Core Konvert

... as is the sound.

Just to be clear, you compared connections via upnp and direct digital with the core and found the direct method better?

Very, very interesting.

i have wondered since Phil Harris' observation whether the Core might be a match for other store-renderers that receive rave reviews, like Melco, Innuos zennith and MAc Mini/Audirvana. It would be good to hear others' assessments: if this is a universal conclusion then it is a real challenger to the competition (and one on my own list of potential replacements when my MM has had its day), avoiding all the hassles and potential problems of streaming files across a network, while directly feeding whatever is the best DAC of the day. And fantastic for Naim.

Very interesting to read Dupree. What was type and reference of the direct drive installed on the Core?

I would be curious to know how the Core would have compared here to US HDD (no NAS).

Happy new year to all.

Chag - 

Was the Core/272 combo still playing through the Tabelletes 10s driven by a Nap 100 or was the set-up changed since Wednesday? 

When I get a chance I will set an appointment with Ken to compare the Core to a CD player. The Core was unable to read  the title or track names  of one of my two discs I brought along but had no problem playing the music.

So according to various recent posts.....

The Core is better than the NDS

The Unitiserve is better than the Core

A Synology NAS with Minim is better than a Unitiserve.

.......and a thread asserting that the Law of Increasing Returns now applies to HiFi. I can feel an upgrade frenzy coming on!

Soo we can see a whole load of used NDSs flooding onto the market? I don't think so 

i think if the Unitiserve turns out to be better than the Core, Naim will be disappointed...but I kind of doubt it is 

DUPREE posted:

It was a a core and and NDS/555PS both into the same NAC-N 272/XPS2DR into a NAP250DR into ProAc D30R

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Very interesting observations Dupree. I hope Naim releases a version of the Core that has no ripping function, and are pure music streamers. 

Elevensheep posted:

Very interesting observations Dupree. I hope Naim releases a version of the Core that has no ripping function, and are pure music streamers. 

The Core is a "server."  The players are the "streamers."

Elevensheep posted:

Very interesting observations Dupree. I hope Naim releases a version of the Core that has no ripping function, and are pure music streamers. 

Why would they do that? The cost saving in parts would be negligible and there is no reason why having the CD ripper in there not being used would affect SQ. I suspect the market for such a scaled-back Core would be minute, so it could actually cost a lot more than a normal core.

best

David

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

Soo we can see a whole load of used NDSs flooding onto the market? I don't think so 

Thats a shame, recent posts got my hopes up 

Strange, all these observations and opinions. I recall the introduction of the HDX about 8 years ago. There were numerous threads were the general consensus was that as an 'all-in-one' solution it was nice, but that a seperate NAS and ripping with software like dBPoweramp provided an equally well result...

Somewhere these opinions might have changed ...

Klout10 posted:

Strange, all these observations and opinions. I recall the introduction of the HDX about 8 years ago. There were numerous threads were the general consensus was that as an 'all-in-one' solution it was nice, but that a seperate NAS and ripping with software like dBPoweramp provided an equally well result...

Somewhere these opinions might have changed ...

Hang on...the number of forum members who have heard a Core and reported can still be counted on one hand it appears.  Definitely no toes needed yet.

DUPREE posted:

Technology changes and improves.
> On Jan 1, 2017, at 6:12 AM, Naim Audio Forums <alerts@hoop.la> wrote:
>

But the forum still stumps some users.  

Bart posted:

Elevensheep posted:

Very interesting observations Dupree. I hope Naim releases a version of the Core that has no ripping function, and are pure music streamers. 

The Core is a "server."  The players are the "streamers."

DUPREE posted:

The core also has a direct digital output. The comparison was the Core itself rendering vs the streamer playing the same track from a NAS.

The Core can function as a file server, just like a NAS, streaming music files to a 'streamer', the latter consisting of a renderer and internal DAC, producing analogue audio output. In some cases people use a Naim streamer purely as a renderer, feeding the rendered digital audio to an external DAC (NDX seems to feature often in posts describing this, said to be a good renderer.

The Core also has a built-in renderer, so can feed a rendered digital audio stream direct to a DAC. With this approach the separate streamer used just as a renderer is unnecessary, allowing a simpler and less costly system.

crucial for the latter is how the Core sounds in rendering mode compared to other options including NDX (and even NDS).

It would also be interesting to compare that approach with Melco,  Innuos Zenith and in my own case optimised Mac Mini/Audirvana(/isolator if Hugo or other DAC without adequate RF isolation).

the more comparisons people can offer -and the more people that do this - the more meaningful will be the conclusions.

also remember that there have been a number of firmware updates to core over the last weeks, and i would imagine there are some more to come as the unit beds down on the testing. Any of these could include tweaks to sound quality performance