From cdx2/xps/282/hicap/250.2 to hard disk/streaming etc

I think with streaming you can go for something fairly simple like have and use a Sonos ZP90 (£280) a Rega DAC (£498) connected to a QNAP 212 with 4 tb of storage and play it through your current system which could be anything. I store my tracks as FLAC burned through exact audio copy (EAC)

This sounds very good indeed although limited to 16bit files due to Sonos. I'm not looking at selling the Sonos and Rega to buy a ND5 XS or NDX streamer.

Thats the other alternative route you could go down, NDX streamer, nDac and a unitiserve which would take you up to £6 - 7k and obviously sound better than my set up but depends how much you want to get in to streaming initially.

I think you will find that to add streaming to your system you are going to need to add something the quality of the NDX to get close to your CDX2/XPS2.  If you compromise on the source you will find yourself using streaming for casual listening as a secondary source. If casual listening is what you require then Sonos plus a decent DAC will be fine for your needs and will sound very good for the money.  Not only does this give you the convenience of streaming it also opens up the world of internet radio and Spotify, the later can sound suprisingly good, even in a reasonably revealing system.

I have recently added an NDX to my system, previously I was using Sonos into a Morgan Audio Systems DAC.  Until I heard the NDX I was pretty happy with the sound into my 202/200/Hicap/Napsc/Spendor A5 system but the NDX elevates it much higher.  Whilst the sound is superficially very similar there is less glare, and the music has more energy, it just keeps your attention more.

I still use the Sonos for Spotify and Internet radio and when I want the same music blasting throughout the whole house, but fed into the NDX Dac input instead.  Interestingly the Sonos sounds quite similar to how it did into the Morgan Audio DAC, I don't know if this confirms how good my old DAC was or whether the "Source first" principle is being demonstrated with the characteristic of the Sonos source coming through both DACS.  I must try the NDX into the DAC at some point when I have the time.

In time I could see you moving your XPS onto the NDX and moving the CD Player on, then you will have quite a nice deposit for a Naim DAC and could switch your XPS to the DAC perhaps!

Sonos and a Naim streamer can coexist very well.  I have Sonos players in the Study (Play 5), Conservatory and Kitchen (connected to a Bose Lifestyle system - shush!) and bedroom, plus the old living room one fed into the NDX Dac section. You could any of these if you want to curtail yoru spending, otherwise a Unitiqute and appropriate speakers will make an excellent second system.

For ripping I use dBPoweramp, this doesn't cost a great deal and seems more flexible than EAC which is also very good as they both check that the rips are accurate.

A Qnap NAS should be fine, it will have a UPNP Server built in which will be required to serve music to a Naim Source.  Sonos doesn't need a UPNP Server,  just a SMB share on the NAS box where your music is stored.  Also consider a Vortexbox which many find excellent or perhaps a Windows Server solution (Home Server) with Asset running on it.  I use a full blown Windows 2008 Server with Asset which I find excellent, flexible and trouble free.

Oh and don't forget the iPad to control it all with, you can do without it but it makes the whole experience much more rewarding!

Richard

thanks for the responses.  ok more questions:

1. what speakers do u use with your sonos?

2. if i use dbpoweramp or eac, it doesn't matter the quality of the cd drive i am using to read the cd?  if i rip the cd using the cd player on my dell pc will sound the same as say using a naim equivalent??

New Mac Mini + Naim DAC with 555PS or your XPS. It will be perfect for your main system (it is exactly what I use with 282/SC). This will improve on on your CDX2 (think CD555 quality or better with 24 bit recordings). I have a CDX2 which is superb, but the Naim DAC is a step-up. The NDX is not as musically engaging as the CDX2 in my opinion and so would be at best a sideways step, the Naim DAC is where I think you should go. 

The Sonos can also play anything you store on the new Mac Mini so you can play the music around the house by distributing Sonos Play units (ideal for the kitchen, bedroom and so on). You would need a Sonos bridge connected to the Mac Mini. The Sonos will pick up music wireless from it in CD quality. 

You need the new Mac Mini without CD running Lion as this is the low jitter model. It connects to the Naim DAC with a Wireworld Supernova 7 glass optical cable, which gives a perfect bit stream free from electrical noise. 

dBPowerAmp is fine for ripping (probably the best you can get). I use XLD on a Mac as well as iTunes. Making bit perfect rips is not difficult though some would have you believe it requires sacrifices at the alter and magic incantations to get a half decent rip. 

If you want to use a Naim streamer then I'd recommend using a Vortexbox as the best way to serve music to it. There is lots of information on the forum about it or just google it. 

guido, how do u get your cd's onto the mac mini if i am to buy the one without cd?  does it matter what cd player i use to rip the music ie. on my dell desktop, or laptop?

I rip my music on one computer and share out the folder storing my rips (with embedded artwork).

From the Mac Mini I go to that folder (it is visible in the finder window - you may/should have to type a user name and password when you first connect). You then just drop the folder containing your rips on to iTunes and it'll import them. As long as you embedded the artwork in the files then that is it. 

It took 8 hours to import 1500 CDs worth of ALAC files over a wireless connection on mine. So I just left it overnight. One CD takes a couple of minutes. Of course if you use wired it is much faster. 

An iTunes plug-in called bit perfect costs a couple of £s and optimises the system for you - in particular it plays music from memory rather than disk and it makes sure the sample rate is set correctly. This makes the Mac Mini silent during use and ensures you have the best possible feed to your DAC. 

You can use Decibel as a player instead of iTunes if you want to use FLAC. 

This is also gives you the best possible feed to your DAC.

You can try Decibel for free.

I find iTunes/BP works well enough though. 

Hi,

I have exactly the same setup as anothertoy and am considering streaming also. It still looks quite complicated to me if you do not use Naim solutions. I was more thinking of adding an HDX and plugging my XPS into it and having a NAS to store the file with everything networked with RJ45. This setup, if I am correct simplifies, the ripping, storage and retrieval of the music. Is that correct? I would eventually add a nDAC. What I do not know is how the CDX2/XPS compares sound wise  to the HDX/XPS. I will eventually have a demo at my dealer's shop when fund permit.

Michel

hi michel i have investigated it more ...

if u r going to use a nas drive anyway, u r paying extra money for a hdx because it has a hd.  so an ndx is suitable for our use ... but no cd transport to rip ... hence my question is whether ripping cd's using a naim transport the same as ripping it on my dell pc?

i have another question ... what is the sound quality of itunes + bit perfect plug in vs dbpoweramp (i assume dbpoweramp manages the playlist etc or do i need something else?)

seems like most say the naim dac is fantastic and a must have ...

another question ... if u use itunes and rip with their lossless format which takes up alot of room and great for the home stereo ... what happens to your iphone which doesn't need such quality which will take too much room?

You can get the HDX-SSD without hard disks, which is designed to rip to NAS. 

This is a good solution, but in my view will not give the same level of sound quality as some less expensive routes. A Mac Mini feeding the Naim DAC/555PS or XPS would be my preference every time. Now if you say HDX-SSD + Naim DAC/555PS or XPS then I surrender as that will easily match what I'm suggesting: my only concern is the way Naim rips and stores music is not very friendly to non-Naim systems, which matters to me, but may not matter one iota to others. 

My view remains that the Naim DAC is the jewel in the crown, what feeds it is not unimportant, but it is less important than the DAC, amplifier and speakers. Sure if you can afford UServe/HDX-SSD/Naim DAC 555PS/NAC552/NAP500/S600s then go for it as it is superb, but I can't reach those dizzy heights. [Please note USB Stick/Naim DAC 555PS/NAC552/NAP500/S600s will sound every bit as good, but is a pain to use]. 

One thing: as CD gets replaced by downloads then who needs a ripping solution, so to me the ripping solution is just there to get us started. I'm not sure I need/want it as a permanent part of my system. I got hold of a new Elvis Costello album that was 24-bit and I was stunned by how good this sounded. If I'd got it on CD and ripped it with the best ripping system in the universe I don't see how I could have matched it. 

Of course, using the Mac MIni means that anything I can play on it can go to the DAC, but it is not perfect. I won't do those very hi-res things that the NDX and HDX will, but I can't hear the benefit of 192 kHz so far. 

Of course, an audition will confirm if I have gone mad or you simply don't agree with me. 

DAC, amplifier and speakers is where I would concentrate my funds

anothertoy,

I guess you have not ripped your CDs yet. Many will say that there will not be major quality differences btw ripping systems. However, for the sake of convenience, I would definitely recommend HDX. It has a very decent internal DAC, which I think could compete with cdx2, and a high quality dig-out. You can later upgrade with nDAC or any other higher quality DAC. So, you will have a fantastic local playback, and HDX will serve for streaming to other rooms if you wish. If you have HDX you don't need a stream client (like NDX or Qute) in your main system. For your second room, you may choose any of Naim's stream clients.

Thank you all for your answers.

I have not yet ripped my CDs and plan to have  multi room system in my new house were I will move to in July. I guess from reading your posts that the HDX is probably the simpler solution even though the CD ripping part is probably important only to start the streaming system.

Michel

HDX/XPS2 is to my ears somewhat ahead of CDX2/XPS2 but it depends on how you like your music served up. What Guido said about the nDAC.

Totaly agree. HDX is so easy to rip, store, file & use - ipad app. as well. Now I have the nDAC / 555PS, best front end I have ever had !

Peter

One day I will add a top level streamer but my HDX will stay. It hasn't given me the slightest grief since day one. It even plays CDs, how charmingly retro. It will be a rather expensive occasional CD player, ripper and server when a streamer is on my Fraim but I've had nearly two years of enjoyment out of it so far and it ain't broke.

Why not a top level dac, if in the same room? I mean, you may even have more choices in that case...

I'm looking into a crystal ball of my own making. So who knows?

Naim's intention of mirroring its CDP range suggests that something at around NDS level is on the cards. If this tracks the CDS players it will have a superior DAC to the nDAC and will require a power supply. If this not the case the NDX will be as good as it gets when plugged into nDAC/555PS. I think it unlikely. The proof of the pudding will be in the auditioning of whatever eventually hits the shops. 

So I'm mentally inclined this way. And for want of a better imagined goal it's good enough. For now. I don't discount the possibility of a top level DAC. I don't discount anything really. two years ago I was on the verge of buying a CDS3. Interesting times.