You need to listen to @ChrisSU and @anon4489532 on this one. Basically, Supernait 2 and 172 makes no sense. Better to go for ND5XS2 or NDX2. Or if on a budget an ND5XS or Bluesound Node.
A streamer preamp is not what you want as you are doubling up preamp duties which the Supernait 2 does. Alternatively an NDX would be good, albeit only offering restricted streaming platform.
What I mean by this is that it will work with iRadio, Spotify and Tidal. But not Qobuz or other streaming apps. I never got my ND5XS or my current NDS to work with Tidal for various reasons. It will work fine with NAS drive.
Personally in your situation and depending on budget the ND5XS2 or NDX2 would be ideal as they offer the latest streaming platforms.
Personally, my guiding principle would be what you are actually trying to stream. If ‘local’ streaming then the older Naim equipment is worth investigating. Used NAC 172s and ND5 XSs seem to be worth similar money secondhand - others on here could advise on which sounds better for the money. Having said that, if a particular 172 is offered at a very good deal then it’s worth bearing in mind.
However, if internet streaming, the most important thing is to find out if:
The equipment supports the actual streaming service you plan to use.
The equipment supports the streaming service to the level you want in terms of ease of use/functionality and/or resolution.
Regarding point 2, think about:
Will the streamer’s app allow you to search new music and also access all the meta data you would like?
In the case of Tidal, if you went that route, do you want full access to the MQA files? The first unwrap will give you up to 96KHz resolution. I use a new laptop via USB to an Arcam D33 DAC to stream Tidal Masters in this configuration and it sounds very good to me.
However, if you would like full 192Khz then you need an MQA certified streamer/DAC. To the best of my knowledge, none of the Naim streamers (new or old platform) offer this. I have just bought a new ‘old stock’ Meridian Explorer 2 portable USB DAC that is MQA enabled and it does sound very good to me both into my headphones and via its fixed 2V output into my office system (Arcam A18/Tannoy Revolution Signature DC4Ts).
As mentioned above, the newer generation of Naim streamers are designed with internet streaming in mind and AFAIK offer a broader range of internet streaming options and no doubt have more potential to be compatible with updates from different internet streaming providers that could leave older equipment behind.
The 172 rarely gets mentioned here but it’s a great integrated streaming preamplifier. I have no interest in subscription services and source music from my NAS running MinimServer.
So I’ve seen an nd5xs Bt year 2017 , would this be up to date for streaming platforms such as apple , Amazon tidal and qobuz ? Would this be a good match for the sn2 ?
The ND5 XS won’t do Qobuz natively, you’ll need something else in the replay chain to support that. BubbleUPnP works great for me into a UnitiQute 1, and should work with the ND5 XS as well.
Others on this thread have recommended against first gen streamers (UQ1/2, ND5 XS, NDX) if you stream from non local network sources. In my experience it is a bit more awkward, but with a hard wired UQ1, BubbleUPnP and a half decent broadband provider, I’ve not had a single streaming issue with my UQ1 with Qobuz (owned for over a year now)
I’m not sure any Naim streamer does Amazon natively??
Not for Qobuz. There are workarounds such as @gthack mentions but they’re not entirely straightforward. For example you’d need something to run Bubble UPnP on.
The obvious choice is the ND5XS2 but if this is completely outside your budget a somewhat cheaper option is an nDAC with something like a BlueSound Node used as digital transport. A number of posters on the forum use that combination and the BlueSound does support Amazon HD. I can personally vouch for the sound quality of the nDAC.
I started with BubbleUPnP just running on my phone, the UQ1 appears as a renderer in the app. You add your Qobuz account to the app, and away you go. It is not all that complicated. But it isn’t as straightforward as a 2nd gen streamer and the Naim app.
Since then I do also run the server on a Mac mini, which transcodes to WAV to “help” the UQ1, but the server is not necessary in the first instance.
chromecast is also a gen 2 Naim streamer thing, not available on the gen 1 streamers, IIRC. BubbleUPnP can also work around that. I just tried it, casting from the Qobuz app. It isn’t a workflow I use much, it appears to work fine, but you would definitely need the BubbleUPnP server installed on a machine on your local network somewhere.
Sounds to me like a gen 2 streamer would work best, I just wanted to highlight that the workarounds for the gen 1 streamers are not awful
Right basically anything older than an nd5xs 2 basically is no good for internet streaming , pity because the reviews are very positive indeed . Thanks everybody for your help and input
You’ve basically got options, all in one streamer/DACs, or a network audio transport and separate DAC. Pros and cons of each, and lots of price points. At the risk of looking silly linking my own thread, I tried to summarise the more popular options up to second hand NDX2 money here:
@Lmac - do you want to add streaming to your system? If so, what’s your budget? And what do you have already, do you already have a Chromecast audio dongle thing?
As a data point, I started with a second hand Hugo mk1 (£500 ish), and my phone. I now run a Primare NP5 transport (c.£350 IIRC), and Hugo mk1, buying both second hand. It sounds ridiculously good into my XS3 and Neat Motive SX3s. You just give up a bit of usability compared to the ND5 XS2 for example, having to switch the Hugo on, and mess with the Primare app. Others use the Bluesound node, which also has a good DAC onboard, either on its own, or via a second outboard DAC.
The Naim NDAC is another popular choice with separate transport. The NDX not a bad choice for an all in one system, albeit needing software support for Qobuz (Tidal is natively supported)
etc. - this is the topic of many forum threads
I think the good news is that £1k gets you damn good sound, and you have a very fine integrated amp, the bad news is that there are many options to add streaming.
You see as it stands I have a Cambridge audio CXN v1 into a chord qute ex DAC with mcru PSU , also into the DAC is a Chromecast audio puck . My idea was to sell the Cambridge and in place us the nd5 xs straight into the sn2. As a back up use the chord dac with Chromecast audio . Basically thinking the the Naim streamer would be better SQ than the chord/Chromecast combo but having the best of both worlds .
Chord 2qute, or Qutest? I suspect if the latter that would comfortably out perform the ND5 XS, and be v. close, if not better SQ, to the ND5 XS2, certainly as far as forum lore goes.
When you say “best of both worlds”, is it a one box/nice app solution you’re after? Or an absolute increase in SQ?
