Not a new topic (fresh off the closed thread due to thread drift, which I was rather enjoying). I was wondering what the group’s view would be if an early ND555 could be bought for a similar price to the NSS333 new. I’m doing some man maths justification here and wondering about the future of the two platforms given the five or six years age difference and the technology.
Please assume the downstream components are more than adequate, do steer clear of the power supply complication and if the costs are close enough to each other as to make little difference (in man maths terms)….. Where would you put your money and why?
For now I have to wait about 16 months for my next definitive upgrade, which will be very probably a better streamer.
So yes, Nd555 or NSS 333 are on my radar. For 333, the pros: new platform. But still not sure I need Qobuz or Tidal. For local streaming, I am not sure one is better vs the other one, more a side step probably. @Blackbird has the two, he can say more.
Nd555: better vs the Nds, modern streaming platform. BUT : I am waiting to see what the next firmware upgrade will do. More 3.8 spirit or 3.10 with the risk of having still some harschness? We will see in December probably.
Other choices: a different transport to connect in BNC, like Innuos Stream 3, or Lumin U2X.
You will need to consider amplification. I very much doubt you will get the best from either ND555 or NSS333 from a Nait N50.
No point saying ‘Please assume the downstream components are more than adequate’, as the choice of streamer will be affected by the choice of amplification, and vice versa.
You need to think about the whole system and synergy.
Agreed. My thought process is to buy for system synergy as a first step whilst leaving headroom for further upgrades down the line. Hence the comment. Otherwise I would be changing everything at every upgrade point. I have the same thoughts on speakers too
Hi, yes the price surely would come into play at crunch time and around 5.5k the 333 certainly looks very interesting. For now I’m trying to set a direction with a second system but near term purchases to try a few things..
Yes FR I suppose if I thought the 333 were a sidestep from 555 then it would be a relatively straight forward choice. That’s before I even consider whether my cloth ears would know any different..
I bought a used ND5 XS2 for the modern streaming capabilities. I am ecstatic. I think the overall balance of the system works better with the same manufacturer, excepting speakers
I’ve never heard a 333 but I did have a home audition of Dave with and without MScaler. No way did it come close to the impact and realism of the ND555 in my opinion. It was a big disappointment…
Never heard ND555.
I never miss my 552/500 to be honest. It’s that good.
