ND5 XS
Slimline streaming
Naim has always been associated with fi rsts. The fi rst high-end CD player - the CDS. The fi rst high-end
hard disk music player – the HDX. The fi rst high-end BMR speaker – the Ovator. The fi rst performance-
upgradable high-end audio streamer – the NDX. And now the NDX has its fi rst offspring – the ND5 XS.
The ND5 XS takes the DNA of the NDX and concentrates it in the slimline XS style package. With an
ND5 XS you can stream audio from a UPnP™ server, discover internet radio, connect your iPod, iPhone,
iPad or USB storage, and even listen to conventional digital audio sources. Simply connect the
ND5 XS to your home network, plug it in to a spare amplifi er input, and the new world of streamed
audio is yours.
The ND5 XS is a condensed NDX, but while for the rest of the world that term might imply something
missing, there’s no functionality cut from the ND5 XS. It incorporates most of the digital and analogue
audio hardware and the same signal path as the NDX, and features the same connectivity. It offers the
same variety of control interfaces too – front panel buttons, remote handset or iPhone, iPad or iPod
Touch app – and the same complement of inputs, outputs and network capabilities. And it goes
without saying that the ND5 XS can offer the same potential for extraordinary music from every one
of its inputs and sources.
Musical multitasking
Streamed audio is a hi-fi revolution and the ND5 XS unlocks its potential. It provides easy access to all
the audio delivery formats that have suddenly made music in the home exciting once again. Through
its wired or wireless network connection the ND5 XS can play literally thousands of internet radio
stations. The ND5 XS is also fully Apple Authenticated meaning it can play iPod, iPad or iPhone-stored
music, digitally for optimised sound quality, via its front panel USB socket. And via the same socket,
the ND5 XS can play audio fi les stored on USB memory sticks. The ND5 XS can play audio fi les,
including iTunes libraries, stored on a computer or on network storage over UPnP™. It can play the full
range of audio fi le and stream formats at up to 24bit/192kHz resolution: WAV, FLAC, Apple Lossless,
AIFF, Windows Media-formatted fi les, MP3, M4A, MMS, AAC and Ogg Vorbis. The ND5 XS will also
handle M3U and PLS playlists formats and it supports gapless playback. Finally, an optional FM/DAB
tuner module that integrates seamlessly with the ND5 XS control interface means traditional radio is
also not forgotten.
For more conventional external audio sources the ND5 XS provides three independently selectable
digital inputs to enable S/PDIF audio from CD players, computers and other digital audio sources
at up to 24 bit/192kHz resolution to be played. The three digital inputs offer a different connection
socket option; optical TOSlink, coaxial phono and coaxial BNC, to provide both versatility and
optimised sound quality.
Technology for music
Like the NDX, the ND5 XS is one of the most technically advanced and accomplished of all Naim
products. The use of numerous innovative techniques for electronic signal processing and isolation
ensure that each digital audio data stream is delivered to the ND5 XS outputs with maximum fi delity.
The ND5 XS uses the same RAM buffer and master-clock jitter removal technique of the Naim DAC.
It employs the same Burr Brown digital to analogue converter chip as fi tted to the HDX hard disk player,
and all the oversampling, fi ltering and signal management techniques that have brought Naim to the
forefront of digital music in the home. Component selection and layout is entirely optimised for sound
quality and the XS style case construction helps minimise microphony by providing a rigid non-resonant
foundation for the electronics. Like every Naim product, fastidious attention to power supply noise and
regulation is a fundamental element of ND5 XS performance. A custom-wound mains transformer,
oversize smoothing capacitors, independent power supplies and multiple regulators, along with
painstakingly meticulous PCB layout and earthing topology, ensure minimal power supply noise.
And the result of all this extraordinary technology is extraordinary music reproduction. Connect an
ND5 XS to your existing audio system and the world of high resolution audio downloads, UPnP™
streaming, and the vast resource of internet radio are yours for the listening. And it’s a world where music
from any source will live, breath and satisfy – completely.
Choose to control
The ND5 XS is as versatile in use as it is in its applications. Its three user interfaces provide alternative
methods of control – each one appropriate for different situations and personal preferences. It can
be operated from its front panel buttons, from its remote control handset or by using the free Naim
n-Stream iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch app. In each case, control is simple, intuitive and satisfying.
System automation also features allowing the ND5 XS to integrate with Naim’s DAC or any connected
Naim preamplifi er or CD player, offering centralised control via the n-Stream app.
For even better performance the ND5 XS can be upgraded by the substitution of an outboard XPS*
or 555 PS power supply, and, or the addition of the separate DAC digital to analogue.
*Please note: Only current “Classic” style XPS power supplies can be used with the ND5 XS.
Older “Olive” style XPS units are incompatible and cannot be used.
High-end slimline network player
