DAC spec to match CDS2

Dont wait.... get the Naim DAC now. File based music is fairly well dialed nowadays.

I have not heard a CDS2 but I would guess a 555ps on the DAC would get you somewhere in the ballpark. Add a powerline and hiline and who knows??!?!?!

Yes you can use an olive XPS.

Any streamer will give you fairly good results. I would cobble together something for a toe dip until the Uniserve is available.

A Uniserve>DAC>555ps>Hiline will be pretty formidable i think.

quote:

Originally posted by rich2513:
1. would i need the XPS as well ?

The stock nDAC is streets ahead of the old CDS1. It has better phrasing, midband detail and is more believable. It can be a bit harsh at higher volumes though. This is significantly improved by adding an external power supply.

quote:

2. can you use an older olive XPS ?

Yes. You can also use a CDSPS (old CDS1 power supply) if you get the cable fergled by Naim (nominal cost). This is how I run my nDAC and it rounded off the harsh edges very nicely.

quote:

3. what would I need in the way of a low cost streamer ... would a SB touch be good enough ?

Hmm... that's a tough one. Define "good enough"? I can't tell the difference between transports (although I remain open to hearing differences) many others can. I have a feeling that if differences are there, they are minimal (cue people telling me I'm cloth eared or my system isn't set up properly). Trying stuff out isn't too difficult or expensive though.

If I were in your situation (and had the money ), I'd buy those DBLs , an nDAC and a second hand XPS or CDPS and front it with any old transport until I figured out how I wanted to rip/store and stream music in the future....

The Squeezebox Touch with the nDAC is IMHO excellent value-for-money.

The sound is really wonderful, coming, in my case, via ethernet-cable from my PC-harddisk.
Use an Ipod-Touch via Ipeng as a remote and boy, what a great sound coupled with great fun.

It's a shame that naim don't make an HDX with no DAC and bigger drives.

I like the idea of the HDX interface and also keeping the music on one box.

The unitiserve could be good. Does anyone have a video of the naim hdx/unitiserve interface in action ?

I have Naim DAC with new style Naim XPS. I source it with a laptop PC (Windows 7 x64) and M2Tech Hiface. I use Foobar2000 software.

For CDs I use a CDS2 with Olive XPS. I have compared the two and would say that the nDAC/XPS is marginally better.

quote:

Originally posted by rich2513:
It's a shame that naim don't make an HDX with no DAC and bigger drives.

I like the idea of the HDX interface and also keeping the music on one box.

The unitiserve could be good. Does anyone have a video of the naim hdx/unitiserve interface in action ?

Well they kind of do ... the Unitiserve is a HDX with no analogue output and single 1TB (compared with mirrored 400GB IIRC) drive.

Eloise

quote:

Originally posted by rich2513:
It's a shame that naim don't make an HDX with no DAC and bigger drives.

I like the idea of the HDX interface and also keeping the music on one box.

The unitiserve could be good. Does anyone have a video of the naim hdx/unitiserve interface in action ?

Thanks Doctor..

IS the DAC combination as analogue and musical sounding ? Does it stand up to hours of listening ?

quote:

Originally posted by rich2513:

quote:

Originally posted by rich2513:
It's a shame that naim don't make an HDX with no DAC and bigger drives.

I like the idea of the HDX interface and also keeping the music on one box.

The unitiserve could be good. Does anyone have a video of the naim hdx/unitiserve interface in action ?

Thanks Doctor..

IS the DAC combination as analogue and musical sounding ? Does it stand up to hours of listening ?

IMHO it does. I find that the sound is just a little smoother and more musical than the CDS2/XPS combination. This is not a criticism ... The CDS2/XPS is a great CD player. I do find that imaging is better with the Naim DAC/Naim XPS combination.

I wonder if anyone can tell us how the nDAC/XPS compares with CDS3/XPS

quote:

Originally posted by Doctor Jazz:

quote:

Originally posted by rich2513:

quote:

Originally posted by rich2513:
It's a shame that naim don't make an HDX with no DAC and bigger drives.

I like the idea of the HDX interface and also keeping the music on one box.

The unitiserve could be good. Does anyone have a video of the naim hdx/unitiserve interface in action ?

Thanks Doctor..

IS the DAC combination as analogue and musical sounding ? Does it stand up to hours of listening ?

IMHO it does. I find that the sound is just a little smoother and more musical than the CDS2/XPS combination. This is not a criticism ... The CDS2/XPS is a great CD player. I do find that imaging is better with the Naim DAC/Naim XPS combination.

I wonder if anyone can tell us how the nDAC/XPS compares with CDS3/XPS

I suspect it will depend a bit on what it is fed with (although there are some that say it shouldn't make a difference). With an HDX, the DAC/555PS is better than a CDS3/555PS IMO, but maybe it's not possible to extrapolate down to XPS.

IMO of course.

Since the UnitiSwerve is apparently an HDXmini, this, with an nDAC/XPS should be outstanding value, assuming its PSU doesn't pollute the mains

Cheers
John

I listened to my own CDS2 with olive XPS compared to Kent's Naim DAC driven off my XPS using an Empirical Off Ramp driven by my MacBook Pro. The DAC sounded very good. Not quite as good as the CDS2, but close enough that you would not want to trade. Kent thought he preferred his DAC, but I would not have been happy with the DAC over the CDS2 without the XPS. With the XPS, the DAC sounds darn competitive, and probably wins for flexibility and future-proofness.

I was impressed enough with the power supply upgrade that I made my own investment in future-proofness and got a 555PS to drive the CDS2 head unit. Now it really rocks to the next level.

I wish I could make the comparison using the new power supply but Kent moved overseas and I know of no other nearby Naim DAC's.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by rich2513:
It's a shame that naim don't make an HDX with no DAC and bigger drives.

I like the idea of the HDX interface and also keeping the music on one box.

They sort of do, it is called a NS01, is £1,600 cheaper but you need to add a apple touch to control it as NS01 dose not come with a touch screen.

Lets face it how many HDX owners are going to use the touch screen for playback, they are going to use an apple touch now, right?