I really enjoy my ND5 XS2 and sometimes use it as a DAC via optical out of my Blu Ray player for CD’s. When I’m playing CD’s it’s normally because I want a break from screens and devices but with no physical controls on the XS2, and no way that I can find to set a default input, you still need the NAIM app to select the optical in.
This has got me thinking about external DACs but I’ve never owned or used one. So two questions really:
The DAC inside the ND5 XS2 - where does this sit compared to the world of external DACs? How much do you need to spend to equal it for sound quality? I know some people on here use the XS2 with an external DAC - what do you feel you’ve gained by doing this?
I demoed a Lyngdorf CD-2 with my SN3. It was a very interesting experiment. Soundstage and detail like you would not believe but almost to excess. It felt like an academic deconstruction of the music, pulling apart every little strand, but losing a sense of musical enjoyment. Almost like a bunch of ingredients rather than a baked cake.
Is that just what you get as you move up the Hi-Fi ladder, or are there components that keep it all together in a rich and satisfying whole? If moving to an external DAC, I wouldn’t want something that duplicates my Lyngdordf CD-2 experience. My personal taste would be for a fat, lush, meaty sound, detail yes, but ear bleed no.
As an aside, you can assume that if I go down this road, the Blu-Ray player will be replaced with something better
Budget wise, let’s say £2000 for now but I am also good at delaying gratification if something way better is demonstrably worth saving for. However, I feel like much more than this and I’d be better off looking at new speakers. (LS50 Meta’s at the mo.)
A popular external DAC it would seem (going by many forum members) is Naim’s now discontinued DAC. A used one goes for around £1,000. You will need a decent cable from the digital out on the ND5 XS2 to the NDAC.
Replies are inevitably going to be very subjective as what one person hears as excessive detail another finds a more realistic aural picture. For myself, I have found SQ along the “pulling apart” spectrum varies within price categories as much as between them. Going up the ladder usually exposes more detail but the better components manage to do this without losing engagement and musicality.
As for a DAC and assuming you’re happy to buy used, I would consider Naim’s own DAC if you can find one. I used to run one fed by a CD5XS and very good it was, too. That was long before I got into streaming so no app needed to control it. You should be able to pick one up for under £1k, too.
Let’s say it’s not a high level by any means and it’s not difficult to achieve more. However within its budget it’s a satisfying streamer which reacts well to the network and power supply improvements of the system.
You can expect better overall realism, better tonality of the instruments, more insight into the space of the recording
Ndac seems like a safe choice based on what you described but as you might expect it will pull a trigger on the power supply upgrade ultimately, do you want 3-box source or not?
I hear the Naim DAC suggestions and it does look like a lovely piece. Not too many on eBay at the moment I see. At this stage I’m a little limited in terms of rack space and had been hoping to find something smaller - maybe more Qutest size.
I posted a few times about comparing the ND5 XS2 vs my Chord Hugo MK1, here’s one
I think the ND5 XS2’s real value proposition is that it is a streamer. It’s all in one box, it sounds pretty good and you don’t need to make things any more complicated. If you play CDs then a transport into the ND5 XS2 would also be fairly convenient.
If you’re thinking of using it just as a DAC I think there are a lot of other options.
I almost bought one a few times, being almost willing to sacrifice SQ for usability. But the latest decision of my fickle mind is to stay put until I can afford something like a NDX2, or Chord TT2.
I’ve already got the ND5 XS2 and like it as both a streamer and as a DAC for playing CD’s.
However when playing CD’s I still have to get the Naim app out, which I’d like to avoid as I feel like I have screen/device overload.
This is why I got to thinking about external DACs, and then got to wondering about how much an external one would improve the sound of the XS2.
Of course another option is forget external DACs and get a CD5si but I do have concerns about the long term availablity of parts. With the recent “trade-in your CD player for a streamer” promo, it feels like they’re about to call it a wrap, which is ironic given there seem to be more CD players coming on the market now than in a long while.
CD5si is a current model, and as far as I recall has a mechanism that’s still being produced and can be replaced if necessary, think it’s a Sanyo (Sustaining Naim CDPs - An Appeal - #81 by gthack).
@Skeptikal runs one I’m fairly sure, as do others on here.
Lend an ear to the Heed Abacus (old model) or the Abacus S (new model).
I have the old model with my SN3 and really enjoy it. Not too detailed, but very musical.
And it is half width.