One more attempt to get this thread back on topic, as the DC-1 cable is now in the house.
First reaction connected cold out of the box: Blimey, what an incredible difference! Digital is now on par with the LP12, with even a tad more resolution. This will be fun as it settles down.
Longer version:
The ND5 XS2 on its own is a very nice machine. A lot more coherent than several of the budget streamers I listened to. All the Naim traits including the rhythmic drive are there, and it has a quality build. Its sound profile is somewhat on the bright side. It puts percussion right in front and vocals more in the back, and occasionally it’s a tad rough around the edges. Music feels “fast”. That’s with CD-quality input either streaming or ripped CDs on a usb stick. When using it for Spotify the streamer just boxes everything in from poster to postcard size, and then presents that nicely. A good first step.
The nDAC, ah well that is something else. The impression that stuck in my mind is “classical”. Sound has a concert hall scale, you have to turn down the volume as there appears to be simply more sound. Individual instruments and voices are portrayed with a scary life-like quality, especially when playing WAV-files from a USB stick. Pace of the music appears to slow down. When using it for Spotify via an iPhone there’s no impression of boxing in just a nice representation without any harshness. The sound profile is very dark, percussion is all the way in the background and vocals right in front. A good buy, quite a special machine.
From the descriptions above there could be an amazing synergy using the two together, in theory. As I was waiting for the DC-1 cable I hooked them up using several digital cables I could loan or try. In that situation some synergy did emerge but not totally convincing.
Enter the DC-1 and from the first notes it was clear to me that Naim’s own digital cable is the magic ingredient. The theoretical larger sum of all parts was now there in spades. The Naim PRAT, slam, yet a lot of refinement as well, more resolution, sort of an analogue quality to it. Everything nicely balanced front to rear. Also the perceived volume and the speed of the music is in between those of the two separately. This is now simply a streamer that comes with two boxes and a cable as one package IMO.
Knowing the NDX2 well this is way more satisfying. I always felt it needs the XPS to shine, just as to my ears the SN3 that it is often paired with needs the HiCap DR to become a “whole”. And then you’re on a very different (price) level outside of my budget.
So, with the caveat that IMO it’s also the DC-1 cable that really pulls it off, I can now vouch for this combo. And that’s just the first impression, will report back after a while.