Connecting naim 5i to PS 4

The input on the front fascia must be for headphones (if it´s the latest model of 5i). If I were you I would buy a small dac and connect the PS4 to the amp through this. It will improve your gaming and movie experiences very much  

Could you advise me on a decent DAC,  I don't know how much they cost, a budget to midrange model.  So they must connect from audio out to optical in then?  Thanks for replying.

If it's an earlier Nait 5i or Nait 5i then the 3.5mm socket at the front is an analogue input for easy connection to an iPod or DAP or similar.  There's no digital input on any version of the Nait 5i.  If your PS4 only has a digital output then you'll ned to add a DAC of some kind - they range from a fiver right up to six figures.  If you just want to listen to games and movies then a basic inexpensive DAC should be just fine, but if you want to use the PS4 as a serious music source then you'll need a more serious DAC, at which point you may want to consider a better transport than the PS4...

I run my PS3 through the bare Naim DAC solely for Netflix, and it's stunning what it does for soundtracks.

In the budget range, there is the Audiolab M-DAC, still holding up in the face of more recent contenders. NuPrime does some affordable and interesting DACs, along with Schiit Audio, and there are many more in this crowded market.

A DAC V1 perhaps ?

Your reply piqued my interest as i was pretty sure it wasn"t for headphones because i sold them because of lack of input.  So I've just had a look and i purchased the amp in 2011 and its front jack is a 3.5mm socket for i-pods or any other portable music system.  Does this mean it's a digital input and is there any way i could connect this input to the optical output of my PS 4 to get stereo sound, or is this not viable?

Thanks for helping. 

hski posted:

Could you advise me on a decent DAC,  I don't know how much they cost, a budget to midrange model.  So they must connect from audio out to optical in then?  Thanks for replying.

Well it depends... As always there is a huge range of costs from something like a Lindy DAC at just £40 upto and beyond Naim's nDAC at £2500.  Mid range (around £400) things like Arcam irDAC and even Chord Mojo would be good options.

Theres also a lot of second hand possibilities you could consider for this purpose given that you need SPDIF / TOSLink input not a USB type interface - older Musical Fidelity DACs for example are often available at a good cost.

+1 on the Chord Mojo which is a seriously good dac for the money, but it all depends what your budget is

hski posted:

  So I've just had a look and i purchased the amp in 2011 and its front jack is a 3.5mm socket for i-pods or any other portable music system.  Does this mean it's a digital input and is there any way i could connect this input to the optical output of my PS 4 to get stereo sound, or is this not viable?

Thanks for helping. 

hski,

as I stated in my previous post, no version of the Nait 5i has a digital input - there's no onboard DAC.  You will need a DAC for your PS4.

Just got your earlier reply and it's not digital then.  How would i connect the DAC if i bought one,  does it output to the av in or hdd in?  I've got a large Pana 42 inch plasma and the sound is quite good for a flatscreen, much better than the latest ones with a super-thin bezel.

I forgot to mention i have a Yamaha CD-S1000 SACD player, it looks old fashioned and weighs a ton but it produces stunning quality sound whatever music i'm playing.  The speakers i have are B & W 601 S2 and these are the best speakers i've ever had.  I've also got a Panasonic free-sat blue-ray recorder player connected to the Pana tv.  I'm really happy with my system as i went to a lot of lengths to set it up right, with Kudos tripod spiked stands, naim speaker cable, good quality power cables etc,  and a very stable 3 shelf AV system stand.  I just wanted to improve my gaming sound without spending too much and i almost bought a stereo sound bar but the speaker would have to sit too far in front of the tv stand so i didn't bother.  l'lI defo look into buying a DAC then.

thanks

It may be that you don't need anything to get a "sound" through the hifi from your PS4.  If you have the PS4 connected via HDMI to the Panasonic and the Panny has an analogue output on it then you could use the onboard DAC.  You may find there's a 3.5mm combined headphone/analogue out that can be configured via the menu (like current SONY sets) or else there may be a set of RCA phonos. To input, you can use any of the 4 analogue inputs on the Nait 5i.

Thanks for your suggestion,  i didn't even  think about doing this as i never imagined the Pana tv as having an in-board dac, and that it could be utilized in this way,  gonna try hook it up today.  Hopefully you've saved me some cash.

Hooray, did it.  I had to go into the tv menu and change a setting.  The sound isn't a match compared to my cd player, but it's decent enough.  I've now got that spatial stereo sound on my ps 4 and voice output is also localized from the tv screen.  Not bad to say i didn't have to fork out more money on the dac.

Thanks guys for all your help and suggestions!