hi def

Posted by: the fisherman on 11 January 2010

I read that Naim is now producing Hi Def downloads. I have experience of the studio quality downloads of another company. These contain such massive files that they need to be loaded onto dvd,s. When played on my CDX am informed, (it will strip off the sadcd tracks). The difference in quality of the different download types available from Naim are vast when listened to on line. With the hi def being amazing. Am I misinterperating the media intention by assuming that these types of high definition downloads are realy intended for use by data streamers, not for cd player applications.

Posted on: 12 January 2010 by Simon Drake

Hi!
They are for a number of uses! In my mind, the most economic usage, is soft-playback, but it depends on how a system is optimised for digital audio! Your CDX route would most certainly represent superior sound compared to someone playing off their laptop's internal DAC (depends on the computer tho too!)
A lot of people are using digital transports that they still feel most comfortable burning on and off the dvd to get it onto the transport!

What do other users do guys?

Posted on: 12 January 2010 by Dan Carney

Simon,

I've ripped all my CDs to my MacBook (in AppleLossless). From there, I stream to my Apple Airport Express. From there, it is fed into my DAC (via optical). Then, finally, into my Pre.
Any downloads (always Lossless !) are treated in the same way.

To my ears, the CD5i couldn't improve on the sound I was getting. So, convenience wins!

Posted on: 15 January 2010 by P.Bonte

Hi,

I have some 800+ CD ripped in Apple Lossless, stored on NAS.
I use itunes on a laptop (wifi acces to NAS), optical out to Cambridge DacMagic and so onward to my main system. I also use the "Remote" app on my Itouch.
Good, extremely convenient, but not as good as my CDX2.
As for Hidef downloads, I tested Mediamonkey with FLAC.
The music available in say 24/96 flac is far to small for me to really bother today. So, I am in standby to see how the music market evolves.

Philippe