Great, please do flag up to help.
I think Toslink is the issue. Optical should potentially be better, and indeed had AT&T become the standard it might well have been much better from a performance perspective, but I guess Toslink was cheap to implement. There are advantages though to Toslink, particularly in AV and in connecting low cost consumer electronics, but it could have been so much better with AT&T or something else.
It may also be relative to the quality of the optical or Spdif output. Maybe with your Primare the optical works better, and with other transports itās the Spdif. Naim seems to prefer Spdif, but other USB or DCS who recommends more dual AES.
Thatās true.
The Ndac is sensitive to the quality of the source.
If using coax, to make it sound any good you need a top quality source, a Ā£350 coax cable. (Preferably BNC terminated) plus, thousands of pounds worth of switches, switch power supplies, ethernet noise blockers on every port, reclockers and various other gadgets, in an attempt to stop electrical nasties entering the DAC. 
Optical doesnāt allow any electrical nasties into the DAC. 
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yes, and optical just sounds worse, every time Iāve tried. I use it for TV though
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Are you saying coax on your TV sounds better than optical.
On two different dacs here I find that coaxial is a smidgen better than optical but the USB dac input of the Qutest is still a little better than both.
I may be wrong but I think that clock precision is important so when using spdif, the clock is controled by the source and when using USB the clock is controled by the dac.
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On the ndac the clock isnāt controlled by source via SPDIF.
Why it is sensitive to quality of input, I donāt know. 
My original post wanted to look at the differences between the NDX2 and the ND5XS2. I fail to see how these posts about SDIF, optical or coax have much to do with my original intention for starting the thread. Some hijacking is inevitable but can we get back?
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On my streamer, you cannot use any of the spdif outputs if using the usb output. This is because the streamer (source) provide the master clock and the dac becomes the slave when using the coax or optical output.
When using the streamerās usb output, you can read on the ios app. the name of the dac used. This is because the dac now is the master clock.
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No, never used coax from TV, just optical as itās more convenient with smaller connectors, more flexible, for longer lengths, cheaper etc.
Apologies for contributing to the digression.
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Iāve found toslink works if the input filters jitter and avoids upsampling (which makes jitter worse).
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Reading this forum everyday, I remember only 2 persons having compared both as transports into a separate dac.
One , @ChrisSU , found no difference. The other one said the Ndx2 is better, but not night and day.
Personally I would more look at transports only, without dacs. And I believe the quality of the transport is also very important, not only the dac.
Most here repeat indefinitely that the streaming board is the same, and bla bla blaā¦
Try yourself, itās the only way to be sure.
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The OP has already ordered a NDX 2/XPS DR - this is significant over the ND5 XS 2 as the transport inside the NDX 2 getās upgraded from the superior XPS DRās separated DRāed supplies. You canāt upgrade the onboard transport in a ND5 XS 2 in any situation. Further more the NDX 2ās internal PSU is turned off. Having had both players myself i will say the NDX 2/XPS DR leaves the ND5 XS 2 for dust on that transport upgrade alone.
- Four isolated transformer windings with six low-noise DR power regulators - [configured as two isolated regulators for digital at +15V] etcā¦
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The only possible relevance here is that a potential upgrade path for you with your ND5XS2 could be to add a separate DAC to it. Naim provide a coaxial SPDIF output on all their streamers for this purpose. To my mind this is a versatile upgrade path as there is a very wide range of DACs out there to choose from, and you might well find something that appeals to your personal taste and is cost effective compared to trading the ND5 for an NDX2.
There is no single right or wrong solution here. Choice is good.
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@ChrisSU and @Stephen_Tate are both right in my opinion.
First of all @Jaybar has indeed already ordered a new NDX2 & XPS-DR combo which should be fantastic for the (significant) money. The ND5-XS2 was built to a price and NDX2 is a (much) better machine but also at a very much higher price (2,5x also used).
The sound differences can be clearly heard when using its analogue section, but @Simon-in-Suffolk reports there are indeed also audible but subtle differences when used as transport with the nDAC due to the build level difference XS vs. OC.
I couldnāt afford a NDX2 and followed advice here to add a nDAC and DC-1, which then catapulted the ND5-XS2 to the level of the stand-alone NDX2. With a different sound signature that also matched my system a bit better. This at 60% of the NDX2 prices so totally a vfm upgrade of the ND5-XS2.
The NDX2 & XPS-DR combo is very impressive and on another level. Iāve experienced that also there inserting the nDAC between streamer and power supply can be a worthwhile upgrade. Forum members report this is even more so when using the 555PS on the nDAC.
Finally, to my ears this is all very system dependent, but it gives an idea of the levels and possibilities. Personally I thought the following combinations were a great match in the total character of the system involved (but as expressed by many members one should listen for yourself):
- ND5-XS2 with Nait 2
- ND5-XS2 with Nait 5si
- ND5-XS2 & DC-1 & nDAC with Nait XS3
- NDX2 with Nait 50
- NDX2 & XPS-DR with SN3 & HC-DR
When you get to that level there is also of course the NC series NSC222 & NAP250 to demo against (and before that level if you donāt do vinyl thereās also the Atom HE with NAP200/250 or active).
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@daddycool Thanks for your great comments. I am awaiting my dealer to receive items from focal Naim. I will also be getting the Focal Utopia headphones going into the SN3.
I see myself staying with the SN3/ Highcap DR/NDX2/XPSDR for quite a while. The SN3 with buttons is easy for us to operate. The NC stuff is LCD, which can be difficult for us to see. No matter how good a component might be, if it is difficult to operate, its value is limited. So again I will stick with the SN3
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Hi @Jaybar , you have made your decision and must be excited waiting for it to arrive. My advice is not to pay any attention to other suggestions and just enjoy your new system for many years without worry!
You have a great system - enjoy!
I will be interested to read about your findings with the Utopias. I donāt often listen with headphones but have been looking at the possibility of upgrading mine. Trouble is, after many reviews etc. but no auditioning yet, I seem to be looking at DCA Expanse. Silly money so I may just stick with my OPPO PM2s.
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@daddycool My only misgivings is going into the headphone amp of the SN3. With my new gear I wonāt have enough shelves for an external headphone amp. Even if I could, it made no sense to consider the Atom HE. Streaming with the NDX2 and the XPSdr will be better. Also I suspect that a significant part of the Atom HE cost is due to its streamer which I wonāt use.
In addition to the Utopia, I will be getting a 4.5 meter custom Cardas Beyond Clear headphone cable. The cost of both the cable and the headphones is not cheap, but I wanted to give myself that gift.
I never took headphones listening seriously because I always used cheap headphones relative to my speaker costs. I also had just ok headphone cables and less than great headphone amps.
BTW, I read the posts on how to connect an external headphone amp with the SN3 and I donāt understand how. I assume I use the A/V inputs but donāt understand how.
Trust me. It will be for a very long whileā¦.
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