Hi FS. Before I upgraded to ND555 etc I used a CD555 through a 282 and 250 amp and the sound was excellent. The speakers were / are SL2s. Yes the ND555 does improve with running in but as others have said you have given it enough time. Cable dressing does help but not to the extent you are missing.
I suspect re-checking the whole set up - perhaps with external advice is the way forward. Yes spending more does improve the sound but it’s always the law of diminishing returns. Your system should sound superb. Good luck J
So far, in the first 2 weeks though out the first into the second month it’s changed the most & by no means am I criticizing the overall performance pedigree of the 555. It just over the last 7 years of slowing moving though the naim hierarchy of cabling and replacing an old classic-2 system leaked cap 250-2 and adding a new 300 & over time now replacing the NDAC,XPS HDX with the 555 which was to overall plan to eventually get close to a 500 balance system. The difference I experienced with the older classic-2 system was that every time I made an upgrade weather it be a cable or a new box I would hear the upgrade because of the balance of the classic-2 system, the synergy would shine out and the naim magic was loud and clear. What I have found now and kinda expected was now I’m in deeper waters and the system as a whole now is in transition and not as balanced. Because of my experience with the upgrades over the years the I can hear that something is missing and out of balance performance wise the weakest link black box wise is the 282 & SC non dr is the problem. Don’t get me wrong the 282 & SC is a killer combination and sounded great in the past and sounds good now, but the system has out grown it now.
With great quality amps as you have, I always found front end upgrades very rewarding. You know with the nd555 that there is more to come with further running in. Also you will fully unleash it as you progress through to the 552. Im surprised from what I’ve heard of the nd555 that you are not bowled over by it. Maybe get your dealer in to make sure nothing else is wrong or faulty.
I disagree with others who say to upgrade from 282/SC
something seems off and wrong, you need to get it checked by a dealer.
I have a Dave/Mscaler on a 282/HCDR and I can clearly hear what the Mscaler adds to the Dave, the 282 is a very good preamp. Not as good as a 552 of course, but good enough to reveal what ND555 is capable of.
I don’t want you to get me wrong, in not saying I can’t hear what the 555 can do and is capable of. I saying it just sounds like it’s missing something and there is much more to be had out of it that I’m missing.
You are partially exactly right ! The XPS on the end of the nDAC into an HDX was crazy good , a revelation, a very balanced presentation, but not perfect. By the way I never ran the nDAC with the nd555 wonder how interesting that would have been ?
I would agree with your sentiment. The 282 is not up to the fine level of details, tonality etc than the 552 or even the S1, but still should give you enough satisfaction and benefits. Perhaps something else is wrong. And try it before you force yourselves in upgrades which will make the ND555 shine, but should not be needed to at least have a good sound as is….
I appreciate everyone help I just want to make sure everyone understands that the system is not unenjoyable, it’s not broken, but its just not perfect depending upon the source material it can sound pretty close, being flac via USB, Some of the Internet radio, and the core. I definitely also feel it is source dependent & very choose which is to be expected at this level. Also, (and I know what everyone here is going not say but i don’t have a fraim setup yet so not a lot of air between boxes so, i know that plays a bit part, burndy placement isn’t perfect & the listening space at this time is small 10x12 so a lot of energy around the room when volume is up.
I tend to agree with others here that the 282/SC is not the bottleneck by any means. I run my ND555 in a non Naim setup (with Sugden amps) but I do have mine installed on a Fraim with a couple of shelves clear of the 555PSDR.
I found having the burndies clear off the floor and not touching as well as the Hiline clear and hanging freely improved SQ.
I suggest addressing your setup should be a priority rather than swapping out black boxes.
When do you expect your system to be perfect and what is perfect anyway.h Hopefully you are not down wwith a cole that day or tired or not in the mmood for listening to music.
Have you tried powering down the ND555/555PS DR for several minutes (shutdown, then remove power cables) then power up from cold.
May be beneficial to shutdown everything in the chain.
Running Tara Labs burn-in for a couple of days may also contribute to restoring the balance.
I’d also look at getting some diffraction on the walls of your room, lots of reflective surfaces. Have you also tried moving the rack away from between the speakers, or moving the speakers forward?
