Has anyone used an upsampling DCS Purcell with a Naim DAC?

vintageaxeman posted:

Has anyone used an upsampling DCS Purcell with a Naim DAC? Or have any ideas about it's effectiveness?

it is giving gazoline to a cat.....

It'll catch fire ?

The Naim dac doesn't have a clock or digital output.  The ND series although do have a digital output, but no facility to loop back in.

james n posted:

It'll catch fire ?

an instant burned in cat.  no need to wait 100 hours.

Good point

Whoosh! Over MY head at least!!!

vintageaxeman posted:

Whoosh! Over MY head at least!!!

i don’t know even if the dcs upsampler can be connected to non dcs dacs, like esoteric or wadia which have their own external  upsamplers  or clocks? 

can an external clock be connected to a dave dac  for example ?    

Dave doesn't need an external clock. 

Why?

go find out yourself 

clearly you believe everything you read anyway.

That's a very odd response to a genuine question analogmusic.

There is a lot of debate on CA about the merits of external clocks, so I'm interested in your opinion that DAVE doesn't need one?

I don't really believe you - you don't seem to ask me genuine questions  

As I said go find out yourself.

No it's a genuine question and i'm sure the other contributors to this thread are interested in your opinion.

The problem isn't the clocking, it's the fact that the DCS Purcell has DUAL AES/EBU XLR outputs, one for each stereo channel. I need to combine these and format convert them into a single datastream if I am to put them through my Naim DAC. Otherwise, I have to change my DAC. Any further advice, guys?

Putting Muttonjef and Analog's side discussion on external DAC clocks to one side (possibly one for it's own thread?), I would be cautious using the DCS Purcell  with anything other than other DCS kit as they were designed to be a kind of modular system.  Perhaps consider using it with a matching DCS DAC such as the Delius, or with the Verona Clock and maybe an Elgar. 

p.s. You don't have to use the AES/EBU XLR digital outputs do you?  Aren't there also regular s/pdif outs on RCA and BNC?

I agree, Richard. Just trying to see if I can make it work at all before I consider replacing my Naim DAC which I really like!

With the Naim DAC, the natural upgrade is XPSDR or PS555DR.

The Naim Dac also greatly benefits from a great source and a good SPDIF cable like DC1 or the various Chord Tuned Aray digital cables. The Naim DAC also benefits from a great interconnect like Hi-Line or Superlumina upgrade

There is no word clock input on a Naim DAC.

The Naim DAC is already doing upsampling internally through the advanced SHARC processor it has.

 It's all about the musicality in the end though, not number crunching or upsampling to DSD or whatever various companies do. I would say Naim's first and foremost goal is to get to the heart of the music.

So how does it help to replace a Naim DAC you already like? 

Why not try a Superlumina interconnect or a Chord Tuned Aray SPDIF cable?

These are serious and real game changers, but yes cost serious cash.

I recently heard an Naim HDX vs Auralic streamer into a top of the line Blu2/Dave DAC, and the HDX was clearly audibly superior.

I would have thought a good partner for the Naim DAC would be the new Naim Core source?

Vintageaxeman - What's your normal source for the Naim DAC. More gains could be made here depending on what it is ?

CD player is a Krell KPS20i, pushing out 44.1, into my Naim Dac. By using the Purcell upsampler I can up the 44.1 to 176.4 or 192 into the Naim DAV, but ONLY if I can convert the dual AES/EBU format output of the Purcell to SPDIF RCA to go into the DAC. So I’m searching for a way to do 2 things at the same time: 1. Combine the DUAL AES/EBU cables into a single cable, and then 2. Format convert the ARS/EBU to SPDIF RCA.

Is that actually confirmed that the Naim DAC upsamples internally using a SHARC processor?

Why do you feel you need to upsample with the Purcell here?  Upsampling is not without controversy - after all it's another process and doesn't necessarily improve on the source file.  FWIW, for best sound, I don't think Naim recommend upsampling 44.1kHz source files when feeding the Naim DAC.  The DAC itself oversamples - 16 times.  You can read about it here: NAIM DAC White Paper

I agree with Richard. It may sound 'different' but given the interfacing complications I'd not bother.

Actually, having now got it to work, it's very worthwhile improvement!

vintageaxeman posted:

Actually, having now got it to work, it's very worthwhile improvement!

so you managed to work it with the naim dac?