Hi all,
As an anti-confinement boredom measure, I bit the bullet and ordered an ND5XS2 with a Hi-line IC to go along with a SN2 powering Sonus faber Cremona Auditor Ms. Up and running now using Roon. Early conclusion at this stage is that it’s not “night and day” as compared to my former lowly digital source. I can tell there is more detail, different anyway, and can sense the synergy between the Naim components. I’m also detecting a bit of PRaT as I go through my most familiar tracks. However, the BAD NEWS is that the miraculous Hi-line arrived defective and does not work. The right channel does not play. Tried 3 times while attempting to avoid cardiac arrest and no cigar. Plugged in the stock supplied cable and all is fine, works perfectly. I knew the Hi-line was/is prone to breaking and so forth but I was operating on the principle that this only “happens to others”, not to me! Well, it did. Dealer is OK to make a standard exchange and I will cordially invite them to TEST THE DANG THANG before sending the replacement. So, as it stands, I still need to change my speakers (beautiful creations but rear-ported does not work in my listening space) and I still wonder what the Hi-line can bring to Naim’s entry level streamer. Was an interesting day in confinement anyway.
Brgds.
Give the ND5 XS2 time to burn in. It took mine nearly 3 months to reach its full potential.
Thanks for the tip! It’s been powered up for only 6 hours for the moment.
Seriously listen to DanielH on this. It really does take time for “burn in”. Also a correctly functioning HiLine is really good as well.
I put a hi line on my nd5xs2 and it’s good but the standard cable still lets the nd show it’s mettle, the hiline is the icing on the cake…
run it for a month and enjoy the ride!
ND5 XS2 + Hi-Line here, you do need to give it time to settle down, when you connect the Hi-Line don’t loop it on itself and keep it as straight as you can, without any twists on itself that is.
Mine isn’t floating in air and touches the floor and skirting, but that’s life!
I’ve owned mine new from factory and when I first had it just left it playing 24/7 with Internet radio when I wasn’t using it to have it stressing its components and output.
I’ve got mine set to DIN output only, no idea if that makes it function better but always had it like that.
I’ve only ever used a Hi-Line IC on mine so difficult to make a comparison but it does match well and they seem to get on ok.
If it helps make you feel less bad, I somehow managed to snap the top ring on the amp end of my Hi-Line after months of it being boxed and offline during initial setup with my new SN3, thank heavens my dealer lives round the corner and could lend me one!
Enjoy your new black box, they really are very good.
Hi Mr.M,
Thanks for the tips. Shame is that the dressing of the Hi-line was perfect, free-floating, no loops, just right. But…I’ll have to wait for the replacement.
Just another question for current owners: there is a sleep function in the settings of the Naim app. I currently have it set to sleep at “never”. Was wondering what the best practice here is and if avoiding sleep mode just consumes electricity uselessly.
Thanks.
Regular forum users will know that I am closing in on a streamer purchase and although I have never heard one the nd5xs2 is top of my list. In some ways now is the time to jump in to take my mind off other things but I seem to be lacking in courage to spend £2400 on something that has not gone through the full pre purchase scrutiny. One question though is how much the extra broadband usage at the present time affects streaming. I will be using wi fi not Ethernet.Also can iPad be used for other functions while the naim app is in use?
Hi igahman,
I’ll let more qualified/experienced ND5 owners respond, but logically this unit is a natural pairing with your XS3. I can say that I clearly detect the Naim synergy and sonic signature. It’s controlled and meaty, medium is full and expressive, highs are slightly recessed and subtle, not tiring at all. As for bandwidth consumption, I quit wifi a few months ago by hardwiring a very high speed fiber connection through a Cisco 2960 using full Cat 6 Blue Jeans ethernet throughout. This feeds 2 Apple TVs and 4 streamers throughout the house, including the Naim. There are internet sites that describe the bandwidth requirements for different audio file resolutions, but I’d say if you’re not streaming DSD and you have about 10 mbps of stable download speed by wifi you’ll be fine. Yes, the ipad can be used normally while running the naim app or roon or anything else…
Brgds.
ND5XS2 and hiline into 202/200 here. Streamer was new and took a couple of months to really come on song, hiline was used, but gave a small but noticeably good uplift. Enjoy!
Mine snoozes after being ignored for more than an hour. My general rule of thumb is to leave amps (certainly power amps if you have seperate ones) on all the time unless there’s a lightning storm or you won’t be actually listening to it for a few days or more.
Leaving this sort of kit powered on but not actually doing anything for days on end will wear out components quicker long term (think years in this respect), it’s only really effective to leave stuff on all the time if you use it regularly, at least every couple of days, which I’m sure is the case for most of us especially now!
It won’t do it any harm at all switching it all off before bed it just means that the next time you use it the capacitors will need a little time to settle and for it to sound as it should.
Mines been absolutely fine streaming over Wi-Fi, you can do other things in parallel to using the Naim app without issue. The ND isn’t going to be using a lot of bandwidth anyway even streaming higher quality content. It will max out around 6 Mbit/second as a guide.
100% agree. WiFi is fantastic with the new streaming boards. No drops for me and SQ is on par with Ethernet. I think its important to get your Network in general sorted out if it isn’t.
Wired will be simpler and require less initial setup but then the desire to tweak and try exotic cables and cisco switches and this and that takes over.
It should however work well on a wired connection without getting too caught up in the switching and cabling aspects, tinker if you will!
I’ve gone to some lengths to optimise my Wi-Fi setup and ensure traffic is managed appropriately to avoid any congestion or throughput issues.
I’ve never run a wired connection to my ND5, I could easily enough with a drum of cable and a spare hour but the Wi-Fi has never given me cause for concern and to me sounds fine without getting anxious about switches and power supplies and vodka cables or blue jeans or whatever.
Shhhh, don’t mention to him the “Ethernet switch and cables mania” thread lol
Thanks, amp is obviously always on. Will switch to power-save mode on the Nd5xs2 after an hour or so and see.
It boots up super quick as well. If I didn’t know it was in “power-save” I’d think it was off.
It’s got that setting for a reason, leaving it on 24/7 won’t make it magically sound any better either!
I set mine to an hour through experimentation, with 2 young kids it can take almost an hour to defuse a melt down or clean up a spill!
It also means if I do get distracted or it gets late in the day it goes in to standby mode itself.
If you wake it up it’ll do that right away and you’ll be back and playing music again pretty seamlessly in my experience.
You’ve done it now, is that a rabbit in the distance hopping towards a big hole in the ground laughing and smiling manically…
Clear, will do so as well. Thanks.