Ok it’s over ten years since I bought my NDS. The logical replacement is the ND555. Are there any other worth while options?
Do you already have a 555PS for your NDS? If not you’ll also need one of those if you go for the ND555. Maybe it’s a good time to embrace the Perspex and look at an NSS333. Alternatively there are loads of streamers from other companies, such as Linn or Auralic. Possibly the most economical thing to do is get an ND5XS2 and connect its digital output to the NDS. That way you’d get the up to date functionality of the ND5XS2 coupled with the NDS’s excellent SQ.
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The ND5XS2 will also improve SQ, as will other less expensive stand alone (ex DAC) streamers.
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A great idea. IIRC @Camphuw, you have a few UQs so this approach keeps everything in the Naim control ecosystem too.
Saying that though, there are some good priced ND555 units around… 
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I went down the NDXS2 route into NDS 555PS. It enables the latest Naim streaming platform with the sound quality of the NDS. No glitches and compatibility with Qobuz. It works very well and keeps it Naim.
I am not certain there is any difference in sound quality between ND5XS2 into NDS versus NDS. I have compared and there is no difference to my ears.
Some say it should sound better but I would say they sound identical.
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I was not sure whether the PS could migrate. Thanks for the confirmation HH.
I’ll park the idea for a while … nothing broken that needs fixing.
Good to know that there are options though so thanks for the ideas.
If you feed it in a separate DAC, it shouldn’t, as they’re are all using the streaming board (from StreamUnlimited)
Just added an Auralic Aries G1.1 into my system. Like it.
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Why would you want to replace your NDS, if you can use it with Roon?
Roon manages the internet services for Tidal, Qobuz and Internet Radio stations as a separate off-board activity, using processing power well in excess of anything an onboarding streamer card will manage.
Furthermore, all that computing power close to the DAC and the sensitive Analogue output is not ideal, plus it is drawing power from the same power supply, even if you have 2x555DR (the second is only powering Socket ‘B’ for the Analogue output stage, Socket ‘A’ from the 1st 555DR is for the digital circuitry which includes the streamer board).
The only reason that the NDS can’t work with internet streaming service is that the buffer is too small to deal with the potential latency of data packets coming from the public internet. So buffer them off-board in the Roon Server, and then this provides a UPnP stream, as if it was local, to the NDS.
Naim still only demonstrates the ND555 (and the rest of the streamers) with a local UPnP feed.
My NDS, with dual power supplies, a 555DR on the digital side with a SonoreUPnP Bridge running on an UltraRendu/UltraCap LPS 1 platform to provide the integration with Roon, works flawlessly. The Roon Server is a NUC7i7DNK, the same board used in the 2nd Gen Nucleus+, although I am using it with 2x8GB RAM and a faster NVMe PCI 3.0 250GB SSD, so better spec’ed than the Nucleus+
I see that the Roon Nucleus One is getting good reviews, and has the same performance of a 2nd Gen Nucleus, but for $499
Anyway I see no reason to upgrade to the ND555, at this time and for that incremental cost. Would rather continue to improve the Power Supply configuration.
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However the Nds isolation, decoupling, big external ps….is on another level vs the Nd5xs2, even with a new streaming platform. The only real gain is the bigger buffer which renders online streaming more stable.
Dan is not the only one here to have observed that Nd5xs2 into Nds doesn’t improve sound quality. Even one preferred the bare Nds.
However if you stream online and want stability , not droppings, and also Qobuz, the Nds is outclassed.
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Good way to do things, but there are many way’s from very cheap to expensive.
I don’t think i would add a nd5xs2 to the nds if i still had mine, i would rather spend the money on just a streamer rather than something with a dac built in, that i had no intention of using.
But at the same time i can see why some do.
Same here.
I would go for Innuos Pulse personally. Perhaps Pulsar, but you need an Spdif to usb converter.
That’s the biggest problem really, connections as the nds isn’t really very friendly these day’s.
But it can be done
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My NDS has been away. Remote didn’t work after screen replacement and fascia came back with new dent. Naim have replaced the fascia after a used one came up in house.
Connecting it back in sounds smooth and creamy, extra bass, altogethwr much better than bare ND5XS2.
I made the swap using ND5XS2 as I wanted Naim classic boxes (XS close enough !) and the solution has worked for me. That’s all that matters.
If you don’t want Roon or workarounds then the ND5XS2 works well. I’ve had no drop outs or issues. So would I now buy it from the start and NDS, ND5XS2 and 555PS? Probably not. An NDX2 would make more sense. But as I had the boxes adding the ND5XS2 made sense.
Listening with my amps it’s an awesome streaming set up.
If you’re more tech savy and want workarounds then go ahead. But that’s not me. It works well. So best to leave it alone!
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The NDS is used as DAC only. The ND5XS2 is used as the streaming platform, which I believe is the latest.
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Now there’s a thought: a second power supply.
I would have to make some space, and that will be a challenge.
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I am considering it, but it’s lower down my wishlist. I think the NDS is a formidable streamer in terms of sound quality still. 2 x 555DR PSs ain’t gonna be cheap !
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I wasn’t going to use a 555DR as the second PSU. There is only voltage rail used on Socket ‘B’, so only 2 DR modules of the 7 utilised, plus 2 out of the 5 reservoir capacitors to power them.
There are more optimized options to power the Analogue output.
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You can keep the NDS and use a Lindemann Limetree Bridge as streamer. It’s a very good sounding solution. Better than the bare NDS with Bubble upnp and roon with Qobuz. So Lindemann —> digital coaxial cable —> NDS and you are good to go.
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