Lets not second guess @Darran on this… 
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Apologies if my writing has been confusing. English is not my first language but I still try to communicate in a clear and fact-based way as much as possible.
Back on the topic of the reservoir caps and their servicing:
In the nDAC, I can see 5 (and that’s what I meant by a couple 
). SN2 (as an example) has 7 in comparison. So coming back to my original question, why is Band 7 significantly more expensive to service compared to Band 5, where a similar amount of effort/caps is needed? I can understand that repairs in Band 7 will be more expensive than Band 5, given the complexity of electronics, but for servicing not so much.
Anyway, in the end I just want to enjoy my ND5XS2-nDAC source, so such discussions help to clarify my future course of action. Cheers to all!
Thanks - yes in English couple is used to mean formally two and in written English it usually means two. In British English that has more bearing and is often used with people, man and a woman, two women, men, children or two similar things. Three people would never be called a couple - in a casual typically spoken sense it can be used as an equivalent of a ‘few’ - such as a few items, … but as the quantity was the focus of the context of your sentence - a couple would have the meaning of two, otherwise you would have used an adjective like a ‘few’ if you were not being specific, and you wanted to emphasise a small number - which perhaps you were.
However if you were in a pub and asked casually the barman for a couple of bags of crisps - you would get two bags of crisps and not five bags of crisps.
English is a funny language.
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A couple of beers is never just two.
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There is always one more 
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Actually it’s changed with the newer versions of iOS.
It’s under Settings>General>About … then scroll down to Naim DAC
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Thank you Neil…
For clarification I no longer work on digital equipment such as cd players and dacs, and tuners always go back to HQ. It’s a personal choice. I concentrate on pre and power amps and power supplies.
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Very good… I’ll give you that…
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Mine is 14 years old apparently. Not sure I can bear the thought of not listening to it while being serviced (fwiw I’ve heard don’t bother unless it’s broken).
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…and a fine job you do too, my Nait 2 that you serviced a few years back sounds superb. Thank you 
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My 12 yo nDAC sounds FABU!!!
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Catching up on posts a little further up, a thought sprang into my brain. It wouldn’t go away so …
I really value @Simon-in-Suffolk’s posts. I find his expertise helpful and his measured reflections an example to follow.
I am sure he is more than capable of ‘shaking off’ the occasional reply that doesn’t display the same qualities. Thank you Simon.
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I own both the nDAC and the NDS and I definitely prefer the NDS with the Nd5xs2/DC1/555ps. Others hear differently so probably the amp and the speakers matter as well. I did blind tests with others and it’s unanimous.
So I would remind NDS+555ps as good dac alternative in the Naim ecosystem before getting in the nd555 price range.
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But they do have very different presentations indeed… I preferred the nDAC/555PS nonDR to the NDS /555PS DR … and also tried 2x DR. … so you do need to listen and decide as you say…
The nDAC has a slightly less clean ‘analogue’ presentation that is very low end bass strong compared to the NDS which is more resolving clean and detailed… but to me less musical… but I realise this could be largely speaker related now … I was using ATCs then.
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Just some troubleshooting info in case anyone runs into the same problem at some point:
This weekend we reverted the apartment back from its Christmas decorations, including a good start-of-the-new-year dusting and cleaning. A good time to also remove two months of dust from the system itself and its corner, so with the usual careful dismanteling and then reinstallation, but…
Problem: a bricked nDAC. Both Sync and HD light permanently on, not possible to select any of the four Source buttons or the Dock button, and it didn’t show up on my iPhone over USB.
Solution (in the end): reboot the nDAC from the USB-stick with the firmware. It started right up, found the firmware version up to date, and reverted to its normal brilliant operating state. Undocked the USB stick, selected source 1, and it happily relayed the ND5 XS2s bits and bytes again into analogue.
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Yikes. Glad it’s working again but strange that it happened in the first place.
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Another quick note here, this time about system synergy:
Couldn’t resist comparing, and ND5 XS2 > DC1 > nDAC is brilliant into a XS3, but to my ears and in my room with my speakers the Nait 2 seemed like a better match with the bare ND5 XS2. Interesting when being used to go overboard on sources
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You’re kidding of course 
No, really, so I’ve added “to my ears and in my room with my speakers” which all do seem to be different from yours
nSats and Nait 2 is very nice but also very different from the Royds here. Perhaps the Core/nDAC combo interacts differently than the ND5 XS2/nDAC also?
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Fair enough all good
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