Hey all I have a question. Over the last 7 years of being a Naim owner I have slowly moved up from a Nova to a classical non-dr set up of nDAC/HDX/XPS/250-2/282/Supercap-2 all non-dr really loved the organic sound of this setup with powerlines and SL cables the speakers are B&W 805 D3s and a pair of t-5i subs. Over the last few years the core of the system has now changed to the current system of 300dr & a new ND 555 with a used 555 ps. Still in place is the old 282 & Supercap-2 non-dr and Speaker setup.
Now after running in the new ND555 & used 555 PS dr for the last 2 month pretty much 24/7 almost all of that naim organic magic has been lost. I understand the nd555 burn in process/cable and burndy dressing but the sound signature just doesn’t sound 100% compared to what I had. The sound has clarity but some of the detail and naim magic seems lost. After 2 months 24/7 of nd555 run in it would have totally opened up by now. The only sources that sound close to the perfection I was expecting is some of the 555 internet stations, streaming from the Core server mostly sound sub-par. I did try the rear USB port drive with flac files and some sounded close to what I would expect in performance but still not perfect.
So, my question is out side of cable dressing. Could the 282/Supercap-2 non dr be a part of the problem ???
I am in the process of purchasing a used late model 552 & PS in a few month will that be a balancing factor in in completing the puzzle or will that bring more imbalance ???
It kinda feels right now a bit like the more I spend the less quality i’m getting. lol. I know it takes patience with these things !
Anyway, if anyone can help me out I would appreciate it.
Okay all will be run in after 2 weeks let alone months, my hunch is that the 282, as brilliant as it is, is the bottleneck here and the 552 will show the 555 in all its glory, my NDX2/555 with the 552/300 is sweet and magical.
If the hardware hast been changed in last 2 months and sound quality has gone the wrong way I find it hard to believe it is the 282 ? If it was surely the sound would not been as you would expect from day one of plugging in the 555 ? (as an aside I run 552/555 and to me sounds lovely so not saying don’t go down the 552 route)
Thank you all for the encouragement as it’s well needed. I just need to be patient and stick with it, by the time this journey is over I will be in 500 land.
Honestly you should have been blown away from tone one.
I bought my (used but barely) like new nd555 when I had 52/135.
It was sooo good from day one.
But it had another sound signature…
Hi
The ND555 IS A BEAST, the 282 is without any doubt your bottleneck. YOU NEED A 552 and a 2nd 555PSU feeding ND555. Once those are in situe^^ you will be scraping you jaw off the floor.
Yes Lindsey that is what I’m thinking it’s a very old 282 and the Supercap-2 non dr that powers it is also, so I’m thinking they have to be the bottleneck problem. I’m in it for the long haul so thank you for your support.
Yeah, take it with a large pinch of salt. It certainly doesn’t need a second power supply and mine sounded pretty good through a Nova when my 552 was being repaired. Though it will take you all the way up to a Statement system
I ran the ND555/555PS DR for almost a year into 282/HCDR/250DR and the 282 was good enough to tell me the ND555 was the best source I’ve ever owned. The 282 may be a bottleneck when compared to a 552, but it’s more than good enough to show you how amazing the ND555 is. I disagree with those who stated you need a 552 and a second 555PS to appreciate what the ND555 can do.
Hi @freedomsounds Has it changed much over the 2 months of run in? A friend of mine bought one in January and I can honestly say that it carried on changing until the summer, getting gradually better and better. It now sounds sublime with a well recorded album. Burn in really does take more than 2 months but you should have heard clear changes for the better by now.
