I’m not sure what Roon’s promises are exactly, but “Roon-ready” is a very comprehensive certification and it seems to me that it would be commercial suicide if they introduced an update that breaks compatibility with existing “Roon-ready” devices (and can’t be implemented by updating the device firmware)
There are pros and cons to the NDAC and NDS. The NDAC is not compromised by being squeezed into the same box as a streamer. The NDS is a later design that builds on the experience Naim gained from older designs, and so on. For me they are both great sources which I could happily live with. The NDX or NDX2 I find really need a PSU upgrade to shine, and even then they don’t compete with either NDAC or NDS.
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We are moving from 272 to 252 so recently purchased an nDAC.
Our logic was we already had the XPSDR so nDAC /XPSDR was a no brainer really.
Going old skool and splitting everything into separate boxes again (this is what we had before we moved from our 90s Rotel pre/monoblocs + micromega transport/DAC).
For streaming transport we are now likely to get the ND5XS2 but haven’t completely discounted transports such as Lumin U2 mini. The sound quality of a raspberry PI playing flac internet radio into nDAC is astonishing, so I don’t see us spending NDX2 money just for a transport.
Plus the NDX2 and ND5XS2 have exactly same streaming board so save 3k!
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I’m thinking a pure dac will be more future proof than a streamer
Yes!
I have a nDAC with a “third party” XPSDR PS. It it my understanding that the nDAC was pretty much as good as it gets as far as an Naim DAC, with the “icing on the cake” being to add a very expensive 555PS to it.
If I was you, I’d keep the nDAC and XPS and just decide on what the best streamer to get is.
I only have a modest system with Supernait 3 and old (but good) baby Proacs so have no experience of the higher echelons of Naim systems but I struggle to understand why one needs to spend 1000’s on a pure streamer just to shuffle the digital signal over to the DAC when the streamer will inevitably become obsolete.
I used an inexpensive Raspberry Pi and Digione HAT to stream to the DAC via Roon and it was great. I recently replaced it (as I needed another streamer) with an Ifi Zen Stream and it sounds absolutely fantastic.
Don’t forget first reply you received that highlighted that you will likely not get “hi-res” output from Tidal with a Naim DAC, unless you count the first unfold to 88.2kHz or 96kHz that Roon can do.
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Don’t forget, the NDS has the same internally sprung, solid brass, isolation platforms that the ND555 has. So there is definitely some SQ optimization from that.
I have the NDS and if one isn’t streaming Qobuz, it’s quite brilliant for what they can be had for these days. For Tidal, iradio, local ripped CDs or a CD transport, it sounds very, very good.
I don’t see myself ever parting with mine as Qobuz in Canada is a no-go. If qobuz does make it here, I’ll add a compatible streamer to it.
I can’t really imagine a better Dac for the money, in my system at least.
Jmho tho.
@ChrisSU had some very good advice …
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Damn, I thought Qobuz was already in Canada. 
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Nope, Qobuz isn’t here, and I don’t really expect it ever will be. But Tidal does sound pretty darn good, anyway, on Naim kit tho.
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Thanks again for the latest replies… I nearly bought an nds until others threw doubt declaring that even though it has the brass chassis construction, the revered Texas supreme Dac chip etc etc the ndx2 would simply sound better and that my 252/300 amps would highlight any flaws the ‘old’ nds may produce- yet four years ago the nds was Naim’s very best streamer… surely an nds as source for tidal or Spotify through 252/300 would equal (if not surpass) the ndx2 on sq? And for future a decent bridge would keep it on parr also? Can an ndac xps duo sound as good as ndx2 with the correct stream transport?
For me it was a presentation difference rather than a quality difference. As @ChrisSU said it’s abit more rock’n’roll … i would liken it to going to a gig and going to the same gig with a security guard standing behind you… you hear the same music but the guard cramps the vibe.
What was the gig? Johnny Cash at San Quentin?
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I’m not sure about the Jonny cash reference, perhaps it was audiophillic humour?? Just thought I’d add that I have tried to discuss this with different box sales people calling themselves hi fi sales execs who always so far reply that the ndac and nds are old dacs and dacs have moved along therefore and nd5xs or ndx2 will sound better, when I ask why they will sound better- because they use different newer chips!! Most unsatisfactory response - it is making me determined to get my ndac or an nds sing out the bestest possible sounds on my system!!
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Lol! D’oh, I just saw the joke about camp guards and mr cash- see this thing is sucking my mind away!!!
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I never heard a nDac, but I suppose that the dacs / engineering of nDAC, NDX2, CDX2, and others in the product line will be more or less the same, so the main differences in that area will be in the functionality / integration.
I find my (old) CDX2 is a little better than my (juvenile) NDX2 playing the same CD. That it´s logical, because the CDX2 is s special purpose machine and it´s dac is optimized to do just that.
The dac of NDX2 has to cope with different formats coming from Tidal, iRadio, ripped cd´s via upnp, music pen´s, bluetooth, etc…
Having a nDac that can convert a broad range of formats, the main issue would be the functionality of the streaming or cd transport required, ease of use, etc…
A friend of mine has a strange configuration, a Inuuos ripper/streamer (Portuguese), a Ayon cd transport, a Ayon dac/pre (Austrian), a pair of heavy chinese valve monoblocks, don´t remeber the brand, with Marten (suede) loudspeakers. A hell of a system.
Too much confusion for my taste, but he likes it.
I would prefer a NDX2 to start with.
The NDAC, in common with the NDS and ND555, uses two PCM1704 DAC chips, as opposed to a PCM1792A in the NDX2 for example, so they are not the same chips, or the same implementation.
The NDAC obviously has the advantage of being separated from the streaming board and other digital electronics that are working in a streamer, and to some extent in a CD player.
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… yes, a cynic may think that Naim stopped production of its ‘digital hub’ as they foresaw a huge market for the ND’s - which to my mind are NDac’s with a streaming transport added and I suspect they ring fenced limited supply of the superior dac chip for their 500 series digital sources… hence I think the ndac will equal or be closest to naims reference level dac in the nd555 than any other of their dac equipped products. I also think this is why dealers and Naim “experts” are trained in to singing the praises of the current streamers over older stuff (ndac and nds)- sure naim need to sell new products but naim customers don’t seem to be thinking independently and in my mind many blindly join the ndx2-is-best band wagon. I’m not knocking the ndx2 but their cost seems to be for a lesser dac albeit with an up to date streaming transport… a lot of cash for a nice screen and another matching black box. Lol - I was convinced I should buy an ndx2, now I think I should get my ndac sorted or even join the 500 club with an awesome nds!!!
Sorry, you’ll need an ND555 for that! The NDS was Classic series, not 500.
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Really? I thought it being a Reference product put it with the then cd555, nac552 and suchlike? I thought the ndx was the Classic streamer?
All of this conversion happens before the DAC, the DAC is fed the final PCM in every case
The clue is in the name. The CD555 was Naim’s 500 level source, and only when the ND555 came along did they deem it worthy of 500 series status, as evidenced by the fact that the NDS didn’t persuade many CD555 owners to move to streaming.
The NDS was so named to show that it was more on a level with the CDS players.
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Not according to Naim. They’ve always advocated that the true magic in their players has been to keep the transport as close to the DAC as is possible. This is why they’ve never built a dedicated transport as such. Now separating the PSU? That’s a whole different kettle of fish entirely.