HDX (+ XPS2,555PS)
Posted by: gary1 (US) on 27 September 2008
Well folks, I returned to the shop today a week after first hearing the HDX (+/- XPS2). A that time we were mightily impressed with the production unit of the HDX and felt that it was a terrific piece of kit. The addition of XPS2 really elevated the game to another level both with 16 bit ripped files and 24 bit was a complete knockout.
Today, Scott and I had the chance to compare the HDX (+/- XPS2, 555PSU). We did some A/B comparisons playing the same music for about 5 minutes before replaying the same piece with the other power supply and back again.
No matter what piece of music we played the results were reproducible in terms of the changes we heard with the different power supplies.
As terrific as the HDX was with the XPS2,we were bowled over by what the addition of the 555PS did and again it was immediately noticeable and not subtile. The 555PSU immediately quiets down the music and creates more focus and you really can hear much more detail in the recordings even with "basic CDs" as opposed to things you might only hear on the audiophile type recordings at 16 bit.
The gain in focus of the music and voicing was something that we all could hear right away. What was wonderful was all of the extra nuance which we could hear in the recordings. It really took things to another level indeed.
For general HDX use, both the desktop client and web browser were easy and so was the touch screen. My prefernce is for computer control as you have evrything right before you.
Again, in summary I think Naim has done a fantastic job with the HDX and I recommend anyone who has the opportunity to listen to one. I find it to produce great music and has an easy functionality to it. Give it a go. It's a must!!!
Today, Scott and I had the chance to compare the HDX (+/- XPS2, 555PSU). We did some A/B comparisons playing the same music for about 5 minutes before replaying the same piece with the other power supply and back again.
No matter what piece of music we played the results were reproducible in terms of the changes we heard with the different power supplies.
As terrific as the HDX was with the XPS2,we were bowled over by what the addition of the 555PS did and again it was immediately noticeable and not subtile. The 555PSU immediately quiets down the music and creates more focus and you really can hear much more detail in the recordings even with "basic CDs" as opposed to things you might only hear on the audiophile type recordings at 16 bit.
The gain in focus of the music and voicing was something that we all could hear right away. What was wonderful was all of the extra nuance which we could hear in the recordings. It really took things to another level indeed.
For general HDX use, both the desktop client and web browser were easy and so was the touch screen. My prefernce is for computer control as you have evrything right before you.
Again, in summary I think Naim has done a fantastic job with the HDX and I recommend anyone who has the opportunity to listen to one. I find it to produce great music and has an easy functionality to it. Give it a go. It's a must!!!
quote:Originally posted by gary1:
Will be interesting to hear if JS chimes in. Ken did tell me that he thought that the vinyl transfers he was doing with the "Superline" and Nagra were better than the vinyl playback of the LP 12 before the Superline.
Thats because pre SuperLine things were not that good
Seriously though I would like for a technical person to chime in here as I do not believe that the copy can be better than the original - when referring to digital transfers from vinyl.
Gregg