It looks like an interesting small device for those who need a front-end for their old Naim streamers. It supports Chromecast, Airplay 2 and Roon via wired and wireless Ethernet. Outputs are electrical (RCA) and optical (Toslink) S/PDIF.
Yes, I would expect it to be pretty good (I had Primare kit for years). If I had my NDS this would definitvely be an avenue to explore.
And the NP5 is also a great way to provide users of legacy Primare devices access to a modern streaming platform at a very reasonable and honest price and with some system integration!
Naim have missed an obvious opportunity of doing something similar, among others for users of NDS, nDAC, DAC V1, NDX, etc., when they introduced their new streaming platform.
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Iām an existing (and loyal) Naim amp owner with neither the budget nor, more significantly, the desire to replace what I already own (Nait + Stageline).
If Naim would make a simple streaming solution like this for Ā£3figures then Iād have had my credit card out by yesterday. As it is Iāll probably buy this Primare next year. There must be thousands of existing amp owners like me who would bite Naimās arm off down to the ankle for a product like this, not least because we donāt happen to have a spare Ā£2k stuffed down the back of the sofa.
Just take the streaming boards & DAC from a Muso, give it a solid power supply & stick it in a simple, screen-Free box. Would serve existing customers well and make a brilliant Halo Product to rope in newcomers. Like the Muso range, I donāt believe it would cannibalise sales; it would just rope in a new crowd and increase the customer base.
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A second-hand Naim DAC plus Allo Digione Signature isnāt quite a 3-figure combo but not off that much; and certainly difficult to beat for the price. A second-hand Chord 2Cute plus Allo would remain within the 3-figure budget, and also a lovely partner for any Naim Nait in my opinion. I rather enjoy my Chord Hugo 2ā¦ 
I partially agree with the OP, having had the same thoughts and similar requirements for a stand-alone streamer (no DAC). The ND5 XS2 is the existing Naim streaming product with the DAC.
Such a unit, if provided with the same firmware as in the streamer portion of the newer streamers and Muso2 range, would enable owners of previous generation Naim streamers and the nDAC to add the newer features without resorting to third-party solutions.
Fully agree.
Has anyone managed to get one? How is it. Come on naim make something like this.
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The NP5 has no DAC, so itās no use to you with a Nait.
But i have a schiit modi 3 dac, so it would be very useful.
I was replying to hirohirst, who apparently wants something to connect to a Nait. Unless that happens to be a Supernait 1, he still needs a DAC.
Thanks for the clarification. I do own a dac (an ifi idsd) so the Primare NP5 āStreaming Board Boxā could work well for me and is a far more realistic streaming solution for my budgetary constraints. Iād dearly love the idea of an ND5XS2 but Iām short of Naimās implicit Ā£2k starting price for a Naim branded streaming product.
Primare are happy to put their brand name to their streaming boards in a stand alone box at Ā£500. This is surely sound business sense too; it helps lever existing, brand-loyal owners of older kit into their streaming ecosystem, just as Muso is a lower tier product which still sounds good enough for Naim to be happy seeing it carry their brand. MusoQB is Ā£750 and is, in essence, analogous to a Primare NP5 with DAC,amps, speaker drive units (and a suitably engineered case for them) thrown in to the equation. I donāt believe for a moment it wouldnāt be possible to remove the amps, drivers and DAC from a MusoQB and put the rest in a simpler case (a la NP5) so such a product is surely either a future plan or they decided against it strategically.
Personally I think theyād have a hit on their hands. Like the Muso range Iām convinced it would be a good Halo product, drawing in new blood rather than cannibalising sales of existing, higher end products. It would also do for Naim what I firmly believe NP5 will do for Primare - allow existing amp owners in on their streaming game at an affordable price. You appease existing (loyal) owners and you reach out to a whole new market at the same time; a win/win scenario.
Theyāre intelligent people - if itās not on the drawing boards to do it then itās simply a product type which isnāt on their strategic roadmap, for whatever reason, and those of us who would love a product like this would be waiting in vain.
Lifeās too short to wait - if the reviews are good Iāll likely buy an NP5.
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I agree that there is a place for a streamer without a DAC, but Naim have never produced one yet, so I wouldnāt hold your breath. Also, the Musos are the only products Naim have made in China, to keep costs down and attract a wider market. I donāt see them producing a Classic or XS range product like this anywhere other than Salisbury, so itās not going to be priced in line with the Musos.
Absolutely. To even try and present it as a part of the Classic range would actively invite cannibalisation of existing sales. I wouldnāt even use the āNaitā name. In my head this might be called a āMuso Connectā and be sold to the effect of; āLet us introduce you to a taste of what we can REALLY do with our Classic Range (& their power supply upgrade options) but start here as a part of our Muso Family of products.ā In terms of functionality it could bridge the gap between Muso and the higher performance of the traditional, UK built separates which Naim has built their hard-won reputation upon. Affordably add the Naim streaming ecosystem for owners of existing, older Naim amps. How many thousands of existing Naim amp owners are there out here? This would be a starting point; a Naim solution for those with much loved equipment they have neither the desire, nor the maybe the funds, to replace with a new streaming Uniti for newnessā sake.
It should be good enough to be a Naim, but unequivocally in the Muso family. Make it with the Muso contractor to keep it simple and affordable like those products. No PS upgrade option - you upgrade & head off down the Classics/XS route if you want more performance, and you (rightly) pay the extra Ā£Wedge for it.
Iām still not sure that Naim would ever produce āseparatesā products at that price level, but none of us know for sure whatās going on behind the tightly closed doors of their R&D department. I think a lot will depend on what they do on the DAC front. Their current range is based on old TI chips, and even the flagship ND555 uses a discontinued chip that they have stockpiled for future use. So Iād guess that their overriding priority will be to develop a new DAC from scratch, which may or may not ever be produced as a standalone product. Time will tell.
A Naim streamer without DAC ā not sure whether there is a business case for this. The market place is pretty crowded by now.
Iām not sure that competition would put Naim off, I think they are capable of holding their own. I just donāt think a Muso level product would be their target market for such a product.
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