Hmm. I would take this with a pinch of salt… absolutely not the case in my personal experience with NACA5 runs using Naim amplification and Russell K speakers…
Russell has some good ideas to wring out the best from his speakers which include his preference for the powerblock, speaker cables and amps.Think on designing the early speakers he used Densen amps.
I had a ND5XS on loan for 2 days and I have to say it made a HUGE difference in terms of excitement, punch of drums and PRAT.
However, I found that Tidal works well but often the playlist gets stuck or when I click some songs the player becomes not responsive for maybe 1 or 2 minutes.
For the same price as the ND5XS I can also get a used Atom. What if I use that as front end and connect my Nait XS2 to it.
Would I achieve the same SQ as with the old ND5XS but with better front end or is this not a combination you recommend?
To add to this:
When I connect the Node 2i via coaxial to the ND5XS it sounds less good than with Tidal directly from the ND5XS.
I used to pair the Red 120 with an Atom and got very good result.
You really don’t want to get the Atom. It doesn’t have a line output and you’ll be getting lots of stuff you don’t need. As online streaming is important to you, you should bite the bullet and get an ND5XS2. It will cost a little more but will be much better in the long run. You may find one ex dem and save a bit.
Very pleased to hear that. Feed the 120s and they will deliver!
It does have a preamp-out. It clearly shows on the back of the unit.
A pre out means a signal that goes through the Atom’s preamp, and is really intended to be fed into a power amp. It will still work into an integrated, but putting the signal through 2 preamps ( and therefore 2 volume controls) is not ideal. Given that the ND5XS2 is about the same price as an Atom, but has no redundant amplification when used into an integrated amp, I would agree with HH that it would make more sense in your system.
Yeah I agree with that too. However, there are almost no ND5XS2 available ex demo or second hand.
The Atom I can get for €1500, no way I can get an ND5XS2 for that money so of course I have to make some concessions sonically. Right now I don’t want to spend more than €1500 on my streamer.
Difficult situation when on a budget haha.
€1500 for a previous generation ND5XS (maybe a little less)or an Atom is basically the choices I have I think.
Why not just wait a bit longer and save up for the XS2? The old saying - buy cheap, buy twice - is worth remembering. You have £3,000 speakers so limiting your source to an arbitrary €1,500 isn’t the best way forward. You could always get an interest free credit card and pay it off within the interest free period. It will very likely cost you less in the long run.
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If you buy a second hand Naim Dac, connected to the Bluesound, you will have a better sound than the Nd5xs.
And only 1k investment.
See some threads here on Bluesound/ Ndac.
That is also my thread haha.
I think that could be a good solution perhaps. The ND5XS + Node didn’t have as much punch and rhythm as the ND5XS directly so I am a bit worried about the Node as a input signal for the nDac
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Sounds like the you are having pretty much the same issues I had with Spendor d7 and My nait XS2.
I did also try the A7s which did give me better dynamics and bottom end, but still a little thin/lean sounding.
You obviously don’t like the pairing of the Nait XS2 with the Russel K reds.
I have tried many different speakers with the Nait XS2 and personally do prefer a warmer richer sounding speaker with good bottom end slam and loads of PRaT.
I have found my XS2 needed a warmer sounding speaker to give me the sound I wanted.
You have to decide whether to keep the Russel Ks and possibly look at changing the Nait XS2?.
If you love the sound from your Nait XS2, as I do. I would definitely home demo a lot more different brands of speaker with your XS2
You don’t really want to change too many things with your system all at once.
What speakers where used with your Nait XS2 and Bluesound Node 2i before the Russel Ks?
And what kind of sound was this giving you?
It seems to me you have three choices.
-
Naim Atom. For the right circumstances, the Atom is a great product (I’ve just bought one for my office). But yours are not the right circumstances, you’d be wasting the Nait’s preamp and compromising SQ.
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ND5XS. You’ve already tried this so you know what it can do. The problem of course, is that you’d be buying into the older streaming platform, with all its limitations, so extensively discussed on this forum.
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ND5XS2. This is the natural partner to your Nait. You’d get the new streaming platform, excellent SQ and, if it matters, a nice visual match with your amp.
Like @anon4489532 and @ChrisSU, I’d rule out the Atom. Best of all IMHO would be to save up for the ND5XS2, though in the present situation, I wouldn’t go into debt to buy one. If you really, really cannot bear to wait, option 2 has its attractions provided you can live with the limitations entailed. You might be able to sell it on without too much loss, particularly if you can negotiate the price down a bit.
Best of luck, Roger
A few months ago my dealer offered me an ex-demo ND5XS2 with full warranty for £1600. I appreciate that they may be harder to find outside the UK, but that’s not really so far above your budget. If I was in your position, I would hold out for one. But yes, an Atom will still work if that’s the way you choose to go.
The Naim Dac is better than the Dac inside the nd5xs. Some are very pleased with Ndac/ Bluesound.
But of course, it’s better to test at home an Ndac and choose after what suits you best: nd5xs or Ndac/ Bluesound.
But the best choice, as some said, would be probably to wait to find an ex demo Nd5xs2.
I have to say EazyRyder’s comments about his experiences of matching warmer speakers to the XS2 matches my experiences as well. whilst I’m not familiar with the Russell speakers, I have tried lots of speakers on my XS2 from cheap DALI Pico (for a laugh) to my PMC Fact.8’s when decorating and the main system was stripped down and they were freed up. I currently use and I’m quite happy with Wharfedale Denton 80th Anniversary speakers, which would fall in to the warm category. But I would also say I was never that satisfied with the Wait without Flatcap, and pretty much always used it with Flatcap XS from day 1. I think this helps to flesh out the lower registers and generally smooth out a few rough edges. The PMC’s by-the-way, were far to revealing and neutral for the bare XS2.
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OK in the meanwhile I have had a home demo with the Uniti Atom.
What a gorgeous little device that is, I almost want to keep it just for it’s beauty. However, this decreased the sound quality that I had with Nait XS2+Node 2i. Most of the attack decreased further and the fun seamed to be sucked out from the speakers. I also tried to use the XS2 as an amp connected to the Atom. This wasn’t much better either. Things were too bright and airy compared to the Nait XS2+ND5XS. The SQ with the ND5XS was slightly less open and a bit darker (hope that I use the wording correct).
I really wished the Atom combi would have worked because I absolutely love how it works and looks.
I think I will wait to see what comes on my path to try. Hopefully I can try a Naim DAC + Node 2i soon as that seems to be the cheapest option and also still gives me the most streaming platforms and good UI and hopefully and most importantly good sound.
I am also thinking of selling the Russell’s since it is so revealing. I listened to the Spendor A7 and A4 before and I think I liked the sound signature of those more than of the Russell’s. Easier to listen to than the Russel’s as it’s a little smoother.
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I feel it’s difficult to go back once you have owned a fast clear speaker
You always feel like something is missing…
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Good point. However, when I heard the Spendor A7’s they were a very fast speaker as well