Is there a better Naim bargain to be had right now?
I’m blissfully ignorant to Roon etc, and find the Naim app with Tidal does everything I need. And on the NDS it all sounds simply stunning.
One day I’ll try an NDX2 or even an ND555, but until then I’ll be one very happy listener.
It’s surpassed my expectations by a very long way indeed.
The Tidal integration into Roon, with a UPnP Bridge into the NDS is so much better than the Naim native version. That integration highlighted some issues with the buffer size in the BridgeCo streamer board in the NDS, NDX, etc.
However if you off-board all the processing of the internet based streams, you easily bypass these issues - gain Tidal Masters, Qobuz and Lossless Internet Radio support.
And yes, the NDS once optimized for buffered input and a wired network, is excellent. Oh yes a 555DR PSU.
Would still like to hear a Roon system with an NDS/555DR with UPnP bridge alongside an ND555/555DR playing Roon natively.
oooh tell me more about how this can be done in practice…
Yes, the NDS is an absolute bagain fer sure. I’ve had mine for a year or two, so it can be had for even less now. It sounds just fabulous. I suppose there are other units available now that sound better, I guess, but only at 3 times the cost.
I’m looking forward to adding an ND5 XS2 to it, to feed it the new streaming tech, but there’s no rush as I love listening to it in the meantime. Qobuz won’t be available in Canada for a while anyway, but the new tech will probably make my ripped CDs sound even better.
Right now I could buy a used NDS and a new ND5 XS2 for less than a new NDX2. Seems like a no-brainer IMO …
Loving my NDS.
Bubble UPnP Server on a Raspberry Pi4 gives me Qobuz and transcoding to WAV. I’ve never listened to so much music.
Simon,
Thanks to your suggestions on this I have been trialling Roon, albeit running it to a Sonos Connect and then digitally into the NDS Dac for the time being. Sounds pretty good. I’m loving Roon and all it’s functionally and so I’ve now ordered the Sonore Upnp bridge which will hopefully take things to another level. That will get hi-res recordings into the NDS from Tidal and transcode everything to WAV which, from experience, I know makes a significant difference with the NDS.
Looking forward to hearing what it can do. As a package, Roon and the bridge into the NDS seems awesome, so thanks for your posts on this.
Love my Nds too. I listen only to local files, so Qobuz, Tidal, Roon…is not my concern.
Sometimes I listen to Fip radio HD which sounds very good.
I enhanced the sound quality of my Nds by maybe 30/40 %, in adding a Melco N1zh2 server/ Nas, and Innuos PhoenixNet switch and audioquest diamond cables.
Maybe one day I will upgrade to Nd555, but for now it’s sounding so good that I am absolutely not in rush.
Also running mine on local files in wav from a synology nas, cisco switch and audioquest vodka cables. It sounds fantastic and I have no intention of upgrading anytime soon. As with frenchrooster, I found the switch and cables gave a significant uplift to the sound. Even upgrading the synology from ds213j to ds218play made a very noticable difference. Also I use mine with a 555dr power supply running off of a 10mm dedicated radial circuit, another big lift to the performance.
With the right set up and feeding it with a well set up stream the nds is capable of an outstanding performance.
I’m currently connecting mine with a Cat-5 cable which goes into one of those BT broadband extender sockets that run data through the mains. In future I may be able to wire it up to the router direct but for now I thought this was better than Wi-Fi.
Quick question; would I potentially benefit from adding a Cisco switch between the Broadband extender socket and NDS and maybe upgrading the cables as well? It’s not an expensive upgrade but just wanted to check if there’s logic in doing so given that I’m using an extender. I’m not very up on networking.
The Cisco 2960 , refurbished, factory reset, is perhaps the most used switch here. You can’t go wrong.
If you can try an English Electric Chord S8 or Uptone Etheregen, I believe you can go further.
I had the Cisco, then the Etheregen. A clear improvement for my ears.
I would get rid of the over-the-mains Ethernet connection and get it wired with basic Ethernet cables before messing around with switches and posh Ethernet cables.
Have you experimented with using wifi? I ask as the devices that use the mains to transmit ethernet signals pollute the mains and can seriously degrade the sound.
I was surprised when I heard this in my system, I connected a new sky router that can use the mains to link to an extender. It really flattened the sound but at first I couldn’t work out what had happened. It was only a couple of months later that I was having problems with my ipad that I re installed the old router again.
When I next listened to the hifi I thought wow it sounds much better than it has for a while. After a day or two of this I twigged that it was due to the old router being re installed. I tried the new router again to prove this and hey presto, it killed the sound.
No need - just get the mconnect app. I used it to get qobuz onto an NDX. Bargain for a fiver or thereabouts
Whilst I bought my NDS from new I am pleased that so many people have bought them 2nd hand. For sure, they were pre-loved and are good value now.
Mine does not get as much use as my Unitiqutes, purely I spend more time in my kitchen / study / bedroom listening to music via Roon. But I would not trade it in. Significant, but incremental improvements came from migrating from a NAS to a dedicated music server, and by changing my NETGEAR switch for a Cisco 2960.
Good idea. I’ll look into using mconnect first, as soon as I figure out how to get Qobuz in Canada. I believe there’s roundabout VPN method.
Thanks.
What exactly does this mean? Don’t you need bubble UPnP and a computer of sorts and Roon to get Qobuz?
No. I had one ndx (not a 2). A qobuz subscription for my nd555. And the mconnect app on my iPhone somehow made qobuz work on my ndx. No idea of the technicalities - it seems to act as some kind of intermediary between qobuz and the ndx 
The system is on a different floor to the router just now. It’ll move onto the same floor soon and I’ll look at running a direct cable then. My NDS came without the Wi-Fi aerial so it’s my only means of connecting at the moment unfortunately.
Could someone explain in layman’s term what adding a switch between the router and streamer actually does to improve things?