nDAC, US-SSD, US-HDD, or ...

Hi, and welcome to the forum,

"The two most impressive elements to my ears of the US-SSD in this set-up are the low frequency definition and presence; and overall sound intensity (depth/presence), there’s significantly more information imparted (versus the naturalness and relaxed feeling of the NAS/NDX/SN2 sans the US-SSD).  The drawback, again to my ears, is the slightest hint of glaze (though it certainly has a fabulous sound)."

A linear power supply on the UnitiServe should remove the glaze to which you refer ; well it did on my HDD version, which I run into a Naim DAC. It is certainly worth a try before considering switching from the SSD version to the HDD. IIRC the Colloms article mentions that a linear PS substantially narrows the gap between the SSD and HDD versions.

Also, in my experience, moves to better definition can be accompanied by a sense of loss of excitement. Case in point, the Chord Hugo vs the Naim DAC. On extended comparative listening though, the "excitement" usually reveals itself to be a less controlled, less defined presentation.

Preference is, of course, entirely personal.

Jan

It’s good you remember the Collums article, with the URL hatcheted the way it was ...

The question of whether to build an ecosystem of components to satisfy a current level of auditory development or some more (potentially) highly refined future level is Gordian and I haven’t yet answered that satisfactorily for myself.

My method seems to have been to take a few steps and then stand back to see where I’ve been ...

In an effort to try and plan the next step, my question is whether to get the nDAC or stay with a (perhaps modified version of the) Unitiserve.

Because I haven’t had a chance to listen to the nDAC, I’m hoping to get feedback concerning the nature of the sound quality of the NAS/NDX/SN2 with it as opposed to the same gear with the Unitiserve.  I know what the gear sounds like with the Unitiserve adding its character; I have no idea whether the gear with the nDAC is an entirely different order of magnitude.

If I do stay with the US I’ll definitely upgrade the power supply ... I’m wondering what you use ...

My understanding of your situation is that

1) you have realized that, for you, the SQ of the NDX > SN2 segment critically depends on what you have upstream of the NDX (NAS vs NAS > US-SSD) and

2) you are wandering whether an nDAC could bring into your system some aspects of the CD5x > SN sound you liked.

It seems to me that 1) is just a realization and 2) is a question that can only be answered by a careful demo.

You could ask your dealer for a demo of nDAC > SN2 versus NDX > SN2 with different upstream chains and try to first figure out if you can say that you prefer the one over the other independently of what you have upstream of the nDAC and of the NDX.

If this turns out to be the case, then just go for the option you prefer and you are done (you can then refine it by carefully selecting the upstream components). If not, things become more difficult.

Another guiding criteria could be avoidance of redundance. I would not like to have a system with a lot of boxes with redundant functionalities. But this is just my own preference, of course.

It's listed in my profile.

Mark,

your question doesn't really make sense to me. But maybe I haven't understood it correctly. Therefore I will recollect:

You have an NDX, US-SSD and an NAS. The NAS stores your music files, the US acts as a UPNP server and the NDX is the network player which is connected to the SN2. Correct?

If so, you cannot replace the US with a DAC. The DAC would go between the replay unit, which is your NDX, and the amp.It is something you could do, but which would be independant of the US.

What you coulod do, is to replace the NDX with the nDAC and let the US take over the role of the player and feeding the nDAC. Then also it could make sense to upgrade the US with an external power supply.

If the US is acting only as a server, it definately does not make sense to upgrade it. Servers have no impact on the sound.

Not in my experience. Granted, their impact is far less than that of a DAC, but it is there. I can hear the difference between playback from the US HDD into the nDAC, vs the same file played from a NAS through the US. To my ears the US HDD playback is more natural.

Jan-Erik,

yes, but you are using your US as a PLAYER. I was referring to servers in a UPNP network with a dedicated player at the other end of the network.

I understand that, but even in UPnP mode, the addition of a linear PS does show.

I agree, the music sounds better from the US than the Synology NAS. And the addition of the power supply is clear to hear, and that's with a humble SuperUniti and ears pummelled by years of loud music.

Thanks for offering your thoughts on this -

Yes, the Unitiserve does contribute to the sound.

A demo is a natural and logical answer to my question but unfortunately, the logistics of setting it up are not simple.  I’m working toward it but want to get more insight prior to setting-up a demo.

And Jan has responded to what is basically my question, to wit;

 “what is the magnitude of change in sound quality when adding a Unitiserve to NAS/NDX/SN2”
(i.e, NAS / US / NDX / SN2)

vs.

“what is the magnitude of change in sound quality when adding a nDAC to NAS/NDX/SN2”
(i.e., NAS / NDX / nDAC / SN2)

(then, the nature of that change ... )

The way things are shaping-up now the NAS, NDX and SN2 are going to stay.  I’m deciding on the Unitiserve vs. nDAC (or ... ?).  My guess is that many of you who’ve heard both might laugh at this question ... I’m asking simply because I’ve never heard the nDAC.

So, Jan has essentially said that the nDAC makes a bigger difference.  I’ve heard some people say that the nDAC would give a “rough” or “edgy” sound.  I’ve read a significant amount of positive commentary on nDAC / 555PS / NDX.  I know that would offer an incredible listening experience.  It’s almost a little spooky that I haven’t heard of anyone using a nDAC with the NDX, without the external power supply! ... which is what I’m considering ...

... and, of course, I would guess most of the people using the nDAC / 555PS / NDX aren’t using a SN2 ...

... and there’s the question of how the other parts of the chain will affect any answer to what I’m asking ...

But I am first and foremost a lover of music.  I’d like to get the bloody boxes and start in earnest listening to music!  ... though I must admit I have been a little pulled into, and been enjoying some of, this universe of audio ...

BTW - I think the Supernait 2 has great sound (I’ve added a Flatcap 2 as well ... )

I suspect that the Supernait 2 will sound better without the flatcap, as the inbuilt power supply is the DR version. Try it and see.

I've been using a HDD version of the Serve for nearly a year now and think it's great; easy to use and sounds very good indeed. I don't really see the point of the SSD version - if you have the HDD, all the music can live on the Serve (unless your collection exceeds the 2TB) and you back up to a NAS.

If it was me, I'd get the Serve and just enjoy the system. Later, adding a 555PS to the NDX and then moving to an NDS would be a logical path with minimum boxes. Getting shot of the flatcap will help with the cost.

I have demoed USBdrive/NDX/SN2 vs USB drive/nDAC/SN2 (both nDAC and SN2 without PS) and preferred the latter. I have bought the SN2 and my dealer kindly offered me the opportunity to home demo a s/h nDAC. At home, the nDAC is connected via electrical S/PDIF to a fanless fit-pc3 running MPD under Debian from an internal SSD drive. I am quite happy with this source but cannot offer a comparison with the US. I also have very little experience with testing audio equipment, so please take my opinion with a grain of salt.

To me this is the most salient point, I've read and re-read the literature on the HD/SSD versions and can spot and understand the difference technically but there is no SQ claims or other clear argument put forward as to whether the SSD version justifies itself on price. I'm not in a position to talk to French dealers technically, my French isn't that good yet. Also there is the lack of dealerships. It seems one of the two 'Serves is a solution looking for a problem, but which one?

I give HH's post the +1 seal of approval. 

Not that Seal . . . doh!

I'd thought the Flatcap provided power only to the pre-amp portion of the SN2 ... with the DR in the SN2 still providing power to the amp ... ? 

Originally I was running the SN2 without the Flatcap.  The change with the FC is subtle but positive IMO, opening-up the stage just a hint ...  (got good price on second-hand ... )

The flatcap does indeed power just the preamp part. That's the point, you are no longer using the inbuilt DR supply to power the preamp, but the flatcap instead.

 But if it sounds better to you, then it is better, but I'd be surprised.

I didn't do extensive comparisons ... I will now ...

How would you characterize the nature of the SQ between the set-up with nDAC vs set-up with NDX?

I hardly can spell out the difference in words. Maybe the nDAC sounded just more consistent to me. Maybe even a little bit richer or just more coherent on certain passages. But as I said, I have no experience in audio testing and I only heard classical music. Also, my experience has possibly been biased by the fact that, from the very beginning, I was not very keen on buying a streamer.