Living with an HDX

I've been living with an HDX for a few months now, and it's been a very interesting experience.
Having listened to one at the Summer Sounds last year, and not drawing any particular conclusions, I found myself in a position to buy one, albeit blind. Of course, a crazy thing to do, but I can easily sell it for what I paid for it, and I sometimes wonder what home trials really tell you anyway. Short term (e.g. 2 weeks) trials can, I am sure, demonstrate obvious differences in components, to help you make up your mind, but the HDX is a new direction for me, so I was also keen to see what it was like to live with. The only way to do that, unless you have compromising pictures of your dealer, is to buy the damn thing.

I work all day with signal analysis software and audio files, but I really am not motivated to get into all that at home. I want a music box, and I am prepared to pay someone to do all the hard listening to find a solution that works, and choose all the right ripping methods, resampling, filtering etc. I trust Naim to have all the right priorities, and that's what you pay for.
I slotted the HDX into the space left by the CD555, and powered it from a 555PS. I have never bothered to try it bare. Setting up the network was OK, and ripping is a doddle, albeit with a few errors/omissions in cover art and artists/track listings.
And before you ask, I am not going to compare it to a 555 (mainly because the 555 is bloody heavy and I can't be bothered to keep swapping boxes). I've been a bit perplexed by some postings about the relative merits of the HDX, some saying it was CD5x level, others saying it was as good as a CDS3, but there doesn't seem to be a consensus. So I tried not to compare it, but simply listen to it on its own merits.
The HDX/555PS is very very good, and although the presentation was different to what I am used to (there seems to be a little more articulation in bass lines, and some vocals are more 'present'), the whole experience is very enjoyable, and apart from the ripping delay, it's been fun trying old CDs I haven't heard in years.
I'm not sure what ripping process is being used but the HDX, but it definitely works, although one or two artifacts occasionally seem to creep in. For example, on one track of Maddy Peyroux's Bare Bones, it almost sounds like she is licking the microphone, and there were one or two strange clicks. To be fair, I haven't listened to the same CD on a CD player, but it did sound a bit odd. Also, I noticed on that CD that some infrasonic signals are lurking around - my ATCs are bass reflex, and the bass drivers occasionally 'pump' slightly - maybe there's the tail end of a digital filter misbehaving somewhere? I suspect there is more to the Naim rip process than simply taking the bits off the CD. Re-sampling? Jitter reduction? Re-clocking? Who knows, but it works. If I can be bothered, I might try comparing rips bit for bit, but then....

On hi-res material, it's astonishing. The 24/96 version of Plant/Krauss Raising Sand is not only listenable, but really enjoyable. I can't say that of the 16 bit version. I also downloaded the 24bit sampler from the Linn site, but maybe it's not my choice of music - it didn't do it for me. Let's hope the 24/96 download library expands into the mainstream soon! Downloading paid-for music is a bit new for me, and I'm still getting used to the lack of physical media. I still prefer to have a CD case or LP sleeve to hand while listening to music. Note to self - I must put a proper back-up strategy in place!

So to summarise:-
Positives:
Excellent sound quality - if the new DAC improves on it, then it's a no-brainer
Naim build-quality, and the knowledge that you're paying for those green ears
Upgradeability with 555PS and DAC
Negatives:
User interface needs improving - white text on green background is really not very clever at a distance
Cover art management needs sorting
Scanning of NAS seems never-ending
Ripping/archiving to NAS
DTC software is clunky and buggy
Oasis CDs still sound shit
Remote control is a bit naff - too many irrelevant buttons. Make it work with Flash or R-com please
Doesn't work with iPhone (non-Flash UI needed)
Screensaver doesn't move the CD image around (or am I missing something)
(I know a few of those will be fixed with the impending firmware)

Sorry for the long review, but I think the HDX is a worthy addition, and is a keeper. Until the HD555 comes along of course The temptation to try any other disk player solution is long gone....

Cheers
John