After 100 hours on the NS5000 some things are starting to take shape. I do not get to sit in front of the system much (at the end of the year) but I do have it cranked up in the Livingroom and I mostly listen in the office. I do take some breaks to have a proper listen.
This speaker needs power. The stop gap modded PeachTree GAN1 was replaced by the following 3 pieces, Benchmark DAC3B | Benchmark LA4 preamp | CODA #16 amp. The office system that had the 3 pieces are moving to the NS5000 system. In my office, the Magnepan LRS+ was amazing with that gear. However, it did sound different from the NS5000.
The CODA #16 really brought out the bass in the NS5000. It is not bloated, just very tight and extremely impactful. Listening to John Bonheim smashing away on Zeppelin tunes was a revelation. I thought the RAAL CA-1a + VM-1a headphone amp was the only way to listen to hard rock, but the NS5000 beats that. I love the feeling of the sound waves hitting you. My fav speaker for bass was the original Revel Salon1 (I owned it). The NS5000 seems further in the quality department. Not only does it hit hard it just sounds so correct.
The NS5000 sounds like a musical instrument to me. It plays the music in a super clean, coherent, and impactful way, but there is also something with that sound that seems to have some additional richness or body to it. My Magnepan LRS+ does not have this extra richness. The LRS+ plays the music cleanly and beautifully. Not as impactful but surprisingly tough. However, the LRS+ sounds like a speaker, while the NS5000 makes me think of an instrument. Maybe not a good description, but there is something beautiful that is going on with the NS5000.
The coherence inherent in the design of the drivers is easy for me to hear. It sounds like the RAAL SR1a and CA-1a phones on the VM-1a headphone amp, my highest compliment. I did not think 2-channel could beat the RAALs but the NS5000 is now my top system.
The NS5000 does not place the instruments in the stage like the Blades, I don't think anything does, the placement is good. The quality of the drivers on the NS5000 is maybe the best I have ever heard. Not bright but detailed and fast.
At the end of this year, I will be getting a Playback Designs DAC. I am not sure if it will go with the NS5000 or Magnepan. Until then I will only have 1 DAC and it will be a rough 6 months.
For my office system, I am getting the following, Holo Serene preamp | 2 FM tuners | ??? DAC | Peachtree GAN400 (30-day home trial).
The PeachTree GAN1 unit is doing RAAL CA-1a headphone duty in the office. A killer combo.