My ND5XS2 has been rock solid for years. No problems whatsoever. I don’t see any widespread difficulties in the forum either.
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I’m also in the “shame” camp, it just seemed to be a sweat spot product, we have one into an olive system and its bloomin brilliant, if it wasn’t viable to keep in production I wish Naim would explain.
Martin
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Well there is certainly a trend trajectory that is becoming established.
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My reviews of NDS/ND555/NDX2 eventually convinced me to put an ND5xs2 onto my existing CORE/nDAC/PS555DR.
It is an outstanding musical streamer that brings immense foot-tapping enjoyment to my listening.
I am forever grateful to Naim R&D for allowing us nDAC users to achieve such a cost effective pathway into the Naim audio signature for streaming.
I’ve only been a Naim enthusiast for 44yrs and have lots more to listen to.
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It almost certainly depends on the terminal and other factors.
While I totally believe everyone who has had a poor user experience, it’s equally true others have the opposite. My 2014 NDX is still going strong and the app has been reliable across several handsets both iOS and Android for all 4 of my Naim streamers.
As for ease of use… well it certainly is a league ahead of the Audirvana app. More polished and slick then the TEAC app (but that app has more features and is very responsive fast but also has weird limitations in places). Probably the least user friendly is the Volumio interface but that’s still my favorite simply because there is zero app, just a web interface. No app will always be better than app for me.
I would accept that other apps, from what I have read of unhappy users of the Naim app, are perhaps more tolerant and able to cope with less than perfect conditions in the network configuration. As such they possibly give a more consistent experience.
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One of the design features I like about my ND5XS2 is the lack of that silly screen that you get on the allegedly superior NDX2.
I mean, how can you tell what information is on it from across the room anyway, that you can’t get off the app on the device that’s in your hand?
Adding the nDAC takes an already superb streamer into the stratosphere, and costds less than it’s “superior” cousin.
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Thats why we had the Binoculars topic:
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Aesthetically I don’t have a problem with the screens. They can be turned off.
But they seem like something that will be non repairable and non replaceable sooner than other components. I just feel like at this price level, longevity should be designed in as best as possible. No manufacturer has a crystal ball. But it seems like tempting fate. If you can’t imagine having the same streamer for 30 years it probably doesn’t matter though. Not everyone is a tight and stingy as me and I accept that.
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Personally I have to say that I find the screen invaluable. Much easier than trying to find where I left the phone!
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I think we’ll collectively find out, that everything being IT, networked and cloudified across our lives will have major implications on longevity (or not) and lifecycle management of products.
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In which case it would be more respectful towards Naim’s hosting of the forum were you to lurk here rather than repeatedly dis their products…….
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Tysons.
Roger
Very unlikely. Look at naim gen1 devices, obsolete now if you require HiRes content over internet. The hardware simply doesn’t support it. They had a good run, launched in 2011.
Yes, you can work around this by using them as DAC only by adding an external streamer, or BubbleuPnP etc. But the core device simply doesn’t natively support HiRes internet streams, Tidal Connect etc.
You might be able to use the same streamer for an extended period if you only stream local content from a Core or NAS, but most users want more.
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Sort out your network then ??
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You’re not alone - that is my idea of proper build quality and longevity!
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@Innocent_Bystander i would never think of a 30 year time frame. Too many changes in tech. My goal before I would like to consider upgrading again would be about 5 years. My age has something to do with it as well.
This is an open forum so everyone is welcome. @Pauel had issues with his particular ND5XS2 and tried to make it work. He has every right to express his displeasure as much as he is allowed to contribute on the forum. He clearly still has faith in Naim, given he’s interested in possible future products.
I actually think it is more useful (and Naim probably do too) to have the negative with the positive, otherwise we just end up in an echo chamber of Naim fanboys/girls.
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We were very late to the streaming party. WiFi was never viable in our living room. We waited until we could do Ethernet. We started out with an ND5XS2 to test out whether we woukd take to streaming. Sonically it was fine, but annoying. We often had to restart the streamer. We upgraded to the NDX2 and XPSDr combination. We then moved to a NC system (332/333/250) and upgraded our speakers, all within a short time frame. This made it difficult if not impossible to attribute SQ change, only to the streamer. If budget was an issue, we could have remained with the SN3 and ND5XS2. For those who do not want yo upgrade or who don’t want to spend more, I am sorry the unit was discontinued. I have no issues with the Naim app and never have.
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Though UPnP has been pretty much the same for twenty years now… which is a long time in music playback technology….
Streaming is fast coming into a stasis of innovation in my opinion… lots of tinkering around the edges and incremental improvements, but nothing significant…… some of my late 90s digital audio tech still works and is valid today… in fact the biggest challenge with early streaming and digital audio file tech is how you talk to it with modern computers… computer tech has changed out of all recognition in that time.
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Agreed, very boring with feedback being sheepish only.
Lets have an open mind, everyone entitled to his own opinion.
If unpleasant user-experience why hide such fact ?
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