What are the good server/hard drive do you use with a NDX?

Posted by: Louis-Andre on 01 April 2013

I am lost with all of this streaming thing.

at the moment i have a Squeezebox Touch connected to a TeddyDac, and wirelessly connected to a Macbook Pro. even when playing good quality 24bits recording from the Mac/SB/TeddyDac, the sound is far behind what i get with my CDS3 player.

i am contemplating upgrading my streaming gear, and my total budget is around 4000 euros. with that money, i cannot buy both a NDX and a UnitiServe.

What would you suggest? what makes the biggest difference in sound ( a good server like the UnitiServe, or a good streamer like NDX?)

to those who have NDX or NDS but who do not use a Naim server: what do you use and how happy are you with it?

ho, forgot to say: it needs to rip CDs as well.

cheers,

Posted on: 02 April 2013 by Pev

Use your Macbook as server and ripper and check out the streamers - either NDX, or ND5XS if you are using an external DAC. A Unitiserve may be more convenient than a PC but will not have the same impact on the sound quality as a streamer replacing your SBT.

Posted on: 02 April 2013 by Louis-Andre

Thanks a lot for teh feedback, Pev.

One of teh reasone I was using teh Squeezbox Touch was also to use it to play Spotify. I beleive Spotify is not supported by Naim streamers, right? or maybe there is a way but I am not aware of it?

Kind regards,

Posted on: 02 April 2013 by Iver van de Zand

Hi LA,

For the moment it is not possible to use Spotify with Naim streamers. However there are workaround by connecting your pc to the Naim streamer via either a direct optical link or for example an Airport Express (€ 90). This allows you to play Spotify music via the Naim streamer's DAC.

More important, I agree with Pev that your budget probably best is spend on a Naim streamer. An idea might be to go for the ND5XS and use the remaining budget to buy a decent NAS (plenty of threads here which one to choose). Using UpnP allows you to use the NAS from all kinds of devices (no only the streamer).

Cheers,

Iver

Posted on: 02 April 2013 by Simon-in-Suffolk

Hi, I use a WHS as my upnp server running in a micro Asus PC server... About the size of a large textbook.

I use two NASes, a Netgear ReadyNAS and an Asus one, built into the WHS server.

As far as sound quality, the key thing is NDX, and then the quality (in terms of electro magnetic noise radiated) of your Ethernet lead. Use chokes and a shielded lead for minimum side effects.

I did some listening experiments two years ago with different upnp server installations into the NDX with my dealer. There were slight sonic differences between some of them.. We put this down to network negotiation parameters and TCP parameters... For technical reasons I won't go into here.

That is identical files played from the same NAS via different upnp servers on different platform and OS sounded different on an A/B test.. But I couldn't say one was 'better' than the other.

However I did slightly prefer the Unitiserve and WHS/Asset as the upnp servers compared to the others .. (this was done as a blind listening test into NDX -> NDAC/555PS -> 552/500 ).

Please note I have not repeated this since the streamer boards were updated by Naim , and so now there may be only very marginal if any difference.

Simon

Posted on: 03 April 2013 by T38.45

What about a vortexbox for ripping/storing and NDX?

Or ripnas....

Ok, just checked the NDX price....it's the 4k€ tag.

Mac+upnp sw+hd as media server would be a start. Or buy a USB HD to start with and plug it in the NDX USB port.

Posted on: 03 April 2013 by james n

You've got a Mac. Borrow an NDX, install playback (a UPnP server) on the Mac and put the NDX up against the CDS3 and see what you think. The NDX likes an external supply so try it with your XPS 2 as well.

James

Posted on: 03 April 2013 by matpip

a) Buy a nDAC, keep your SBT and link it ethernet to your macbook, or

b) Buy a nDAC and buy a mac-mini