TotalDac S1 Server - any opinions...?

so that's a "No" then...

Sorry, never heard of it. Reading your title, I thought maybe Naim had released a Statement level HDX!!

About which one are you not convinced, the NDX?

The ND5 XS I have is impressive, and the NDX is even better!

Huge posted:

About which one are you not convinced, the NDX?

Yes - the NDX. I recently had one on home demo and didn't keep it based on comparison to current source.

Don't misunderstand me, though - the NDX sounded great and it is a good source. But as I found (and as someone also posted in a thread I had running on this) my source, Squeezebox Touch with EDO enhancement for hi-res, is better than it deserves to be and the NDX is not necessarily as good as it should be. Especially when taking 300euro vs 5,000euro into consideration...!

so still on the lookout for new, better source but not for just a subtle improvement if I'm at this price range.

ChrisSU posted:

Sorry, never heard of it. Reading your title, I thought maybe Naim had released a Statement level HDX!!

Me too  

Ah yes the French device - comes in various guises and is pretty well regarded. One of the guys on the Devialet forum was running one although i think he's now moved to the top Melco unit. Plenty of other options around, but it depends what you want from a user interface / DAC interface point of view. At this price range i'd look at the Weiss MAN301 too. 

Hi,
the d1-server is not competing with NDX, since it is dac-less. It is a premium transport and has been one of the top transports on the french market for a couple of years. It is working very well when associated to totaldac dacs. The reviews have been raving about the combination. The combination is in NDS territory from a cost standpoint.

The combination is brilliant , it sounds analogue , it is very detailled with plenty of microdynamics, but the sound is very different from the
Naim one , with little PRAT in it. The synergy with Naim amplification is not as strong a with Chord Dacs. The few owners we have on our Naim french forum tend to switch to valve amplifiers at some point.

D1-server main weakness used to be its user interface. It has been recently upgraded with upnp and Roon support. It used to rely
on MPD : it is built around a cubox and a high end reclocker

As a transport, it is superior to NDX. But using NDX in a Naim system comes with its own benefits.

Thanks for the insight Stringerbell. I have an nDAC, hence looking for a player/renderer only. Interesting observation on the synergy with Naim so it does beg the question if the D1 Server only really works best with their own DAC.

i think I will investigate further and see about the logistics of a demo.

JF Lux posted:

Thanks for the insight Stringerbell. I have an nDAC, hence looking for a player/renderer only. Interesting observation on the synergy with Naim so it does beg the question if the D1 Server only really works best with their own DAC.

If that's what you're looking for I commend a Mac Mini running Audirvana, through a Gustard U12 to convert to SPDIF to match the nDAC. Mac Mini doubles as a music store, so no need for music files to stream across a network, removing variables from that (but can serve like a NAS to other devices if wanted). It is virtually silent, lends itself well to running 'headless' with no screen or keyboard, and is quite happy being turned on/off by its mains switch just like any piece of hifi kit.  Audirvana is excellent as a renderer, running in optimised mode with dedicated usb output to bypass the MM's internal soundcard. The Gustard converts the usb output to suit the nDAC's input, while providing exemplary isolation from electrical (rf) noise from the MM, and has recently been undergoing testing by Richard Dane for just such a use. And the conbination matches or exceeds the ability of many a dedicated 'streamer' or other renderers. My personal experience is that into a Hugo DAC it beats a Naim ND5XS+XP5XS and listening with the revealing power of a Chord Dave DAC it matches a Melco N1A (though latter was not a lengthy comparison) - at significantly lower cost.

There is much on this setup to be found on other threads.

JF Lux posted:

Thanks for the insight Stringerbell. I have an nDAC, hence looking for a player/renderer only. Interesting observation on the synergy with Naim so it does beg the question if the D1 Server only really works best with their own DAC.

i think I will investigate further and see about the logistics of a demo.

JF Lux,

I don't want to leave the impression, that the d1 server may not work well with other dacs. I only heard it associated with the d1 dual dac.
I didn't spot the ndac in your signature. Since you would have it doing the naim stuff, it could be superb naim-wize. As you said, only a demo will tell you.

As an alternative, you could also consider ,the Belcanto refstream, regarded as the best ethernet renderer in France, or the 3D lab nano transport.

those are the ones , i'm considering to replace my nd5xs, if at some point i'm ready to part ways with system automation
and other Naim goodies