Dac brief encounter
Posted by: Keith L on 31 December 2009
I have the Naim Dac on home loan over the New Year holiday. I’ve had a few hours to try it out with my setup, 282, 250.2, Allae, nSub
The options on offer are:-
Cyrus CD8/HiLine
Cyrus CD8/DC1/Naim Dac/HiLine
Cyrus CD8/DC1/Lavry D10/Canare
SB3/DC1/Naim Dac/HiLine
SB3/DC1/Lavry D10/Canare
MacBook Pro/Naim Dac/HiLine
MacBook Pro/Lavry D10/Canare
iTouch into USB socket.
Firstly with the CD8 my preference lies with the Naim Dac, followed by no outboard dac, then the Lavry. The Naim Dac opens the soundstage and is slightly less forward than the bare CD8. Whether or not this widening of the soundstage is natural is questionable? The CD8 with Lavry is duller than without outboard dac and is without the Naim Dac’s widening of soundstage.
Surprisingly the SB3/Naim Dac didn’t seem to improve much on my existing Lavry setup.
The MBP option was behind the SB3. The sound was much leaner and bass extension was limited. Maybe my 3m optical lead was clouding the issue. I tried ALAC and AIFF files and a few 96/24 bit downloads. None was particularly grabbing. The HD led lights up when the midi setting is at 96khz, even if the material is only 44.1.
The iTouch USB socket was disappointing. In the context of the above options it fell well short.
Obviously these are only initial findings and are very limited to what I have available. I couldn’t try the Dac with an external ps. My xps2 went a long time ago with the departure of my cdx2. The above options are probably representative of what many users have amassed over the recent years. My streaming options of SB3 or MBP are now old hat with the advent of the popular Linn streamers.
Apart from the sound there are some really nice touches. You can control an iPod using Apple’s remote, the one you get with a MacBook Pro. This is very rudimentary, only controlling next, previous, pause and play. Pressing menu doesn’t respond. It plays ALAC files straight from my iTouch.
The standard Naim preamp remote on 7, 8, 9 & 0 will select the Dac front inputs 1, 2, 3 & 4. If an input has both coax and optical, it will automatically select the one playing. USB inputs override other inputs, with the front socket having priority over the rear.
Will the Naim Dac replace my Lavry? It’s too early to call. If I used several digital sources, I wouldn’t hesitate. It’s a great digital hub and integrates well with Naim amps. At the moment I don’t need a digital hub and rarely stray from the SB3 or CD8.
What is very apparent in my setup is that Naim Dac gains over the Lavry are miniscule compared to gains had from slight changes in speaker position or Preamp changes. These have far more effect on the system than small tweaks with my digital front end.
I’ll add to this after the holidays.
ATB Keith
The options on offer are:-
Cyrus CD8/HiLine
Cyrus CD8/DC1/Naim Dac/HiLine
Cyrus CD8/DC1/Lavry D10/Canare
SB3/DC1/Naim Dac/HiLine
SB3/DC1/Lavry D10/Canare
MacBook Pro/Naim Dac/HiLine
MacBook Pro/Lavry D10/Canare
iTouch into USB socket.
Firstly with the CD8 my preference lies with the Naim Dac, followed by no outboard dac, then the Lavry. The Naim Dac opens the soundstage and is slightly less forward than the bare CD8. Whether or not this widening of the soundstage is natural is questionable? The CD8 with Lavry is duller than without outboard dac and is without the Naim Dac’s widening of soundstage.
Surprisingly the SB3/Naim Dac didn’t seem to improve much on my existing Lavry setup.
The MBP option was behind the SB3. The sound was much leaner and bass extension was limited. Maybe my 3m optical lead was clouding the issue. I tried ALAC and AIFF files and a few 96/24 bit downloads. None was particularly grabbing. The HD led lights up when the midi setting is at 96khz, even if the material is only 44.1.
The iTouch USB socket was disappointing. In the context of the above options it fell well short.
Obviously these are only initial findings and are very limited to what I have available. I couldn’t try the Dac with an external ps. My xps2 went a long time ago with the departure of my cdx2. The above options are probably representative of what many users have amassed over the recent years. My streaming options of SB3 or MBP are now old hat with the advent of the popular Linn streamers.
Apart from the sound there are some really nice touches. You can control an iPod using Apple’s remote, the one you get with a MacBook Pro. This is very rudimentary, only controlling next, previous, pause and play. Pressing menu doesn’t respond. It plays ALAC files straight from my iTouch.
The standard Naim preamp remote on 7, 8, 9 & 0 will select the Dac front inputs 1, 2, 3 & 4. If an input has both coax and optical, it will automatically select the one playing. USB inputs override other inputs, with the front socket having priority over the rear.
Will the Naim Dac replace my Lavry? It’s too early to call. If I used several digital sources, I wouldn’t hesitate. It’s a great digital hub and integrates well with Naim amps. At the moment I don’t need a digital hub and rarely stray from the SB3 or CD8.
What is very apparent in my setup is that Naim Dac gains over the Lavry are miniscule compared to gains had from slight changes in speaker position or Preamp changes. These have far more effect on the system than small tweaks with my digital front end.
I’ll add to this after the holidays.
ATB Keith