Hi,
I am looking at adding a streamer to my very modest setup, and I have been looking at the ND5 XS.
Has anyone got any views on buying these second hand? I am worried about the lifespan of these, but as it’s Naim I hope that a well looked after second hand one would give me many years of service.
Dom
The only hardware things that can cause an issue on ND5XS is the screen. So you need to take into account that you probably needs to change it if this was not done already.
You can also not expect any firmware update to support more Music streamer company.
As it’s been said, the screen is the main issue. Apparently the new screens are different so if it’s been replaced it may last longer than the original ones, although time will tell.
Don’t overlook a used NDX either. These seem to be more common in the used market and seem to sell for only a little more.
The same comments re screen apply to the NDX and for that matter the NDS too.
Thanks for the advice - I never thought that an NDX could be on the cards, so I shall most definitely be looking at those.
As for firmware updates, I guess they will both suffer from not getting any more as they are both discontinued. To be honest I hadn’t thought of this as a drawback as I use Tidal and I expect that this will keep working.
I fear the streaming platform will become, more and more, an issue for the old ND streamer — but an inexpensive network bridge can deal with that when eventually needed…
The screen is quite expensive when it needs replacement. It was mentioned recently in another thread — have a look. Obviously you can avoid any issues with the screen by opting for a Preloved Naim DAC plus network bridge — possibly Naim’s best value for money offering. And it will sound better than the NDX… 
Don’t tell anyone I said this, but…If you want a cheap but very, very good streamer, try the Cambridge CXNV2. It does all the normal stuff and is Roon Ready. I changed mine for my ND5 XS2. Was the Naim 4 times better than the Cambridge. Of course not. Sometimes in our pursuit of listening excellence we forget the basics. Give it a go.
Well, for an industrial design point of view, Cambridge Audio is rather agreeable, I think; but I couldn’t cope with it when listening. Too bright – but that might have been the amp’s rather than the streamer’s fault.
In any case, even if the streamer was great, I also couldn’t cope with mixing Naim and CA black boxes – design OCD… 
The mixed boxes would be an issue. You’d have to hide it out the way! Bright? Don’t remember mine being bright. Fairly neutral I thought. But, like a lot of these things depends on what it feeds, and what cables you have.
Brilliant advice - thanks to all.
Very good to learn that there are ways to increase the longevity by using a bridge. It will be a great little project to build something, which will certainly keep me good and give me an excuse to tinker.
I’m about to make an offer on an NDX, so hopefully I’ll be listening to great sounding streams soon!
If you are willing to use a transport of some sort (the Allo stuff is worth looking at) I would question what an NDX offers that an nDAC doesn’t.
Then again… I’ve never owned an NDX so could be missing something.
I imagine that I won’t be using a transport for hopefully a few years. It is not something I intend on using from the first day that I get a streamer, just something for future proofing.
I have an nDAC and bought a NDX with the intention that the NDX will produce a better digital signal than my Innuos Zen Mini. The nDAC is used as an upgrade of NDX in terms of the analogue output. Very soon I will try the NDX and can report my results.
I have an ND5XS and I have to say it’s been brilliant. Cost me £1000 second hand off pinkfish and in the two years I’ve had it it’s been pretty much rock solid over my Google mesh WiFi playing Tidal and some very good Iradio stations (the higher bit rate ones usually).
Going forward…who knows, it can’t play the MQA files on Tidal but Frankly the CD quality tracks sound brilliant.
It’s tricky isn’t it…you don’t want to shell out on something that will somehow be outdated in five minutes.
My screen (2014 model) is fine but then both myself and the previous owner, we have set the display to switch off after a minute or so. The screen is pretty irrelevant as I just use the Naim app to control all the settings and to access Tidal etc.
Hope that helps.
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