Another HDX lands in the West Country

quote:

Originally posted by T38.45:
ndac expands the stage , music is breathing now, not limited between the speakers..
Ralf

My god does it ever and them some! If you haven’t heard the N-DAC you might be put off by all this Hi-Fi like talk of wide sweeping sound stages and holographic positioning. Just bear in mind who the manufacturer is - they’ve added so much without taking anything vital away. Cake, eat and have. There. I’m a DAC cheerleader. It’s official. As the Hi Cap represents remarkable value for money in terms of what it can do in a variety of situations, so the DAC now stands beside it. It’s another one of *those* products.

quote:

Originally posted by Harry K:
There. I’m a DAC cheerleader. It’s official.

I say, steady on Harry you'll be herded into the same pen as Thorsten (luxen2) if you're not careful. Are you sure you don't want to sleep on it?

Well, with all respect to Thorsten I haven’t started sleeping *with* it yet, so there is hope.

hi Allen,
with Qute as a streamer...ok, but does it has a digi out?
but you will have a complete amp as well, right?

Ralf

And from what we learnt to date, NO GAPLESS replay

Georg,

do you visit hifi show in munich? naim should be there- you could ask for a streamer ;-)

quote:

Originally posted by AllenB:
I am waiting delivery of my 555PS for the NDAC, so that should keep me satiated until a pure streamer arrives
Allen

I’d very much like to hear how that combination goes. Don’t hold back.

just visited the german naim web....they say that'll launch new products in munich!
aaaarrghh...can't wait...

Ralf,

my dealer told me several times that a streamer is to be expected, as musicline did, however, they indicated that it might be included in the new Reference DAC, not being able to give any indication on timing, price, etc. I would be happy with a Qute-type device without amps and gapless playback.

Maybe we should join forces and visit Naim altogether at High-End

Georg

Listened to a Naim Dac yesterday together with Hdx ( and multiple other sources) and xps2. Not sure actually what improves Sound more, quality of the Source or psu. My Impression is that psu excels over source (eg xps versus hdx/Olive. Best was by à margin hdx, dac, xps. the dac is now at Home, fed by an appletv and the result is stunning, though leaving plenty of room for improvement.

Listened simultaneously to b&w 804d vs Ovator. Hell, what a great speaker the Ovator is!

Not at all sure about the 555PS I have on loan. There is more detail coming out for sure. Not a revelation of notes unheard so much as yet more extension and resolution. Voicing and textures sound slightly less convincing to me. It’s been running for about 15 hours after a three hour power down and I would have thought that was plenty long enough for a run in PS to get back into its optimum range. I will listen again later and tomorrow. It seems that the cost to change is now firmly in conflict with the law of diminishing returns. On top of this there are currently issues with voicing but another day sucking amps might see the 555PS changing in presentation.

Hi Georg,
congrats!
How was Olive & Ndac vs HDX & Ndac?
Tx

ralf

Isn’t it odd how “more than I ever dreamed possible” can soon become “not enough”?

I thought the voicing of the 555 was harsh. Over the W/E it did tend to smooth out somewhat but I thought it remained too forward. Despite the extra detail retrieval and separation, oh and not to forget that unmistakably powerful, articulate yet musical bass, I continued to have my suspicions. By Sunday evening I had listened to some stuff which didn’t sound so up front. There must be a degree of acclimatisation, mixed with the PS settling but with the benefit of hindsight I think there is also a significant component of window widening. Because I like a lot of 70s rock from the usual suspects it’s by no means being an apologist to say that when laying down the recording was pushing the (then) limit, the wider you open the window the more likely you are to hear the effects of such. And many recording are just dire in the first place.

I could debate this with myself for the rest of my life. Instead I swapped the XPS2 back in this afternoon and went for a walk for a couple of hours to let it warm up. Far from the smooth, more relaxing presentation I was expecting, harsh stuff still sounded harsh but everything sounded comparatively veiled and shut in. Detail and air has collapsed back in on itself. I say this in the context of readily being able to recognise the presentation as something I had been in love with four days ago, thinking at the time that things couldn’t get any better.

No going back now.

Kind and comforting words. Thank you. I’m emotionally in both camps but the potential of the DAC centred system is higher IMO. I will listen to the XPS2 again later today and tomorrow but the memory will blur. Despite this, I know what I heard. I’ll play it cool with the dealer and say I’ll “think about it” if the numbers come up right for a trade in. I just hope he isn’t reading this!

Hope your wait is nearly over and that big fun is coming to you soon. may I ask a question? I didn't try the Burndy supplied by the dealer. It is the same as my old XPS2 wire but had a thicker cable with a braid effect covering. Do you know if this is considered "better"? maybe I can get them to throw one in or at least give me a win win.

Thanks

quote:

Originally posted by Harry K:

No going back now.

Harry
You're fast becoming a sage in this place - thanks for the updates.
Funny how steps back can make the steps forward clearer - have been pondering on this for years.

I'm using a standard S-XPS Burndy - I thought the only braided ones were those with the CD555 and 552, but if a braided S-XPS Burndy does exist, then try it. Please. Or not.

Harry,

Interesting insights, thanks.

The 555ps was truly amazing on the HDX. Everything got tighter, and all around everything was simply "more". I can see how that could be a drawback with bad recordings.

In my case I think we were playing with Radiohead Amnesiac, when switching in the 555ps. No problem with recording quality with that one.

BUT..... I can say I think the Hiline did much of what you are describing above. The window became too wide. Perhaps this was my 102 holding things up. But it still existed when we swapped out the 102 for a 282/HC.

I simply didn't like the hiline. Which is really nice not to feel compelled to spend $1000 on a interconnect.

Powerline was like adding another hicap somewhere. The 555ps completely maxed out the HDX, making into the best source ive ever heard. (I know, i know.... I need to hear a 555 with dual ps).

But the Hiline was just too much I suppose.

There is something to be said about too much of a good thing... especially in the context of a balanced system.

Source first, yes. But not at the expense of gross system imbalance.

Honestly, If the HDX/Hiline was my ONLY option, for the HDX, I would rather have a CD5i. As it was faultless in my kit. Very nice CDP it is.

-Patrick

Thank you all for some thought provoking insights and observations.

On the Burndy, my thinking is it came with the XPS2 and in fairness should go with it. But as said, the 555PS comes with no such cable. Perhaps the dealer will be accommodating to an extent? They are reasonable and sane. I was thinking of buying Powerlines for the XPS2 and HDX so that’s one box ticked – albeit as a side effect of shifting a considerably higher sum of money. But you have to look on the bright side – no pun intended!

quote:

Originally posted by Harry K:
Perhaps the dealer will be accommodating to an extent?

Yes... They will be happy to sell you one.

quote:

Originally posted by pcstockton:

quote:

Originally posted by Harry K:
Perhaps the dealer will be accommodating to an extent?

Yes... They will be happy to sell you one.

Hahahah. Yes. The official word is that it will be “bundled in”. Let’s see what transpires, although at present I am waiting for a call telling me the potential trade in on the XPS2.

To pass the time I fired up dbPoweramp and set about ripping an HDCD – thanks for the push on that Aleg. I didn’t write down the numbers but I observed that the ripped WAV files were considerably larger than those that reside on the CD – I’d say in the order of 30% ish. Onto a nice new stick and into the front of the HDX. Another laugh out loud moment. Well. more a contented smile actually. So smooth, so easy on the brain yet big, detailed, dynamic and possessed of all the grip, drive and timing that I would expect. Cue the CDX2. Same fundamental presentation, just more of everything when played back through the HDX – detail, separation, resolution, top and mainly bottom end extension and clarity. It sounds like I have successfully made a 24bit (4 bit redundant) rip and through the HDX I have been ushered into a new world of slightly higher res music which hitherto was strongly hinted at but not fully deployed. And this with the XPS2. Looks promising. What’s amusing almost to the point of being daft is that I’ve got all this from a plastic stick costing a few quid while the source material is a high value collectable, increasing in price to the point where it’s too precious even to slip out of its LP replica sleeve. Like Nigel Tufnell’s guitar “no no no no no, don’t even look at it”. Yet it can’t deliver the sound quality of the plastic stick. I know why this is and I hoped this would be the case. But it’s still an eye rolling situation.

Further listening on the “lower” system has confirmed that the 555PS does have a top edge but this is, for want of a better description, a component of higher detail resolution, giving edgy recordings real edge (like it or not) but not stamping a bright footprint onto the basic presentation. I should put this into perspective. It is not traumatising. It does not scrub the inside of the ears. It is a step change and is part of a bigger more dynamic sound which gives equal weight and presence to the lower registers, all the way down to those that vibrate the sofa. In fact it may be a touch bass heavy but speaker placement can be tuned quite easily – they’re good in that regard. As soon as I took the 555PS out of the loop I missed what it did – quite a lot. Having got re acclimatised to the XPS2’d system I begin to appreciate it for what it does again. I just know what it *could* do. If I have to save a bit longer for the 555PS I won’t be miserable. The ball is in the dealer’s court.

Love your posts Harry on all things HDX, I enjoy reading them....Keep 'em coming !

Steve.

Nice one Mr K
Could I be lazy and just ask you to summarise the procedure you used for ripping the HDCD in dBPoweramp? I've been dipping my toe into this DIY ripping pond, and I'm taking it slowly.
FWIW, the HDCD rips I have done with HDX (typical Knopfler etc) sound great anyway but obviously, HDX doesn't do anything with the additional 4 bits. It's a comparison I would like to make
Cheers
John

@Ralf

the Olive does not even come close go the Hdx, to Be honest I Even considered a Macbook a much better source

Georg

Thanks Steve. I don't need much encouragement!

John. It's easy. I've built a little Flash demo for you here

Leave the app in all its default settings, make sure output is set to WAV, point the ripped files at the directory of your choice. On the DSP tab click the add effect button and select HDCD.

This gave me biger files than were visible on the CD and sound quality which convinces me I'd done it correctly.

Further to the above. I preferred HDCD playback on the CDX2 (through nDAC). The rips on the HDX didn't sound comparatively pants but they came second.

This is now history. The output from a USB stick with files ripped to contain the extra 4 bits, through the HDX sound just wonderful. I suppose I should try shoving the stick in the DAC, who knows? The album I actually ripped when I captured the movie sounds very dark and dense on HDCD, bass very nearly overpowering, with some distortion audible on loud transients. It's too late to play it tonight but tomorrow could be a real treat. I'm hoping for a cleaner, more dynamic sound with less rattle and hum. Might be asking a lot.

If I have cracked it this pretty spells the end of the CDX2. But I've had it modified for the DAC and for some reason I can't bear the thought of parting with it. It's given me so much pleasure over the past six years. An inevitable mind set change which I'm not quite ready for. Yet. I know the HDX has a transport, but let's be honest, not the sharpest knife in it's drawer by some margin.

Thanks - I'll try it tonight and report back
Cheers
John