Naim DAC / Lavry / Amarra / HiFace

Hi Paremus,

HOW frustrating!

Have you got a DVD or CD player you could swap in as a source, to try and narrow down where the issue is?

M

Unfortunately not.

Both Coax and Optical are fine into the Lavry - so input that is not the problem. Also had no joy with the iPhone.

Also in desperation swapped out the Hi line for the stock cable that came with the DAC. No joy.

Will try a USB stick next - but the fact that the control buttons on the front are not illuminated seems suspicious.

So think its a duff unit. Will go and get my deposit back Saturday

Don't suppose there is a reset button!

What do you think of the HiFace?

M

Only the power button

re HiFace. I'm really impressed with it! Value form money is stunning. Definite improvement over optical into the Lavry.

Note that the MAC OSX drivers are still very young. Currently there is a bug with background 'clicks'. I get this - but they are very low level - and given what the HiFace does worth living with. (A fix is on the way).

Richard,

Try reinserting the link plug if you are not using an external supply.
If you are using an external supply, the internal supply also needs to be powered up.

Keith

I am really impressed by the HiFace:

Stripped down XP> cPlay > ASIO > Benchamrk DAC1.

Stunning stuff.

I'm hoping to get my hands on a Naim DAC on the 7th Jan.

Sympathies on the frustrations of a non-functioning box!

M

quote:

but the fact that the control buttons on the front are not illuminated seems suspicious.

You need to select an input before the button lights up. Then if there's a recognized source on that input, the sync LED or the sync and hd LEDs light up.

Keith,

Thanks for the input. So I've reseated the link plug. Tried the unit with my XPS supply. And with a USB stick from the front panel.

Selected input from the front - but on no occasion do the buttons light up :-/

M - interested in your experiments re - HiFace and DAC relative to your Benchmark.

It gets worse. My NAP 250 power supply button has now stuck in powered up mode :-/

Guess its time for a service.

I guess I might as well get all the failures out of the way in the last gasps of 2009: then I can start tomorrow on a good note

Off to break something else.

quote:

Originally posted by paremus:
Only the power button

re HiFace. I'm really impressed with it! Value form money is stunning. Definite improvement over optical into the Lavry.

Note that the MAC OSX drivers are still very young. Currently there is a bug with background 'clicks'. I get this - but they are very low level - and given what the HiFace does worth living with. (A fix is on the way).

goggled
paremus, are there different HIFace ?...i for one, but i just found an usb into rca not optical ?

very interested in , what you guys going to tell about the naim dac / lavry comparison...

pylod

Sorry - my previous sentence may have been misleading. The hiFace only has RCA (think there in a BNC option also) - not optical.

So I meant to say USB / HiFace / RCA - is a big improvement over the Mac's optical out.

Unfortunately - I'm not going to be able to say anything until I source another Naim DAC

Might have to drag my kit into the dealer I usually use.

sorry to hear paremus..must be frustrating... you have , as many of us waited long to listen to one, and than this...

get a bottle of champaign and have some fun instead today ...when u lucky, you will sleep over the whole day tomorrow..and then it ´s saturaday already ...

hopefuly your dealer has another one !!!!

good luck

Just a minor announce in the grand scheme of things

Happy New Year

Richard

Bin the amarra software and try it direct, probably the easiest solution is to create another account and go into that one and run itunes from there.

I reckon your issue is not the DAC but the information its receiving it cannot sync to.

It should play anything even if an odd frequency. This one is a bit bewildering. Amp is probably a 5 min. fix where the switch has jammed the guide a bit. Let us know what the DAC issue was when discovered. As for the clicking in your current setup. I know that some Windows users could eliminate it by defaulting standard sounds to the native sound card and only direct the player to HiFace. Hope it's up soon and Happy New Year.

So just unpacked the DAC - gave it a good stern talking to - and everything is now working :-/
(Don't have the faintest idea).

Sync light is on and sound is flowing from Amarra, through hiFace via DAC into my 52

The DAC was new. By new, I mean I doubt the dealer had actually powered it up. So I'm leaving it a few hours before I have a proper listen this evening.

Good start to 2010! (Power button still stuck though).

Cheers

Richard

Excellent - await your report with great interest!

M

There is a new version of Amarra available, 1.2. Download it before you start serious listening, surprisingly good

ferenc,

Do you mean 1.1.2? I've been running on a beta candidate for a few weeks now. If you mean 1.2 I'll have to contact my distributor as this version is not mentioned on the Amarra site.

Cheers

Richard

quote:

Originally posted by paremus:
ferenc,

Do you mean 1.1.2? I've been running on a beta candidate for a few weeks now. If you mean 1.2 I'll have to contact my distributor as this version is not mentioned on the Amarra site.

Cheers

Richard

it is 1.2 not 1.1.2.

Here you can download it:
Latest Release - Amarra 1.2 and Amarra MINI 1.2

ferenc

Thanks. Missed that - will download now!

Cheers

Richard

Just downloaded it - cured the missing the first bars bug of the Beta version. I'll try to have a good listen later.

EDIT - Sonic have really cracked it this time

Cheers

James

Disclaimers: The following are my opinions only, and formed within the context of my system - (see profile).

Background: I've been a Lavry DA10 for well over a year and delighted with the capabilities of this little unit. The sound quality and convenience have resulted in the MAC/Lavry combination being my primary front end - with the CDSII and LP12 somewhat neglected. The latest Amarra software and HiFace USB/Coax tweaks just added to this.

Setup:

As the Naim DAC was new / unused - I let it burn in for a the first day. Also from the off I used the Naim DAC with the hiLine - this as the hiLine was in use with the CDSII and I didn't want yet more variables in the mix.


1) Lavry DA10 v.s. Naim DAC - with Mac Mini front end. (evening)

It was clear from the start that the Naim DAC moves the game forwards, and for some reason the difference seemed most dramatic during this first listening session.

Playing Satie: Gnossiennes - 1 Lent - The piano sounded more resonant, the actual playing felt 'slower' and more purposeful. It really was much less a piece of reproduced music - more a performance.

Moving on to a host of other Rock and Folk music reinforced this impression, the Naim giving a more relaxed, more 'spacious' rendition. Music felt more dynamic, had more detail, yet at the same time more relaxed & natural.

My wife humoured me by listening to a number of these tracks - blind. On most she expressed a (sometime very strong) preference for Naim. Only with one track 'Michael Hedges - Live on Double Planet' did she prefer the Lavry.


2) Naim DAC with XPS (evening)

Next I moved the XPS power supply over from the CDSII. Didn't really try and compare the Naim DAC with / without - just spent several hours listening to some great music .

I'm pretty familiar with what the power supply upgrades do - and so I'd just say that the initial qualities were enhanced in the way I expected.


3) CDS II / Lavry / Naim DAC shoot out (morning)

This morning decided to repeat the shootout and introduce into the mix the CDSII.

Using a couple of tracks from Thea Gilmore albums I moved from Naim DAC / XPS, to Lavry, to CDSII and then back again.

The CDS II was its usual self, a very seductive performance. There was little between the CDSII and my Mac / Lavry setup - but as pre previous listening sessions - I felt the latter was a little more transparent and imposed less of its own character on the music; this more so given the recent enhancements to my Mac front end - but it remained a close call.

In contrast - I felt the Naim DAC put clear distance between both the CDSII and the Lavry. Whilst clearly better, the difference were not quite as dramatic as those experienced during the first evening. I suspect this is due to mains quality at different times of the day - or a function of the Naim DAC burn in process?


Conclusions so Far:

The Naim DAC:

Early last year I stated on the forum (one of the deleted threads ) that Naim needed to build a DAC with no compromise performance for at a target price of £2K.

I think they've achieved this! Well done Salisbury! The DAC, without optional upgrades, is IMO a stellar performer.


2) Lavry DA10:

I'm still amazed by this little box - it cost me the same as the hiLine and continues to turn in wonderful performance. It lost to the Naim DAC - but I see no shame in second place.


3) MAC mini front end:

Correctly set up ( I'm my case MAC/OSX, Amarra, hiFace), a computer front end really is right up there as a source of the highest standard; and the Naim DAC works extremely well in this configuration!


Next?

Tonight or tomorrow I plan to test optical v.s. hiFace interface into the Naim DAC.


Regards

Richard

Report back in a few. Burn in does go better when in actual use. Maybe but a dig source in repeat while away and leave the V down or on another input. Thanks for the review and am curious to hear your HiFace results. will you be using the stock MAC dig out for TOS? I assume you did this listen through the HiFace. Is Amarra out of the mix via your tos?

js,

Amarra is definitely in the mix during all listening.

Will get back re hiface v.s. stock Mac TOS digi out.

Cheers

Richard