I think you’d be hard pushed to tell the difference.
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Hey FR, maybe the circuit board on the left is larger just to support the color screen? Lol …
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Hm, in which case, you might just as well sell the NDX2 for an ND5 XS2, and put the money towards an even better DAC - assuming another DAC was the way you were going.
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The reason of the freezing probably 
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How would you describe the difference between the two?
Yes, if you need extra funds to put towards the DAC of your dreams that would make sense.
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Pretty much yes… you may find a small difference, but I suspect might be hard pushed to give a preference. But ultimately the NDX2 is theoretically a more performant transport.
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Hi Simon, can you comment the two inside pictures above, of Ndx2 and Nd5xs2? Post 20.
The right parts seem to be similar. The left is much bigger on the Ndx2.
I’ve put a Qutest on both and didn’t hear a difference. Without the Qutest the difference is more marked.
And actually, if you like the sound of Chord/other DACs the ND5XS2 makes a really good value, quality transport. You get the Naim app plus synergy, etc. And used prices are such that you’ll get comparable value with anything out there. I reckon.
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Looks to me like a discrete output stage. Used in Naims high end CD players and Ndac.
Take a look at the internals of the Ndac.
Interesting. Are you sure?
I will say this only once.
I am sure, but that doesn’t mean I’m correct.
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It’s a Shakespeare’s proverb?
Theoretically, then, I am deaf 
This is what I faced when moving from a legacy NDX/XPS and was pretty much told there should be no SQ difference, so it made all the sense in the world for me to go for the ND5 XS2. I didn’t need the screen and the price difference was enough to sway me as well.
I agree with @T-elmi that a good DAC (in my case a Qutest as well) was a much larger improvement with the ND5 as transport than a PSU upgrade. This was after comparing my experience with the XPS-DR—at home and at the dealer paired with NDX2—and demoing over a period before pulling the trigger on the ND5.
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So might I be, I heard a worthwhile transport improvement… but I have come to learn when it’s comes to so called SQ… there are many variations. Just because something technically better doesn’t mean you may necessarily prefer it.
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Oh boy, back to the Hugo 1 Simon?
Hi, so the left hand side is the analogue signal reconstruction discrete components… the NDX2 has more through the hole componentry whilst the ND5XS2 uses surface mount. In the Naim designs I believe Naim feel they can get less microphony with through the hole components than surface mount… though approaches vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.
The righ side are the digital boards, which are stacked, so one can only see the top layer here which i believe includes the NP800 module which is common to all the current streamers.
I believe the transformer on the ND5XS2 is smaller in volume than the NDX2 … you can’t see this from a plan view
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I still use my Hugo 1… which to be fair is technically very impressive for its power consumption and size… it never went away.
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Yes, Naim still feel that through-hole outperforms surface-mount with analogue circuitry. With digital though it’s the opposite, hence why you’ll see a mix of both in the network players.
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