I have a great local dealer in my country, he is offering me a nd5 xs2 for 2.300 USD (taxes included), I was considering for budget issues an eversolo dmp a8, I thought the nd5 was going to cost me more than 3K. Would this pick be the recommended buy at this price point? I have a bluesound node as streamer + dac, my second question would be: Am I going to get a noticeable difference if I replace the node with the nd5? Last question: With respect to interconnects, would the default nd5 cable be good enough for starters?
Yes, i think you will enjoy a nice appreciable upgrade here. I have ran a ND5 XS 2 with a SN3 & stock cables, wonderful system, without any shadow of a doubt
@moralesarias94 it depends how far you want to go. I used the ND5XS2 with my SN3. Liked it a lot. Upgraded to the NDX2 with XPSDr. Very significant improvement in SQ. You might also consider the HighcapDr which will significantly improve the SN3.
I have the ND5XS2 which I use with an NDS as DAC. The ND5XS2 sounds really good still in my system bare. I would get one if I were in your position. You also have option in the future of using it with an external DAC, such as nDAC. I am not saying to do that, but it gives you options for future upgrades.
I highly rate it as a great piece of kit. Good luck with your purchase.
I too have a SN3 with ND5XS2 - very pleased, and using stock cables. Iāve also added a Hicap DR to the amp - a major uplift in sound.
After speaker upgrade, I think the next step for me will be a replacement for the ND5XS2, possibly NSS333 (or NDX3 if/when such a box appears).
2.3k USD equates to approx Ā£1810 - which is what I paid for my ND5XS2 from a dealer who had taken it as a trade in (the dealer thought it hadānt been out of the box!) - a discount of Ā£700-Ā£800 vs new.
Go for it, you wonāt be disappointed.
@Robbo1 i have found greater improvement in SQ with better cables. I found the standard Naim interconnects to be dark and slow. Chord Shawline was much better. Moving to EpicX was even better.
@Robbo1. I canāt exactly answer that. My dealer advised doing the HighcapDR first. We had to wait for the Chord cables, so we started out with the Naim cables.
@Robbo1 i am just saying that compared to the standard Naim interconnect, I found an improvement in SQ when I switched to Chord cable. First to Shawline and then to EpicX. I canāt say it any other way. I am not a fan of the standard Naim interconnect that comes in the box with Naim equipment.
I used ND5 XS2 with Supernait3 for a few years. It was very nice. To me, it sounds like you got a god price there, as well (I live in Sweden so I am not sure about the market where you are).
Great combo! Indeed adding external power, better cables etc further improves SQ but ābareā it is a you too. A great great streamer it is, that ND5XS2
Thanks for your answer Robbo! Now that the hicap looks to be discontinued (that is what I heard from my dealer) is it impossible to get a ānewā one?
I would think itās a matter of shopping around, there maybe dealers who have one. I got lucky and found a āusedā one but the dealer didnāt think it had been used, except for him testing it.
My advice would be to hunt down one (new or used) from a dealer. They are out there.
