The DAC in the NDS is obsolete. It is an older Texas Instruments chip that is no longer in the portfolio. Naim continues to use these chips because it can get better sound quality from them than other choices available to it. Naim also keeps adequate spares to provide ongoing support.
Using BubbleUPnP to get Qobuz is an unsupported workaround solution, so you will not find written instructions for it. Plenty of forum members have done it, though, and there are old threads here about it. As long as you have a suitable device to run it on your network, youâll be fine.
If youâre prepared to invest a little more, the other way to get Qobuz is to buy a Roon subscription and a ÂŁ200 Sonore UPnP Bridge, as mentioned above. Again, you wonât find a single manual that ccvers it all, but these are current products that are supported by their developers, which could make them a better long term proposition.
I use nDAC driven by the Innuos Zenith with the Audiophilleo + PurePower USB to SPDIF converter. You can run TIDAL and Qobuz on it as well as Roon controlling those. I hasten to say that the Audiophilleo has one of the best SPDIF outputs available (Google it). If you want to use a USB DAC then they now have their recently launched Phoenix USB product to provide a top quality USB transport.
I love the musicality and emotion I get from my system now. The 552/500 brings out the best in it.
Phil
Actually obsolete is exactly the correct term in English - it has been made obsolete by the ND555
Doesnât stop it from working and performing however - but that is a different matter
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in french language, obsolete is more pejorative. It means too old, not used anymore, like lightning in houses with candles instead of electricity or having a lot of farm animals in the house to have heat.
So apparently not the same meaning?
I think its the same meaning, but in the English language not in a pejorative context
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/obsolete
if itâs the same meaning, then cassette audio vs cd is more obsolete than nds vs new naim streamers. I would more talk about old vs new generation of streamers.
Exactly: the NDS has been replaced (or superseded) by ND555 is probably better.
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Without rehashing the âUse of Englishâ thread I think most people would feel that there is a subliminal element of denigration in the term âobsoleteâ even if used in a technically appropriate context.
Edit: âSupercededâ perhaps captures the concept of current vs previous generation slightly better. Even this carries some negative connotation though
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Obsolete does not mean the same as no good. Much of the work I did is obsolete, hopefully not because it was no good, but because it has been developed in to something better. You would not use my Version 2 with newly bought kit when the new developer has brought out Version 3. So my Version 2 has been obsoleted by the newer Version 3. If you have been using Version 2 for 5 years, itâll still work - no need to change unless you want the new features.
Apologies to anybody who thought my use of obsolete implied the NDS was in any way not good. It is a very good streamer & DAC and remains so.
Indeed, many concepts of new replacing old create a negative connotation with the obsoleted item relative to the item or items that have superseded it⌠itâs no doubt part of the consumerist conditioning many of us have⌠if itâs new it âmustâ be better⌠built in obsolescence etc⌠but as we know that is not always the case.
Many people here use obsolete models of the Cisco 2960 switches to great effect⌠the fact they have been replaced and superseded doesnât make those obsolete items any less capable than they originally were.
Something doesnât become broken just because it has become obsolete ⌠other than perhaps in your mindâŚ
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Yes, the streamer board in the ND555 is a later generation, and shared with the other network player models and also the Uniti range. The 272 still retains the BridgeCo. streamer board.
The later Streamer board adds Airplay2, better WiFi, PCM upto 348kHz and DSD128, plus is RoonReady (some of the other model have Bluetooth support as well)
So if you need these then yes, there is an argument to go for the newer models.
However, RoonReady can be applied to the NDS, through use of the SonoreUPnP Bridge, through the Ethernet input of the NDS, which is the optimized input of the NDS. The NDS still utilizes the same Brown Burr PCM1704U DAC chips, in the same configuration and the analogue output stage suspended in the same manner, isolated from the streamer board (which is in an electrical cage).
Of course, you can still use the same Power supplies as the ND555, namely one or two 555DR PSUs.
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As such the NDS presents as a bargain network player, and with the SonoreUPnP bridge unit ($200 from SGC) a fully functional high-end Roon Endpoint.
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for qobuz, do you need the sonore or only bubble app on an any android device?
With BubbleUPnP server running on a computer or NAS on your network, which you may already own, you do not need any additional hardware. You need the UPnP bridge for Roon, which supports Qobuz.
I was more asking for the OP request, because he doesnât know how it works really. However i donât know also. But running a nas ( i have only melco) or a computer or an additional component as the sonore would bother me. Personally i stream only locally because itâs the best sound for me. Tidal 2 months a year for discovering new albums.
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Most people will have something connected to their network that can run either BubbleUPnP server or Roon. It can be a NAS, Mac, PC, desktop or laptop. You donât really need to buy a dedicated device for it. The UPnP Bridge is small and relatively cheap, so easy to add in if you want Roon. Many have found that this gives better sound quality than Tidal from the Naim app, comparable to local streaming.
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I already had the SonoreUPnP bridge in place for Roon in general, which then gives the better Tidal integration, including access to Tidal Masters (with 1st unfold undertaken to 24/96) and then recently Qobuz (I had an account previously, and sourced some HiRes content from them, but have not extended my account to their streaming service, as yet).
I have a separate UPnP server, using Asset R6.2 running on a RaspberryPi scanning the same library as Roon Core, but that is just backup/legacy. I havenât played back from the Naim App in over a year now.
My window on my library is Roon, first and foremost.
I have a Chromecast output to my TV (video only) for Roon display, if required, which is a bit larger than the display on a ND555 (the display on the NDS is most off, as recommended for SQ reasons, as is the USB input at the front)
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for me itâs just nds, melco, and streaming locally from the melco. I donât even, more often, buy full albums, only the most enjoyable tracks for me. I am listening to music only 1 hour per day, sometimes 2. Only listening, without reading or doing something else.
I am also spending some time searching new albums on qobuz, youtube, allmusic, jazz magazines.
We are all different.
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With the useful advice from all you guys in mind, I didnât pull the trigger on the reverse auction of the used nds. Instead I will stay put for some time listening to qobuz hirez on the node 2i (as source in my reference series system) and see the new developments especially in the naim range!
I can see that ultimately I would not even try to rip my cd collection (what a write down) as except exceptions they are all on tap (in hirez!) on qobuzâŚwhat a turn of events.
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