What usb cable will you be using?
Nothing fancy, just the Supra USB 2.0 when everything comes together. Please note, I use a £6 Kabeldirekt Toslink between DAVE and Pulse currently, I’m not a big believer in digital cables.
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I thought the Innous Pulse was very good, my god the Pulsar is in another league, more in line with the DAVE.
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But not spdif unfortunately….sad.
What’s sad FR?
Please let us know! It’s on my list! Don’t know that it is already discontinued
Yeah, Innous replaced the Pulsar with the Stream3. No big deal though as dealers are trying to move old stock so deals to be had, managed to pick one up for approx. half RRP.
Its a fantastic streamer, definitely should be on your list for demo, but be quick.
Stream 3 is better for me, as it can replace my zenith as one box only. But half rrp is tempting
As with the Pulse the goal is a transport only, the Pulsar ticks all the boxes. Stream3 is similar (case, SJ PSU, Phoenix USB) but with the option for storing music, a QNAP handles this.
@frenchrooster there is a SPDIF board module available for the Pulsar
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Ah, i thought there wasn’t. Good to know. On stream 3 too?
As with the Pulsar you choose your output module with the Stream3, both support the SPDIF module.
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Yes the same.
I wonder how Stream 3 fully loaded with their best DAC (Phoenix) would perform against NSS 333 + PS.
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Nds doesn’t have USB Aren.
Hi All, I’m not here to derail this thread or blow up anyone’s cheerios. Over the years I’ve found so many of your comments and shared experiences useful, it seems right for me to contribute mine on this thread.
I went through a similar DAC and streaming exercise over the past couple months. In fact, I did a full refresh of all my boxes.
Starting with the source side of things, like all of you, I love Naim. That is a fact for me. However, I never got over the firmware debacle. It changed the sound in my room that I was very happy with. Learning that this could happen again was not something I was willing to accept. So for as curious as I may have been about the 333, I ruled it out for my room. There was a second hand 333 nearby and I did not go for it.
To set this up, I borrowed a Moon 780i and speaker cables to do my testing because I’d already sold off my 282. Using the integrated 780i made things much easier from a logistics perspective. I had my ND5 XS2 to compare.
I tried the Pulsar (no internal DAC) + Weiss DAC204 + 780i. I compared this to the ND5 XS2 both with internal DAC and out to the Weiss. The Pulsar was quieter. It was generally better though I can’t describe all the ways and reasons…it was just better. More solid, defined, quieter, just a better sense of music stuff. The Pulsar seems like a very solid purchase decision, especially with them being discounted due to the new releases from Innuos. I found the Sense app to be less friendly than the Naim app, in case that matters. Opinions will vary of course, but I found the Sense app to be less intuitive than the Naim app. I also found the Naim app easier too see. The Naim app has higher contrast with the white text on black background and it’s cleaner and less busy.
For those looking for more info on the relationship/comparison of Innuos Zen and Pulse series to the new Stream series, there is a great thread on the Innuos forum. Google “STREAM Series Megapost” and you should find it. Very informative with info and posts from Innuos employees.
The Weiss DAC204 is really impressive for anyone looking to pair a DAC with the Innuos. The Weiss DAC is fantastic, and it’s about the same cost as the top range DAC option for the Stream 3. You also have separate power supplies for your DAC and streamer if you owned both. The Weiss can also be upgraded with an external PSU. Stuff to ponder.
I also tried the dCS Lina with the 780i. I found it to really great sounding. I have tried Bartok a couple times on home demo and it left me flat both times. The Lina is different I believe. It doesn’t have the “too laid back” sound that I have found in the Bartok. The Lina is closer to either being neutral or closer to the Naim sound. There is more excitement and action in the Lina. Those aspects of Naim are why I love the Naim sound.
The Lina has a digital volume and I had a NC250 on hand, so I decided to give Lina a listen through Naim power instead of the integrated Moon 780i. I took the Lina down to the basement and connected it to the NC250 and connected the Naim speaker wires to my speakers. I got a surprising and interesting result. The quality of the sound wasn’t as good, likely due to the lack of a pre-amp stage, but the Naim PRat was introduced. Doing some basic “audio math”, I predicted that if I combined the Lina with Naim pre and power, I would get the Naim sound, or at least a whole lot of it, plus the all the goodness that the Lina brings. That is the path I have chosen for myself. Finding a source that doesn’t get in the way of the Naim sound, and is as future proof as anything on the market…well that is a big deal in my world.
The cost of a Lina is less than the 333+300. It’s an interesting thought experiment and would be a very interesting in the room showdown for everyone that could get all that stuff on home demo!
Hope this long post helps some folks, as you’ve helped me!
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Yes - it could be a very good one-box streamer. But I think 333/555 still better. But with external DAC (like nds ors3veral other) …
Have you tried any DACs that improved upon ND555 3.8?
Why should I have needed another DAC with nd555 3.8. no I have not 
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Just checking 
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The real question is why do you still own the ND555 when you’ve been complaining about it for months while claiming the NDS is better? Actions speak louder than words.