Streamer upgrade advice

Ok - that's an interesting one...

If you already have 555PSDR and an nDAC there are two options which will give you comparable result. Not the same but in the same league. In either case get rid of SONOS.

Option 1: sell nDAC and get NDS (make sure you order one with 2 burndy cables)

Option 2: get an NDX and connect via digital out to nDAC (DC-1 BNC-BNC is an interconnect of choice here).

Which one you go for is a question of available funds. One thing worth noting: NDX can come with an optional FM / DAB module, which will still be usable via digitial out (FM signal is digitised by NDX and processed by nDAC).

As to subwoofer - trust me, with SN2 and SuperCap you DON'T need a subwoofer.
At some stage I can imagine you will be upgrading your SuperNait2 to a pre-power combo (252 or 282 and at least NAP 250DR).

Only once those upgrades are complete think of your speakers.

Good luck,

Adam

Very helpful, thanks Adam.

I think you have a bit of a disbalance with the very strong combo of ndac and 555ps and the other components. At least get yourself a NDX for the Sonos or even better get rid of the Sonos and the NDAC and get yourself a NDS. With both of these steps I have the feeling that you should also review you amp section. Upgrading to a separates with a 252 / 250 or 300 would make the source also shine more.

But of course I engaged myself too much and we are already into the next two upgrades. So start with eliminating your Sonos the weakest link in the chain.

Whether or not you need a sub will be determined by the way your room interacts with the speakers not by the electronics connected to the speakers.

The NDAC/555PS  already has a larger than life bass... yes a sub might bring out the bottom octave and help if you are into club music or pipe organ music, but I suspect much bigger enhancements will come from upgrading the Sonos transport. Although the Sonos software is great, the hardware is somewhat compromised (I know I  own it). You can pay to upgrade the Sonos using specialist modification companies which improves things to some extent.. but you will get no hidef or DSD, or better you can get a NDX, used or new. The NDX into NDAC/555PS is very good indeed, and I have heard that combo sing on 552 based systems. I actually preferred the NDX-> NDAC/555PS to the NDS/555PS, not least because of the groove and bass drive,

Simon

Thanks Bert, Huge and Simon. 

There are a couple of relatively inexpensive ways of improving on the source signal provided by the Sonos. You already have the ndac, so either of Sonore microRendu or SOtM sms 200 could significantly upgrade your system! Both need an ethernet connection (not wireless).

Having owned my SOtM sms 200 for only a couple of weeks I know I'd love to hear what it could do through an ndac! A bit of a left-field idea maybe, but for £450 with a strong resale value at present it could be an easy option to try.

A sms200 or MicroRendu would need a USB/SPDIF adapter to work with the nDAC. 

Certainly getting a Naim product keeps you in the family.  One purchase and done, you also seem to already have the PSU upgrade.

if you are on a tight budget the mR/SMS route can sound really good, just understand that you also need to acquire a PSU and SPDIF converter.

in either case  you will need to enable a Upnp server on a computer or NAS. I think now you just point the Sonos at a folder. 

The Naim products page states the ndac has usb input with full support for hires (including DSD128) so an spdif converter shouldn't be needed?

It's a USB port for a USB memory stick not for a computer connection, so if using USB then you'll still need to convert to S/PDIF 

Thank you all. 

Swapping Sonos for Squeezebox Touch is a cost-effective upgrade; or a Mac Mini.  But neither of these audio upgrades will improve he control interface - quite the opposite.

Naim streamers with Naim amplification is an obvious choice -- cannot go wrong.  

Nick

The Sonos is the weakest link here, so personally i would make that the focus of my next upgrade.

I recently demoed quite a few streamers, and ended up going with the Auralic Aries. 

My 2c worth. 

Id be very reticent to buy a new Naim streamer, they really are at the end of their run at the moment from a technology perspective. 

Waiting for these to be upgraded would be advised  

The Sonos is the weak link. 

Either get an NDX  2nd hand. OR

Get a raspberry pi with. Hifi berry digi+ hat. I realise this can sound complicated but all the information is readily out there and we can help you here. 

Ideally get Roon and run the Roon software image on the pi. Connect this optically or coaxially to your nDAC. 

This will give far better sound than the Sonos and a far better GUI than the Naim streamers. 

The next generation Naim streamers will be Roon enabled so you'll be all ready to go when they arrive. (That is if you're still inclined to.)

SJB. 

I'd be tempted by the new Uniti Core, if I had the money for it. 

I'm surprised no one considered a 272/555PS instead. Would it be that inferior to the other options discussed?

I would certainly look at a Naim streamer such as a NDX transport. You really do appreciate the care and attention Naim have put into providing a clean, stable and precise transport feed. These are all the atttributes needed to make any connected DAC perform its best. Literally garbage in - garbage out... and it's never been truer with digital... the downside is unless you have the right measuring equipment you can't see the extent of digital garbage, just subjectively assess it.

The GUI with the Nstream is really rather good for the streamers... less bling and clutter than some GUI and rather effective.

BTW I have heard nowhere that the next software builds for the streamers will support Roon... what we have been told, and the new Uniti products support it, is the support for Google Cast. This will open up the Naim products to a whole world of third party apps for many parts of the world. Naim told me they might have been a bit too US/European focussed up until now with relying on Spotify and Tidal

Thanks all for the comments and advice. Have gone for the NAIM streamer route and managed to buy an ex demo NDS and using Tidal instead of Spotify. What a difference from Sonos...

Congrats, you have bought a great machine!

Excellent! Well done with the NDS.

This is a useful and interesting Thread. Glad to hear of the NDS upgrade decision.

My issue is a bit different. I want a better Pre-Amp than my SuperUniti offers. Having considered but postponed a big upgrade to a Nap-552 for the time being, I have acquired a 2013-vintage Nac-282.

Has anybody used a Nac-282 with a SuperUniti for streaming purposes?

My understanding of how this might work (for the time being) is that the Nac-282 provides an interface to the SU pre-Volume Control controls for streaming purposes; that the Nac-282 analogue interface provides for Inputs from Tuner, CD-Player etc; and that I would connect the two units to Power Amps via 2 x HiCaps linked to the Nac-282.

Is my understanding correct? Are thee alternative methods?

Any advice about appropriate Cables etc would also be much appreciated.

Skyebridge

Using the 282 with your SU - is your intention to use SU's streamer / Dac into the 282 and then into the power amp section of the SU? i don't think this works.

Also don't think you could use the 282, and just use the SU's power amp section. 

Line Out from the 282 to the SU in AV Bypass mode will work; but streaming functions will not benefit from the 282, until you reverse the connection and run the 282 through a different amp.

I think.

Nick

The pre out on a Superuniti is post volume control, which is fine for a power amp, but not what you want for a preamp. If you're looking to make incremental upgrades with a SU, you really want to add the power amp and source, then add the preamp last. Sorry!

SU's streaming board is a bit 'compromised' by being cramed into such a small case with a pre and power amps. I think you'd be better off selling your SU and getting a second-hand NDX.

Adam