As HH alluded to, the third party power supplies are off limits with regards to Forum rules. However, I would recommend you look out for a used bargain genuine Naim XPS on eBay. Most of the people on there selling are enthusiasts like us. The scammers are pretty easy to spot, usually using the same picture over and over again and usually either stock pictures or ones from somebody else’s advert.
You can always contact them and ask a few questions. If you are sensible in your approach you could get what you really want for a reasonable outlay. That way you won’t be rethinking the XPS route in six months.
There is some great gear to be had on second hand sites , usually previously owned and meticulously looked after by people like us! And no, I am not touting for business !
How about an Olive XPS for your CDX2 used prices around £800, please note the Olive XPS cannot be used on the Naim streamers i.e. NDX etc
I’d agree that any sort of “ideological” debate should be avoided. There are no hard-and-fast rules, what works here might not work elsewhere.
It took me a while to understand the benefit of a genuine Naim power supply when added to a Naim source. Running Naim sources bare, followed by a time with one of those other XPSs always left me wanting more.
Then I added a Naim power supply (a PS555DR in my case onto my NDS at the time) and that was a revelation. I agree that the Naim XPS (non DR) would be ideal for your CDX2, and if you are careful you can successfully buy from that auction site. If it is an old one though check to see if it has been serviced, or there is an allowance in the asking price if unserviced.
I would second others opinions here and only purchase a Naim XPS rather than a different power supply. If you can’t afford new yet then wait until you can or purchase a used one from a reliable source. Do it properly or not at all, otherwise you could end up worse off.
To me it is more ‘source first vs system first’. One must view the system as a whole entity, of which all parts are equally important. It is true that information lost by the source can never be recovered. That’s why one must have a capable source. It’s also true that information recovered by the source can be lost or glossed-over by an amp or speakers.
Back in the 1970’s there seemed to be two basic approaches. Get the very best source you can and just buy a cheap amp and speakers and perhaps upgrade these when funds allow. Hence systems along the lines of LP12/Grace707/Supex(high output) with a cheap Tandy amp and Videotone Minimax 2 speakers were not uncommon.
The other was the more system orientated approach for similar money of say Rega Planar 3, A&R A60 amp and pair of mid-price Mission speakers or similar.
I have heard both approaches and to me the balanced system provides the more enjoyable listening experience. Of course one can upgrade the cheap amp and speakers in time in the first approach, and one can also upgrade the source in time in the more balanced approach.
Neither approach is right or wrong. Which you chose is a matter for your own personal judgement.
At the end of the day it’s all good fun.
Hi Nick, can’t help thinking considering your already bright listening space, that as several here have suggested to make your bright sounding CDX2 less bright and higher resolved with an external PS first.
There are several schools of thought on how to create a balance spending wise in a system. In my experience any quality speaker matched to the room characteristics will deliver the more you improve components upstream. A cheapish quality speaker can easily box well above its weight to your surprise. So I will agree with both HH and NigelB. In my case my amplifier costs 7 times more than my speakers.
Now that’s a mullet for you! 
ATB Peter
@NigelB when I demoed the NDS, I first used the XP5XS I was using with my ND5XS. The dealer had brought a 555PS with him which we switched to later in the demo. To this day my dealer still says this is the best demo he’s ever done which demonstrated the effect of upgrading power supplies so, I agree wholeheartedly with you.
Yes, I was rather startled at the difference the PS555DR made to the NDS. It actually showed me for the first time how good the NDS is and I finally learnt what a huge part Naim power supplies play in getting things right.
I then swapped my NDS for a ND555 powered by the same PS555DR, and that is a whole different story.
Absolutely. Just wait until you try the second 555PS on the ND555. I made that mistake in December. Fortunately it was a great deal on a preloved unit. You probably didn’t want hear that….
LA LA LA LA, can’t hear you….
I demoed the S20 and 505s back to back. I thought they were very different. I didn’t hear the treble issue, but all ears are different. From what I heard at the time, I described the S20 as very detailed and the 505s as very musical. I ended up with the 606s as I thought they were the best of both worlds!
Hi Nick,
A year ago, after living with dynaudio’s for 16 years I decided to go for an upgrade and bought a set of Proac D2r’s just based on the raving reviews. Sadly enough strings and (female) voice often sounded terrible harsh to my ears. Nothing of this when listening at a friend with esl 63’s (which I owned myself before they sadly burned in a fire). Hundreds of hours of suggested ‘burning in’ didn’t help a bit. Same for a lot of annoying cable change and even change of amp to lavardin. The sky turned blue after changing to Harbeth 5 super +. Completely natural and esl-like for anything acoustic and voices. One problem stays though: being glued to your chair. Good luck!
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