When I went ndx2/555psdr to full ND555 it was a bigger improvement than going 52 to 552dr and going from 135s to 500dr.
More sparkle to high frequencies and overall more organic sound.
Only negative was that earlier this year a din relay failed and had to send it for repair so was without my streamer for 6 weeks. It was under warranty so no cost to me.
I’m using Chord Sarum T to connect ND555 to 552. A subtle upgrade over the lavender interconnect.
Not cheap…… but u only live once 
David
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I also went from NDX2/555ps to ND555. World of difference which it should be considering the price difference. Never regretted the upgrade but of course with Naim’s clever structure I’m now thinking of a second power supply. I should never have joined this site!
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Be interesting to hear where the NSS 333 sits in the range when released.
I like my NDS / 555DR and it’s a big jump to ND 555.
Gary
So, here we are once more…
There’s a clearance sale of all Naim stock in Australia/New Zealand. 40% off everything, and a ND555 is available. Some question as to whether Naim will stay in the local market though after this.
Obviously, only I can decide on the value proposition. It’s still a lot for me, but manageable. Current set up is Core/NDX2/555 DR/552 DR/300 DR. Demo not available. I’d simply swap out the NDX2 for the ND555 and move on the NDX2 and the fancy XPS Burndy.
So, I guess the question for me is, would this be a substantial upgrade, or a more modest improvement. My streaming setup is fully optimised (EE8, Farad 3 and exotic cables).
A 500 DR is not on the horizon - too big to set up in my system and the 300 DR drives the Totem Forest Signatures effortlessly.
Seeking comments from my trusted Naimites and @Gazza, @frenchrooster.
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For me ND555 sounds significant better than NDX2, even with a 555PS, but not enough to justify the price. Only you can decide if the reduced price is makes it worthwhile.
(……or just be honest with yourself and admit that you’re going to get it anyway 
)
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Hi Mike. That was my NDS that sold recently on TradeMe. I won’t go into detail, but my head’s been spinning with this whole Naim debacle down here and I’ve also seen the ATA deals and wondered too…
It’s a hard call to keep investing in Naim in these times. It may all turn out ok, but it might not (and it’s not sounding particularly good). Naim could well be gone for good and with it any easy/qualified back up/servicing. Was talking to a local dealer this week who said exactly the same scenario happened with Quad - good distributor dumped for one promising the earth. Gone ever since.
Do you really enjoy your music now? This forum creates so much temptation - resist the forces. You might end up being like me in a few years and wish you’d kept things simple…and had just as much enjoyment.
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Yes, very much so, and could happily stay here. It’s just the temptation and opportunity, but as you say:
And that certainly warrants some caution, so I’ve put it on “pause” until tomorrow.
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I had in my mind decided to buy the ndx2 based on a few nd555 demos with a lot of other people around. In fact i had totally discounted it…….until the last track that Jason Gould played at Signal’s my dealer. It was a high res track from wish you were here…….it sounded rather special.
So i had my own demo and went through the ndx2 with xpsdr and then a 555ps. I then stupidly played the nd555…….it literally only took a few notes from the piano of Dr John. I immediately said to Alistair at Signals “bugger”, i have got to buy this. It just sounded so much more like a real piano than i had ever heard. No regrets, its a wonderful streamer.
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Yes, yes, that’s all very nice. But what about rock music 
Anyway, the warranty and support issues have been answered, so the decision has less factors now….
Well it rocks it too……which is my main staple. You will love it if you decide to jump.
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Our dealer always told us the ND555 only makes any sense with a 552.
You’ve already got that, so if you can justify the spend why not go for it!
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In what order did you make those three changes?
You know already it will be a very nice uplift. If it’s a bargain for you, not sure a lot will appear soon in your country again. So go .
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@Mike_S I listen to a lot of extreme metal, its probably most of my listening these days and the way the ND555 makes this type of music utterly legible is incredible. What was previously a wall of sound is now music presented ‘normally’ instrument separation, the ability to hear and follow different instruments and vocals of the throat variety being far easier to understand. This is the extreme end of ‘Rock’ music but the ND555 has never come unstuck whatever I throw at it. Never has it felt like its struggling. I have been to a lot of live shows and was always after that ‘live’ sound from my own HiFi system and now when I come back from a show I am always without fail utterly blown away by my own system. Live reproduction used to be my aspiration but now its that live shows sound as good as my music at home!
I listen to almost all genres of music but non tax and challenge like the extremes of Black and Death Metal. I have tried some of these ‘super Dac/Streamer’ offerings that some members wax lyrical about and for me they are amazing with Classical & Jazz and well recorded albums BUT the ND555 takes extremely complex and lower dynamic range recordings and makes them sound fantastic as well. I don’t listen to the HiFi I listen to music and a fair chunk of what I listen to is far from perfectly recorded and the ND555 makes all of it make sense. For a music lover it is imo as good as it gets and at the discounts mentioned above it should be a consideration if anything above makes sense to you!
If you pay attention to some of the advocates of the ND555 the thing you will notice is they all seem to have a very specific musical preference and to them the presentation of the music NEEDS to be faithful to the instrument being reproduced. Words like timbre & tone crop up. For impressing yourself and friends I am sure there are better options for the same money but if you love music I would guess at the buying price you may end up with the best upgrade you have made to date. CD555 to ND555 was a bigger jump than 282 to 552 and 300 to 500 by a decent margin. The CD555 was amazing as well!
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I can’t give you any insight on the sound of an NDX2/555DR but I have owned an ND555 and two 555DR supplies for little over a week now. I was lucky that the ND and one supply were acquired at a pretty reasonable price - something I’ve been trying hard to justify for a very long time. Up until this point I’d been using a Node with Ndac, plus 555DR supply and been very happy with the sound, having previously come from a CDP555.
To be honest I’ve been a little shocked at just how good the ND555 truly is. It’s completely thrown me with regard to how it re-interprets music. Well known tracks seem much more complex, richer in detail, better timed and have a tension that didn’t seem to exist before. There’s a whole new level of realism to instrument timbre and vocal inflections I’ve not heard before. It’s like you suddenly understand the phrasing of a chord and what the musicians are trying to do together. It can be somewhat disturbing at times. A real emotional trip for those lucky enough to afford it! I just wish I’d made the move a bit earlier as it’s shown me what a 500 system still has to give. Source first certainly still seems the right way to go!
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You’re making me really want an ND555 now! I also listen to a lot of “noise” (SWMBO’s description 
)
When we added 555PSDR to the nDAC it really did make a massive difference to the interpretation of this music. Sounds like ND555 takes this to the next level.
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52 to 552
135s to 500
Ndx2/555ps to nd555
All 500 kit are dr
David
I have said a few times the ND555 is “better” than what has gone before (NDS, NDX2) but the margin of better was never justifiable by the price. My NDS has little value in relative terms of trading in against a nd555 hence I live with my NDS.
Buying because it’s “ a deal “ is not always a wise strategy and with new boxes coming out later in the year who knows if deals of today will look good in 12 months time.
Naim is pretty good reliability wise but over the years I have had issues and without my dealer / HQ I would have left me with an expensive door stop!
Buying Naim whilst they roll out new products can be tricky to navigate the opportunities - buy what you want not what’s cheap and then the old phrase of “price is soon forgotten if quality remains”
I guess only a demo in your home will tell you if it makes sense to proceed?
Gary
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At that time, your amp had already opened the door very wide for the ND’s virtues to shine through.
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What system do you now have?