Good comments HH
Lots of other “snake oil “ comments out there
Mitch - whatever you do don’t sell the LP12, you will regret that down the track
Just enjoy the music
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Dear HH,
I enjoy Dire Straits so much as it reminds me of my younger days driving with best mate at the time cruising the streets of the Gold Coast in Australia and the hinterland for pub meals and a quiet drink or two. Tony’s car was a HQ utility with a statemen’s front end and it sounded cool. Great times. You will have to Google it.
I am not bored though going through a process of dream building as my psych calls it. One member of this forum shared a personal blog of such and it was very interesting to read and made me aware of my bias’s in listening and seeing. The Focal Kanata’s are pure eye candy when it comes to speakers and my perception about poor performing Celestion speakers maybe valid according to reviews though I still find my self foot tapping to the kick drum and tapping out bass lines with my fingers.
I thought I was missing out as my CD5 XS has an old Burr-Brown DAC when compared to the ND5 XS 2 and it was my perception that I was missing out on something.
In closing everything will stay as it is. The speakers will be replaced when they die. The amplifier maybe replaced when I can no longer afford to keep my bike on the road or I become too old.
I think I have the best of both worlds for my pocket in CD player, amplifier and TT.
It is my OCD that becomes fixated on a topic or reads something and I think I am missing out. I can purchase a lot of CD’s and LP’s for the money I would have spent on a ND5 XS 2 and or a SN3.
I am going to enjoy what I have and maybe post in the “Music Room” my latest album purchase.
I apologise for my OCD it goes with other mental health conditions and I will try to stop second guessing myself.
Warm regards,
Mitch from Oz.
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Whether or not anyone enjoys Dire Straits I personally think older analogue LP and CD quality physical/streaming versions are just mastered well and sound very good - I’ll admit I’m no great fan but there are maybe half a dozen tracks that I find consistently sound wonderful.
If you find your feet tapping with the system you’ve got that’s the best thing you can have.
Hi-fi isn’t a race to the top or most esoteric system you can afford, it should be about enjoying the music you listen to, and to be honest it sounds as though yor are doing that.
Apple Music will provide your exploratory options, so I’d perhaps sit tight for now or maybe get a cheap Airplay 2 compatible output device to hook up to the pre-amp.
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I think you have answered your own question very well. While streaming can open up another listening option, and you have plenty of bandwidth to do it, just enjoy what you have. CDs can be had for a fraction of what they used to cost and there is your digital library (and back up) all in alphabetical order just as you want them. Enjoy.
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No apologies needed Mitch
Im with you, and haven’t had the urge to move into streaming - I have plenty of music to listen to on my LP12’s and CD5XS
Enjoy what you have
Cheers
Bevo
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Nd5 would likely be pretty disappointing compared to your LP12.
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I play mostly digitally ripped CDs on my Naim 172 with a few purchased downloads from Bandcamp etc. I still play vinyl on my LP12.
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Well I have only recently got into Dire Straits. Being 36 it’s not something I listened to growing up so I’m not bored of it at all. What I can say is that it sounds amazing and it’s really very timeless IMO. A perfect example of regular old redbook CD quality being more than enough when production is well done! The midrange is just so smooth it’s melts me away after a few beers!
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Or whiskeys or wines 
Well noted, you are welcome at our home anytime. Though you may have to find your own airline passage.
Mitch from Oz.
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You absolutely don’t need to apologise for OCD Mitch. Or indeed for listening to Dire Straits, who are a great band. I think someone else mentioned about buying a modest priced streamer to start with, to ‘dip your toe into the water’. This is sound advice if you’re still tempted.
The convenience of streaming wins the day for me - listening to old stuff and discovering new music. I would never go back to vinyl for these reasons.
Happy listening down under!
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Please, Mitch, don’t take my comments as criticism, which they absolutely weren’t. I was referring to the abandoning of the amp/speaker idea and the new interest in streaming. The important thing is to be clear where you want to go. I suspect I have an obsessive and sometimes impulsive streak. The best thing, usually, is to do nothing and let things blow over you. I do listen to Dire Straits on rare occasions but I certainly don’t need 25 different versions.
I find Qobuz streaming overwhelming and for that reason stick with bought recordings. For new stuff there is always the radio, and it’s free.
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If you are that slow - have you considered Satellite - there are some good offers now - and unless you are into low latency gaming or download masses of data they can be very well suited.
If 4G is off, even with a proper broadband external antenna - and there has been major upgrades around the UK for specific reasons - then Satellite can be a good alternative - especially if you are in a 4G shadow
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I might explore that - but 4G is definitely off (as is any other G) - we just don’t get a mobile signal here. Any suggestions for satellite?
https://www.ispreview.co.uk/isp_list/ISP_List_Satellite.php
My experience was with the older services compared to these new improved services.
Just one thing to discuss with the provider is the contention and if there is any minimum throughput SLA for peak usage time - certainly in the past with cheaper services contention at peak time used to be noticeable.
Konnect looks attractive
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Thanks, Simon. Yes, Konnect looks the cheapest, particularly in the setup costs. I’ll investigate.
Cheers
Hi Mitch, I have no intention of changing your mind, but if the streaming itch starts up again, I would agree a ND5XS2 is a good place to go with your lovely XS system, both visually and sonically, but I wouldn’t add a Uniti Core. Instead, a NAS would be much cheaper and IMO more flexible.
In the mean time, lots of happy listening to your LP12 and CD5 and do post in the Music Room.
Roger
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Yes Roger,
I will now that I have learnt to take pictures and upload them. This old analogue tech is learning new tricks.
Thank you everyone for your comments. The ND5 XS 2 would look good in my music media stand, There is also a place for a SN3 and a HiCap as well 
Not wishing to be difficult, but if you are seriously thinking of a SN3 and Hicap, it’s really an NDX2 you should be looking at. That is expensive of course, and for that reason I’d be building around your already excellent Nait XS2. I’d still be looking at more copacetic speakers.
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I had to look that word up. Thank you HH.
Mitch.
It’s a made-up word. But then, I suppose most words are, ultimately.