ns01 vs ndac xps2 small difference in sq

Posted by: Claus-Thoegersen on 03 September 2012

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Yesterday I set out on an experiment to find out how much difference there is between my bare ns01 directly into 252, and ns01 into ndac with my 9 year old xps2, and with powerline on the ndac.

I was really surprised to find that the difference was very small. On some tracks almost not noticable until I started serious listening. Yes there are more dynamics and better seperation with the dac, and after listening for some time I can hear that the ns01 has less seperation and tends to emphasize certain instruments and lack a kind of flow that the ndac has.

But I had to listen for some time to find these differences, and they were most marked on high res material. I remember when I changed from cd x2 to s3,  the the improvements wer much bigger and obvious when palying the first track on the s3. I think this is my first upgrade where I am not sure that the sound quality is worth the considerable cost. I had the xps when I trated in my s3, so the upgrade at that time made sense. Maybe a dr upgrade on the xps or an upgrade to dr 555 will change the ndac performance, and this is still one of my upgrade options, but I am really surprised that the difference is not more. If I had to sell the ndac I could easily live with the ns01 alone. Maybe the ns01 dac is really good, or I have lost my hearing, or there is something wrong in my setup.

I have been wondering if you get more out of source components in an active system? Often I think that the sound quality from internet streaming is surprisingly good, if I try to listen to the same track from hd after I have listened to the track on the ns01 internet radio, of course not an ideal comparison.

 

Claus

 

 

Posted on: 04 September 2012 by Claus-Thoegersen

Hi,

I have listened to a lot of music and done some tweaks that I believe has improved my system! Previous system setup was on Fraim xps, snaxo, ns01, and 252, the Ndac was placed on a shelf on the wall, a quality hi fi shelf but I cannot remember the model. Powerline on xps and Ndac.

Yesterday I moved the ns01 up on the shelf and the ndac down under the 252 on Fraim. Finally I put the powerline from the xps on ns01 instead. This has optimized the system quite a bit, and has been a fun project. When I did the comparison I had connected both the ndac and ns01 so switching was simple. I believe this degrades the sound marginally. I wonder why Naim allows the digital out and analogue to be used at the same time, why not switch of the ndac in the servers when you are using the digital out, like you have to choose analogue output type with a switch on the NDAC. As far as I know this is not done on

any of the servers.

Phil has written in another thread that the digital out on the ns01 is not as good as the hdx, but it would be interesting if the Userve also is better. Of course this needs to be tested but I doubt it with the simple su that is used in the Userve, on the other hand there is nno dac  and analogue out that needs power.

The ns01 is like the 5x a simple one box system unlike my 3 box setup, where great care must be taken to set it up correctly.

Claus

 

Posted on: 04 September 2012 by Claus-Thoegersen
Originally Posted by AllenB:
Claus

You can tweak it all you like, the NS01 simply is not as good on digital out as the HDX or the US ( which both use same / similar output cards).
same/similar? Interesting that many sb users reports massiv improvements, using the Ndac, I would not think the digital out is worse than on let us say an sb touch. Anyway I will have to talk to my dealer maybe they have a Userve I can try.
 
Claus
 
Posted on: 04 September 2012 by Mr Underhill
Originally Posted by AllenB:
Claus

... the NS01 simply is not as good on digital out as the ... US

Allen

Not to my ears.

 

Listened to both extensively, bought the NS01.

 

I do have the updated output card, still in its box.

 

M

Posted on: 05 September 2012 by Claus-Thoegersen
Not to my ears.

 

Listened to both extensively, bought the NS01.

 

I do have the updated output card, still in its box.

 

Updated output card? and can it be installed by other than Naim. Mine is from June 2011 does that mean that I have this card already? If there is a digital upgrade it would be more interesting than trying the Userve. And what made you choose  the ns01?

 

Claus

 

 

Posted on: 07 September 2012 by Mr Underhill

Claus,

 

Sorry, been busy this week.

 

I already had the nDAC. I simply wanted a box to render a stream into the nDAC. Irritatingly Naim have gone down the Meridian line a reselling bits of the same functionality across multiple boxes, so I couldn't simply buy a Naim audio stream renderer.

 

I had the choice between an NS01 & the US, I didn't want to the HDX screen, and had no intention of adding a PSU to an HDX, so the NS01 was fine, as I preferred it to the US.

 

That said, as I stated whn I posted my thoughts on them I could imagine someone else preferring the US - and these boxes are now generationally different.

 

I am still pleased as punch with my system!

 

 

WRT The Card. I bought it with the NS01. It can be installed by a delaer - but, at heart, these boxes are simply honed PCs - even down to the Windows OS.

 

M

Posted on: 07 September 2012 by Claus-Thoegersen

Yes if you look at some of the reviews, the inside is a mini pc, so the pci board  should be easy to install even without a dealer, the  question is will it provide better sq. I will have to get my dealer to ask Naim for a price.

 

I had exactly the same thoughts on the US vs ns01, or rateher I was not really aware of the US last year when I swapped systems. I like the ns01 very much, the only reason for not liking it would be if the digital out is of a lesser quality than the Userve.

 

Claus