mac mini + naim DAC : worth the try?

Just out of interest, how does a Mac with a HiFace into the naim DAC compare to a bare HDX ? Is it even comparable ?

Interesting, thank's for that. I might save myself a LOT of cash & go the mac / naim DAC route.

quote:

Originally posted by james n:
Keith - flog the DAC - get a Weiss. No pissing around with USB sticks and all that rubbish. Just great music.

James

Exactly what I did.
No more pissing about with USB sticks, PowerLines and power supplies.
Just great music.

Keith

It seems to me logical that in these days of PC storage of the music files that the option to use a USB connection to the computer is more or less crucial.

Though I don't see myself in the market for a Weiss DAC, I do use a USB connected DAC, and the whole thing gets great music replay with a minimum of fuss.

Any replay that requires a great deal of fuss over setting up [after getting it right initially] is of less than no interest to me, though I realise that some enjoy the fettling at least as much as the music, going by the enthusiasm shown for constant tweaking!

I do realise that tweaking Hifi is a pefectly harmless activity and all strength to those who actually enjoy it ...

ATb from George

I gave the Mac and Ndac a try for five weeks and in the end conceded that I was not particularly happy with the result. Even with the help of HiFace, Pure Vinyl, HiLine, PowerLine and DC1, I still found the balance too bright for my liking. The Ndac was fed 24/7 for five weeks by the Mac in the hope that burn in would quell its brightness. It didn't. I moved on.

quote:

Originally posted by Keith L:
I gave the Mac and Ndac a try for five weeks and in the end conceded that I was not particularly happy with the result. Even with the help of HiFace, Pure Vinyl, HiLine, PowerLine and DC1, I still found the balance too bright for my liking. The Ndac was fed 24/7 for five weeks by the Mac in the hope that burn in would quell its brightness. It didn't. I moved on.

It is strange.

I have the Naim DAC and the Weiss DAC2 at the same time in my pro audio system at the moment feeding an exceptional PA speaker through a few hundred watt amp and a very good preamp. I tried the the Naim DAC from HiFace, from the Weiss as FW - SPDFI converter, I tried the HiFace feeding the Weiss as USB2-SPDIF converter and found none of the DACs bright in any of the situations in my system, actually they were very close tonally (until I added the XPS2, but it is a different story). Feeding a (very good) PA speaker... I even used some violin and trumpet music, big band too just to check briefly today if there is anything bright in the presentation, but there was nothing I could consider bright. The Weiss is connected to the preamp using pro XLR cables, the Naim DAC with an ordinary DIN - RCA cable to the next input of the preamp. The source is my good old MacBook with Amarra and Pure Vinyl and with Boot Camp Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit and Foobar 2000 with Wasapi.

quote:

Originally posted by ferenc:
The Weiss is connected to the preamp using pro XLR cables,

Hi ferenc,

Have you tried both XLR and RCA outputs? I understood that the RCA are favoured where an unbalanced connection was being made.

BTW I heard Keith's Ndac and it did sound slightly brighter than the Weiss (which some may prefer of course). But I preferred the Weiss in his set-up.

Regards,

Joe

quote:

actually they were very close tonally

ferenc,

Have you conducted any of your tests with domestic equipment that may reveal more delicate differences? IMO there's a vast difference tonally between these two dacs. Both are very detailed and revealing. Both create a solid 3d soundstage. The Ndac is tonally bright. Its bass punches slightly stronger than the Weiss'.

All things considered the Ndac is a great digital hub for those with multiple digital sources. My main listening is from streamed music. I don't require eight digital inputs. I want the best 2k can offer. I don't want an external power supply.

Keith

quote:

Originally posted by Joe Bibb:

quote:

Originally posted by ferenc:
The Weiss is connected to the preamp using pro XLR cables,

Hi ferenc,

Have you tried both XLR and RCA outputs? I understood that the RCA are favoured where an unbalanced connection was being made.

BTW I heard Keith's Ndac and it did sound slightly brighter than the Weiss (which some may prefer of course). But I preferred the Weiss in his set-up.

Regards,

Joe

I tried the RCA and XLR outputs as well, and preferred the XLR made from simple pro microphone cable against a very high-end RCA cable from Japan. I was (and am) using a not Naim pre and power amp in my pro system at the moment which is basically fully symmetrical, so it is not surprising the XLR was more to my taste. I have made a DIN-RCA cable from the same mic cable to get the cable out of the picture. This way none of the sources was bright on any way, even the known bright recordings were really listenable. The Naim DAC grounding was switched to chassis not floating, the Macbook was running from battery.