Upgrades - have I reached the end?

Sorry, language barrier, I thought that meant better.

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No, in my experience, they wreck the sound of an all-Naim system.

So I have heard Kudos 808s and I am very happy with Sopra 2s. I have listened to Scala Utopia Evo’s which are very good but perhaps too much for my space.

The Sopra 2s are amazing speakers. I have kept an eye on the Scala Utopia Evo’s used. Not ready for any change right now.

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ND5XS2/NDS is a great source with streamer and dac to some extent decoupled.

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As you have seen before I had this configuaration. It is the NDS but with latest streaming platform. There was little difference between this configuaration and ND555 in sound quality.

ND555 is newer model, nice remote, nice screen, 500 finish. And all in one box.

I love the ND555 and I prefer it to having NDS and ND5XS2. With extensive tests, to my ears which are quite good the difference was minimal.

With 2 x 555PSDR and switches and cables high end I have got the best from my source and am very happy with it.

I didn’t know before I bought it that there would be no real difference.

But I have it now and other kit is sold and I am happy with what I have.

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They can sound fantastic as i found out using the 500dr, you just need to do away with the naim pre amp. If you dont do this then you are certainly limited.

You are correct. If someone writes that X compares favourably to Y, it means that X is better. The opposite would be compares unfavourably.

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I imagine what Dan was implying was that considering the significant price difference between them, and the general acclaim the 808s attract, the Focals comparative performance was impressive…

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Thank you! That’s what I thought.

Did your NDS screen go dim?

Did you get it repaired, or just turn it off?

Can they still be repaired?

My NDS screen went dark about 18 months ago but haven’t really missed it.

Some info on screen replacement here: https://community.naimaudio.com/t/superuniti-screen-dead-replacement-cost/