What Hi-Fi reviews Naim Audio's new Reference ND555 Network Audio Player/555 PS DR Power Supply -
https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/naim-nd-555555-ps-dr
"It’s expensive, but this music streamer sets new sonic standards."
"Power supply regulation has always been a Naim priority and here it is taken to an extreme with no fewer than 13 of the company’s highly effect DR regulators used to ensure that every part of the circuitry receives a clean, stable and low noise power feed.
The likes of Chord make a big song and dance about using FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) loaded with in-house software to do the digital-to-analogue conversion duties. This approach can yield excellent results, but it’s not the only way to great sound. Naim sticks to the traditional approach of using an off-the-shelf number cruncher, Burr Brown’s highly regarded PCM1704, and dedicates one per channel."
"Given a little while to settle, the ND 555 turns in a terrific performance. While it’s a clear step better than anything the company has managed before, there remains much in its sonic character that will be familiar to regular Naim users. Essentially, the presentation is direct, punchy and organised with a musical cohesion few rivals can match."
"Naim’s range-topping streamer was never going to be cheap, but it is difficult to escape the fact that the ND555/ 555 PS DR comes with a £20k price tag. Yet, having used it for a number of months, we can honestly say we haven’t come across a better digital streaming source.
We rate the ND555/555PS combination so highly it’s become a vital part of our reference set-up – and we can’t give it a better recommendation than that."
Naim Audio's new ND 555 Network Player/555 PS DR Power Supply are at Musicraft (Derby)
Pure musicality with our most advanced streaming platform -
Our reference network player is quite simply the best source component we’ve ever developed. Drawing on decades of digital and analogue engineering experience, the ND 555 marries our innovative new streaming platform with classic Naim analogue technology. It features a 40-bit SHARC processor with advanced signal processing, a suspended brass sub-chassis to isolate sound-critical circuits from vibrations and the best external power supply we’ve ever made. Whether you’re listening to Bonham’s solid groove or Coltrane’s dizzying scales, the ND 555 lets the music flow with astonishing ease and uniquely engaging musicality. Partnered with Statement or 500 Series amplification, we believe the ND 555 is as close to live music as it gets.
Naim Audio's new ND 555 Network Player/555 PS DR Power Supply are at Musicraft (Derby)
Naim Audio's new ND 555 Network Player/555 PS DR Power Supply are at Musicraft (Derby)
Naim Audio ND 555 Network Audio Player UK RRP £13000
Naim Audio 555 PS DR power supply UK RRP £7000 (Brushed Black finish), £6599 (Powder Coated Black finish)
Naim's story begins with one man’s passion for music and weaves its way through four decades and a raft of iconic product launches to the present day.
Naim Audio founder Julian Vereker MBE (1945-2000) was a racing car driver, entrepreneur and self-taught engineer with a deep passion for music. Spending his spare time listening to and recording his friends playing live in the 1960s, Julian found that playback on his system at home fell woefully short of the experience he craved.
Not content with second best he decided to design his own amplifiers and loudspeakers, ignoring accepted wisdom and focusing on aspects of performance that made music burst to life. These first designs laid the foundations for a range of iconic and award-winning hi-fi products that would reach well into the next century.
https://www.naimaudio.com/sites/defa...2012_FINAL.pdf A technical white paper on the Naim Audio Discrete Regulator technology
You’re a nobody without a Naim.
Naim Audio's new ND 555 Network Player/555 PS DR Power Supply are at Musicraft (Derby)
https://www.naimaudio.com/sites/defa...%20Product.pdf
Hi-Fi News reviews Naim Audio's new Reference ND555 Network Audio Player/555 PS DR Power Supply
""The ND 555 is remarkable in not just matching the best 'physical media' players but bettering most - and by some margin. The now-discontinued NDS was excellent, but the ND 555 betters it in sheer involvement and detail."
"The sound was rich and warm yet simply packed with musical information, which is the Naim ND555's sonic signature."
https://www.naimaudio.com/sites/defa...IM%20ND555.pdf
Hi-Fi critic reviews Naim Audio's new Reference ND555 Network Audio Player/555 PS DR Power Supply
"The ND555 soundstage has an inviting transparency, with subtle natural timbres, fine image perspectives and truly excellent focus. We initially suspected that it might be just too seductive, if such is possible. Certainly it required no thought at all to recognise superbly deep soundstages, massive stage width, and first class three dimensional stereo imaging. Texture was virtually devoid of unwanted grain; sweet yet sparkling; highly detailed yet also convincingly micro-dynamic. Subtle gradations of musical expression were portrayed very well, it played with great authority, and in context possessed fully convincing naturalness."
"I cannot recall a digital player of such build quality and performance where transparency and detail, image depth and stage width is so clearly state of the art, and one which is allied to a highly extended and natural subjective frequency response. It sounds absolutely wide open. The balance of these qualities is hugely music, system, and listener dependant, and here I feel that prospective purchasers will have to judge for themselves the relative importance of all these matters but in our reference system it is clearly state of the art. Our top Audio Excellence rating is well deserved."
https://www.avhub.com.au/product-rev...-review-518147
AV Hub reviews Naim Audio's new Reference ND555 Network Audio Player/555 PS DR Power Supply
"Them Crooked Vultures’ New Fang is a blistering track which can similarly wall up on lesser gear; the 555 allowed the Kashmir-like left-channel strings to rise above the rhythmic lock between John Paul Jones and Dave Grohl, while the vocal held solid in its own little bullhorn-Elvis world: this is a 21st century Black Dog, and its energy can simply overload and smear all too easily. Not here. Every piece in the whole was kept utterly clear, simultaneously isolated but connected. We’ve never heard it better."
"We didn’t get to listen quite as long as we’d have liked, but our week with the ND 555 in our system included enough moments of magic that we were entirely convinced by its ability to consistently thrill, by the quality of its conversion, and the extreme efforts at ensuring the results are delivered at the highest, cleanest and lowest-noise levels of performance."
"This is not an audiophile-only device. It requires no effort and just a little familiarity (those remote symbols) to operate. It offers everyman ease of operation backed by sensational audio performance. A triumph."
A rich audio heritage -
The ND 555 is the result of over four decades of audio engineering. From our state-of-the-art streaming module to powerful, natural-sounding audio stages – every element of this network player is built on our design DNA, giving it that distinctive, captivating Naim sound. The ND 555 development process also helped us step foot into new technologies: for the first time, we’ve added low-voltage differential signalling (LVDS) to a premium Naim player. We chose LVDS because it minimises timing errors due to its fast speed and it minimises radiation thanks to its low noise.
Naim Audio's new ND 555 Network Player/555 PS DR Power Supply are at Musicraft (Derby)
The ND 555 is bristling with innovative technology from input to output. The streaming section uses the latest Naim network card featuring low-noise, high-speed LVDS to route the digital audio signal. The higher speed is capable of decoding all HD audio formats at up to 32 bits/384 kHz or DSD128. Rather than the source acting as the digital timing master, our new streaming board turns things around and allows our DAC clock to control the flow of audio data. The data is integer-over-sampled in a SHARC DSP to an incredible 40-bit accuracy and fed into the Burr-Brown® PCM1704, a true R2R ladder DAC valued for its exceptional sound quality.
Naim’s renowned DR regulator technology, as used in our range of amplifiers and power supplies, makes its first appearance in a network player, providing ultra-pure DC voltage to the sensitive audio circuitry in the ND 555. The analogue stages use only high-grade through-hole components and are suspended on sprung sub-chassis with heavy brass plates to minimise the effects of microphony.
Expert craftsmanship -
The ND 555 is bristling with innovative technology from input to output. The streaming section uses the latest Naim network card featuring low-noise, high-speed LVDS to route the digital audio signal. The higher speed is capable of decoding all HD audio formats at up to 32 bits/384 kHz or DSD128. Rather than the source acting as the digital timing master, our new streaming board turns things around and allows our DAC clock to control the flow of audio data. The data is integer-over-sampled in a SHARC DSP to an incredible 40-bit accuracy and fed into the Burr-Brown® PCM1704, a true R2R ladder DAC valued for its exceptional sound quality.
Naim’s renowned DR regulator technology, as used in our range of amplifiers and power supplies, makes its first appearance in a network player, providing ultra-pure DC voltage to the sensitive audio circuitry in the ND 555. The analogue stages use only high-grade through-hole components and are suspended on sprung sub-chassis with heavy brass plates to minimise the effects of microphony.
Naim Audio's new ND 555 Network Player/555 PS DR Power Supply are at Musicraft (Derby)
Naim Audio's new ND 555 Network Player/555 PS DR Power Supply are at Musicraft (Derby)
Naim Audio's new ND 555 Network Player/555 PS DR Power Supply are at Musicraft (Derby)
Absolute control -
There are several ways to control ND 555. The Naim App for iOS and Android gives you complete control over individual or multiple Naim products. You can access all of your music including radio pre-sets, streaming services and playlists, sync several Naim players for multiroom playback or explore artist discographies and biographies. The app also controls our Uniti Core music server (so there’s no need for two separate apps) and allows you to update your system wirelessly with a single tap.
For those who prefer a more tactile experience, a premium metal Zigbee® remote control is supplied. It requires no line of sight to the player, so you can take control whatever direction you’re facing. The front panel features a 5” colour display presenting album artwork as well as track information in crisp detail, and there are keys for most commonly used functions including standby and input selection.
Naim Audio's new ND 555 Network Player/555 PS DR Power Supply are at Musicraft (Derby)
Naim Audio's new ND 555 Network Player/555 PS DR Power Supply are at Musicraft (Derby)
Naim Audio's new ND 555 Network Player/555 PS DR Power Supply are at Musicraft (Derby)
— Seven regulated supply voltages, including a separate supply for the CD555 clock circuit
— Low-resonance case with isolating feet
— Massive transformer, 40 percent larger than that fitted to the XPS2 DR
— Supplied with Power-Line mains cable as standard
— All-new Naim Discrete Regulator (DR) configuration, delivering Naim Audio’s best-ever standards of stable, low-noise power
Naim Audio's new ND 555 Network Player/555 PS DR Power Supply are at Musicraft (Derby)
Naim 555 PS DR Technology & Craft
The 555 PS DR benefits from both our decades of experience and our relentless pursuit of superior sound quality. Its massive transformer, some 40 percent larger than that fitted to our XPS2 DR power supply, features five separate windings outputting to seven regulated supply voltages, including an output specifically intended for use with the clock circuitry of our CD555 and ND555.
The 555 PS DR was updated in 2012 as a result of a two year project to develop a new discrete regulator (DR) for Naim Audio power supplies. The new Naim Audio DR now features, alongside improvements to the wire routing, mechanical decoupling and internal layout. These enhancements, developed through intensive listening tests, significantly raise performance and make music even more.
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Rick @ Musicraft
Musicraft is Derby's foremost dealer for the finest, specialist Hi-Fi, Home Cinema & Multimedia components/systems. So, if you would like to know more about how our products can enrich your life, then please visit us or contact Rick.