I’m an XS3 owner (with Flatcap XS) and I would advise caution on using ‘below par’ sources as, in my experience, the XS3 makes them sound harsh in a way my other amplifiers (Arcam) have not. I think you have experienced this using your AVR as a source.
The ND5 XS2 is the obvious solution but at a price. I currently use the XS3 with a CD5si and, for streaming, a laptop into an Arcam D33 DAC. Each has its strengths: the Arcam is the more refined and expansive whereas the CD5si makes rock music in particular very engaging and ‘real’ sounding. The D33 was a £2k DAC when new.
I’ve never heard the Wiim products so can’t comment on their SQ but they are well under budget: you might find that they play perfectly well with the XS3 but it’s also possible that you end up purchasing a good off-board DACt to go with it.
On a side note Fell Audio are launching a new UK-made streamer which, to some eyes, is a visual match to Naim. It’s too early to comment on its SQ or indeed if it will be available in France.
I’ve got both a Wiim Pro Plus and and Ultra on a couple of my second systems and the software with them is excellent and I’ve had good results on the SQ.
On my naim system I have an ifi zen stream transport into a musical fidelity mx Dac. This Dac has a really strong and muscular presentation that matches the cdx2.2 sound into my Supernait 3/hi-cap dr.
By chance I have the day off today and am going to try the Mx-Dac in front of the Wiims and see how that sounds. Reason for trying this is the ifi zen stream sounds excellent into the MF Dac, however their software (ifi that is) is awful and could potentially put someone off streaming.
So the Wiim powered mx-dac combi could provide ideal mix of very good and reliable software with high useability and excellent sound quality and that would come in right on budget.
we now have a wiim ultra and ‘even’ with spotify the result is quite stunning- especially for the small cost. It’s very up to date and the updates are a continuos process. Best buy in years
Ok, least surprising update is that connecting the Wiim Ultra to my Musical Fidelity MX-Dac results in a notable uplift in SQ, particularly textures and front to back depth.
I also have an upgraded linear power supply on the Dac.
Starting with a Wiim give you a cracking starter platform, the Ultra brings a touch screen upgrade and all round nicer looking component, but the pro plus is very capable and has akm Dacs as opposed to the ESS in the Ultra.
Either uses same software and have the ability to add a separate Dac to upgrade.
Compared to ND5XS2 both Wiim and Bluesound are not an options really if we are speaking about their analog outputs i.e. using like a full streamer. A good and very affordable alternative is Cambridge mxn10
I feel that there is a tendency in having LCD display for the streamer to make them more practical and available for all + it looks nice ; even the last Naim has LCD display.
I have found reviews where the Bluesound Node 2024 sounds better than the WiiM ultra or Eversolo DMP-A6 but this suspicious.
I am digging the idea of buying a good DAC (Chord Moji or Qutest or nDAC for example) with optical inlet connection + use my Apple TV as a streamer through an optical cable from my TV and then cabling between the DAC and my XS3.
Not sure that it is not crashing the SQ of the DAC at the end … just an idea
Did someone ever try this ?
I’m sure it varies according to the DAC being used did you find adding a linear power supply to be a worthwhile improvement?
In our sunroom system we use a Cambridge Audio DAC Magic 100 which has a ‘walwart’. It has all the connections but need but I do sometimes wonder if it could be improved by adding a linear PSU.
To see if he can stretch to a used ND5XS2. They’re down to 1200 euros on the HiFi Shark site. If that’s absolutely out of the question a used ND5XS or even NDX would be a great match for his Nait and can be had at fire-sale prices!
That’s it. I understand his/her budget. I’m just saying if possible see if it can be stretched to a ND5xs2. If I could do it all over I wish I’d saved more $ and purchased the Naim streamer at the beginning of my journey.
That all being said there are some nice alternatives out there within the budget but when I was at the same point of my hifi journey I kept thinking “what if….”. Guess I wasn’t satisfied until I got the matching streamer for my then Xs2 integrated.
I never used HiFi shark which seems to refer to local s/h eshop ; I will have a look.
It appears for all of you at least that the ND5XS2 is still the best choice for 1,5k€ (il believe this would the very best price I will find) which far above my budget.
In between I read reviews on the WiiM ultra (no airplay), Bluesound nano (apps with critics, too basic ?), Eversolo A6 (sound bright, even with DSP?), Auralic G1 (neutral, apps without Deezer… budget close to ND5XS2 ), Cambridge CXN100 maybe to get the right match …
For my criteria : 1000€ max, SQ matching XS3+Dynaudio, easy to use (apps or display), Airplay
This leaves me to : Cambridge, or wait for more budget (not easy…)
(not easy…)