ND555 dilemma (or else)

Hi-Fi Corner
62

Stefan, trying the other Burndy cables is a good idea. Another thing to check - what interconnect are you using?

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Blimey…

How many mobile phone or laptop chargers do you have at home ?

What about other noisy electrical gear such as plasma…

I had an issue with my turntable and thought the stylus was broken

Till I unplugged my apple laptop charger from the same room… now it all sounds fine…

What about router, and… NAS all these are plugged in … but. where ??

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Oh and during audition in London last summer… the ND555 sounded great to me no brightness at all or any issues I could hear…

My issue is I can’t afford it… that’s all ! And… I like … my Chord DACs

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65

Yes, trying the 555’s Burndies is the obvious thing to do, and it’s surprising that Stefan hasn’t already done that. If that works, problem solved. If it doesn’t, trying another 555 head unit comes next. It will either sound better or it won’t. If it does, problem solved. If it doesn’t, get a refund and another NDS. All these ideas of 552 being serviced, SMPS locations etc. are unnecessary complications. The simple fact is that the NDS sounded fine before, so the 555 should better. It really isn’t complicated.

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Not to my ears… an innocent laptop charger in my room had me wondering if my system was broken… and removing it brought everything back…

I’ve realized every home is different electrically and the ND555 maybe exposing a setup issue… I would work on the electrical environment to resolve the issue…

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I don’t disagree but in this case it’s only relevant if the electrical environment has changed at the same time as swapping the NDS for the 555.

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Hi Guys,
Thanks again for all your replies, you are all great.
The new Burndies are in place right now. There might be something in it!? It is still edgy but different. I will let it play the whole day and will have a closer listen tonight (have to go working today :frowning: ).
By the way. according to Musicline the Burndies should be the same.

Hi Peder, I guess there is something like that here too. Things are subjective and there is no universal truths. There are also moments were I question myself, if the problem is me. But then there is the NDS playing better and other people (my wife and son) who are hearing the same. Thanks for your Story.

Hi Richard, as mentioned above I changed the burnies. As Interconnect I have a Superlumia but also tried it with a High-Line. I actually liked the High-Line but the problem was still there.

Hi Analogmusic, I am quite pedantic about that issue. I have a dedicated line and even my switches work with a linear PS. I also tried late night listening with almost everthing turned of (the fridge stayed on). But thanks for the tip.

I had this considered anyway. As many say I suspect the problem before the 552. But it is a step to take next.

Thanks so far to all of you. I will Keep you posted (fingers crossed)
Stefan

69

Okay I’m about to light the litmus paper.

I repeat - I’ve heard the ND555 on 3 occasions all with 552/500. First with Kudos 808, second with Focal Utopia and third with Dyna Confidence. On all 3 occasions it was bright and with the Dynas to the point of being unlistenable - and I like Dynas.

This weekend I heard a CD555/552/500/Kudos 808 and it was just sublime - so genuinely rich and engaging in a way that the aforementioned ND555 configurations could not get near. And further my own CDS3/282/250/S20 to my ears is a better musical experience.

Now I know there are many very positive accounts and reviews of the ND555 but equally look back on the various threads and brightness is a theme. And quite often the finger is appointed elsewhere even to the Ethernet wire. Really?

Paper lit I withdraw!

Lindsay

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70

You are the sort of person who prefers vinyl Lindsay!
Oh you mean you do prefer vinyl? Well reference level streaming is never going to float your boat then! Pass that man a new dust bug!
Best

David

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David,

Aha - we’ve moved on from the dust bug David, vacuum record cleaners are the thing now don’t you know!

Seriously though I’ve heard some great music from various streaming sources but having heard the ND555 on 3 separate occasions I do think it tends toward the bright.

Lindsay

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The Core is a bit brighter than the Unitiserve too, I always thought, although it’s unclear to me why that should be.

Best

David

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I know the voicing has definitely changed. When I demoed the ndx2 vs nds to replace my ndx the ndx2 was definitely more Precise, faster but at the cost of a lack of warmth a lack of analogue soul. Imo

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74

Aside form technicals issues I would’ve thought the chain is not keeping up with greater resolution or ,who knows, perhaps an issue with software, strongly showing a characterization you ‘re newly exposed to and perceived as harsh?
Just pick up some tracks users may know well and start a comparo from there?

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Blimey… what a diverse range of experiences.

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C’est la vie!

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Well the ND555 should easily beat the NDS.

If not something is wrong, Perhaps with the ND555, apparently? or maybe something else. Who knows. I still maintain every home is different electrically and there is no way for Naim to know this.

and if still not resolved…

Blimey again.

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Since it was tested by dealer and everything fine… I would ask for refund.

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Contact your dealer and get a loaner unit from Naim including Burndys. This will give you a defacto answer if it’s the unit at fault.

All 3 units that I were supplied from Naim, never sounded harsh OOTB. However, I still found the ethernet cable made a huge difference to the sound - with the Sarum Array providing more detail etc, but no harshness or over prominence like others have described.

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Ok, the new Burndies are playing now since this morning. It is different and I think it is better. More scale, better rhythm, more fun. Not a huge difference but important. The voices when going loud are still unpleasant and still a problem. I’m confused by this result, but good so far. As the cables almost never have been played before I will let them play now 24/7 and see what happens.

When I sum things up I get to the following possible conclusion:

  1. It could be the Burndies - This I just try with new Burndies and see how that envolves. This could be promissing .

  2. ND555 and/or 555PS could be faulty - I contacted my Dealer regarding this and he is ready to ask Musicline (distributor in Germany) to provide another set to compare. This is actually exactly the test musicline did before. This will be interessting how they respond, if we ask to do the same test in my system. I could understand if they are asking “why?”.

  3. My 552DR needs a Service with it’s 12 years on its back. This I consider anyway in the future, why not soon.

  4. The ND555 is just not my thing :frowning:
    I really don’t hope so. But it could be really possible that I’m with @LindsayM. But I’m giving not up yet.

I will now work through it in the order I explained it above.

Thanks again to all of you. You guys don’t now how much this helps me, not just because of your tips and guidance also to know I’m not allone with my issue.
Thanks
Stefan

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What I can’t understand is why anyone would pay that much money without a home dem…