New Naim 500-Series Streamer

sked why it has taken so long for the company to add a streamer to its high-end 500 series, Naim’s response is refreshingly frank: performance of their streamers has never managed to match the musical qualities of the CD 555 CD player -- until now. Available in early summer, the new ND 555 streamer will cost £12,999, including tax, and represents the first addition to the 500 series in twelve years. Of course, in Naim tradition, that price covers the head unit only; you’ll need to drop another £7000 into the matching power supply, but then the company does claim that it represents their "finest-sounding source component yet."

The ND 555 is based on the New Platform hardware and software first developed for the latest Uniti products. Demand for those units plus shortages of key components have delayed the introduction of not just the ND 555 but also the heavily updated NDX 2 (£4999) and ND5 XS 2 (£1999). But not surprisingly, it has taken far more than that to elevate the performance of network replay to match the best CD standards. The ND 555 pays as much attention to mechanics as it does the digital electronics, with extensive physical internal and external shielding, and the DACs and audio devices, each with their own dedicated regulation, are hard mounted to massive suspended brass plates.

Digital transfer from the NP 800 streaming module to the selected PCM1704U-K ladder DACs is via I²S over LVDS, its separate clock signal significantly reducing jitter compared to S/PDIF transfer. Talking of clocks, the ND 555 employs both Naim’s ClockMaster and RAM buffer to control and reclock data transfer. The circuit employs distributed DR regulators (first seen in the Statement products) throughout, with 13 discrete regulation points in all, including individual regulation of clocks, DACs and the discrete output stage. As with any streaming product, the feature list is long and in this case suitably comprehensive. Key points are compatibility with all of the common commercial streaming services, and connectivity across multiple protocols, including (of course) UPnP, Airplay and Bluetooth. The unit also offers USB and coaxial digital inputs, is multi-room ready and, crucially for an increasing number of listeners, is also Roon ready. More than a little of that technology has trickled down to the New Platform NDX 2 and ND5 XS 2 models, including the decoupled boards, improved DACs, the provision for online software updates and enhanced WiFi capabilities, all of which should significantly improve the user experience.

With the technicalities out of the way -- and with streaming products, there’s always an endless list of such technicalities -- it only remains to be seen whether the ND 555 (and its more affordable brethren) is as musically impressive as Naim claims, something we’ll be reporting on from High End in Munich, where the ND 555 will make its public debut, hopefully in close company with a CD 555.