DAC V1 or Nait XS 2 as an upgrade?

If you've got a good synergy as is, I personally would head for the XS2 as I think your speakers will benefit from a little extra grunt.  If you want to change the DAC later, the V1 matches up well with the XS2.  If you are mainly feeding the Rega DAC via USB, that might alter my thinking, as the USB interface on the DAC-V1 is exceptionally well done, and I have read that it is the weak point for the Rega.  In my experience the DAC-V1 USB performance betters the SPDIF inputs, but that will be source dependent to at least some degree I would think.  

Do you have only digital sources? If so, you don’t need a preamp with the V1, so you could buy that, then replace your Nait with a separate power amp. The 100 is a great match with the V1, and a 200 would be even better if you can find a used one in good condition. 

ChrisSU posted:

Do you have only digital sources? If so, you don’t need a preamp with the V1, so you could buy that, then replace your Nait with a separate power amp. The 100 is a great match with the V1, and a 200 would be even better if you can find a used one in good condition. 

Dac v1  + Nap 200 

great  combination !

DAC V1 owner and fan here, but you don’t say what you’re running, or plan to run, through the DAC. If USB then yes the V1 will give you the best bang for the buck (esp used). And if you also need to run a turntable then the V1 isn’t the best option as it is digital only inputs. 

Thanks for the answers! Yes, I play music through the DAC using USB. I don't agree with What Hi-Fi, that the Rega's USB input is bad. Besides, I have an Intona USB filter that provides galvanic isolation between the Mac Mini I use as a server, and the Rega DAC. Even if the Rega's USB input is not great, the Intona cleans up the signal before it gets there. And yes, adding the Intona did produce a noticeable increase in sound quality. 

I no longer use a turntable. I have thought about using the V1 with a power amp like the NAP 100, or 200. Although I only use digital inputs at the moment, I am not prepared to give up the flexibility of having analog inputs.

Well there you go, you answered your own question. XS it is...

The V-1 is most definitely not an upgrade from the Rega DAC-R, and it costs twice as much.  That move will get you nowhere and leave you with less money.  Moving to a V-1/100 combo would just be doubling down on a bad bet.  The V-1's preamp section is a weakness, in addition to the V-1's lacking the Naim house sound to a degree I have not heard in any other Naim product.  The 100 is also unexciting, in my opinion.  It is blown away by the 140.  When I got a 140 to replace my old 100, its superiority was one of the most obvious hifi experiences I have ever heard.  If you want to make a material step forward without spending much money, your best hope is probably the second hand market for control components, e.g. a 72/hi cap/140.  The DAC-R can't be bested without spending a lot of money, and it has good synergy with olive. If you must have a remote, then perhaps you should try for an 82, or do nothing until you can get a 282 if you prefer the Classic look.  

I tend to agree that the DAC-V1 in pre-amp mode is not as good as when using it in fixed output mode. I am using one  (V1.16) as a USB DAC. Fed with the Sonore ultraRendu it is excellent.

I thought DAC-V1 was a good upgrade from the Rega DAC which was decent in its own right. I thought Nait XS from Nait 5i was a better upgrade however. 

I have only listened to the Rega DAC-R in  a (nice) Rega system so cannot really comment (vs V1). I have found that the DAC-V1 mirrors what you feed it. With the uRendu I thought it to be comfortably in true high end territory, a nice surprise.

A number of comments over the last few years have suggested that the DAC-V1 is less impressive when used as a pre-amp, though I cannot offer any opinion on that as I've not tried it.  What I would say though is that as fixed output DAC with a decent USB source it packs quite a punch for the money.  Very enjoyable fronting my SN2.  A friend of mine has an XS2, and has been through an Arcam IRDAC and the Audiolab MDAC+ in pursuit of better  VFM, but after the evening when I took my DAC-V1 over to his house for session, any debate about value was settled by the choons and now he has one of his own.  It makes a nice little system PC - V1 - XS2 or SN2, despite the fact it's not the done thing.  Certainly a few years ago I would not have entertained the idea of such a configuration, but in practice sounds great if set up properly.  

I went from Rega DAC to DAC-V1 and think it was a good upgrade. Works very well with USB and SN2.

Kappa posted:

I went from Rega DAC to DAC-V1 and think it was a good upgrade. Works very well with USB and SN2.

A fellow DAC-V1 - SN2 owner?  Seems to be a rare combination and I understand why, but agreed it works very well.  Now I'm curious, what speakers do you have?

SongStream posted:

Kappa posted:

I went from Rega DAC to DAC-V1 and think it was a good upgrade. Works very well with USB and SN2.

A fellow DAC-V1 - SN2 owner?  Seems to be a rare combination and I understand why, but agreed it works very well.  Now I'm curious, what speakers do you have?

I was once a member of this club but was unfortunately turned to the dark side

Mayor West posted:

SongStream posted:

Kappa posted:

I went from Rega DAC to DAC-V1 and think it was a good upgrade. Works very well with USB and SN2.

A fellow DAC-V1 - SN2 owner?  Seems to be a rare combination and I understand why, but agreed it works very well.  Now I'm curious, what speakers do you have?

I was once a member of this club but was unfortunately turned to the dark side

Outrageous behaviour.  ;-)  

Quite so. Like quoting a previous post when it serves no purpose. 

Hungryhalibut posted:

Quite so. Like quoting a previous post when it serves no purpose. 

Oh well, excuse me!

See, you’ve done it again. 

Hungryhalibut posted:

See, you’ve done it again. 

Nothing gets by you does it?  And yes, I've done it yet again.

I was leaning towards the XS2 when I started this thread. None of the comments have convinced me otherwise. I will cross the DAC V1 off the list.

Then, I thought about the weakest link in my system. It isn't the Nait 5i. In theory, it is the Mac Mini I use as a server to feed my DAC. I use the Mac Mini's internal HDD to store music. Though, it is not a stock Mac Mini. It is dedicated only to being a music server. All non essential functions like Wifi, spotlight, etc. have been turned off. I use Audirvana 3+ as the music player software. I switched out the cheap stock power cord, with a high quality one (with the use of an adapter). I have an Intona industrial USB isolator between the Mac and DAC, and sorbothane footers on the Mac. Needless to say, it performs much better than a stock Mac Mini. 

I was wondering if a component like the Naim Uniti Core, used as a server with internal storage (not an ethernet renderer type device with NAS, etc.) would provide a good improvement in sound quality, over my hot rodded Mac Mini? I think the HDD in my Mac Mini is on its last legs. I have also kept EL Capitan as the OS, because later versions of Mac OS disable direct mode in Audirvana +. I won't be able to avoid upgrading the OS forever. It also seems some USB DACs are no longer recognised whenever Apple comes out with a new OS. A little annoying!

Peace of mind knowing my server will always work with my DAC would be nice. But, for the price of the Uniti Core, I would also want and expect a very good improvement in sound quality. Has anyone compared Core VS Mac Mini for sound quality?

Last spring, I was following the forum threads about the Uniti Core. A lot of people had problems in the first few months of the Uniti Core being on the market. I cannot find some of those threads. Have firmware upgrades gotten rid of the bugs and made the Uniti Core a solid reliable machine? 

I can still be happy with a hot rodded Mac Mini. They can be bought for a lot less money than the Uniti Core, if necessary. I would still be curious to read people's experiences and opinions. Nait XS2 to replace Nait 5i, or Uniti Core to replace hot rodded Mac Mini? 

I promise this is the last component showdown! 

I have no experience with Mac Mini, but it is my impression that implementation matters a lot.  Some people with pretty expensive systems, like the Innocent Bystander, use a Mac. So it seems nothing inherently wrong with a Mac as music server. Others suggest a NAS as music server rather than the rather Core, which however offers a certain convenience — convenience at a considerable price though. 

Hi Daniel, I used to run a Mac Mini, optimised for audio playback and using a Paul Hynes power supply, running at first Audirvana before I moved to Amarra Symphony with Dirac room correction. This worked very well, but then I tried a Melco player, which comfortably improved on the Mini, even without the room correction. If you can run to it, I strongly recommend you give one a try.

tonym posted:

Hi Daniel, I used to run a Mac Mini, optimised for audio playback and using a Paul Hynes power supply, running at first Audirvana before I moved to Amarra Symphony with Dirac room correction. This worked very well, but then I tried a Melco player, which comfortably improved on the Mini, even without the room correction. If you can run to it, I strongly recommend you give one a try.

Yes it's an excellent solution and saves messing about with software and all sorts of USB 'enhancers'. 

I think you may see a better improvement in upgrading the amp as a Mac Mini, although not ideal does serve well and compares favourably to much more expensive kit. What might also interest you, as TonyM has pointed out is something like a Melco or an Aurender. I haven't heard them myself but I will certainly be giving them ago when funds allow.

SongStream posted:

 

A fellow DAC-V1 - SN2 owner?  Seems to be a rare combination and I understand why, but agreed it works very well.  Now I'm curious, what speakers do you have?

Nice to hear that there are other ones too! I'm a Roon user and DAC-V1 suits my needs with its quite good usb-connection. My speakers are Linn Majik 140 and this humble system brings plenty of joy of music to my life