I have NDX 1 and think about upgrade ,which option is better,buying Ndac or XPS ?
Ndac
4 Likes
12 years ago I had a 252/SCDR/300 system with S400.
I tested the following
- NDX (Twonky on Mac Mini)
- NDX + XPS
- NDAC + XPS (Mac Mini with AudirvÄna and Wireworld supernova 6 Toslink)
- NDX + NDAC/XPS
- NDX/XPS + NDAC
Variety of tracks, usual criteria, sound stage, separation, tonality, sense of rhythm.
Frankly the NDX in any guise brought nothing to the party and the NDAC/XPS with Mac mini alone was much better. Surprisingly even when used as a source for the NDAC the NDX was not as good as a computer and toslink.
My advice would be to sell the NDX, and look at a modern streamer/DAC, or an NDAC with a streamer.
Added - the star is the NDAC/XPS - even now - just need to get streaming into it.
4 Likes
I agree with you Brendan
Sell the NDX 1
The NDX2 with XPSDR ( or XPS2 which I have) is a fantastic combo
I also have the NDAC - contrary to lots here the NDX2 DAC may pip it at the post
2 Likes
I agree, sell the NDX, get a Linderman bridge and Ndac, it will be a massive upgrade for maybe 1k or less.
1 Like
Depends what youāre after. The original NDX isnāt the last word in finesse but it is very musical if set up correctly. The old forum had a lot of discussions about adding an nDAC versus and XPSdr and the consensus wasnāt actually clear.
While the nDAC vastly improved the resolution and crispness of the NDX, it was very much a ābetter digital sourceā. Whereas many also preferred the XPSdr without adding the nDAC which cleared up the presentation a bit while still leaving the NDX sound signature in place. An NDX with an XPSdr is one of Naimās least digital sounding digital sources. Itās very smooth and analogue sounding. Not like vinyl but maybe like reel-to-reel.
I probably wouldnāt bother using a Naim streamer as just a transport. Iād be more inclined to evaluate an XPSdr versus a totally different arrangement with no NDX at all. Like NDX2 (bare) or nDAC plus a dedicated quality transport.
FWIW, I find the old NDX/XPSdr combo set up carefully for local streaming to be thoroughly charming and am quite happy to keep it as my main source. Despite having more resolving DACs in other systems.
3 Likes
For me it depends upon where you want to end up and whether you are prepared to accept a 3 box streaming solution. If so, possibly the best VFM (and relatively futureproof) would be to get both an NDAC and an XPS and use these with your NDX. If you can get only one of the two now I would get the NDAC first for no other reason than I think that these will get more difficult to obtain long before the XPS. If you then decide you want a newer streaming platform you could get an ND5XS2 (or a non Naim streamer) to replace the NDX. I did something similar with an ND5XS (now an ND5XS2) an NDAC and an XP5XS - works well and sounds great.
Neither. I would spend my money on better cables for the NDX or go for a CD555PS for it. Iāve had the Ndac and XPSDR with the NDX and it sounded best alone until I added a 555PS.
I donāt have money to buy new NDX 2 .
In my country second hand Ndac cost 1200 eur and CD 555 PS is 3900 eur
Iām slightly curious as to when and why the NDX became so unloved, when it used to be so highly regarded.
When I bought my NDX I auditioned it vs the DAC and felt that the NDX outperformed the DAC in a network audio environment (i.e. being fed by an ethernet network connection), which is what the NDX was designed and optimised for.
2 Likes
Hi Chris, yes me too, the NDX is a nice player, I love mine and it will be with me until a house move and a whole system change, (except my NAT)
Yes the 2nd gen players are better, and so they should be, but nothing like the extent some posts seem to indicate. Hints of hyperbole ā¦ā¦ or whatever
2 Likes
I think because it can be quite system sensitive. For a while I ran NDX into nDAC/XPS DR in one system as a test. It didnāt sound good at all compared to the CD5 XS it temporarily replaced. But when I put back into second system Nait XS2 with XPSDR only, it was an amazing combo.
For its time, the NDX was a great playerā¦ I loved mine for many years. I used mine to drive a NDAC/555PSā¦ and later a Chord Hugo.
The areas of weakness on the NDX (and the same for NDS) is the limited performance of the BridgeCo network bridge module that meant streaming non lossy media over the Internet was often troublesome and limited at best to 44.1/16. Secondly the display faded overtime to the point of being unreadableā¦ and was not trivial cost to replace.
But its strength was it had better automation, and could propely control a Naim CDP, which the later streamers canāt.
1 Like
I tend to agree with this. I currently have an NDX 2 on loan. Initial impressions are that the SQ is better (especially from streaming services such as Tidal) but I feel that Naim took a step backwards in terms of the usability of the product. Iām slowly getting my head around it but the following really irk:
- The Owners Manual is woefully inadequate.
- Lack of configurability of the Home Screen, where most of the functionality is irrelevant to me.
- Why canāt I choose what to display on the screen during playback?
- Why canāt I select my UnitiServe as a source from the NDX 2?
- Why does the Naim logo switch off in standby mode?
- The remote also bugged me for a while but I am getting used to it, but gloss black is never a good choice for something that is designed to be used.
I never had a problem with my NDX playing non-lossy media via the internet (although the NDX 2 is definitely better in terms of SQ) and had my display replaced a few years back for a reasonable amount. Iām going to switch back to my NDX tomorrow and see how I feel and take things from there.
I agree with most of what you say, but there should be no problem accessing a Unitiserve (or any other UPnP server) from your NDX2. In this respect itās pretty much identical to the old NDX other than that you canāt do it with that nasty remote control, you use the app.
The only way I can do it is via the app. It doesnāt show up as a source on the unit itself. A Google search seems to confirm this. Unless I am missing something in how I have set it up?
No, the Server, Tidal and Qobuz inputs can only be controlled by the app. The 3-way app/streamer/server comms work differently on the 2nd gen streamers so using the remote isnāt possible. Horrible thing anyway, I left mine in the box.
No, the Server, Tidal and Qobuz inputs can only be controlled by the app.
This is what I am saying, I cannot select these sources on the unit itself. It is a backward step in functionality as far as I am concerned.
Iām actually getting used to the remote. Itās nice and simple (although the gloss black was a terrible decision). While I liked the NDX remote I rarely used it.
To my mind the app is the remote, so the nasty shiny plastic brick doesnāt really bother me (beyond the fact that I had to pay for the thing) as I would never use it. Shame though, given that the 1st gen streamers had a really good remote for those who wanted it.
1 Like
This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.