"Glowingly Recommended" - Stereophile
Awards 2020 Winner - What Hi-fi? Magazine
Recommended - Hi-fi Choice Magazine
Highly Commended - Hi-fi News Magazine
Feature Packed Naim Network Player
Naim's high-performance network player is the perfect introduction to music streaming. The ND5 XS 2 uses Naim's innovative new streaming platform with an expanded feature set. High-res UPnP™ streaming, AirPlay, AirPlay 2, Chromecast built-in, Bluetooth (apt X HD), Spotify Connect, TIDAL, Qobuz, Roon compatibility, internet radio and multiroom streaming – alongside digital and USB inputs for conventional connections – make this versatile player the ideal partner for one of our integrated amplifiers.
The ND5 XS 2 benefits from classic Naim engineering and fastidious attention to detail to ensure that it delivers natural, engaging sound quality from all sources. Carefully selected and matched parts, an oversized toroidal transformer, and decoupled PCB boards are part of the advanced design.
"Glowingly Recommended"
This is definitely an award-winning streamer, earning "Recommended" status from Stereophile, an Awards 2020 Winner citation from What Hi-fi?, Recommended honors from Hi-fi Choice, and a Highly Commended rating from Hi-fi News.
"Glowingly recommended," notes Art Dudley in Stereophile. "At the end of the day, the ND5 XS 2 impresses me as a good-sounding, pleasant-to-use player that offers very good value for the money…"
"The Naim ND5 XS 2 is a sterling piece of hi-fi kit," raves England's What Hi-fi? magazine. "It sounds like a five-star product almost immediately, and our admiration only grows as it mellows and settles into its role. This is the kind of network streamer for which it’s seriously worth extending your budget."
"The excellent app manages to carry out an extremely impressive number of network audio applications with high levels of finesse, delivering streamed music with Naim’s distinctive flare and typically impressive sound," notes the UK's Hi-fi Choice.
"The ND5 XS 2 gets dangerously near to its big brother, the NDX 2, and does so for less than half a price," reports Paul Miller in England's Hi-fi News Add in the slick and usefully flexible Naim app, which makes using it a delight, and you have a remarkable digital audio player/DAC for the money."
Technology and Craft
The streaming section of the ND5 XS 2 uses the latest Naim network card featuring low-noise, high-speed low-voltage differential signaling (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, Naim's new streaming board turns things around and allows Naim's DAC clock to control the flow of audio data. The data is integer-oversampled in a SHARC DSP to an incredible 40-bit accuracy before it’s fed to the PCM1791A Burr-Brown digital-to analog converter.
Developing a new streaming platform was one of the biggest projects Naim has ever taken on. Naim engineers across all disciplines – electronic, industrial, acoustic and mechanical – worked for three years to create a system that could make the most of online services such as TIDAL and Spotify while adding future-proof flexibility through Chromecast built-in. Supporting faster data rates with dual-band Wi-Fi and the latest 802.11ac protocol, this robust platform was designed for the highest performance on every level.
A World of Music Streaming Options
The ND5 XS 2 is UPnP-enabled to allow streaming of audio files at up to 32bit/384kHz resolution from Naim Audio hard disk servers, network-attached storage (NAS) devices or any home computer.
Two 24bit/192kHz-capable digital inputs (S/PDIF) and two optical inputs support optimum connections to external sources. Built-in Chromecast allows you to stream from hundreds of supported smartphone or tablet apps (192kHz). Apple AirPlay streams music from your iOS device or from iTunes and Apple Music. Spotify Connect built-in streams millions of songs from the world’s most popular streaming service.
A front-panel USB port gives you convenient replay of MP3 player and USB-stored audio (1.6A charge), while vTuner 5 provides full-service internet radio.
Whatever your source, the ND5 XS 2 supports a broad range of music formats: WAV, FLAC, DSD, Apple Lossless, AIFF, AAC, Windows Media-formatted files, M4A and MP3. Gapless playback is available on all file formats.
Native support is provided for Qobuz with true high-res streaming up to 24-bit/192kHz quality. Native support for TIDAL streaming service is also provided, with free 90 day trial of lossless hi-fi tier.
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