external power supply addition ?
Posted by: Double Diamond Dave on 09 November 2018
My question is regarding all Naim streaming products that have an optional power supply upgrade such as NDS, NDX & ND5 XS & will also include all the new generation players
My question is are there any advantages adding an external power supply to any of these players if i am using the digital output from them rather than the analogue ones ?
Yes. The NDS and ND555 don't have internal power supplies so won't work at all without an external power supply.
As for the players that do have internal PSUs then the answer is that yes, adding a dedicated power supply may well make a small beneficial difference to the S/pdif output but whether that’s the best use of the budget becomes the bigger question.
For example, if you have say an ND5xs or NDX with a Naim DAC, adding an XPS2 or 555PS would be best to the DAC rather than the streamer. And if a different makers DAC, then maybe spend the PSU funds on a better streamer or DAC.
I have a dac by another manufacturer that I really like but wondered about either a ND5 XS or NAC 272 streamer using the digital out into it
Again are there benefits fitting a psu to such a system?
Double Diamond Dave posted:I have a dac by another manufacturer that I really like but wondered about either a ND5 XS or NAC 272 streamer using the digital out into it
Again are there benefits fitting a psu to such a system?
A 272 wouldn't make sense here, as you cannot feed the digital signal out to an external DAC, then feed the analogue signal back into its preamp. You can only do one or the other, which gives you a lot of redundancy. Better to stick with separates.
I found that there was an improvement when adding my XPSDR to my 272,and using its digital out to my active Dynaudio XD 600’s.They take a digital or analog signal in,but I prefer the digital in.
ChrisSU posted:Double Diamond Dave posted:I have a dac by another manufacturer that I really like but wondered about either a ND5 XS or NAC 272 streamer using the digital out into it
Again are there benefits fitting a psu to such a system?
A 272 wouldn't make sense here, as you cannot feed the digital signal out to an external DAC, then feed the analogue signal back into its preamp. You can only do one or the other, which gives you a lot of redundancy. Better to stick with separates.
I never intended to feed the digital signal back into the 272, My question only relates to anyone that has found if an external power supply will improve the sound of the digital output
No quarter posted:I found that there was an improvement when adding my XPSDR to my 272,and using its digital out to my active Dynaudio XD 600’s.They take a digital or analog signal in,but I prefer the digital in.
Interesting as i have my eye on either an ND5 XS or N272 the reason i asked the question because if there was not much of an improvement i could simply use the digital out from a UQ
Double Diamond Dave posted:No quarter posted:I found that there was an improvement when adding my XPSDR to my 272,and using its digital out to my active Dynaudio XD 600’s.They take a digital or analog signal in,but I prefer the digital in.
Interesting as i have my eye on either an ND5 XS or N272 the reason i asked the question because if there was not much of an improvement i could simply use the digital out from a UQ
Before I got my 272,I used a UQ2 as a source into my XD’s for a while.Switching to the 272 was a significant upgrade,with just the 272’s internal power supply.Adding the XPS was better still,everything is much more realistic sounding with a better digital source from my experience.
No quarter posted:Double Diamond Dave posted:No quarter posted:I found that there was an improvement when adding my XPSDR to my 272,and using its digital out to my active Dynaudio XD 600’s.They take a digital or analog signal in,but I prefer the digital in.
Interesting as i have my eye on either an ND5 XS or N272 the reason i asked the question because if there was not much of an improvement i could simply use the digital out from a UQ
Before I got my 272,I used a UQ2 as a source into my XD’s for a while.Switching to the 272 was a significant upgrade,with just the 272’s internal power supply.Adding the XPS was better still,everything is much more realistic sounding with a better digital source from my experience.
Ok i own the Exposure 2010 dsd dac feeding into the new XM 5 integrated which is great i was contemplating using a UQ but it sounds like either an ND5 XS or N 272 is the way to go then add a power supply later to further enhance the digital source seems to be what you are saying ?
Yes,the digital out of an NDS would be miles ahead of a Qute digital out.