Hello everybody
Brand new on this forum ; my apologies in advance for any English mistake I may write … I believe I would be authorised to say “excuse my French” in some case
After years dreaming of NAIM products I finally bought an Amplifier XS3.
First HiFi product in my home cinema system (Yamaha AVR RXA860 and Dynaudio Exite X34 speakers, sub REL, video Apple TV source)
I am looking for a decent streaming source to feed my XS3 and I would love to know your recommendation.
Today I use my AVR and found that it gives harsh sound on high frequencies and not enough bass.
My budget would be around 1000€ +/-
I read things on : DMP-A6, CXN100, Node, s/h ND5 XS … but I don’t know
The ND5 XS2 was my first choice to start with but it is over my budget, very difficult to find as second hand over here (+ quite old for a streamer but as far as it sounds good and remain practical it is fine)
WiiM is certainly good streamer but I am worried about sound quality from his DAC.
It is good to know that some tried it on a Naim amplifier without being disappointed or chocked.
I really don’t want to have a sound too analytic (?) as my speakers Dynaudio are quite transparent.
The English sound is what I like
You could try a WiiM Ultra on its own to start with and maybe add something like a Chord Mojo 2 DAC if the sound isn’t English enough with the streamer only. Even with the two you’re still well within budget
I was once in your position and went with another product at first. It would have been less expensive if I would have saved more money and bought the ND5XS2. I sold the other product(s) in the end the ND5xs2 was/is the perfect match for the XS2/XS3
I kind of agree being a happy SN3/ND5 XS2 owner myself but even a used ND5 XS 2 will be 2x budget and a new one 3x budget. Sometimes you’ve just got to be pragmatic
I understand the predicament for sure. I think what I’m saying is I tried a couple of solutions before my ND5xs2 but if I think about the cost of all the temp solutions it added up to the cost of a ND5xs2. That being said I learned a lot and as you said, sometimes you have to be pragmatic.
Thanks all for your feedback
I really appreciate that your share your experience and ideas.
The ND5 XS2 is on the market for a while and I was wondering if its components are still up to date vs streamer less than 4 years old ?
There is no offer as s/h in France so I would need to wait.
I check the Auralic Altair G1 suggested at first and its got a large numbers of awards and dated 2020. It sounds possible within budget as s/h but can hear it in my own town.
WiiM ultra + Mojo DAC : this DAC is for headphones so is it a real improvement ?
not sure but the idea is interesting.
I assume that instead of WiiM it could be any other practical streamer as long as the external DAC is good and warm …
Sometimes I have the feeling that in HiFi you can never find the perfect solution … maybe this why it is nice too.
If you’re looking for a high-quality streamer with built-in storage, the Aurender N150 or the N200 streamer server but at the end of the day I have my sights on the A200. that includes an internal DAC.
I have a Bluesound 2i, and a Heed Abacus dac into my SN3 and I am very pleased with the sound.
The new Bluesound models get very good reviews, so an external dac maybe is not necessary.
I’d recommend looking at a Node as a stop gap and save for a ND5 XS2. I owned one before moving on to an ND5 XS2 and it was really the piece of kit that convinced me that digital streaming was worth the investment. The ND5 XS2 is superior for sure but the Node is great value in my opinion.
