Why has no one posted this about the nDAC?

I have an NDAC . It's not news to me.

Have you read the manual?

Here's an extract

2.8 iPod and iPhone Charging The DAC will charge an iPod or iPhone while it is docked. However, charging an iPod or iPhone while listening can compromise audio performance. Charging can be switched off or on, while the iPod or iPhone is docked, by pressing and holding the dock button for 1 second.

I think a fair amount has been written about NDAC using USB file access and also Apple device interfacing over the years.  For example..    https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...ossless-via-dacs-usb

These days most when they mention USB and DACs are assuming perhaps asynchronous USB audio... but there are  more USB formats than that...as you have found out. As Graham says don't take our word for it, read the Naim NDAC manual..

Not just the NDAC, but all Naim streamers and all-in-one devices have this facility. Not that surprising, perhaps, given that iPods were all the rage, and smartphones were taking over the world, when these products were in development. My guess is that at the time, Naim felt obliged to follow fashion and add this functionality.

I knew it and only used it in exceptional cases, nowadays with Tidal integration it's not needed anymore.

The USB socket on the front is really handy. Someone came round recently with their music collection on a hard drive, plugged it into the 272 and could listen to anything they wanted. 

Ok thanks for the responses.

Surely, one might ask why pay the expense of e.g. an NDX or an NDS if a far cheaper digital source (note the word 'digital') can be got from  a portable audiofile player with a digital out?  And some portable sources can stream.

Think of the money saving - with no need for 555PS, Burndy, hifi stack shelving and electricity!

(I do note sound is compromised when using the USB to charge and transmit audio bits, but a separate optical input alongside the USB charge does not diminish sound.)

The A&K costs £2,200 and seems to have only 256GB of memory, so won't be suitable for a large collection. A Mac Mini is a far cheaper option. I have never used an nDac, but wouldn't using the coax input from a Mac be better than USB from an A&K?

The A&K 240 can be got new for £1600 and I hear its younger sibling the A&K 100 can be got for under £500 with the digital signal NO LESS than the A&K 240 or even the flagship A&K 380 at £3000.

In all cases they are connected optically.

I do accept the storage being a factor though!

Consciousmess posted:

Surely, one might ask why pay the expense of e.g. an NDX or an NDS if a far cheaper digital source (note the word 'digital') can be got from  a portable audiofile player with a digital out?  And some portable sources can stream.

 

True - but not all digital sources are the same - in fact far from it - so you pay, generally, in better digital source for  a tighter precision clock and lower SNR (assuming all bit prefect). Precision clocks in the digital world are usually quite delicate and non cheap affairs. The NDX and NDS streamers have a transport only mode that disables the internal DAC circuitry to optimise the transport output (and vice versa) ... great versatility with those devices.

Perhaps compare to a Dansette and Sondek LP12 turntable - perhaps extreme - but the same principles apply.

Not news to me either. I ran  the DAC with 555PS for a few years. NDS beats it easily but that doesn't mean it isn't excellent at it's various price points, depending on which power supply you plug in (or not).  Go back about 5 years and you should find a wealth of posts from migrators and stickers. Old news now.

It's tangential to the op but I've struggled to get excited about portable audio players, for either portable or home use. Relative to a home based streamer they seem somewhat expensive.

With the recently updated and well reviewed  Audioquest DragonFly range of DAC/Amplifiers I'm wondering how many people are going to be willing to pony up for yet another device in their pocket. 

We are watching the prices and specs of portable players capable of doing HiRes. Past another wireless speaker or two, this will be one of our next steps and will consign the iPod to the bin, where it belongs (along with iTunes). I think storage will go up and prices will come down simultaneously, and in the not too distant future.

I use the nDAC front USB input when a visiting friend has music on his or her iPhone.  It is quick, simple and sounds good.  This happens rarely, and often the music files are compressed.  For my own use, it is pointless:  The music on my phone iis already on my server;  the cable to the phone is short;  the sound quality slightly compromised.  But it is a cool feature.

Curious that the OP thinks this facility is undiscovered. I've used the front USB on my nDAC (occasionally) almost from the day I bought it.  Quality is good, as always dependent on the reproduction, but usability/control is rudimentary.  

Consciousmess - be careful about presuming that digital sources into a nDAC are pretty much the same. The nDAC is very sensitive to the quality of the digital signal it is fed, allowing the listener to distinguish between sources quite easily.  Give it a high quality digital signal and you will be well rewarded by the nDAC.   

One of the reasons I moved on from the Naim Dac, to NDS, is that I wanted the convenience of networked music.  Using a portable device plugged into the Dac is nice on occasion (HH's visitors coming 'round with a hard drive), but to me it's not a permanent, convenient way to manage my music or its playback.  

I like controlling playback from the couch or adjacent room.  I like seeing the iPad interface; bigger graphics for my aging far-sighted eyes.  Going over to the hi fi to control playback is too close to going over to change an LP or CD.