i got it!! i got it!! (-:

So where are things w.r.t HDX and a PS555? Anybody heard this combination recently? i.e. with a production HDX unit.

Cheers

Richard

Should have HDX in my active dibble system next week.

John R -- drop me an email to jon@jonhoneyball.com

quote:

Originally posted by paremus:
So where are things w.r.t HDX and a PS555? Anybody heard this combination recently? i.e. with a production HDX unit.

Probably on par with a CDX2/555PS, but it's CD dependent in that some files are better than others.

I still preferred my CD555, but you know, depending on a tune, a HDX is pretty compelling. And this is only the first generation unit with 16/44 files.

a first review i found: Malcolm Steward - Hi-Fi Choice 311

quote:

Originally posted by thesherrif:
I don't think the "newness" of the HDX will make any difference whatsoever. It's a computer and so will boringly and without emotion keep doing the same thing day in day out with the bits that are on the hard disc.

Morning all, Newbie here. I have owned my HDX for just over a week now (its in a non Naim system comprising of Chord Amps & B&W's 802's) and I can confirm the sound has definitely improved as the machine is getting run in. What started as a brightish, clinical sounded has opened up and grown in warmth. I leave the box powered up all the time and had it running 24/7 for the first three days.

Simply put, its a stunning source.

Hi Guy,

Welcome to the forum.

Experience always trumps theory!

Out of interest what else did you listen to before you plumped on the HDX?

M

quote:

a first review i found: Malcolm Steward - Hi-Fi Choice 311

Quite interesting - normally count on MS being on the ball when it comes to Naim. Hi-Fi World have one up for review in next months mag so it'll be interesting to see what they think of it compared to the Akurate DS reviewed a few months back.

James

Congrats Michael!!

I'm eyeballing one too.

So if I understand correctly there is still no possibility to hook up the HDX wireless to access amg.com for track info, cover art etc.?

Richard.

quote:

Originally posted by Mr Underhill:
Hi Guy,

Welcome to the forum.

Experience always trumps theory!

Out of interest what else did you listen to before you plumped on the HDX?

M

Thanks for the welcome! To answer your question, I initially tried going down the streaming/NAS route and although the sound quality was ok it wasn't a patch on my main source. I could accept that for the convenience, however I found the integrity wasn't great, there are just too many links in the chain. So in my case it was really waiting for the right product to become available on the market.

Comparisons between the HDX and my trusted old Linn CD12 have been really interesting. Its hard to say which is the "better" sound because the Naim sound and Linn sound are just so different. At the top end and bass its pretty even. The CD12 probably just has the edge in the clarity of the midrange but the trade off is that it can be become tiring listening quite quickly.

Where the HDX really scores for me over my CDP though is dealing with questionable quality recordings. The CD12 can be almost brutal in its delivery if a disc is poorly mastered to the point of being unpleasant, so some of my favorite music only gets played in the car or on an iPod. The HDX is far more forgiving. Maybe its the way it rips or maybe its a Naim thing? My CDP is a 10 year old design and the game must have moved on. The net result though is that I've rediscovered old favorites rather than just playing stuff which sounds great on my system.

jon, if you are tempted to try a 555ps on the hdx you will need the sxps burndy to make it work.
best
paul

quote:

Originally posted by GuyS.:
... I've rediscovered old favorites rather than just playing stuff which sounds great on my system.

Very important for me too. I want to play what I like musically, not just that which is well recorded.

M

quote:

Originally posted by KTMax:
Congrats Michael!!

I'm eyeballing one too.

So if I understand correctly there is still no possibility to hook up the HDX wireless to access amg.com for track info, cover art etc.?

Richard.

thanks a lot richard!

the hdx has no wireless built-in. my hdx is connected via ethernet cable to an apple airport express which is wireless connected to a second airport express. the second one is connected to the internet.

michael

quote:

Originally posted by michael1702:
a first review i found: Malcolm Steward - Hi-Fi Choice 311

"...Furthermore, this dynamic acuity, along with the player's faithful recreation of note shape, adds chiaroscuro and genuine texture to the music...."

Has Malcolm swallowed a dictionary suddenly?

His comparisons are with the (original) CDS (from 1991-2?) so perhaps to be taken saltily.

Am I reading between the lines here, that a ripped CD from the HDX sounds better than the same CD 'played' on the HDX?

quote:

Originally posted by rupert bear:


Am I reading between the lines here, that a ripped CD from the HDX sounds better than the same CD 'played' on the HDX?

Hi,

To be fair, Naim make that clear (or at least did at the show I attended). The unit is a music server and the transport is optimised for ripping, apparently.

Beware reviews, they tend to be pulled out only when favourable.

Mind you, it's quite hard to find mag reviews that are anything other than gushing these days. The big dilemma at Hi Fi World for instance, seems to be whether to give an item 4 globes or 5.

Steve

quote:

Originally posted by Paul Stephenson:
jon, if you are tempted to try a 555ps on the hdx you will need the sxps burndy to make it work.
best
paul

Thanks for the reminder!

Fiddling with HDX might get me to finally pull my finger out and finish writing that dealer booklet "what you need to know about adding computer kit to customer networks" that I promised TomJ and SteveS :-) Its mostly done, just awaiting getting my sticky paws on HDX to see how then UI works for config.

Regards to all in naim-land

quote:

Originally posted by munch:
As Steve says its not a cd player.
It plays cds but not in real time they are bufferd.

So therefore (forgive me, I'm getting there), you can't just 'play' a CD in the usual way without involving the HDD?

quote:

o therefore (forgive me, I'm getting there), you can't just 'play' a CD in the usual way without involving the HDD?

Rupert,

You can just play the cd as if it were a conventional CD player. However it will in fact be ripping the cd on the fly and playing back the sound from a memory buffer. For all intents and purposes it plays in real time.

Keith

Mines just arrived... I may be some time...

Hopefully not too long...

James

quote:

Originally posted by GuyS.:
I leave the box powered up all the time and had it running 24/7 for the first three days.

Does it do that as well as 24/96?

By the by, now that it's in HiFi Choice, can we start talking about it in the HiFi Forum?

It does sound like a genuinely exciting product - could be Naim's new CDS or NAT01 - but we all need more user information!

quote:

Originally posted by rupert bear:

quote:

Originally posted by GuyS.:
I leave the box powered up all the time and had it running 24/7 for the first three days.

Does it do that as well as 24/96?

lol! yes it does, but obviously it was hard work converting all my old 78's into FLAC.

Well.

Thats interesting.

Yes its just out of the box and hence cold.

Comparing to CDS1 playing the very same CD -- ripped first on HDX, and then loaded into CDS1 and both playing in sync.

Its not bad. Theres something in the treble of the HDX, a harshness, which I heard at the Signals day. Almost verges on a sibilance. Hmmm. Not as clear as CDS1. Not as boogy. Strange sort of wavyness to the imaging.

UI takes some getting used to. Dont like how at end of rip it just ejects the disc and clears the display. If I had walked away while ripping, I would like to know the error count. But this doesnt appear to be stored with the rip.

Not sure why it is taking two ip addresses on the network -- one for player, one for display. Hmm.

TV screen mode is defaulted to NTSC -- should be PAL for 240 volt units.

More worryingly, it doesnt appear to find iTunes servers on the network. Everything is a network share point on SMB. So there is no leveraging of the iTunes server side capability at all.

Network scanning can take an age. OK its XP underneath, and its scanning of network shares out of workgroup name can be glacial.

Now for an annoyance -- I cant see the HDX on my network, nor seem to access the rips on it. Surely it could be an iTunes *server* to other devices on the network???

Hmm... That's not an enthusiastic song yet Jon.

But like you say, it's brand new and cold at the time of the post. Sure hope the sonic side of things clears up soon. It's on my shortlist too...



I (still) hope someone will try if the HDX can hook up to a wireless lan to access amg.com (artwork, trackinfo) using a USB wireless adapter or something. Besides its sonic qualities this is a go or no go for me as I have no acceptable way to get an ethernet cable to my kit.


Richard.

quote:

Originally posted by KTMax:
I (still) hope someone will try if the HDX can hook up to a wireless lan to access amg.com (artwork, trackinfo) using a USB wireless adapter or something.

see my earlier post. mine is connected via an airport express.

Presumably you could just point it to your itunes music library?