How could we get the best sound with NAIM DAC ?

Posted by: pz on 21 January 2012

1. - USB/SPDIF converter into DAC

Have anyone compared JKENNY HIFACE MK3 and AUDIOPHILLEO 2 ?

Which one is "better" ?

2. - MAC MINI + TOSLINK cable into DAC ?

3. - Streaming into DAC ?

Which option should be choosen ?

Posted on: 21 January 2012 by Aleg

Originally Posted by pz:

1. - USB/SPDIF converter into DAC

Have anyone compared JKENNY HIFACE MK3 and AUDIOPHILLEO 2 ?

Which one is "better" ?

2. - MAC MINI + TOSLINK cable into DAC ?

3. - Streaming into DAC ?

Which option should be choosen ?

For the first one you could look on stereo dot net dot au forum where they have done this comparisson. Conclusion IIRC was both very good, personal preference for type of sound tips the balance.

With regard to all 3 options, I don't think one is clearly the best.

It comes to personal preference for type of computer environment and whether or not you like / dislike UPnP streaming enough to go that route.

I think for the rest you will get a lot of biased opinions for any of these options without anyone able to "prove" which one is best. All options will have their followers.

Best to try for yourself and / or see if you can have a listen with other peoples setup.

aleg

Posted on: 21 January 2012 by Simon-in-Suffolk

Yep, agree with Aleg, it's down to personal preference and what convenience you want.
One point however, you can't stream to the Naim DAC directly. You need a network player like NDX, AppleTV2, Squeezebox etc and take the SPDIF/AES unbalanced signal into the NDAC from the network player.
Simon