if you buy used - do get a guarantee or warranty , as those pesky output relays do fail from time to time. Probably best get from a dealer where you can assure that.
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Very sensible- sometimes this forum would have you believe that one accepts that great hi fi costs thousands and, in this situation, £3600 is a bargain for a streaming device that is near the end of its product cycle, I think a new £3.6k ndx2 could cost £2k over the next few years in depreciation, which to me is a mad waste of wealth if u r lucky enough to afford it. In your shoes I’d use and enjoy your ndx until you find an upgrade you are certain will be worth investing in and know will do everything you want rather than second guessing and having to ask others’ opinions being somewhat in the dark as you are at the moment . If I have spare cash in your boots I may look for a good used Ndac which with the ndx as a streaming transport will give a noticeable uplift in sq - the ndac can be upgraded further with an external power source AND I am confident I can get my cash back down stream when I eventually find and buy that perfect stand alone streaming device. The ndac is a better dac than that of the ndx2 and would cost under £1k which when u eventually find your perfect upgrade you can use towards its cost by selling your ndac …
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It’s not just better or worse, they’re quite different in sound signature, without a comparison it’s not that easy to assume what will fit better
No doubt ndac is a bargain these days
It’s a fair price for Ndx2 which put it in competition with Teac 701 and Aurender a1000. 6k always seemed a bit to much for me as you can get a used Dave+simple transport which will outperform NDX2 (I know used vs new is never a fair thing but that’s a reality of a hi-fi market)
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kind of - DAVE really responds positively to a quality digital streamer … The NDX2 with the latest firmware is stellar into the DAVE. Lesser/simple streamers sound great with DAVE - but it goes to the next level with a good quality streamer as I can hear… and it seems churlish to not use best the digital output streamer you can acquire into DAVE so you can enjoy the full benefits of that remarkable DAC
The so called ‘transport’ elements of a digital streamer are kind of only part of the story
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I agree but ndx2+dave are not 6k
In what way is the NDac not a better DAC than that inside the NDX2? It just is. The NDac has arguably the best selected DAC chips, does not suffer background noise of the additional (non DAC) electronic components inside the multifunctional NDX2 and shares much of its architecture with Naim top shelf products. Sound signature is subjective, the structure and components difference is objective and fact.
Not too shabby with the ND5XS2 feeding a DAVE 
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I am sure it sounds pretty excellent…
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It’s somewhat warmer and slower, better in terms of timbre though
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Cheers, will do.
Normally buy used gear from Tom Tom, Acoustica, Cymbiosis etc etc so should be ok.
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If it were that simple then the 333 would be at the ND5XS2 level. It uses the same exact DAC chip. The DAC chip is only a small part of the sound you end up with. The nDAC and NDX 2 are good at different things.
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I am not saying it is simple, I do think that the DAC chip plays a more significant role in the sound you end up with than you seem to suggest. I would agree that it plays only a part in the sound - which is why other aspects of the NDac raise it above many other Naim products that have digital to audio function. If, as you write, the NDac and NDX2 are good at different things then it follows that the NDac is good at being a DAC as this is its only function, whereas the NDX2 is good at other things instead?
Ordered the ndx2 from sevenoaks ! They had a deal going for an ex demo unit 3249, full warranty should be here soon and will report back
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Absolute bargain, only twice the cost of a used ND5XS2.
Enjoy!
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Arguably, yes. But it’s not just the DAC chip, it’s the whole package (design, ancillary circuitry, etc).
my goodness - what price then for an earlier used NDX2?? In my trade profit is comfortable even when prices are dramatically cut in ‘sales’ campaigns or when selling off ‘demo stock’ - makes you wonder how much a new NDX2 costs the dealer… and ‘ex dem’ is a sales method used to justify a hefty price discount on sealed box items as well as on actual demo stock (on which the dealer always makes a profit). This behaviour can kill perceived brand value - imagine having recently bought a new NDX2 for over £6k.
Nice. I’m sure you will enjoy it very much for years to come. I’ve had my NDX 2 for four years now (albeit with an external PSU) , and in no way have i gotten itchy feet yet. It’s a very capable player indeed. Forget about all this DAC chip nonsense, it’s meaningless. When you hear the player in situ over your NDX, you’ll hear what i mean. Looking forward to your review. Enjoy!
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Although the DAC chip(s) does play a part, the key character of the audio is, I believe, is the i2v converter circuitry and analogue output low pass filter, and to a subtler extent the SHARC processor and its noise profile as well as reconstruction filter.
Naim streamers disable the chip reconstruction filters, and the filter is provided instead by the SHARC ahead of the converters.
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Merry Xmas all, got the new ndx2 v v impressed by the uplift. Cleaner tighter bass , better soundstage . All round great upgrade!
Thanks for the inputs!
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