Congratulations Dunc, may you now enjoy years of musical joy from the Rossini.
Did you buy the Hifi Lounge’s demo unit? That’s the one that I enjoyed so much.
Best regards, BF
Best of luck Dunc.
Just waiting for my headphone Bartok to arrive 
I guess it is true that many ND555’s are going back?
Best
Gregg
Interesting. What evidence to you have to conclude this?
Hi
No i didn’t as actually found this one just 9 miles away from me and got a great deal that i couldn’t say no too.
Simply based on what I am reading here on this forum in the form of people actually trading in and on them recounting to what they hear from SOME dealers
I am in the States so can’t speak on what is happening in the UK
Even though I have a DCS incoming it is not going to replace my KDS in my 552/500 system. It has been there since 2011 and I keep on updating as updates become available.
Should recent events at Linn (discontinuing KDS in favor of the KDSM and then bringing it back again) result in no more ability to update than the time will come to investigate other options.
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Well i have been told that quite a few have now gone rossini and clock, can’t mention where my info comes from as he gets in trouble, so say no more in regards to this lol
But its a no brainer if you actually sit down and compare on a decent system, you just need to lift that Vail, i know its hard as i too struggled.
We seem not to read the same Glevethan. On the forum I found only one member trading the Nd555 for a Meridian.
No other member having decided to trade his nd555 for another streamer.
However some members preferred Chord Dave, or DCS Streamers vs Naim, and some preferring using the Naim streamers only as transport, generally with a chord Dac.
But other too preferring finally to listen to the all in one Naim streamer/ Dac without the chord dac.
One point where I agree is that upgradibility with Linn is much less cheaper. However I am not sure if Kds3 users will be able to upgrade to future Kds4 . Owners of KDSM, very probably.
Glevethan
Its also good that linn have the same ethos as DCS in the long term upgrades with these machines, as things are moving so fast that its very easy to be left way behind even in 2 years down the road.
Just look at what a nds is worth these days £2k to £3k max for one of the last ones and even then they dont sell easily and we are not talking that long ago a nds was a lot off money, the nd555 will almost certainly go the same way one its replacement is out and lets be honest thats not going to be that many years away as naim needs to keep up and they know that.
Things have changed and i would like to see the next streamer/dac having the same upgradable ethos, so it makes it more attractive going forward
I know of atleast 7 and 2 more that are right now waiting for the rossini to be made.
In fact one of the nd555 i tried at home was from a trade in.
The nd555 is a great bit of kit, its just at its price point there are lots of options and some cheaper, that some like the sound they provide nicer
Not many use this forum as 2 guys i actually spoke too at an event about there experience of the 2 streamers didn’t even know about this forum and wasn’t interested one bit about it.
Personally my nds will go anywhere for now. Even if in hifi criteria it’s not on the same league as Dave or Rossini, I find it more musical.
I had the SME 20/ 2a before, which is much more well built than a rega rp10, 3 times more expensive, and better on most Hifi criteria. However I enjoy more the Rp10 musically.
Same for nds vs Dave and Rossini.
As always as long as you enjoy your music, that is all that matters.
Plus i also found the nds more musically nicer than the Dave on its own, but the rossini hammers the nds on everything, well it does to these old cloth ears anyway
I can easily understand why some prefer Rossini vs Nd555. There is more details, the sound is more holographic, the instruments and voices are better separated, and the highs are better extended.
However the sound is more clinical and lean to me, less organic and the prat is less there.
I heard without the clock, which can give better prat, I agree. But not change the signature of the sound. ( I heard also top DCS some years ago).
The clock i am sorry to say makes all the difference and you shouldn’t really be able to buy it without one as it does make all the difference.
Plus the new 2.0 software has lifted the rossini to a much higher level and thats not been out that long,
But both these things have changed the way it sounds as before the 2.0 i believe it did sound much leaner and cold.
But i feel it now has all the good bits from say a nd555 and Dave, but in one box, quite stunning really and its taken my 500 / 552 system to much higher levels
This is pretty much exactly as I heard it too.
I listened to the last Rossini firmware. I believe you that the clock uplifts the sound, but not changes its signature. If the sound is a bit lean, it will remain lean with the clock too.
Perhaps the term lean is not the most appropriate, but the sound was not “ a whole organic sound “ I am used to with the Naim sources. From cdx2 to cdx2 / xps or cds3, there is a Naim sound signature that I like. It’s not the most resolved, holographic …but a sound that involves me the most.
With DCS there is less meat on the bones and less impression that all the musicians are playing together.
Just a matter of taste Dunc.
However enjoy your DCS combo. You have a great source now and most important of all, you enjoy it a lot. 
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Dont worry i am enjoying it 100% and its the best digital solution i have heard to this day.
But if the nds is doing it for you then great, just keep on enjoying it
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FrenchRooster
If I am not mistaken most of your demos of these digital players have been at your dealer and not through a full Naim system (preferably a 552/500 as quite honestly anyone looking at a top flight Linn,Chord or DCs should be).
Do not underestimate what a Naim 552/500 does to non Naim sources. Many of us went through this back in the day when the DS’s came out. Listen to a KDS/DSM through a Linn system and you will hear one thing. Listen to it through a Naim system and it becomes something else.
In the context of this forum - Naim where most of us run full Naim pre amplification/amplification - for me personally I prefer to listen to feedback from demos of these various sources fronting an all Naim system as that is what is most applicable to me.
My DCS Bartok comments have always pertained exclusively to my demos in the context of a headphone system. I do know however what my all Naim system sounds like and the qualities it has which I value. Through the headphones I used to demo, Utopias, I found a source and headphone amplification which reminds me very much of what my Naim system gives me. PRAT, involvement and engagement, toe tapping, and a weighty solid bass foundation which drives the music along. Clinical and lean I definitely did not hear - and the Utopias are not exactly known for having a prodigious amount of bass. I think I attribute this to DCS doing an amazing job on its first attempt at headphone amplification - very Naim like.
It gets back to the earlier point I tried to make in this post - IMHO the various sources need to be demoed through a Naim system as it should not be underestimated what that brings to the party.
Best
Gregg
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I have not had any experience demoing DCS pre Bartok or Rossini 2.0 however my understanding as well it’s that a new direction was forged with these two products. I am eventually going to have to try and have a listen to the Rossini however I think it will not enable me to properly judge it. I would need to hear it in a Naim system - something which I do not know is doable here in the States.
People in the UK don’t realize how lucky they are being able to home demo. It simply does not exist over here.
Glevethan,
I agree with you on that a 552/500 will more reveal what a high end source like Dave, Rossini, KDSM can do.
However I am not a young person discovering high end audio, if you see what I mean.
Since 25 years I have listened to a lot of systems and only very few have impressed me.
The most enjoyable for me were:
Lamm electronics , Audio Aero cd/ sacd/ Focal speakers
Full Audio note high level system
Full Naim 500 series system, with Nd555 and Apertura speakers.
I have heard many times full Soulution/ Magico, top DCS/ Soulution, DCS/ Ch precision, Esoteric Grandioso, …which are considered today among the best . They failed to connect me emotionally.
I heard recently the Rossini and the Linn KDSM on an SN2 and speakers very similar to mine. The KDSM connected me much more vs the Rossini. I doubt it would be different on 500 series.
However the Rossini was more impressive and demonstrative vs the KDSM. But the KDSM just sounded nicer, more textures and colored.
I run a KDS so you will not hear any arguments from me.
It will be interesting listening to my soon to arrive Bartok on my Naim system instead of with headphones.
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