Surprised myself with that one too! 
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ND5 XS 2 has just won a What HiFi? award for best streamer over Ā£1,500 - iām inclined to agree with them. I knew from the outset of ownership that this player will go down as an all time legendary classic. Watch!
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I donāt understand this award. So itās better than the NDX2 and 555? Better than the DCS Vivaldi and Bartƶk? I donāt think so. Maybe best value over Ā£1500.
Yes I think so. I donāt think for one minute that itās as good as NDX2 let alone a ND555. What HiFi? magazine generally review most affordable kit in general, so put in that context then these awards are well deserved. I also use a pair of Grado SR325e headphones with which have been rated very highly year in year out, for the money theyāre unbeatable, this is what I meanāt by an all time legendary classic.
" Our shout for the best music streamer over Ā£1500? Itās a new face, in the shape of the sterling Naim ND5 XS 2. Brimming with class leading sound and leaving gimmicky aesthetics for dust, it is expressive, detailed, insightful, and rhythmically on-point."
I have no doubt that the nd5xs2 is probably one of the best, or even the best streamer in this price level.
However Whathifi is a commercial magazine, paid by advertising and manufacturers.
They reviewed the nds, then linn kds3, then chord dave, then naim nd555. For each review they wrote: itās the best streamer we have heard. Whathifi is a crap.
Read stereophile, Hificritic, or eventually Hifi News, they are relatively objective.
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I have the deepest respect for What Hi-Fi? Magazine. They help to organise the Bristol Show every year and have always rated Rega, who do not advertise and they are not paid by manufacturers, that is a complete myth.
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Who ALL pretty much say the same thing as What Hi-Fi? but in a more gobboldeygook way!
Things move onā¦
just to say: i am not saying that what they wrote about the nd5xs2 is wrong. Just i donāt trust Whathifi.
here a review you perhaps didnāt know:
https://www.avforums.com/review/naim-nd5-xs2-network-audio-player-review.16022
@Richard.Dane should approve.
Yes I read that review when it was first released. Thanks. Itās a great review but I disagree with the mentioning of no remote, crikey that is the sort of thing one would use for the Cefax or Teletext. An iPad is all you need with ND5 XS 2. A remote control is like so last century stuff! 
did you remember when you get your nd5xs2 but couldnāt install the app? a little screen and remote would not be too much i feel.
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Yes I do remember the angst of that time, it was a killer moment, nearly broke me into bits. I donāt know what I would of done without you guys! Now I have gotten used to the iPad and App after 7 months of use everything is so easy. ND5 XS 2 works faultless everyday, it gets a lot of use. Itās a fantastic player, iām very pleased with it for many years to come. Naim have just won 5 What H-fi? Awards. Says it all!
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This review is a fair assessment of the combination of versatility, sound quality and ease of use that is the ND5 XS2.
Today I have used mine with Internet Radio, Chromecast (from the PC for web videos), Tidal, and now for UPNP from my Melco. I also typically use Naim Multiroom with my Qb(now a ā2ā). Roon is a future possibility, and I too would like to see Qobuz Integration.
There are other streamers with more features and better integrated DACs but the ND5 XS2 is very cost effective and so enables alternative DACs to be brought into the system without too much redundancy.
A full-fat Powerline helps it improve further as do good interconnects (TQ Black Waveform II digital RCA out, and Entreq RJ45 Ethernet in my case) and the forumās favourite router.
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the stereophile review, as very often, is much more interesting. Stephen will probably agree.
https://www.stereophile.com/content/naim-nd5-xs-2-media-player-page-2
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Art Dudley and Herb Reichert are great writers.
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Very good review.
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Very good review . I really like Dudleys writing style. But what got me, and this is my fault, I never realized that the Naim streamers all have WiFi ! Thereās so much talk here about Cisco routers and ethernet cables and not touching wallsā¦But in Dudleys review he heard no difference between wired and wireless. That also been my experience with my Auralic Aries G1ā¦ Any opinions??
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I must admit to all here that I have not tried the WiFi from my ND5 XS 2 yet. Iāve only tried different Ethernet cables so far and I can here a difference between those. Now iām more settled with my player I think I will give it a go now with the WiFi and report back in due course. It will suit me if there is no difference between the two as the WiFi is a much more neater solution, with no cables, no switches and space saving to boot. However, my dealer says the cable connection is better, even with the new streamers and I trust their opinions very much. I personally find that Stereophile review OTT and too techy & anal for my likingā¦
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i liked the first part of your post Stephenā¦ Curious to know how Wifi can sound.
I prefer however reading stereophile vs whathifi or hifi newsā¦