An opportunity arose a few months back to move the NdS on for a new ND555 and I went for it - with some trepidation I should add, as the NDS was really sublime, and especially since I settled with Audirvāna on my NAS to access Qobuz etc. there was nothing missing. I had also heard some concerns around firmware issues. So took a risk - and nearly 4 months in I am really happy that I made the move. ND555 is clearly more natural, fluid and engaging with materially improved soundstage and separation. And with the 252/supercap dr and NC250, I now feel that this system delivers all the scale, dynamics and PRAT my ears can handle. More importantly, I am loving and the music…
Glad you are enjoying your ND555 I’ve had mine for over five years and love it.
I did have a problem some time backed my dealer let me borrow a NDS whilst my ND555 was away for repair and to be honest I was rather disappointed after using the ND555.
Thanks for reporting on the 555. What a phenomenal source, congratulations.
Can you provide more detail on your experience with Audirvana and how this was deployed / configured in your environment to work with NDS?
I am curious about a reliable solution / work around for Qobuz hi res streaming on the NDS
I would just get a cheap wiim or something similar to that.
I have just added a wiim ultra ( got it very cheap) to my muso gen 1, as i got fed up with all the work arounds to get qobuz i had been using.
This is far simpler to use, works much better, sounds great, and i am sure it would do the same for any NDS owner.
Plus they are cheap as well, and have fantastic features built in, that you may or may not want to use.
Hi, thanks.
Audirvāna have a dedicated NAS version of their software for Synology / QNAP. That, alongside their dedicated remote app on iPhone etc worked well for using with streaming platforms like Tidal or Qobuz. Whilst the UI is not as slick as Roon, in my view, the sound quality of Qobuz or tidal files played via Audirvāna sound much better than playing tidal natively on NdS or Roon on ND555 for that matter. In fact, I prefer Qobuz on ND555 vs using Roon. Hope it helps. Good luck.
Happy that your happy! I have both (nds and nd555) as sone might know
. And really prefer NDS.
Maybe will give 555 another chance with 3.12 and factory reset and whatever tweak will be around.
@drago thanks - you are in an enviable position of having both! NDS is an amazing player. If I had the space I would have considered keeping NDS for a second system.
I would love to have avoided this position. I came from nd555 but the FW made my last year very sad. NDS brought back what I missed in nd555 with 3.8 fw. Nd555 (3.11) has detail and air, but it lacks the natural sound, the texture and emotion (voices!). My ears.
I can feel what impresses very much with nd555 over nds, but for me the analoge naturalness (the organic) wins in long term.
Have you already sold the nds!
@drago yes I sold the NdS. I recognise the NDS qualities you allude to. It was a hard decision as I was originally thinking of going to the Nap350 instead. It was an instinctive decision in the end - largely to improve the user experience, and the right one for me as I did not really hear the ND555 before its current firmware.
I would say that with the Audirvāna and Qobuz solution via my Synology NAS the NDS was sublime. I posted on this a few months back. But for streaming files on the NAS I prefer the ND555 for its more airy and spacious presentation and clearer vocals.
I’m in a similar position as I’m currently using an ND555 and have a an NDS waiting in the wings to be sold subject to final evaluation.
I haven’t swapped them out as the ND555 sounds superb but will do for I sell my NDS.
Interestingly I use an Innuos Zenith Mk3 and the difference between using the Naim app versus using Innuos app is not marginal - the Innuos just sounds so much better in every way, even my dealer commented on it when delivering my new speakers….
In my case the Innuos “pushes” music to the ND555 to process via its DAC and streams the music. Why it sounds better than the Naim app is a mystery to me….
Gary
This I have to try someday - have the same machinery.
You control it via sense app and let the nd555 stream. Is the toggle bar working - skipping forward in a song. This was doing cracks when I tested it.
@Farthings-cat quote=“Farthings-cat, post:10, topic:41474”]
In my case the Innuos “pushes” music to the ND555 to process via its DAC and streams the music. Why it sounds better than the Naim app is a mystery to me….
[/quote]
Which unit is streaming with this setup? Nd555 or zenith. If the latter, i have an idea why it is better.
@Farthings-cat can you describe the difference between naim app and sense.
Do you go: router/switch — zenith (streamer input or lan input?) — nd555
or
nd555 and zenith (lan input) both on the switch.
I know - we had this already
I use the JPLAY for iOS controller to get Qobuz out of the Eversolo A10 and it sounds much better than the built-in variant despite they both use the same client/renderer and DAC. They explain this by claiming JPLAY optimize the network traffic.
For me JPLAY also makes a clear difference compared to other controllers (including the Eversolo one) playing from the Melco/Minimserver.
To complicate things further I have been using Roon’s free trial and using the Innuos Zenith as a Roon core….
Roon enabled on Innuos Zenith using Roon app
I wasn’t wowed by the Roon software and using the Innuos enabled roon core the sound was materially impacted - air around notes had shrunk, the sound was congested and it sounded like an average car stereo….
Roon enabled software on Naim app
Better but very digital sounding and not that satisfying
Innuos Zenith standalone (Roon disabled)
In this set up the Innuos is pushing files to the ND555 to use its DAC and streaming board etc.
Everything sounding superb, weight, authority, air around the notes and a sound that is cohesive and analogue sounding, bloody lovely!
As above but using Naim app
Much more digital sounding, sound stage shrunk and less clarity. Better than Roon but nowhere near as good as Innuos sense app
In my set up Roon was a disaster sonically and I wasn’t convinced by the software so not for me….
The Innuos sense app sounds materially better than using Naim app for me and the sound degradation was obvious when switching to Naim app….
I am yet to swap out ND555 to try my NDS but the ND555 sounds so good I’m pretty convinced it is better than my NDS but will experiment and revert back when I have some time.
Audirvāna for me has always made whatever streamer/DAC combo I’ve had sound much more ‘organic’ - tested every combination of apps and Roon.
I think I can manage that setup. But is zenith streaming and the „last leg“ is the cable between switch and zenith. Have you connected your zenith with both lan ports?
I have not updated fw on zenith for a long time - guess why ![]()
In my case the Innuos is pushing data files for the ND555 to play ergo the the 555 is doing all the work.
I also have a phoenix net - cable from internet port to PN and cable from PN to nd555 and Innuos.
The only downside is you don’t see the art work on the screen …
I have always updated fw on Innuos but it’s always a leap of faith!
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