Some very interesting comments, so thanks all for your contributions. I have now got the ND5 XS 2 running into the digital input on my NDS, using a DC1. When I first got the NDS I was using my XPS2 DR power supply with the link plug inserted on the NDS and when I could I upgraded to a third party 555 PS and it was a huge uplift in performance.
However, my thinking and I believe this parallels the Naim design philosophy that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts so the NDS was designed to optimise the transport mechanism and the DAC aspect to take advantage of the 555 power supply.
So I plugged in the ND5 XS 2 with a bit of trepidation into the NDS and configured the digital input in the Naim app and went back to Roon. Result! My initial thought Oh Yeah - there it is! The best so far, by a reasonable margin, my wife also commented that the music was so much easier to listen to and was more engaging. Great, so I went back to my initial setup and re-attached the ND5 XS 2 to the NDac with XPS 2 DR, nice but not quite there. I have often found that when auditioning Naim upgrades, especially power supplies is that the step up might not be immediately noticeable but going back a step does emphasise the difference.
Back to the NDS, looks like the ND5 XS 2 is going to stay for a while, I really like what its doing. So this was a bit of fun and I’m getting the best of both worlds, updated transport and an excellent DAC. But not to take anything away from the NDac/XPS 2 DR combination it’s really good. I’m sure a proper Naim 555 DR PS will take it up a notch but that is way out of my league for the time being, but I’m always looking out for one “at the right price”, maybe I’ll get lucky.
Finally, the ND5 XS 2 has quite a good DAC in it, not in the NDS, NDac/XPS league but still good. So if you are like me and are on a limited budget and used NDS might be a good idea with a used XPS 2 DR, but I’m pretty convinced a Naim 555 DR PS is optimum and has a hell of a lot more synergy than the third party equivalents.
Music used for the main comparisons:
Roadhouses & Automobiles - Chris Jones, Tidal FLAC 44/16
Some Other Time - John Nazarenko Trio, Tidal FLAC 44/16
SHADO - Barry Gray, Tidal FLAC 44/16
Running On Empty - Jackson Browne, Local FLAC 192/24
Dark Side Of The Moon - Pink Floyd, Local DSF DSD64
Sings The Blues - Carmen Gomes, Local DSF DSD128
Turbulent Indigo - Joni Mitchel, Local FLAC 44/16
1812 Festival Overture (Mercury Living Presence) - Tchaikovsky, Local FLAC 44/16
Symphony No. 3 - Henryk Gorecki, Local FLAC 44/16
Plus a load of others, so many hours on the clock but a good bit of fun with a used item at £1750.
Cheers
Tim