To be honest I wasn’t sure if I would keep the Nait 50 or sell it on as I wasn’t sure how much of an improvement it would make but it’s going nowhere. I’m keeping it, hope you’re still enjoying yours.
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It will be my last amp. I am amazed at the improvement in using the atom as a streamer source vs the atom alone. And the improvement to my LP12 Majik has me listening to vinyl everyday and planning upgrades. I’ve added an Ittok 3 and am changing the cartridge next week. At the end of the summer I’ll do the Karousel, Kore and Lingo 4
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The only issue I found with doing several upgrades at the same time is that it was difficult to know what had contributed newer better or potentially worse characteristics to the LP12 (Karousel, Radikal, Trampolin, Kore and new cartridge all at the same time).
ha ha I know. I did a complete service on my LP12 when he installed the Ittok so I’m not sure which improved the sound so much. I will have the new cartridge on the turntable for a couple months before I do the Kore, Karousel and Lingo. I know that there are some that prefer the original bearing to the cirkus and others that don’t like the upgrades. I am going to trust Linn and just go with them. I remember adding the Lingo when I first came out in the 90’s and I was amazed at how it transformed the LP12 at the time. So I do want to do the Karousel and Lingo and my dealer really recommends the Kore so by doing it all at once I will save a bit of money. I think I will skip the Trampolin though. I use a Sound Organization rack and I’ve never had probems will footsteps. Plus I will be stretching the budget as it is
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Same here, mates couldn’t believe I was paying £500 for a turntable ‘power supply’ - it would be fair to say they were all gobsmacked by the improvements.
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I read a review of it by Malcolm Steward, I believe at that time was Hi Fi News and Record Reviews. He was so overwhelmed that I went to the dealer and I ordered it. I had to pay in full, I am pretty sure mine was the first one to arrive in Canada. Of course, in the matter of three successive issues Malcolm went from the Lingo to the Armageddon to The Pink Link but that wouldn’t have changed my path. That upgrade was just as transformative as when I moved from my Techniques receiver to my Nait 1
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I use the Chord DAVE with my N50, the latter scales extraordinarily well with super high end sources. The DAVE also acts as a lossless volume control. The DAVE is arguably one of the best DACs in the world currently. The insight from the N50 is incredible though you do need high end speakers to hear some of the the nuance from DAVE through the N50. Suitable speakers and DAC dwarf the price of the N50 which just shows how capable and an absolute steal that amp really is.
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Congratulations Ken 
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Decided to change it up. Found a great deal on a used Cyrus Classic Stream. It sounds amazing and I love the Bluesound operating system. ND5 XS 2 is up for sale! Would like to buy a Chord Qutest next for the digital stuff.
The Cyrus is really better then the ND5XS2 ?
Thanks.
Software wise? Yes, the Bluesound OS is better. Sound quality wise? Very little difference. The Cyrus may be a tad more “detailed”. I’ve found very little difference in streamer sound quality. I had a Bluesound node nano with a Naim nDAC. Then “moved up” to an NDX2 with a TP power supply and honestly thought the little node with nDAC was better. Then had an Eversolo DMP-A8 that was very enjoyable, but maybe way more functionality than I needed. Went to the Naim ND5XS2 and was happy but wanted something to match the form factor of the Nait 50 and had been eying the Cyrus streamers. One popped up relatively local to me for a steal ($2750 new, close out $2000, I bought it used for $500).
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Thank you, I am very happy with the ND5XS2 and I have a bit of the same desire regarding the size of the ND5 compared to the NAIT50. I’m surprised that the NDX2 isn’t better than that. Thank you for all this information.
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Well, it’s not as if the Cyrus is junk. They are made in the UK like naim, and the unit was nearly $3k new. I’d say they’re very comparable.
That depends on how you look at it. For example: The internet radio aggregation service in Naim streamers is much better than that provided in BluOS.
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Do you use optical or USB audio output? Which one would produce better sound quality? I am planning to use a Wiim Ultra to feed the Linn next generation DSM to work around Qobuz Connect and Spotify lossless issue.
Yes, I agree. The internet radio is easier to use with the Naim app. With BlueOS you can manually input feeds. The big difference is my Naim streamer could take 5-10 seconds to change radio feeds whereas the BlueOS changes almost immediately.
Currently using coax from WiiM to Qutest. Tried optical and prefer coax on most material but the difference is pretty marginal.
I’d be a bit surprised if using the WiiM into the Linn didn’t compromise SQ. I have a Selekt dual mono Organik in my main system and would worry that putting the WiiM in the chain would be less than synergistic.
But I do share your irritation that Linn haven’t implemented Qobuz Connect. However, most of my listening is to locally stored music and for Qobuz I tend to search in the app, favourite an album and then listen using the Linn app.
Roger
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Yes, you are right! I feel that the SQ is immediately compromised when I plugged Wiim Ultra in.
That is true and is mostly because Naim has much more high bitrate stations. Some of them take time to buffer.