That’s a good price.
I’ve not tried Spotify. Tidal seems pretty good. Comparable to my CDS2 but not as good
1 Like
That’s a great price for the NDX!
And if you haven’t seen it, here’s a nice workaround to run Radio Paradise FLAC on our first gen Naim streamers: Native FLAC via iRadio?
3 Likes
Oh thank you very much. That is very useful. 
1 Like
You can’t connect a hard drive to the USB port on an NDX. It will just about cope with a few tracks on a USB stick. The current streamers do a much beter job here, but you are going to need to run a UPnP server on your network to do the job properly.
1 Like
Ah, that’s a shame. NDX might end up back on ebay then and I’ll go back to drawing board.
Noooo! All our hard work here would be wasted…
For about the price of a USB stick you can install Asset UPnP on a computer and run it from the Naim app… Easy to use; no extra NAS required.
2 Likes
I still believe that your best route would be a used ND5XS2. It’s Naim’s latest djgital tech.
Best of luck with whatever you end up with.
1 Like
Somehow the used market for a nd5xs2 is always quite small. You might think that many trade it in for a ndx2 but somehow they don‘t appear on the used market very often…
1 Like
I’m sorry to hear that and not just for the OP. I was planning on picking up a used one at some point to update the streaming Tech on my NDS which I love the sound of.
So thanks, when I get to that point I’ll be a bit more aggressive when purchasing.
1 Like
Well, maybe it should be! Purchase of a ND5 XS2 for my Naim (inc. 282/HicapDR/Spendor, etc system has given the best tonality and detail in classical music that I’ve ever had. It is versatile (inc. Netflix). Think of as a streamer and a DAC thoroughbred for CD.
Hope of help to you.
2 Likes
Not often mentioned in this forum is the “no frills but no extra hardware” solution of checking to see if your existing router has a built-in UPnP/DLNA media server… many do (Asus, Netgear, Linksys… plus at least some of the HomeHub devices supplied by ISPs - I’m not in UK so don’t know about BT or Virgin or whomever).
Adding a USB stick or external drive to the always-on box you already have can be a painless way to take a step towards home streaming. You will learn how to use it, figure out all the tricks of the ripping trade, and have free local streaming up and running a few minutes after you log into your router to see if it’s available and then enabling the service. If the functionality or metadata presentation is not to your liking, you can always learn about other options, such as using your existing home computer or getting a NAS (which is great to have as a system backup and file server anyway).
You just got a cool thing… take a moment to see if you have a trivial solution to serving your CD rips close to hand before you decide to put it on eBay…
2 Likes
Tbh, I felt the same but what you’re suggesting sounds like a good and easy option. So I’ll explore that a bit further before I surrender. I suppose the NDX will serve well until I (hopefully) get my hands on a used NDX2.
If you already have a computer on your home network you can run a UPnP server on it, and Asset is a good choice. Arguably better to run it on a NAS if you’re prepared to set one up. A decent QBAP or Synology would cost you about £300.
1 Like
Perhaps it doesn’t sell as well as the others? Or people who buy it are quite happy with the sound quality that they don’t feel the need to replace them. Or they upgrade the external DACs instead?
If you want something that gives far better SQ than the NDX or the bare ND5XS2, but is not far more costly, it’s ND5XS2 digital out via DC1 into Naim DAC.
I use it with Qobuz.
3 Likes
Yes, good idea.
The ND5XS2 analog out does sound very good to me.
But the ND5XS2 obviously gives even better results when used to feed Naim DAC/555DR - but then that’s a more expensive solution and in my case the result is exactly as one would expect.
3 Likes
I can help with this.
No mention of NORD on this or too many other forums! Odd. They make superb vfm products.
Streaming was a curiosity for me but i came across NORD, contacted them and purchased an Easy Stream (small money). Did me fine for a while. I upgraded to another NORD, this time the Easy Stream Connect DAC (less than £300). Loved it. Was quite brilliant being full of detail, life and energy and dare i say it, remarkable in my LINN/NAIM System. Then my heart ruled my head and i went full throttle buying a new ND5 XS2. Now here’s the thing. Is it £2000 better than the NORD? Absolutely not. But i wanted a NAIM and there’s the conundrum you might have too. I can say the NORD is equally as good as the Bluesound Node 2i. It can hold its own against the Cambridge CXN and probably a few more (i have listened to both the above). Obviously this is my opinion only but if you want to dip your toes into the world of streaming and don’t want to spend too much too soon then check out NORD. I still have my Easy Stream Connect DAC albeit boxed up as i cant use it elsewhere but i cant bare to part with it its that good.
1 Like
Before spending a lot of money on a pure streamer, id recommend giving the raspberry Pi solution (USB out) a try. I have been using one for a while in my system, and see no immediate need to upgrade.
You can also set up an RPi to be your server.
1 Like
Agree entirely. I run a Node 2i. Recently added a Qutest. It is an improvement, though not a massive one, over the Nodes internal DAC and the pairing sound very very similar to my CDX2/XPSDR on music I have ripped (a good thing). I’m only ripping to have a fall back if the CDX2 ever fails me. I will see how streaming develops and if the Node requires replacing at some point then it has been a low cost - though very good - introduction to the medium. Like the BS App as well.
1 Like