NDS - power alternatives

Hi-Fi Corner
1

About to get NDS.

Can someone please point me to the right direction in terms of managing the power alternatives for NDS and other Naim devices.

Existing setup:

CDS3/XPS2 (non DR)
Ndac/555PS(non DR) < planning to sell Ndac after getting NDS

Question after getting NDS

  1. can I use one of the two burndy connections from 555PS to support both NDS and CDS3 simultaneously ? and sell the XPS2 also ?
  2. should I power the NDS with both burndy cables and keep the CDS3/XPS2(non DR) ?

Many thanks in advance.

XPS
XPS1057Ă—701 83.4 KB

2

No you cant use the 555ps to power 2 different bits of kit, just use both outputs of the 555ps on the nds

3
  1. No.
  2. Yes.
4

As others have said 1. no and. 2. yes

But…
I must admit I think you could run output one of the 555 into input 1 of the NDS and use the NDS plug in socket 2
This would make the 555 a glorified XPS
I can think of no reason why anyone would do this?

6

Thanks all.

Follow up question:

If a used NDS and 250DR cost the same, which one would you pick ?
Please do not suggest upgrading PRE. That is not an option and have no interest in doing that at this point.

Thanks again.

Existing setup:
CDS3/XPS2 (non DR)
Ndac/555PS(non DR)
202/200(non DR)

7

Do you have a Hicap? If not, the 202 won’t work with a 250. Anyway, the 202/250 is not a happy combination, so it looks like the NDS either way.

1 Like
8

Source first. The NDS is a network player.

What are you presently driving the DAC with?
Do you have local stored music, or are you looking to start ripping your CDs
Are you setting a Roon environment?

9

I am thinking using the NDS to replace the Ndac given the the cost for a used NDS has come down a lot.

Source is either PC Audirvana out (Toslink) or NAS (Synology).

Somehow I just feel that the NDS vs. Ndac/555PS would not produce a huge improvement. I hope I am wrong. Has anyone taken this path before ?

Please enlighten me.

10

Your choice, of course, but if sound quality is your priority, neglecting the preamp would be a mistake in my opinion, and will hold the rest of your system back. Your source is good enough to justify any of the higher level Naim preamps from 282 to 552.

11

Once you have an NDS you can sell the CDP and XPS and trade the 202/200 for a 282/250

1 Like
12

So you can run Asset on the NAS and stream to the NDS through UPnP, which will be better then from a PC (will ignore the Toslink as is the worse digital connection).
This is then a path to a Roon environment, with a small Roon core & SonoreUPnP bridge to the NDS. This way to get support for all formats, better Tidal integration than Naim app, Qobuz support, MQA support (1st unfold) and the best UI to manage and explore your music.

Alternatively you could look at a Bridge product that has a good S/PDIF output into the DAC. However good ones are expensive, and DIY ones with RaspberryPI and add-on boards look ugly IMO.

I can recommend an NDS, which I use with a 555DR and the SonoreUPnP bridge as a Roon Enpoint.
However the DAC technology in the Naim DAC, the NDS and the ND555 is all based on the same technology & DAC chips. The ND555 uses a later SHARC device and a later Streamer board.

14

I did the reverse - I went from a NDS to NDac/555PSDR. Had the NDS for over 2 years but it just didn’t keep me engrossed with the music. Don’t miss the NDS at all. Very happy with the NDac/555PSDR.

15

I heard similar comment on this Naim forum before, which leads me to believe that the money spent might not be as worth it as I thought…

That said, I am not getting CD555 or ND555. My upgrade path is very limited at this point if I close the door for PRE due to personal reasons.

16

What’s unhappy about it? I had exactly that for a while and I was very happy with it. I eventually upgraded to 282 (and beyond that later) but there was nothing about 202/HC/250 that I would call an unhappy combination. Certainly not optimal as the 282 upgrade later on brought huge gains and is better match for 250, but I enjoyed it quite a lot.

With that said, I would think upgrade to 282/200 has more benefit than 202/250. The 282 is rather special.

17

Having had a CDS2 and XPS, and an ND5XS with a DAC at the same time, once I got the NDS with 555PS I sold on the CDS2 and XPS and the ND5XS and DAC.

I ripped all my CDs and then didn’t see the point of having the CDS2 and XPS.

So I think in your situation I’d make the change to NDS and see how you get on. You may decide you don’t need the CDS3 and XPS.

This could then free up funds for improving your pre/power amp combination to a 282 with 250.

One stage at a time and see what you think.

2 Likes
18

May I ask what specific device did you use to rip your CDs? Did you experience any degradation in terms of quality ?

thanks.

19

I asked about 250DR because there’s one available at a reasonable price, but unfor "Do you have a Hicap? If not, the 202 won’t work with a 250. " < I did not know this. I thought 202/NAPSC can work with 250DR directly, no ?

20

The 250 needs a hicap and napsc as a minimum to work with the 202.

21

No, a 250 cannot power a pre-amp. A HiCap or SuperCap is required

22

NAPSC is optional, but recommneded for a 202. For a 282 you have to have one and 282’s are supplied with a NAPSC as standard