NDX, NDX+DAC, UQ and ADS2

Yesterday, David [mrclick] and I travelled to that well known Leicester based emporium to have our LP12s looked at. Mine was a minor anaesthetic-free operation of a new Akiva and David’s deck had some much needed open heart surgery. We both took the opportunity to have the new Dynamik [or Dynamo as David calls it] PS upgrade for the Radikal.

Anyway, enough of the analogue  stuff.

I had arranged with Peter to have a good listen to some of the current streaming kit. So, dutifully, his digital expert in the shop, Phil, had set a nice demo for me. Unfortunately, he is off on his holidays this week so I was keenly attended to by Tom instead, who went through the whole set-up at the shop with me including recommending ideal home networking solutions and showing me how to use various apps on iPAD for remote control.

The remit was that I am looking for a streaming source for my study but wanted to check out how far this “new” technology had come for potential main system use in the future. Previously Peter had lent me a Rega DAC at home for a few weeks, streaming from my iMac. As reported in an earlier thread, this combo left me completely cold. I have also been lent the UnitiQute by John [fixedwheel] for a few weeks and I thought that was something special so, there was some definite promise in this new technology for me!

In the demo room we were partnering the sources with the Linn Akurate Pre/Power combo [don’t ask the model numbers, I haven’t a clue] and Kudos C30’s.

I chose two tracks from the shops ready ripped [FLAC] music “store”, on a RipNAS, Led Zep’s Whole Lotta Love and Goldfrapp, Shiny and Warm, being representative of a large chunk of my listening.

First up was the ADS2. I listened to the tracks a few times in full on this to acclimatise myself to the system. At this point in proceedings I was completely struck by the sheer resolution and quality this box was providing. Playing at a far higher level than I could believe at the price [£4.5k?]. Stunning!

Next was the NDX+DAC combo [£5.3k inc interconnect?]. The thing that struck me was it sounded like a pukka Naim component. Immediately engaging, really my kind of thing, and pretty much what I had hoped for given my previous positive experiences of the UnitiQute. I was quite surprised about this though because in the past I have been quite vocal about my feelings towards the DAC. The negative about this combo is the completely inferior resolution revealing nature to the main competition, the ADS2 in comparison. As a vinyl head, I couldn’t live with the ADS2 but respect its qualities. I could live [love?] the NDX+DAC combo.

The drop in performance when removing the DAC from the NDX is quite marked, moving it even further away from the Linn piece. It all goes a bit soft, undynamic, less well resolved and looses a bit of “swing” in comparison. It’s a shame that Naim do not make a DAC free head unit to partner the DAC, I guess that’s another item thatSalisburyare working on…?

Finally was the Cutie. And Cute it is too. Running it as a source in the system, after a few minutes to get used to it, all the good memories came back and I remember why I liked it. It still does the fun factor very well even alongside the more superior components. I guess the difference between the bare NDX and the Qute is similar to the difference between the NDX+DAC and bare NDX.

In summary, I will probably end up with a Qute for the study [with my N-Sats] and have gained confidence about having a serious digital source in the future for the main rig. As regards the NDX+DAC vs the Linn ADS2, I would not like to predict what anyone else would choose but I would say, either piece is a super source but with different presentation and neither should be discounted for “brand preference” reasons. Only buy with your ears!

Cheers, Julian

Ps – Radikal Dynamik…., wow