Hello everyone: I just wanted to introduce myself along with a question. I joined the forum at the turn of the year on the back of me treating myself to a Naim Uniti Star as a second system. It’s hooked up to KEF LS50s and a Rel T5i. Streaming has been a revelation and I am thoroughly enjoying Tidal as the main source with a bit of CD playing too. I also enjoy the what are you listening to thread which has introduced me to some wonderful new music.
I mainly listen to Jazz and Prog with a bit of classical. That “Orange” album by Caroline Shaw is an example of something I discovered here for example.
Now the question. My “main” system, although not even sure about that now, is a Michell Orbe turntable, Rogue Audio Sphinx amp and KEF R3 speakers. I want to add streaming to this but really only to use my Tidal account. It will have to be over WiFi. I don’t have a NAS or any collection of hi res files. So the question is this: Is a Naim ND5 XS2 going to be over specified or should I just look at something like a Cambridge CXN or something owing to my Tidal and WiFi constraints?
An alternative would be the Primare NP5 which is a streamer with Spotify, Airplay and Chromecast…the latter with which you can stream Tidal from the Tidal App. I would presume you amp does not have a dac, but there are plenty of reasonable dacs available…like Cambridge dacmagic. That would be a total of £749. And the best part of £1500 saved.
I’ve just glanced at the Stereophile review of the Rouge and they seem to think it does momentum quite well, feed it from a Naim streamer and it might show up the Orb. When I did something similar with a Naim CD player equivalent of the ND5 xs2 (CD5x) it started something of an arms race resulting in a Naim superline and Aro to restore the turntables rightful place. Just be warned.
I would say it’s not overkill. The Rogue Sphinx is in the league of a Naim nait 5i or perhaps xs. The combo seems well balanced. A good source is always beneficial.
Thanks Yeti. The knock-on implications of changing things has happened to me before. I have a graveyard of kit in a spare room! And thank you everyone for ideas and suggestions. Much to ponder on and test out too.
You might think it would only be used for Tidal now but who knows how that might change. If it were me, knowing I liked the sound of my second system, I would buy the ND5 XS2. That way it’s unlikely that you will forever asking yourself whether your cheaper option was a good idea for your main system or not.
Also borrow one from your Naim dealer and try it for yourself at home I suggest.
Best
Hi, just an FYI if you are setting this up yourself and not your Naim dealer doing it for you. The default output socket is the DIN one, whereas I assume your rogue uses rca/phono and therefore you’ll be using an rca/rca interconnect. Once your nd5xs2 is set up via the Naim app, you need to go into settings (in the app) and alter the output to rca rather than din.
Following for my ndx2 but similar for the nd5:
So another question which I’m sure is going to sound pretty dim to many of you but I’m new to this streaming lark. As I have said in this thread I’m investing in the basic Naim streamer for my main system on the back of experiencing the Uniti Star as a second system. The AudioT salesman was getting me interested in the Innuos Zen Mk3 as a cd ripper and server but I am wondering that given that the Uniti Star is on the same WiFi network and I’ll be using the Naim app, why can’t I use the uniti Star for ripping and storing files (with a suitable file storage attached)?
I know this is basic stuff to you guys but don’t want to waste money on stuff I don’t strictly need.
I think if you have an external drive attached to your star with all your rips on it and then switch it to server mode in the settings it should then be seen by the ND5, not 100% on that so maybe someone could confirm
