Adding an HDX?

Posted by: Paulie on 27 June 2015

Presently I have my digital music coming off my old MacBook Pro, via a Naim DAC V1 into a SuperNait 2. I was thinking of adding an HDX to store the music on, rather than my old MacBook. 

 

My questions:

 

Will the DAC V1 now be redundant (ie does the HDX already have a DAC built in)?

 

Is the HDX that far superior in terms of file storage to my MacBook?

 

If the HDX isn't suitable in my case, any suggestions in terms of what I might want to look at?

 

Thanks and kind regards. 

Posted on: 27 June 2015 by John Bailey

Paulie,

 

I've owned an HDX for about 4 years. Subject to the caveat that Naim seem to have gone cold on developing the platform with streaming services I would recommend it. 

 

However, to answer your questions:

 

HDX has a dac built in but only for its own replay - there is no input to use it with other devices so your DACV1 may have a role here if still required. 

 

HDX is not necessarily better at storage than the MacBook but is very good at cataloging files. For either make sure you keep backups. 

 

If the HDX is not for you you could try an NDX - which has DAC inputs (your V1 would then be redundant) and you could add a NAS to keep the files on instead of the MacBook - though you could still run the NDX off the Mac with suitable software such as Asset or Minimserver running on it. 

 

Key difference between HDX and NDX is that the former can rip, store and catalogue CD's whereas the  latter cannot, but the NDX can take digital feeds from other sources and do streaming services which the HDX cannot. 

 

Hope this helps. 

 

John. 

 

 

Posted on: 27 June 2015 by ChrisSU

Yes, your V1 would be redundant, as the HDX has a DAC in it. An alternative might be to keep the V1 and get a Unitiserve, which will do what the HDX does but has no DAC and costs about half as much. Alternatively, a Mac Mini used as a dedicated music-only source, might be worth looking at, possibly with external storage (NAS?) This gives you more flexibility in terms of features, as Wat says, as long as you're happy to set it up and configure it. 

Why not take your Macbook to a dealer; you should be able to use it in a dem to compare it to the Naim options.

Posted on: 27 June 2015 by NickSeattle

I auditioned the HDX several years ago and was impressed by the music it made through its own DAC, and especially with a Powerline added.  I bought an NDX instead because I preferred to manage files using a Mac, sometimes within iTunes, sometimes not.  The NDX is cheaper than the HDX, and it adds  remote control of your SN2 and CDX2 from iPad.

 

I suggest you give both a listen.  I did not a/b test, myself.  It is possible the HDX benefitted in my estimation because it was the first Naim streamer/server I demoed at home.  In the end I disqualified it due to features vs the NDX, more than anything else.  The HDX is an elegant and efficient option, especially if you store files on it, and only back up to a NAS.  Once you start playing files on other servers, complexity increases, and you begin to wonder why the HDX needs to store anything locally.

 

Good luck.

 

Nick