It’s seems pretty poor for a high end product and must suck profitability.
I purchased this today. I had it for a 30-day audition. I’ve been playing it for two weeks and decided to keep it. So now I’m at NDX2/282/HCDR/250DR/Fraim(x2). That’ll have to do for a while now, lest I find myself single again.
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Just ordered my NDX2 last week, cannot wait. Its a BIG step up from my new ND5XS2
Enjoy
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Congratulations. Your current system is not a bad place to be. In terms of electronics, at least, its very similar to my own. Im sticking with mine for a while. Next purchase will be new cartridge for LP12.
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Interesting, I am sure you enjoy. At a Naim listening session, I felt the differences between ND5XS2 and NDX2 were quite subtle, sure there was a difference but quite subtle, it was more presentational rather than intrinsic quality , … the big thing with the NDX2 is the changeable PSUs to suit taste and the display/control.
The ND5XS2 is very special… Naim focussed on optimising the SQ by reducing the display and control electronics out of the budget… i got the impression Naim were hugely pleased with what they achieved by doing this… ie SQ well above its price point, at the cost of less display and manual control.
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The adagium ‘Less is More’ applies to so many things in life!
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Could not agree more, my ND5XS2 is indeed an amazing machine, but as you say, I did notice a better presentation, on the NDX2 and on some tracks, more cleaner and better sounding. I will probs run with display off most of the time, but what also made me take the plunge was the optional upgrade path with a PSU. Looking forward to it already.
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interesting insight, at around twice the price its a lot to pay for a display and controls. I’m considering the NDX2 but i actually generally just listen to Tidal and the radio and most likely would never add a PSU, in reality probably an overkill for the money. Now that I can switch off the display on my Nova I’ll see how I get on without it and maybe the ND5 makes more sense
You really cannot go wrong with the ND5, excellent machine.
I suppose the bigger question is whether an ND5 paired with an SN2 is a justified step up from a Nova?
Get you with your Latin words!
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I also have the SN2 and its going to sound amazing with the NDX2, which is what I had on my demo
B
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I have extracted this little snippet from a really favourable review via https://www.avforums.com/review/naim-nd5-xs2-network-audio-player-review.16022
“Combining that sweet and inviting tonal lift with the sheer clout that makes a Naim product what it is, represents a useful step forward over what has gone before. Combined with the Supernait 2, the ND5 XS2 will outperform a Uniti Nova although, at an additional £1,350 with fewer digital inputs, we should probably expect nothing less.”
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mind you the same review has this to say…
‘‘Against this lurk two issues. The first is that the Uniti Nova and Star really do get pretty close to the performance of the dedicated streamer. Were it my own money (and it isn’t because I don’t have any), I don’t know if I could ignore the saving to the Nova or Star unless I had a bigger room and confidence that further upgrades would follow. The second is I’d have more confidence in this belief if the control functionality was a little less Spartan. Living with the ND5 XS2 has had just enough moments of frustration at certain points to have me looking slightly wistfully at its ancestor with its display and remote.’’
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I listened to both the ND5 XS 2 and NDX 2 in a number of different system configurations with the target being a new streamer to pair against a system driven by a SN2 + HiCap DR.
I was prepared to stretch to an NDX 2 if I felt it added sufficient enjoyment over and above what the ND5 XS 2 had to offer.
The decider for me was hearing a run in demo ND5 fed in to a NAC552 + NAP500 DR system in turn driving Focal Grande Utopia speakers. The point my dealer was trying to make here was that even in a system where the ND5 was punching well above its weight, it performed very well.
We also sampled a number of sources including a Melco N1A and a vanilla LAN setup streaming from a local NAS and the Internet, this again revealed subtle differences which gave me more metrics to make a decision from. We also then switched back and forth between the same sources and the ND5 against a ND555 with 2x 555 PS DR (annoyingly good as expected) and my conclusion was that the ND5 did a very good job across a broad range of setups.
I’ve been running it for a few months now and been very happy with it so far. I had a bare Gen 1 ND5 previously which I enjoyed a lot and had in a NAIT XS system, however the current setup is a lot more composed and controlled and for my modest needs more than capable.
I think for others it will mostly come down to budget in the end, I would have spent the money on an NDX 2 but in my case the conclusion was I got what I felt I needed from a streamer from the ND5 XS 2 and so far it hasn’t disappointed.
Their design approach and focus on sound output has really paid off here and for me the minimalist feature set is on the money, I don’t miss a front panel display and rarely use the NARCOM from the SN2 as the Naim app on iOS ticks all the boxes including automation.
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Useful info there, so when you automate the ND5 and SN2 what do you see on the app - have you a numerical vol control or just a slider or how does it work?
I hate the volume control on the Naim app, at least for my 282. It’s just a set of ± buttons with no visual feedback that they are doing anything.
@Hollow
You enable system automation in the Naim app and the volume control becomes a - and a + with a Mute button. It works much as it does with the NARCOM RCU in that the 3.5mm minijack connection between the ND5 XS 2 and the SN2 is just bridging the IR commands ordinarily received by the RCU anyway. The light on the SN2 volume control lights up when you change volume and the volume from the speakers is my guide of where I want it to be, I don’t personally feel I need any more than that. I tend to just tap it up to get it where I want it or hold it to go down to minimum volume as needed (if I join a conference call for work for example or it’s dinner time)
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I know you mentioned this before, and it’s slightly off topic, but would you recommend the HiCap DR as an upgrade for the SN2, and what does it add. I run mine with NDX2 as I needed a screen and buttons for family use (an App would be a steep to far for my wife…).
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Same …wife and tech just dont mix, she even uses her phone upside down 
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