Title says it all, do people put their streamer in standby or leave it permanently on? My amp is never turned off and I am doing the same with my NDX 2.
Any reason to change my habits?
I leave mine on standby when not in use. I just wake it up via the Naim app. Itâs always powered up in any case as itâs connected to the 555PSDR. I leave my system on and only power down if going away or in case of a storm.
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That makes sense since you are using another PS. I believe that the NDX 2 uses a linear PS for standby with the standard PS coming into play only when powered on.
The NDX2 has an SMPS for standby.
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I have recently been switching my ND555 to standby when not in use and had convinced myself that doing so overcame the album art freeze problem. But this is not the case as today I had another freeze. Oh well, I canât really detect any audio deterioration by switching to standby, so I guess Iâll continue.
Same here, also on a 555prsdr, the app only takes a few seconds the get music it going again. To switch off I change to a optical input the blueray (no disk playing) is attached to and then it auto shuts down after 15 mins of inactivity.
Presume with the ND555, the main power supply will always be running, so would not expect a material change in sound quality, but for the NDX2 would the main transformer not need to warm up again?
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Yes, unless you are using an external power supply.
But this standby capability is just to meet European regs. If you want peak sound quality from the moment you want to start listening then you should leave all these new streamers and all-in-one Unitis switched fully on permanently like with the âlegacyâ equipmentâŚ
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This is my line of thinking too.
Thanks. I should have said switched mode rather than linear.
Mine goes to stand by, I seem to remember Naim telling a few of us that when the NDX2 is in standby, certain crucial circuits are kept powered for optimum power on replay. I assume with full power off then it will take time for the NDX2 to come on song again,⌠but I never fully switch off.
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I have mine go to standby after an hour. I only use Roon with it and pressing play in the Roon app wakes it up again.
Mine goes to stand-by, SN2 is always powered on.
The standby capability is there to meet European Code of Conduct compliance for energy consumption.
I think you also need to balance common sense and pursuit of perfection at times. I doubt very much there is any measurable difference in what comes out your speakers whether it goes in to standby or not.
Personally I set mine to 30 minutes to minimise any impact of wait times as I move between tasks and return to listening to music.
Leaving something like a power or pre amplifier on all the time does make sense not just for Naim equipment, for a source like a CD player or streamer it wonât make much difference either way, I think it comes down to habit mostly and if you personally feel it makes a difference or sounds better youâre going to leave it on 24/7 regardless of whether that is measurable or follows any common sense rules 
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Many thanks to you all for the responses. If I have counted correctly that is 7 in favour of standby, 1 in favour of leaving it on and 2 saying that there is or shouldnât be any difference.
I tend to leave mine on at the moment as it is now only the 5th day in my possession from brand new but will probably end up putting it in standby sometimes and not bothering at other times. I control it almost exclusively from my ipad as the NDX 2 is in a cupboard in another room so it will probably depend on whether I remember to switch to stanby!
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If you hide it away in a cupboard might have made sense to go for the ND5? I believe sonically theres not much in it considering the price differential
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Thanks Hollow, I did have the ND5 XS 2 for a few weeks and it is a great streamer. However, the DAC is better in the NDX 2 and also the supporting circuitry. It is the DAC, implementation circuitry (and power supply) that make the most difference to sound so to me the upgrade is well worth it.
I accept that I am paying a fair amount for a display that I hardly use but I have used it with the remote a few times when setting up something to play quietly through the night (still âburning inâ). If the display was the only factor then I would obviously not have upgraded.
Even allowing for the additional cabinet weight with the NDX 2 being slightly larger, the NDX 2 is 3.4kg heavier than the ND5 XS 2. The display will not count for much of that weight so there must be additional circuitry (transformer?) upgrades as well.
Is it worth almost ÂŁ3k more? Yes to me because I do not want to go down the multiple boxes and additional power supplys route so it is the best Naim source that I can afford and will hopefully last for many years.
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Having heard both, the NDX2 is much better than the ND5 XS2, as one would hope for the price.
Best
David
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others have described it as a subtle difference but you say âmuch betterâ ? Are you wearing a marketing hat by any chance? Unfortunately I cant audition for myself
Not sure what you mean when you say a âmarketing hatâ. I donât sell Naim equipment or work for Naim if that is what you are suggesting.
The difference between them is in no way subtle, but everyone has to make their own decision. All I am saying is that if I were buying one then it wouldnât be the ND5 XS2 (and I donât care about the display one way or the other). So I completely understand why someone would buy an NDX2 even if it were going to live in a cupboard out of sight.
Best
David
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