Just as a reference point I’d try something like Catsnake as that’s pretty smooth. I personally use Shunyata Sigma but it is ruthlessly revealing when the system is off. I can’t use it with the 3:10 FW as it highlights exactly where Naim have got it so wrong. When I was running 3:8 it made some of the most beautifully natural sounds I’ve ever heard.
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The noise floor is so low as to be imperceptible when my system is off, no matter what ethernet cable I use.
.sjb
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I’m getting somewhere. I had the ND555 on Stack Audio Auva EQs. Turns out after removing them and letting the hard feet rest on the shelf, the sonic signature changed and is stable - less brightness and deeper bass. Looks like the ND555 does not like the Auva EQs, whereas the 333 had really improved when I added those. I also tried a Zazen I platform which seems to have provided a further small improvement to the ND555. Interesting that the 333 has rubber under its feet whereas the ND555 does not.
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Congratulations on your ND555.
My ND555 hits it out of the park from a cold switch on but as the days and weeks go by it tends to reveal more and more insight. It never sounds lumpy.
There are many variables to take into account, my subjective experiences concur with those of Mr Happy. 500 level stuff can take time, but it sounds awfully good from stone cold. When you stop listening to the HiFi and get lost in your music you will have gone past the tipping point. You may not even notice it immediately but you will get there.
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ND555, 552, NDS has hard feet and a huge floating brass plates inside to minimise vibrations and reduce EMI. They shall not be on other feet than their own. Have you removed the locking screws at the bottom?
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Two to three months for most of the burn-in, and mores steps up afterwards for many months.
Unfortunately there are issues with the current firmware leading to some harshness (overly digital compared to the usual organic and analogue presentation). Hopefully this will be resolved. In the meantime do you have any digital sources that you can connect to the ND555 to get around the harshness with streaming?
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Yes thanks, this was the first thing I did.
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I specifically looked for a device on the old firmware! This one is on 3.8.4.
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I’m sorry to be brutal, Mike, but this is utter tosh. I repeat the question which has never been properly answered. How did you arrive at this conclusion? Did you listen to the same pieces of music on a regular basis and make copious notes as to the changes? I doubt you did. Undoubtedly hi-fi equipment out of the box takes a little time to warm up and probably a few weeks to get on song. After that, it is merely a question of you listening to your music and the ND555 or whatever just revealing nuances you hadn’t heard before, your ears are adapting.
I know I’m like a stuck record on this but I really do believe this months and months run in is nonsense and wrongly informs.
Regards,
Lindsay
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Many have reported a very long burn in of the Nd555, with lows and highs during that period, then finally stabilising.
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I agree with you Lindsay but then I am probably deaf! I also refuse to listen for it. There lies madness imho. Not to criticise here of course, each to their own.
Ha ha, it’s all good fun. But I see a NDX2 in your profile? I had one before the ND555, the later has a much longer running period in my experience.
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Yes, I remember. It took 2 years and 3 months.
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I have an update. I received the SigmaX and AlphaX from my dealer today for an audition. As a semi-believer in ethernet cable differences I was skeptical going in. Note these cables are new, maybe a couple hours on them.
I first replaced the Alpha V2 with the AlphaX, expecting a modest uplift. I instead got similar glare as AlphaV2 on all my test tracks and a bit more resolution. My conclusion is that the Alpha cables are not a good fit for the ND555 while they have great synergy with the 333.
Moving on to SigmaX. The X versions of the cables look identical - both the SigmaX and AlphaX have 2 filter modules now - so based on appearances I did not expect too much. The ND555 proved me wrong once again. The SigmaX has been a revelation: the HF glare is gone, the bass notes are more defined and everything floats in space effortlessly with ample space around it. I’ve been listening fatigue-free for several hours now and the music draws me in just like it did with the 333 pre fw debacle, but now in the ND555 with more detail, and better dynamics and authority. The SigmaX is spectacular and I now wonder whether the previous Sigma will be as good (and save me $$$). But I also wonder… omega?
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I’ve not heard the SigmaX but the standard Sigma does pretty much what you describe to my system. There are a few on this forum though that are lucky enough to live with the Omega.
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Welcome to the club. Now you know what we are missing. I came from diamond - and even as diamond is very good it had some harshness in my setup. With sigma everything was so much better - total flow and no harshness.
Be lucky with the best FW on nd555.
Forget omega - tried it 2 times. More prat and power but less smooth - but wonderful bass. Sigma is perfect. Sigma x - maybe even more. It’s 3,5k here 
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Well, there’s a new OmegaX now, I can’t help but wonder…
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Sigma is like 3.8 fw. It is not showing every detail till the end. But it has coherence and wonderful flow of music.
Works also perfect with nds. But does not work with 3.10 fw…
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I am certainly not planning to update to 3.10 - but I wonder if 3.11 will have the same issues with Sigma. I will wait to hear from you @drago!
And I will wait for others to test first. But cheddar and geko also have a sigma.
And you are in no hurry with 3.8 … I am jealous.
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