What's your best digital interconnect for the nDAC?

Posted by: Ikoun on 12 August 2011

Hi everybody,
For all Naim systems, what's your favorite or best Digital cable to connect the nDAC?
Thx
Posted on: 12 August 2011 by Aleg
Naim HiLine
Posted on: 12 August 2011 by vandergraafuk
+1
Posted on: 12 August 2011 by Simon-in-Suffolk
Hi the Hiline is superb.. However if you into DIY and have a reasonable budget then you can use two x pure softened silver wire conducters each in an over sized Teflon jacket (providing minimum contact with the conducters) with the jackets  loosely twisted around each other with non resonant ultralight / mechanically decoupled DIN / RCA plugs and it is very very good indeed and holds or even increases in value :-)
It's what I use with my NDAC now as it's the most open transparent cleanest interconnect I have ever used.
Simon
Posted on: 12 August 2011 by Ikoun

Yes of course. Sorry i did a wrong title, my point is to know what's you bast digital cable ;-) I had chance to heart the Chord Indigo Plus and it was nice ... ?

 

By the way, if the admin could change ti title, could be nice.

Thx by advance ;-)

Posted on: 12 August 2011 by Simon-in-Suffolk
Ok :-)
Naim DC1 with a ferrite clamp around the cable ( cable between NDX and NDAC)
Simon
Posted on: 12 August 2011 by rhr

Last year I auditioned Indigo Plus, Signature, the equivalent Altas Cables and DC1. I ended up with the Indigo Plus. It's premium definitely gets you something extra.

I can't remember the name of the Atlas (they've changed their range now) but was superior IMHO to the DC1. Give them an audition and see what you think.

Posted on: 12 August 2011 by Harry

Chord Indigo Plus. I've given my DC1 to someone who is about to buy the nDAC. It didn't sound "bad", I just preferred the Chord's presentation.

Posted on: 12 August 2011 by Richard Dane
Title and opening post edited.

Tested a number of dig cables and the DC1 worked best for me.
Posted on: 12 August 2011 by Guido Fawkes

 

True Colours Kukri Glass Optical Digital Interconnect isolates the Naim DAC from any nasty noise in the source and delivers all the right bits and nothing but the right bits into the DAC's buffer


Little bit of controversy coming in there


I haven't tried the DC1 though, but have tried the Chord cords.

Posted on: 12 August 2011 by Ikoun

Thanks Richard. I thought also to an optical like Wirewirld Supernova 6 or maybe au Audioquest Optilink 5 ... Did anybody really compared those Coax and Optical cables..It is atru jungle there around :-)


Cheers

Posted on: 12 August 2011 by Simon-in-Suffolk
Hi, I have used and compared many electrical and fibre leads. Although fibre can isolate RFI, opto couplers and tranducers are not perfect and are often far from perfect so the best setup for me has always been a clean low jitter source via a correctly terminated impedance matched coax into a DAC incorporating  galvanic isolators.
Bad termination or impedance mismatches can cause many problems with coax however. RCA terminators on a SPDIF cable are tempting trouble. If you find different lengths of your SPDIF coax are 'changing' the sound, you have problems with impedance mis matches and reflections
Simon
Posted on: 12 August 2011 by Ikoun

Thank you Simon for your explanation and experience. Could you better describe these problem on the effect in listening because i do not really understand technical factors. I heard coax is the best. On my side, if i jump on the ndac solution, i will need anyway an optical cable for the video part. For music, i couldn't compare, reason of my post.

I am not surprised the Naim cable reach the taste of many of you. Each time i compared a calble on my system, always the Naim was the best. But i am Naim from the walll to the speakers which also can be a factor.

Do you think a "highend" Dac will born from the Naim team ? Or a NDX with a internal DAC able to perform as well as the ndac ?

 

Thx for your answers ;-)

Posted on: 12 August 2011 by Simon-in-Suffolk
Hi, in the end the technical factors are largely immaterial, it's how it sounds that is most important, an so far coax has always sounded best for me. However if you have a fibre lead from a device like AppleTV or satellite decoder box, because these devices are often quite electrically noisy, you don't want that noise to pass along the lead into your hifi, and so fibre is often a good compromise.

I am not sure I understand your question regarding the DAC. The NDAC is a truly great device capable of outstanding replay. Will Naim produce another DAC? Almost certainly in time.
The NDX has a good DSP and DAC (with the DSP doing much of the work, and indeed much of the engineering here is taken from the NDAC). Many seem to like that DAC, and it can in my experience be enhanced quite effectively with external power supplies. The NDAC on the NDX ultimately IMO provides a cleaner more transparent replay however and with NDAC/555ps can sound absolutely breathtaking and is immensely enjoyable- but for a cost. The NDX on it's own gives a very good performance however.
Simon
Posted on: 13 August 2011 by Ikoun

Thank you Simon,

 

I read your post experiencing the NDX with different power supplies and it was very interesting. I had chance to have a NDX for a week and even if i like a lot the way to listen to music (conviviality). I was not convinced by the quality. I mean it is a great machine at its price tag but even with the XPS, to my opinion, my bare CDX2 sounds better. So i was a bit disappointed.

After, i had chance to try a ndac home, and here it was a true upgrade, a fantatstic source coupled with a good transport as a CDX2 converted with a dig out...and XPS of course

Conclusion, the solution may be a NDX/nDAC+power supply..? Could be so nice to escape from a one box... (ndac?) and make a highend NDX...?

Posted on: 13 August 2011 by Simon-in-Suffolk
Hi, well if the CDX2 sounds superior in your system then that is great. Certainly I am very fond of the CDX2 with XPS. If I am honest it's not that transparent for me for audiophile replay, but it is certainly enjoyable the way it plays many discs.
With the NDX, it was the 555PS that seemed to make it truly come alive in terms of imaging and depth and cleaner frequency extremes for me. Some on this forum stop there. But it is these areas that are ultimately improved to my ears with the NDAC/555ps, with that extra rare quality of making most recordings enjoyable no matter how poor or compressed they are, yet be sufficiently detailed to immerse yourself in the music. If you are that way inclined it often allows you to hear what the recording engineer did whilst mastering.. I love all that.

With the NDX I have found it fussy to RFI, especially if using it's internal DAC. So ensure unused inputs/outputs are disabled. Turn the display off, use a Powerline or Belden mains lead, use wired Ethernet not wifi and try clamping one or two RFI chokes around the Ethernet lead near to the NDX.
With that you might be quite surprised and how the sound changes and yes feed it wavs instead of FLACs for optimum sound from it's own DAC.
Simon
Posted on: 14 August 2011 by mm17

Just did a comparison last month with the Naim DAC - Naim DC1, Chord Signature, Chord Indigo Plus. Left the shop with the Indigo Plus. For me the sound was a little less etched and a little more organic than DC1. That said, I preferred the DC1 to the more closely priced Chord Signature.

Posted on: 15 August 2011 by GerryMcg

Very expensive, but the Chord Sarum was very superior to the Chord Indigo Plus in my week long demo.

 

I also agree with Simon as regards the impact of the 555PS on the nDac -  if you can afford it, it is essential.