Interesting. I have kept wondering what the CI might mean over the last few weeks!
Option of a digital input on the NAC332 would be useful…
Do you mean 332? If so there is no dac so no digital imput. If you mean NSS333 it has digital inputs:
2 x Optical TOSLINK (up to 24bit/96kHz)
1 x coaxial RCA (up to 24bit/192kHz, DoP 64Fs)
1 x coaxial BNC (up to 24bit 192kHz, DoP 64Fs)
Yep sorry - edited 
And implicit that a DAC onboard would be useful…
A high quality and value NDX2.1. This would replace the current (?) 2018 version of the NDX2 and the NDX5 but would be stripped back, no screen and no power supply upgrade. Just a Naim streamer to give the latest crop of £2,000 - £4,000 Chinese streamers a run for their money on sound quality. It may not match them on facilities but would easily beat them in terms of sound quality and customer support. Such a product would also show Naim’s customer loyalty, allowing Classic owners to upgrade or invest in a new streamer commensurate with their existing systems (the new classics are out of my price range). It might also go some way to addressing the constant demands for a new Naim DAC? And give the two box SN3 systems a boost?
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For reasons I can’t remember, nothing is called #4
There was an Exposure 4 amp back then, actually it was IV.
It would be a dream !
I’d imagine a CI box to be a compact solution like a Sonos Amp. Either 1U or 2U high, half width sort of thing. In the installation world thermal output would also be an issue so be interesting to see if a CI focused product would stick with class ab.
Why not just buy a second hand NDX2? Naim’s commitment to long term service is pretty much unparalleled in my opinion.
An illuminated knob.
IGMCSI?
This is why there never was a Nait 4, NAT 04, or CD4:
In many East Asian cultures, including China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan, the number four is steeped in superstition. This fear of the number four, or tetraphobia, holds so much power that many buildings skip the fourth floor, much like how some Western buildings omit the 13th.
The root of this fear lies in linguistics. In Chinese, the word for the number four sounds eerily similar to the word for death. This phonetic resemblance isn’t limited to just one culture. In Japan and Korea, the words for four and death are identical. In Japan, the number 49 is particularly dreaded as it sounds like the phrase “pain until death.”
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It’s how we like to see the Asians. It’s outdated really and many brands sell their 4 series there. There is also no need to skip to 5, just call stuff Naim CDS NC or so.
(I would love a CDS New Classic)
I’m just repeating the explanation that Naim gave all those years ago for why there was never a Nait 4, NAT 04, or CD 4.
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In these realms the NDX2 holds it value surprisingly (or annoyingly) well on the used market. That’s why I added a nDAC and DC1 to my ND5 XS2 and still saved half of the money needed to upgrade to a used NDX2, yet arrived at the same level (with a presentation I liked a bit more) that way.
I believe what @Michael17 meant was an upgraded ND5 XS2 or downgraded NDX2 (less the screen and psu update facility) ending up somewhat half way between the two.
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That’s it exactly. I baulk at spending £4,000 on a two to three year old secondhand NDX2, even with Naim’s great service reputation though am coming to accept that’s may be the only option if I want to stay with an all Naim system. In the five plus years since Naim developed the NDX2 they have probably gained a lot of experience in how to improve the sound given what’s been achieved with the more expensive streamers. Letting some of that experience trickle down to a cheaper streamer might have all sorts of benefits?
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Isn’t that exactly what the ND5 XS2 is supposed to be? I’d wager the RRP gap between the two has risen since 2018.
Pre New Classic I didn’t see that as a gap in the range but now the 333 is another jump over the NDX 2 it will be interesting to see what comes next below it.
I really really want a headphone amplifier/preamplifier.
As simple as possible, without screen, three inputs (DIN, RCA, XLR), three gain (L, M, H) selector.
Fully analog, except control and protection.
Very very high quality, 300 series level.
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Hummm sounds good. Are you thinking tube or solid state?
Solid state in Naim tradition.
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Continuing Superline production would be good.
Ditto a new HCDR to power it and/or other items.
A shoebox DAC to sit next to a Core, with the revised Core able to play CDs directly as well as ripping them. That might satisfy those of us who will one day need to replace CDS 1, 2 or 3, as well as selling to those who have other streaming sources.
I know that high end CD player sales were tiny a few years ago, but that happened to turntables and yet those seem to have recovered.
A better Supernait with a good MC stage.
Replacement olive fronts so that my brown-love boxes match a bit better.
An A5 replacement that I can bend without a hairdryer or a vice.
Screened interconnects.
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