ND555 firmware update to 3.4.0, sound quality

Brilliant - thank you very much - although I wonder why there is a difference in ‘remote firmware’ version?

My ‘Remote Firmware version’ also says 1.2.4

Perhaps Naim can clarify why anyone may have something different?

Is the Firmware hosted differently for come countries or customers?

DB.

Does remote firmware refer to the remote control and is it resident in the remote handset or the streamer? Mine is 0 but I don’t have any batteries in my remote.

According to my iPad display, on the “About” page, System version is 3.4.0.4492, whilst on the “More” page, OS version is shown as 3.4.0.883.

What’s the difference between “System” and “OS” versions?

Mine too.

After listening a bit longer. I have also the impression that the scaling from mid bass to low bass is much better and more natural. In the past sometimes the feeling that from a certain lower level on a certain bump was to be heard, while there seem to be a bit of a gap in scaling on the slightly higher frequencies.
Not sure if I am making sense to other, but trying to represent my experiences.
And of course overall better detail retrieval.

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Synchronization clocks are tiny devices with very small thermal capacity. I would expect their characteristic times (apart from drift times, of course) to be very short but I am not an expert in this field.

On the other hand, I can imagine that an unsteady environment – for instance, a temperature change because of a power supply warming up or cooling down – can have impacts on the clocks.

Still, I would expect such impacts to be negligible or, if not, to be perceivable at every reboot, not only at reboots after firmware upgrades.

I am not arguing that it is impossible that the effects of firmware upgrades take some time to unfold.

It’s just that it seems to me much more likely that our ears and brains need hours or perhaps days and that our devices need seconds or minutes, rather than the other way round.

Anyway, it is nice to see that Naim can still improve the sound quality of the new streamers, at least for most users.

I get what you are saying - it is more seamless in transiting from mid down into very deep bass now in my system with seemingly better phase-linearity, in that it is louder and tighter and more together precise with the timing and all bass instruments playing together have a tighter sound like they are playing together better.

I’m enjoying this Firmware SQ and musical cohesiveness a lot right now.

DB.

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I have experience with thermal stability of inertial gyroscopes, and it can take several days. They are particularly sensitive to very small temp changes, like .001 degrees and some even more sensitive. I have no idea what kind of temps a clock is sensitive too, but I could imagine that its of the same order.

I think these affects are negligible, but almost certainly that is what we pick up on. The effects are subtle but real.

Interesting, thanks! On the other hand, inertial gyroscopes will have masses that are thousands of times larger than the masses of clocks, I would expect. It also takes them quite some time to spin up and I guess they generate a lot of friction and thus heat. But perhaps you are right, and the systems are in the end very similar! I’d like to know more about clocks and gyroscopes, what does actually change in the state of a gyroscope when one changes the temperature by 0.001 degrees?

I looked up the data sheet on an oven controlled crystal oscillator and they say within tolerance in 15 minutes.

Yes and in addition it really comes to the surface for me in classical orchestral music, with all it’s different voices…

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And piano and cello… the texture is more defined

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Absolutely, I had the same experience.

Texture, nuances and some resonances specific to the piano’s two first and last octaves are now audible, which wasn’t the case previously.

The F.W. even added some of this airiness I enjoyed so much with the Soulution 711 stereo amp and with Soulution 701 monoblocks.

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The SQ improvements made me curious about whether the ND55 would be more immune to cable and switch differences and whether I would still find a worthwhile difference in adding a second EtherRegen. Well, after a little faffing about, my conclusion with my system is that my cable and switch preferences remain unchanged. The ND555 is just giving me more of everything now. But they do not bring any less.

Hello @Michaelb

I understand you power your ND555 with two 555PS.
I already asked that to @BertBird , how is it from one to two 555PS?
Is the uplift similar to the firmware update in terms of sound improvements?

In a way, but much more dramatic. Adding a second PS brings greater soundstage depth (more than breaddth), texture, detail and bass extension, but above all lifts the microdynamics up to the level of the CD555 and above. Well, that’'s what I found. Very impressive for piano, large symphonic works, cello solos…

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It is more than that - a lot more.
With one supply I slightly preferred the Chord Dave with upscaler in A-B demo.
With Two supplies it slaughtered the Dave and was streets ahead for me.

The Dave was more detailed and rendered acoustic perspective better than ND555 with one supply, but was a bit thin-sounding with rather dry lower-mid and not the bass resolution of the Naim.

But add two supplies to ND555 and it all came to focus and tightened-up, detail fleshed-out and there was a nice big immersive sound - it was at a far more expensive cost than the Dave/upscaler combo but it was what I wanted and it justified purchase.

That was with the original Firmware.
The Firmware update just opens the window farther and deeper into the music.
I’m finding it really surprising how much is there in music I know well I never heard before.

DB.

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Oh, I see the desire pointing on Thomas’s face…:crazy_face:

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