Happy owner of a ND5XS2 here. Never saw the point of the screen on the NDX2. Lack of one on the ND5XS2 ups the SQ game, add an offboard DAC and BADDABING.
High-end performance.
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Very happy with ND5XS2/DC1/nDAC/555PS 
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On the other side, no trace of a NAIM at the EISA awards 2022/2023. Lack of new products ?
I read somewhere you had to pay to get an EISA award…
What Hi-Fi uses an ND555 in their reference system — says a lot too, doesn’t it?
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Does it? Well maybe it does
Doesn’t mean much to me what they use really, but any reference system to me would have the best or certainly items that are known to be as good as it gets in a reference system, if not its just a system, maybe a good one but reference it is not. As reference is what you compare others too as its the best you can get
Hi Richard
in terms of marginal gains in hi-fi this is my experience.
Unfortunately (for me) - I had the misfortune of hearing a 282/HCDR comparison with a 552DR into a 500DR. Source was Chord Dave, Chord music interconnect and superlumina Speaker cables. Speakers were the top of the range (at one time) from Sonus Faber. During the comparison all else stayed the same, just one preamp against the other was changed.
The 552DR blew the 282 away, and fully justified the high price.
I wish I had never heard the 552DR in hindsight (simply because I cannot afford one) and it was a real ear opener.
In the Naim world it was a lesson for me, you get what you paid for. The difference in performance between a 282/HCDR and a 552DR was anything but incremental, but then neither is the price difference…
it’s a good thing audio memories are short, so I eventually started to enjoy music again on my own system (282/HCDR.250DR)
Congratulations to all at Naim for winning the what hi fi awards !
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I’m pretty sure they are not alone. In some way or another. I’ve been exposed to well known mags saying “if you pay for these many adds for x months we will write about your products”. Under the table “we will write good about them the more ads you purchase”. It’s not random that you usually see ads at the same time as reviews.
Interesting - thanks for the information.
So well deserved 
I think in the world of Anti Bribery back handers are somewhat a thing of the past. Maybe I’m naive but I’d have thought the risks outweigh the reward. Congratulations to Naim on their awards, and another shout out to Chord Electronics too 
Good post. When it sounds good, it sounds good. This can be achieved with low level budget gear as well. I believe system matching and expectations are the key factors to achieving musical satisfaction without taking the cost of equipment into consideration. Nevertheless, it is inevitable that one will sound better than the other once you start comparing both.
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Nice 
NAIT XS 3 is like having a turbo charged NAIT 2 and I love it 
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The atom
Continues to a be a fantastic intergrated/ streamer
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I’ve just been trawling through the What HiFi? website and going back all the way to around 2001, they have reviewed around 50 different Naim components. All, bar about 4 of them, got given 5 stars. It’s great to see the n-SAT speaker system was included in there as well, in both 2.1 & 5.1 configurations 
Well done Naim!
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I am helping a friend who is a naim dealer in the Netherlands. Every time you play a wireless speaker and then play a muso. Then their mouths open in amazement. Most here already have a nap250 or nap300. The point is that most people have not yet experienced the real sound. The other brands are getting very close lately, but the sound isn’t quite that, just…Naim.
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There has been some discussions in the past about the usefulness of WhatHiFi.
My personal view is that it will always be relevant to someone. In my case, it was actually browsing through WhatHiFi (online) that I came to see Naim’s products when researching streamer options.
I think it is an excellent resource for those getting into HiFi or moving on, not everyone needs HiFi critic to purchase any HiFi.
That last paragraph was referring to others who turn their noses up at What HiFi not you Slamdam.
yes
I’ve had my XS3 and ND5XS2 for almost 2 years now. I have not thought of upgrading nor changing these since that time. And that is very unusual of me.
Yes, it’s Naim’s entry level offerings. In terms of cost, this pair was a major “downgrade” from what I had in the past. But in terms of musical enjoyment, it was a major upgrade. Really love this pair (together of course with NAC A5). Looks like this is already the end game for me.
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