Naim Integrated amps and NAS

Hello Rosie - I'm slightly confused by your post. The Melco can only stream to a Network player (such as the Naim NDX) or provide a USB output to a suitable DAC. By 'outboard preamp' it sound like you mean a Digital to Analogue Converter (DAC) which would make sense. Which DAC have you got ?

To answer your question, yes your DAC would work fine with a new Naim Integrated amp. What is your budget ?

James

First of all Melco N1A, not NA1

Second -  Melco only outputs via a local network or a LAN cable.

So the above begs a question - what exactly is the end goal?

Adam Zielinski posted:

Second -  Melco only outputs via a local network or a LAN cable.

and USB...

To justify the cost of a Melco N1A you should be looking at a 282 / 250DR at least.  The only Naim integrated you should even consider is the SN2.

You'd also need an NDX or NDX2 (probably with a XPS DR) or a Chord Hugo or Qutest as a minimum.

Huge posted:

The only Naim integrated you should even consider is the SN2

Hi Rosie -

I think there are lots of options  to consider other than the SuperNait and outboard DACs, streamers and the like. The new Uniti range - Atom, Star, Nova - might be considered as “all-in-one” integrated amps for the modern streaming era and span a factor of slightly more than two in price. The Nova is really really nice and is top of the new Uniti range. The Atom is also quite astonishing and a small one-box-plus-speakers solution. These boxes are only months old (and work well but with some early teething issues in software you can read about elsewhere on the Forum) If you want to consider used / ex-demo, these will be rare, as they’re still quit newly released but the older models that thes replace can now be had for very much less money and I’d say a SuperUniti could be a really nice deal on the former top quality model (also a great performer but with no new features or functions coming in future firmware updates). Anyway, don’t overlook the Uniti line - all of which include network streaming and DAC capability to enable you to enjoy music stored on your new Melco with no other boxes. These should be on your list as options even if you end up with new separates and choose to follow a non-integrated path. I should add that you can’t connect directly from the USB output to a Uniti input, as this mode (asynchronous input via USB) isn’t supported by the built-in DAC, but it’s easy to stream files over your home network. Have fun, best wishes, congrats on your new gear. 

Regards alan 

Huge posted:

To justify the cost of a Melco N1A you should be looking at a 282 / 250DR at least. 

Or (dare I mention it without getting accused of always suggesting it) ... the NAC-N 272 and a NAP 250DR (or maybe NAP 200)

First of all, thank you all for your quick responses and of course the sage advice. Some of you are confused by my question because it wasn't very clear. My fault, I am still new to the digital world but I am trainable. Currently I do have my Melco plugged into a V90 DAC and into my aging preamp and can listen to it on my system. I do have my router plugged into the NAS as well. I was wondering if any of you have an NAS plugged directly into a Naim preamp (that would have to have a built in DAC) so I can use it without the extra box, in this case the V90? I am interested in  the Naim sound so the recent "all-in-one" solutions, which seem like a good way to go, would have to give up some sound quality to get the gear in one box, right? Therefore, the integrated solution might kill two birds by reducing two boxes (the separate preamp and the DAC). Whew!! If the integrated would be a step down than it might be back to the drawing board. Hope that helps.