U will enjoy the nova. It is very powerful and easy to setup and use. I have womdered if it is all i need and ive got ndx2 sn3 plus power supplies.
Go to Nova. As your dealer promised you a good offer for the future.
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Of your presented options Iād go Nova. Easy decision.
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The other option you might want to consider is the Atom HE. This has all the streaming capability of the Nd5xs2 and throws in a screen and headphone amp as well (Almost identical functionality to the 222 with the exception of vinyl MM input). You can connect it to just about any amp in the short term and get your ālastā amp when funds permit.
Another vote for Nova
I think the Nova has a headphone amp built in as well as the Atom ā¦
The Nova is pretty comparable in SQ terms with ND5XS2/Nait XS and ought to be a nice upgrade on your ND5XS/Nait 5i, so thatās a great deal and Iād go for it like a shot.
Roger
As youād get the Ā£3,000 off anything you buy later itās not really relevant. And who knows, the Nova may be all you need. It seems obvious really.
Another option if 222/250 is stretching your budget is NDX2/Supernait. The NDX2 has been replaced by the new 333, so used or ex-demo prices have dropped significantly, but it still has the new streaming board like the 222 with support for services that your old ND5 canāt handle and it will be a big upgrade on your current system. Your dealer, of course, will want to sell you the latest gear, so may not have suggested this option.
Also, if you went down this route you could probably bypass the Nova as it wouldnāt cost much more to trade the ND5XS for an NDX2.
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+1 for the Nova. It sounds like a very good offer from the dealer and you will be able to stream hi-res Qobuz.
Thanks everyone for the above comment.
I think its a no brainer to do a deal on a Nova, and upgrade to 222/250 when funds allow.
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The headphone amp in the Nova and Atom is OK, but not in the same class as the Atom HE. Get the latter if you have hard to drive headphones.
Keep the nd5. Go for a bigger amp. Supernait 3 used is top value device. Add a Hicap later if you want (especially helpful for the internal phono).
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Tha ND5 XS wonāt read hi-res files @24/192, so it has to go.
NSS333 source into supernait 2
looking to replace the SN2 and the Gryphon 300 has caught my attention, demoing the 120 next week as donāt need a stupid amount of power.
I also heard some Marten Parker speakers which blew me away.
Its all getting expensive!
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Have you listened to 24 bit files and/or FLAC vs lower bit rate / compression and noticed an audible difference? I canāt, unless on really serious kit.
Did you go for the Nova?
Why not also demo the NAC 332 / NAP 250, as these will be well matched to the NSS 333. Fairly similar budget too.
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You really canāt go wrong with a Nova, and as others have stated already (including current owners) you may well find a happy place and stay right there for an extended period of time. Going from a Nova to a 200 Series is quite a step in budget, even allowing for any ex demo or trade in deals youāre still well above Ā£10k more than likely, itās a nice place to find yourself but you can even get there incrementally from a Nova, add a 200 Series NAP 250 to the Nova and then later replace the Nova with a NSC 222, if you want to keep on spending money you can still add an NPX 300 at some point.
Regardless of where you stand today, youāll always have 500 Series and Statement above you on the Naim ladder, finding happiness where you can afford to be can feel like a tough find but can be had relatively easily, even with a Nova 
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All good advice ā¦. If my endgame is 222/250, I donāt want to keep the Nova till
It has no value tho ā¦. But Ā£Ā£Ā£ !
McTaff ā¦. The used Nova I have been offered at the dealer is a trade in , which is waiting on a new 222/250 arriving.
But yes, the Nova is my only financial option at present. My current ND5XS will only play up to 44.1khz files and has no native Qobuz or Tidal hi-res (>44.1khz) file support .