UnitiServe/nDAC vs. UnitiServe/ND(5)X/nDAC

Hi Bart,

I use a Unitiserve with nDac and 555PS. The sound quality I get is the best I have ever experienced in long history of audio. The key factor was changing the XPS2 on my nDac to the 555PS, prior to this I had found the CDS3 to be the equal of the streaming option. I would therefore consider the 555PS ahead of NDS or ND5XS in your case.

I have been toying with the possibility of adding a NDS, as there is body of opinion that the digital output from the Unitiserve is of lower quality, if this is the case I will be delighted to experience  further improvement to the SQ.

At the moment I am content to enjoy what I have until the NDS materialises.  

Regards

Gerry

I have UnitiServe and Uniti connected over ethernet.  I asked my dealer if I would be better off connecting US with dig cable the advice was don't bother; they had done the comparison and SQ better over ethernet.  Which suggests that on these two products dig out / dig in a worse way to get your bits to the DAC than ethernet.

In your case though I would think spending thousands on an NDX to avoid the US dig out would need to yield a pretty massive SQ improvement to be worth the money.

You're right, it's less the money more the thought of all the redundant parts. As I say the SQ still surprises and delights me when I play an album only played via vinyl/CD player previously.

Gerry  

The nDAC generates its own internal clock timing and ignores the timing/jitter of the UServe, so I wouldn't have any concerns about using the UServe as a source.  The same is true of the Naim Ethernet streamers.

Hi Bart,

I'm using the Serve into the nDAC without an external PSU. The Serve's digital output is very good, but is bettered by those of the streaming devices. I have a UnitiQute and when adding this between the Serve and the nDAC, there is a clear improvement in resolution of detail. Still, I find it overkill to use the Qute just to improve the digital out of the Serve. Also, this moves requires using the nStream instead of the nServe app, which is a step backwards, at the moment.

The Qute has now gone back to its originally intended function as the heart of a second system in the dining room, streaming from the Serve. Removing it from the Serve + nDAC combo did not feel like a downgrade. The latter combo remains a stunningly good source that will only get better with an external PSU, as you've discovered. I've not tried the 555PS, because I can't afford it at the moment.

Like you, if I had to start over, I would certainly look at the NDX first, but it didn't exist as a commercial product when I bought the nDAC. The Naim DAC was just so far above any other digital source that I had heard (I've not heard the dCS and MSB, but they are well beyond my budget) that I felt confident that it would see me through many years of use without the itch to upgrade. The uServe feeding the DAC has confirmed that confidence.

Of course, having heard the difference that the Qute can make, a dedicated streamer (no DAC please !) is still on my radar. Not itching, just curious.

Jan

Noogle, not quite. The NDAC has two modes, one of using a locked high accuracy clock from a choice of 10, and another that tracks the frequency rate of the incoming SPDIF frames using an Anychronous Sample Rate Converter (ASRC). The latter is used if the sender clock and SPDIF transport clock is not sufficiently accurate to align with the tightly specified standard clock rates. An ASRC works by averaging jitter overa period and so therefore not all jitter is removed. A noise level of -128dB is created through mathematical processing error of jitter averaging whne using the ASRC. As Naim says this is a last resort as it produces a noiser signal in the analogue domain. So the accuracy of the sender clock is important to get the optimum quality from the NDAC.( According to Naim)

Simon

Simon - Yes.  But as long as the nDAC's 'Sync' light is on, everything is OK.

Indeed, as far as clock synchronisation. I used to see the sync go with a Squeezebox3 occasionally before i replaced its clock. My old Audiolab DAC just used to click out and come back in when the source clock drifted.

I think that this well sums up the issue -- spending thousands to avoid the uServe's digital out.  It would need to yield a SQ improvement that is worth the money (we all value this differently, but the principle applies unless one is just collecting boxes), and as Jan pointed out, it might entail a step backwards in functionality, using the nStream app instead of nServe.

I've collected a few boxes already -- not itching for another box

Pretty much the same for me except US = HDX.

When I bought the HDX, the NDX was a theoretical rumour without a name and over a year away from launch.  I've had huge fun and haven't looked back. I will listen to the NDS because in a perfect world this would have been my default purchase - but like many in here I was ahead of the Naim curve, despite the fact it took me a good year and a half to go HDX.

If I can out the nDAC, use the 555PS on the NDS AND hear an improvement in musical enjoyment I will do it. If not, I'm hardly slumming it.

Happy days. And the HDX will stay no matter what, for ripping, serving and CD playback when required - how charmingly retro.

Pretty much the same for me except US = HDX.

Pretty much the same for me, but with the NDX - a bit of a pattern here

Thus my post

The important thing is we are all pleased with the SQ. In my case I initially bought the US as an easy way to rip my large CD collection to my NAS, and have a means of replaying the same, believing that  I would still prefer the CDS3 for ultimate quality. This was the case until the 555PS was attached to the nDac, which is why I recommend this above other options. I have not tried the NDX in my system, so stand to be corrected, but interpreting other posts with my experience suggests this to be the optimum route. Give it a try if you can.