The Boogie's Back

I'd be looking for an XPS DR rather than a Supercap.

Or maybe a Hugo?

Hugo, Hugo, Hugo. They'll be 10 a penny on eBay once Naim wake up and release a better dac at an affordable price. My great nephew is called Hugo, an adorable little chap with huge ears.

Unfortunately not possible due to budget, would need to PX / sell the Hicap DR also to fund

Or if a Hugo does not fit the bill you could try a Teddy Dac plus Asynchronous module.

Regards,

Nick

True Blue

My system is pretty close in level to yours.

The NDX seems a tricky blighter to upgrade, some like the NDAC, others like it bare, some prefer a PS on it, then there is Hugo.  Looking for something funny to say about Hugo but HH seems to have done that splendidly!  My money is on a PS and then go to NDS but this is quite a stretch.

I've wondered about a used NDAC before, they're not too expensive but my impression that it changes the character of the system, rather than providing a complete improvement unless you start sticking PS's on the NDAC.

Are you looking to get a used Supercap or a new Supercap DR?  I ask as when I traded my HiCap for a new HiCap DR the dealer warned me off a non DR Supercap.  His opinion was that the HiCap DR came very close (some customers preferred the HiCap DR) and he felt that 2 HiCap DR's were better than a non DR Supercap on a 282.  I know this goes against others opinions and not having done the comparison I can't say but it is good food for thought nevertheless.

Not having heard any of these options I could be talking rollocks, off course but there do seem to be many options to consider at this level.

Richard

Richard,

I bought the NDX after auditioning the ND5XS and NDX both with the NDAC.  Had the ND5XS for a week whilst waiting for my NDX and thant sounded blooming fantastic with the NDac, really good combination.

Replacing the ND5XS with the NDX gave so much more of everything, full of detail great dynamics nothing wrong with the sound at all.  I thought I would try withouth the NDAC, not because I need or wanted to sell /  trade it but because the system was in all fairness getting out of hand with the amount of buttons / configurations etc and others in the house were getting confused.  So in an attempt to simplify the NDA was removed and the Saturn connected into the NDX both being fed direct to the 282.

Not sure if its one less element in the system, the fact its now all Naim chords (previously used chord signature between source and NDAC), but the music is simply easier to follow, more foot tappingly enjoyable, don't feel like I have lost a lot / if anything by removing the Ndac.

So back to the Supercap, I am still undecided whether to trade in the Ndac against an XPs2 /555 with a view of eventually getting an NDS, or maxing out my 282 with a used Supercap.  The supercap would of course have to be DR'd.  So either an old one which needs servicing / DR upgrade or an ex dem one.  In no rush to find just enjoying my music as it is.  (Currently buying around 20 CD's a week, most from the car boots / charity shops) so not breaking the bank too much.

True Blue, my experimentation with DR and non-SuperCaps on my 282 showed only a small benefit with the former.  The DR SC showed a bigger improvement over the nonDR SC when powering a 252. So worth trying both SCs when the time to upgrade comes.

In the meantime, if you want to improve your 282 at cheaper cost than a new PSU, borrow a Powerline from your dealer and try it on the NASPC.  One of the best VFM upgrades I've made in my system.

MDS    

Can Naim upgrade their DAC's or streamers with a firmware update to improve the sound... or DSD?

Fred

Yes, it is possible. Also, the NDX had a board-level upgrade to go from 24/96 to 24/192.

Hook

Well, lets hope Naim comes with a upgrade soon.