@frenchrooster, I covered the matchup in greater detail in another post. A few remarks:
Yes, obviously the 552/300DR combo has more punch, more extended bass and more impactful dynamics. I said as much in the other post.
The 552 is 25 years old; it was recapped and serviced in February 2025. The 300DR is 21 years old; it was serviced, recapped and DR’d in 2016.
The i70 is brand new.
Both are very good at reproducing details. Attacks on notes are sharper and clearer with the 552/300DR, but the i70 has longer and smoother decay; it also reproduces acoustic instrument resonances better. The i70 is fast on its feet and does PRaT well (even very well for a tube amplifier), but the 552/300DR clearly has the upper hand in that regard.
I also mentioned that these days I listen mostly to chamber music (piano trios, lieder, solo piano or violin, string quartets, etc.), folk and small jazz ensembles and much less to rock or big orchestras. The i70 might not have been ideal for the music I listened to 20 years ago - and how loud I was listening - it works very well for what I listen to and how I listen now.
The 552/300DR has a strong “it is here” presence - it makes music impactful and lively. “Listen to this! It’s so good!” The i70 has a “you are there” presence, more laid back and quieter. You find yourself sitting in the 7th row or in a hotel lounge. It’s a personal choice.
Finally, I still have the 552 and it would be easy for me to buy the 300DR back if I wished to. Therefore I don’t need to “convince myself that what I have is the best”. Frankly, I find your comment condescending.
Obviously the way i pointed out to test them can also be done different ways, but my way will give you 100% clarity on whether there’s a big enough difference to hear straight away. You can’t get fooled into believing one is better than the other, yes maybe over time you might start to hear differences or do you? Is that you fooling yourself. But there is no fooling about doing it my way, no hiding, no guessing. Plus when things are so close, the time it takes you to disconnect and swap over is already far to long for you to remember exactly what it really was like. Play both at the same time and switching between them certainly gives you a much truer way to hear any difference.
But do things the way you want, as remember the good old rule, if its more expensive or newer it has to be better, i say dont get fooled.
It looks to be more an operational security failure, you can see the server security certificates expired at the end of its regular period and the new server certificate had not been enabled… but you can see from the certificate records, the new certificate was hurriedly reactively applied once the server certificates had expired.
This certs are designed to overlap to prevent outages… somewhere somebody dropped the ball by not checking alarms that the certificate was about to expire and the new certificate hadn’t become active for what ever reason .. usually such security failures can provide difficult operational management questions to answer… (with internal operations). The next cert replacement is in 3 months time, I strongly suspect the operational processes around server network security will have improved by then… Certificate Lifecycle Management is a network security operational discipline.
Genuinely interested as to why you should beware of A/B comparisons?
Also, are we saying that playing CD lossless rips (so no mega-high res stuff) that Naim can’t send that to multiple units as-is?
The volume on the outputs of the XS2 was definitely higher. Once compensated for on the pre-amp, differences were much harder to discern. More listening to be done, tough job…
That doesn’t make me too disappointed as there’s additional functionality in the new unit that I will use, it’s great to be able to listen via Qobuz direct, and Airplay will also be a boon. Add in warranty for a few years and hopefully firmware support, and I’m happy. If Naim release a new unit shortly, it’ll almost certainly be a higher list price, and no discounts. If they don’t, then I’m more comfortable for a good few years with a newer unit than I would be on the original XS.
Think I would have preferred green lighting, and it would be nice if you could turn the power button light off, it’s a bit bright compared to everything else, which whilst not Naim gear, has green LEDs for indicating power etc… 1st world problems as they say!
I don’t know exactly what format and bit rate is used for multiroom streams, but they have to cater for any limitations of the local network to cope with multiple streams (up to 8) simultaneously. I have a vague recollection that the master streamer converts the sample rate down to 48kHz, but I’m sure @Stevesky would know the exact details.
I’m broadly with Chris on this. I’ve done A/B comparisons at dealers and found I’ve been concentrating on differences and focusing on trying to decide which I prefer. One problem is that it can be easy to interpret difference as “better”. Another is that first impressions are not necessarily such a perfect indicator of how well I’ll get on with a system in the long term. I’ve had cases where a dealer has lent me a component to try out for a period, where initially I thought it was a rather modest improvement on what I already had. Then, when I had to return it and go back to my original setup, I’ve realised I’d find it very hard to live without it.
Both AB comparisons and longer home trials have their value, but most of us buy for the long term and that’s when the latter can be advantageous, for me at any rate. We’re lucky to have dealers who offer both in the UK.
Totally agree. A parallel (not perfect like all parallels, but it will get the idea across) is that musicians don’t choose their instruments based on A/B comparisons but based on protracted try-outs (often at least 1 week with several instruments and then again for another batch keeping the “winner”, at least for easily moveable instruments :)). That said, A/B comparisons are sometimes useful and often the best you can practically do. Buying instruments is better in that respect as it is standard to borrow 3-4 instruments at a time and take them out for extended try-outs (although shop owners get antsy sometimes past 10 days or so :)). For obvious reasons, hifi tryouts don’t work this way!
I am using my Atom to stream with my Nait 50. I mostly stream Spotify lossless or Apple music lossless. Curious if the ND5 XS2 would be a noticeable improvement. Thought?
It’s a definite improvement without doubt to my ears. Sounds more laid back and effortless and there is definitely more detail. Worth a demo for sure especially at the prices now.
I own No Naim gear anymore but I enjoy the discussions and I even learn something now and then. And I enjoy the witty repartee, especially from the Hairless Halibut
And I enjoy the witty repartee, especially from the Hairless Halibut