272 4.6 v NDS 4.6

Very happy with the update to my 272. Slightly fuller bass (but still “tight”,) and the treble seams a bit smoother.

Don't forget some people think NDS is improved. It's all extremely subjective.

Interesting though that I don't recall anyone saying they were unhappy with the 272 change.

best

David

David Hendon posted:

Don't forget some people think NDS is improved. It's all extremely subjective.

Interesting though that I don't recall anyone saying they were unhappy with the 272 change.

best

David

Sure David, hence ‘In the eyes of some’...I’m wryly suggesting that maybe the gap has been inadvertently closed to a point of ‘preference’ rather than the NDS objectively out-performing the 272...

An idle speculation really.

G

I'm quite comfortable with the change to firmware v4.6 on my NDS. Having lived with it for a few (?) weeks now, I can no longer say it's any better or worse as I can no longer remember what it sounded like with v4.4 - I suppose I've got used to it. I thought initially though that v4.6 helped to declutter some dense orchestral music such that it was a bit easier to follow particular groups of instruments.

One thing for sure - it doesn't sound broken.

Also keep in mind the hardware in 272 & NDS is not the same.    

Indeed Mike, infact it is quite different, also the NDS goes through significant steps for extensive decoupling, which appears only bettered by the ND555

I am still hearing positive differences between 4.4 and 4.6 on my NDS.

I am assuming the 4.6 DSP code upgrade on the NDS is different to that for the 272. If this assumption is correct, could this explain why most (all?) 272 owners are happy with 4.6 but only a majority (about two thirds according to a rough poll carried out by Dave on another thread) of NDS owners are happy with 4.6?

Listening to Cara Dillon (Wanderer) on 4.6 and it is just sublime, and certainly an improvement on 4.4.

Hi Nigel,  yes a different DSP might explain the 272 vs NDS preferences,  but it does not explain why 4.6 is not prefered with NDS owners,  whereas the majority of NDX owners do prefer 4.6.  The dilemma is NDS & NDX have the same DSP, or at least has the same 2.56.19 number.   

I suspect different processors with different code might be at play.

Mike-B posted:

Hi Nigel,  yes a different DSP might explain the 272 vs NDS preferences,  but it does not explain why 4.6 is not prefered with NDS owners,  whereas the majority of NDX owners do prefer 4.6.  The dilemma is NDS & NDX have the same DSP, or at least has the same 2.56.19 number.   

I suspect different processors with different code might be at play.

Hi Mike, great to meet you the other day and put a face to an avatar as it were.

Interesting reply and maybe Naim will chime in soon with some kind of explanation (and solution?) as to the partial dissatisfaction with 4.6 on NDS.

Update: With reference to my comment about Naim chiming in, I have just seen Trevor Wilson's post on the other 4.6 thread so it does indeed seem that Naim are 'on the case.'

As a long term NDS owner I would like naim to comment on what they expect the upgrade to 4.6 should do to the sound as maybe it is not working on some players.

The sound is so different (not broken) that I can not believe that it was intentional. 

David252 posted:

As a long term NDS owner I would like naim to comment on what they expect the upgrade to 4.6 should do to the sound as maybe it is not working on some players.

The sound is so different (not broken) that I can not believe that it was intentional. 

I would expect all firmware releases to say what they bring, all the more so if they will change the character of the sound - and there should be an ability to revert if the user is unhappy. Maybe that is the case but requiring seeking rather than offered (?), but if not perhaps it is something to press for. 

Irrespective of whether a firmware releases is made specifically to change the sound, most will do so to some degree - this is inevitable given the way that streamers work.

We are not talking minor change here it is a major one. The release note do not mention anything about a any change to the sonic performane of the unit just functionality changes. 

David252 posted:

As a long term NDS owner I would like naim to comment on what they expect the upgrade to 4.6 should do to the sound as maybe it is not working on some players.

The sound is so different (not broken) that I can not believe that it was intentional. 

Good point I think. Like when you upgrade the software or apps on ios - you know what you are getting and decide whether it’s worth updating before taking the plunge.

Even if written with the caveat that users mileage may well vary - some indication of what to listen out for?

I’m very happy with 4.6 on the 272 and could write (have written) down the improvements I think I hear. If this were shared as a process through beta testing (and I’m guessing this sort of group chat does happen) then the consensus could be included in future descriptions of software/firmware ‘upgrades’.

G