It’ the whole system Rob,
The system is complete. It all sounds fantastic and I am loving it. It’s the sum of all the parts that counts.
The factory visit is an exciting prospect and be good to meet some of the guys on here.
Best wishes mate,
Dan
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You definitely sell the naim gear fast - but my last gear also went very fast
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and you my friend 
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I would have so much loved to join you at the tour, but with my mother being very ill, I can not travel to the uk spontaneously, which I would have loved so much to do.
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I take it that was Studio 4?
The source material directed to all the rooms came via an Innuos Statement Server and a dCS Rossini DAC.
So each room was significantly different in sound to highlight what amp, and speakers can do when using the same source.
So the ATC/NAIM setup also used the dCS and innous as source, how did that sound ?
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I’m not a fan of ATC speakers so I’m not the right person to ask about that.
O right
Would have liked to heard all 4 systems, as each one was quite different sounding.
Obviously done like that to show the differences.
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I think that goes for most people here, but at the same time, we have different tastes in music and look for and find different things
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O yes, it would be a very boring if we all liked the same
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As I understand it both the NDS and the ND555 were connected to the
552 at the same time,I would say this is not the correct way to evaluate soures in a Naim system.
One source connected to the Preamp
Two systems exactly the same, just the items for comparison being different.
Now we’ve all got money spare to do that haven’t we
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How can you compare then? Makes no sense!
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Connect the NDS first and listen,then unplug it and connect the ND555.
There are easily audible differences between them.
Tbf. I did that before. The NDS was playing with 2 PSUs. Then ND555 playing with 2 PSUs. The ND555 came out as more detailed, wider soundstage and deeper bass.
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Anyhow, bought a load more vinyl and am enjoying the LP12 now. Listening to I/O. Sounds very very good vs streaming.
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As we all know, the nds and Nd555 share the same dac, so we’re really asking to what degree the steamer section makes a difference. it does of course, but you can get even closer using a third party streamer into the nds. Thanks Dan for sharing your experience here. I’ll have a phoenix net and, per your experience (and others) , add another power supply before a nd 555 at current price differentials.
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Is it the identical DAC architecture in them? (Meaning the full design. Not the DAC chipset only)
Edit. Have checked the PCBs. The analogue side seems to share a lot although not the same. The digital side looks completely different. Overall including the streaming board ND555 seems to have gone through many updates. Sharing the same DAC chipset doesn’t say much really since it’s just a tiny part of the puzzle.
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The ND555 is wonderful and so is NDS. My ND5XS2 into NDS with 2 PSUs was a brilliant solution. The ND555 means one box less and looks more modern, is well built, nice remote.
It has alot going for it. I am happy with it. The test just shows the reality that differences are small.
The 2nd PSU is big difference. I haven’t got PhoenixNet. But EE8 with Farad Super 3 is working well.
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