If I remember correctly there was a subtle change to main system board.
The early models had removable plastic dust caps for the Toslink inputs whereas later models have a little ‘door’ that closes automatically when a Toslink cable is removed to stop dust getting in.
I’m pretty sure that there’s no difference in sound quality on the different models though.
Still sometimes puzzles me the fact that Naim took the decision to quickly discontinue the nDac, back in 2013 if I am not mistaken, such a short period was it on the market. What’s even more confusing is why to this day all streamers Naim have released are with inferior dacs compared to nDac, with only one exception, nd555 (and maybe NDS), but that is expected I guess, given their price tags. Still to this day people prefer to use it at the end of their double or triple the price of an nDac streamers. It really makes me wonder why it was discontinued at all. Was it due to those very streamers that followed and now need the nDac to perform on a level they are supposed to perform? If this is the case, then it must be one of the few sad Naim stories…
Wot he said!
It was discontinued in 2018. I would guess sales had begun to drop off and naim wanted to preserve their stocks of the Burr Brown PCM1704K DAC chips for the ND555.
Thanks.
Thanks Richard, always thought it was discontinued by the time V1 was released. My bad
Both rather different products and at different levels. They existed together in the lineup for a good number of years.
Richard, I have ND5 XS2 feeding SN3.
I was offered a pair NDac & 555PSDR. At the same time in similar threads people praised chord qutest or TT2 or Hugo-2 even with ND555.
It looks as if adding Ndac + 555PSDR to my setups is kind of smart way for something sonically equal to ND555. Has anyone tested that combination?
The topping for this cake would be Hi-Cap Dr.
Any comments?
It could be a good move but be careful; it may share much with the DAC section of the ND555 but the latter goes further still in a few areas (not least in the mass loaded suspension) and should perform even better, especially when streaming.
I am sure that ND555 is not just a dac chip with pile of components but an audio masterpiece.
I obviously want to improve my system audio quality and ND5555 costs roughly 2.5 times more than the offered Ndac/555Ps. The hard question is if this set or new chord Dac at same/less cost will be the best?
My dealer said that he was selling much more streamers, first the Hdx then Ndx…etc …than Ndac. People preferred and prefer simplicity. A one box solution doing all.
Thanks everyone for the input. I will keep observing the market here (in Germany) for a decent model at an acceptable price. Offers here range anywhere between 900 and 2000 EUR.
I found the offers for pre loved naim eq. In Germany are often attractive
Yes the Naim DAC is still a quality product… sure later incarnation of the DACs in the streamers are more refined, but essentially much of the key DAC / DSP architecture of the Naim DAC such as the IIR reconstruction filter, Analog Devices SHARC DSP and the Texas Instruments PCM1704K converters has continued through to the NDS and ND555, although sonically they are very different.
I owned the Naim DAC for a few years and really enjoyed it… in particular it provides strong deep punchy audio, especially with the PS555 (nonDR) which I strongly recommend with the Naim DAC.
Where I wouldn’t necessarily recommend the NDAC is if you listen to a lot of orchestral or choral… as those genres don’t play to its strengths in my opinion, the NDS is far better with those genres.
The Ndac is a very nice dac for the money you can pick one up for these days.
Freind of mine has one and still uses it, tried it against my NDS a few times over the years and could never pick them apart in my system.
One thing to consider, my friend updated his with the new firmware just a few weeks backs, it completely stopped it working and had to go back to naim, they sorted it for free, but he was told a few had done the same, so be careful.
Depending on how serious your interest is, a wanted ad in audio-narkt is another possibility.
Many sellers on eBay will do global shipping and some of those may well be Naim dealers.
I bought mine off eBay - the seller was a well respected dealer.
Thanks. I am looking at a few options at the moment.
Next question is where to go on the amplification side (replacing my Unitiqute2) without breaking the bank. First world problems.
If on a fairly tight budget, how about a NAIT 5i? Or better yet, how about a NAIT xs? Or, if separates appeal, a NAC122x and NAP150x would be a great place to start.
Thanks Richard. I am indeed looking at the NAIT XS. Separates are an option as well but I don’t want to go overboard with the box count and am leaning more towards an integrated amp.
Slightly off-topic and maybe trivial question: what I like about the UQ2 is the very granular volume control via the remote control. Since I haven’t had an amplifier with an actual volume knob in a while, is the experience similar with e.g. a NAIT XS or 5i? Background of my question: Many years back, I owned a Musical Fidelity pre amp where the remote control was essentially useless for volume control because the volume change resulting from one button press on the remote control was huge.