As I went down the rabbit hole of understanding Naim’s ecosystem I bought a lot of components not knowing much. What I have left is the NDS and the power supply. I don’t want to add more boxes for example getting a discontinued preamp with another external power supply. So first question: is it worth getting another preamp of another manufacturer to pair with the NDS and any suggestions which would have good synergy? Second, should I just sell the power supply and give away the NDS? Thanks for your input.
Hi David. Thanks for responding. Yeah, I ended up going full-on 500 series. Dual PSU for the ND555, 552, and 500 DR. So I have the NDS and CD555PS as leftovers. I don’t know what to do with them. The 500 series is in my studio/office and at home I wanted a more compact system and went with a Lumin T2 with the JS-2 PSU with Buchardt A10s connected with XLRs.
I see what you mean. joasop. As the NDS is a doorstop without a PS, maybe selling them together would be good. But giving to someone who could add a PS when they can … even a different, cheaper, PS initially, would be a nice gesture.
If you can live with its limitations in terms of connectivity, the NDS/555 is still a brilliant streamer. If you partner it with a decent amp it could be part of a great system, even with a decent integrated. I’m not the world’s biggest fan of the Supernait, but with an NDS in front of it, you would still have a great 3 box system, or there are plenty of non-Naim integrated amps that would work well if you don’t want a big stack of boxes.
Too all I don’t mean to change the topic for a second, but I have a question that when looking I could not find an answer for on the forum elsewhere.
I am getting a new 2024 nd555 and was wondering if it would be a wrong move to used it with a 2014 cd555 ps being it’s a 10 year old ps, Will the sound quality of a player of this age match up well with a new triple 5 ?
It should sound good, even very good, apart if the 555 ps is very hardly used. Normally the service of it is between 10 to 15 years .
The service is around 1k if I remember well.
For my home living room stereo, I went with a Lumin T2, UpTone JS-2 PSU, Sonictransporter 1st Gen, and an opticalModule all feeding the active Buchardt A10s via XLR. I going to try connecting the NDS via RCA to the Platin Hub that sends the signal out via WISA wirelessly to the speakers and see how that fairs. I will use the Sonictransporter UPnP to the NDS. We will see how it goes.
I have a NDS/555PSDR feeding a Supernait 3+Hicap DR. I do not have the space for seperate pre and power and their psu.
I have never listened to any other streamer/amp combinations: Naim or other manufacturers.
I do not feel that I am missing anything, so do not have yearning/itch to change or upgrade.
YMMV of course.
Keep it for sure! I just picked up one and a PS for my office system and love it. Certainly has some quirks to work through to stream tidal, but easy from my Core. I think it sounds fantastic and an incredible bargain for the sound it produces. I have it into an Alluxity Int One Mark II but going back to separates with a 250/282 later this week
I plugged it in yesterday after getting it back from repair. The front panel burnt out and they replaced it with a newer design which I think might be OLED but not sure. I have to admit after getting to working with Roon and the SonicTransporter it was sublime. I really love the warmth and dynamics of the Naim sound. I have a 500 series in my creative studio and it’s just a great match from work to home. I am going to keep it after all and sell my 272+CD 555PS and NAP 250-2. The NDS and 555 DR are going into active speakers.
Best idea that, just keep it and use it.
You are certainly going to struggle to find as good a dac at what it’s worth, just work around the streaming problems.
The last few i have seen for sale have struggled to sell, also below £1500 just nds only. I have even thought about buying one again to use in the other room, total bargain.
Hi Dunc. I did a quick sound test and found that Roon connecting to the NDS (UPnP - using a sonicTransporter i3 gen 1) via RCA (Nordost Blue Haven Flatline) to the Platin Hub (the hub connects wirelessly via WISA to the active speakers Buchardt A10s) compared to Roon going directly to the Platin Hub again wirelessly WISA to the speakers had no difference. I wonder if it’s because of the hub where no matter where the signal is coming from, the hub signal to the speakers becomes ‘normalized’. The only way to connect hardwired to active speakers is to use XLR cables. This is what I was doing before with the T2 Lumin to the speakers. XLR to XLR. Maybe if I found some RCA to XLR cables I would hear a difference. The search for maxing out the sound quality with the gear I have continues. I really want to keep the Naim gear but if it sounds almost the same as without it then I can’t justify keeping it.
