Naim do not bring out 500 series products every week. The first one was the NAP500 power amp which came out in 2000, followed by the NAC552 pre-amplifier in 2002. The last 500 series component that was released was the CD555 in 2006. In fact Naim had felt that their streaming products had not yet reached the level of the CD555. Until now. Twelve years after the release of the CD555, Naim have said this about the ND555; “our reference network player is quite simply the best source component we’ve ever developed”. The ND555 is the first of the new range of network players that will be released this year. It is available now and costs £13,000. It requires a 555 PSU to run, and the matching anodised variant costs £7,000.
Here is some information about the ND555:-
- 40-bit SHARC processor with advanced signal processing
- Suspended brass sub-chassis to isolate sound-critical circuits from vibrations
- Using Low Voltage Differential Signalling (LVDS) on a network player for the first time to route the digital audio signal. LVDS was chosen because it minimises timing errors due to its fast speed and it minimises radiation thanks to its low noise
- Decodes all HD audio formats at up to 32 bits/384kHz or DSD128
- New streaming board allows the DAC clock to control the flow of the audio data rather than using the source as the digital timing master
- Uses Naim’s DR regulator technology in a network player for the first time. The ND555 uses a total of 13 Naim DR regulators to provide ultra-clean voltage to the individual audio stages
- The ND555’s power supply is housed in a separate unit to keep electro-magnetic interference from the oversized transformer at bay
- 5” colour display presenting album artwork and track information
- Over-the-air updates
- Roon ready
The next Naim streamer to be released is the NDX2. It will cost £5,000 and, like its predecessor, the NDX, can be upgraded with the addition of an XPS2 or 555 power supply. We are hoping to have it on demonstration at the beginning of September. Finally we are expecting their entry level streamer, the ND5 XS2, which will cost £2,300, around a month later.
Stop press:- We have just received our demonstration NDX2 a few days ago and it is running in nicely.