Power supplies and the Naim DAC

[Briz Vegas]

Gave in to upgraditus after saying it was pure folly. Well it is, cos there is always something better out there, but what a way to go. Naim build upgraditus into their gear, it's called the upgrade socket. They put a decent supply in the standard gear but you can go up to 3 steps further with fully integrated but external power supply modules.

I removed the socket plug on the nDAC and attached the middle ranking XPS2 DR power supply, worth significantly more than the nDAC itself.

Due to recent Investments in "the system" this was kind of compulsory to balance out the investment. The nDAC is good, with XPS2 and a couple of Valhallas.......it's amazingly good. So un digital it's not funny, and yet some Naimees think the new discrete regulator power supplies are too clean ( think digital ). Wrong, but I use valve amplification so maybe it's the sum of the parts that either hits your buttons or not.

If you run a Naim DAC don't be tempted to try an external PS if you are not prepared to dig deep and buy it.

It will be interesting to see how part two of this journey pans out, ie the Paul Hynes supply I ordered around New Years for my computer/ interface. I may see it some time in August. How much more natural unforced detail and punch can you get from a DAC I wonder.

Been listening to Rokia Traore, Sade, The Jam, Metric, Lou Reed, Tricotomy, Black Keys, White Stripes, Bach, Beethoven and Mozart....and Sonic animation, just to name a few. Pretty much whatever I throw at it, compressed or well recorded, is enhanced on any number of fronts, most is lifted to a whole new level and is much more engaging.

There is a lot of discussion about the differences in DACs at the bottom end of the market. It's interesting just how different the same DAC at the upper end of the market can sound.

Happy camper. Just don't mention the fop of the tree Naim 555 power supply. I'm not listening to that one.

[Ace_Beef]

Thanks brizvegas. Just got a flat cap 2x for my per power and found it to be a great step up and really makes the system sing. Can only imagine what benefits the higher end gear gets from the power supplies. I'm thinking about picking up a cd5x to use in the other socket f the flatcap as I mostly in vinyl so don't even have a cd player at the moment. I was also wondering what power cable you use is it a Valhalla as well? I'm also considering the New dac v1 but it has no upgrade path,have you had a listen to either the cd5x or dac v1 against your naim dac?

[Briz Vegas]

Yes, but only my old CD5x and Flatcap 2. I found the Naim DAC bare was easily better. I employed a Weiss INT 202 to extract a digital signal via FireWire from my MAC. A USB stick direct into the unit was impressive but impractical, although the computer now sounds better finally.

I suspect you would be better off with the V1 DAC over a 5x, although the XS is supposed to be better and can run the DAC outboard. You need to hear them yourself however.

The XPS has gone through burn in with a few ups and less ups ( less great, not bad). I think it's settled now and it's a very natural sounding solution. Still no power supply for the computer, rumoured that it might be built this week. Hmmmmm!

Don't worry about the power cables, you can get yourself in deep if you start down this path. hopefully you will not have the issues I had with poor mains. I did learn that power supplies and mains power cables bring different things to the table. I can say this having gone to the furthest extremes in power cables, including Odin, and still being knocked over by adding the XPS.

Edited July 29, 2013 by Briz Vegas

[Briz Vegas]

Just had another learning with the Naim DAC in a non-Naim hifi.

Lesson - don't forget about you grounding switch at the back.

At the time of purchase a few years ago I set the ground to Chassis. In my system at that time it was a preferable sound because it was sort of warmer, more old school tube like. this was before the current speakers and tube amp were introduced, and before my computer was improved with a SSD.

Then late last night I read Martin Colloms review of the Naim DAC in Hifi Critic, and I quote......

"Experiments with the ground switch to correct connection issues in non-Naim systems suggested that this did have a significant effect, worth a few marks, and worth experimenting with. We scored ‘universal’ systems on the ‘float’ setting; ‘grounded’ took up to 7% away, with reduced rhythm, clarity and listener involvement. The reverse may well be the case in an all Naim system."

I say 7% is a fair overall assessment, some music sounds more like 15 % better with grounding set to Floating. Classical and acoustic stuff is a big winner, and that's usually a good sign overall.

In my book 7 % is noticeably better, 15 % has you trawling your record collection. Once you have played about 20 tracks of different recordings you begin wondering why you had not flicked the switch before as each track reveals more of itself. its definitely improved the sense of rhythm and there is more punch, clarity and air for sure.

Ok, the B52s sounded a bit thinner than I would like but then bass lacking albums like Fleetwood Macs Rumours (24/96 HD tracks) sounded more real and the ABC soundtrack to Come in Spinner was leaps and bounds better. Worst case, I just flick the grounding switch back to chassis to listen to the B 52s.

Lesson learnt.

[Ace_Beef]

Hey Briz, ended up with the dac v1 and can say am really impressed so far. Need to get a handle on itunes output plugins and some hires music but so far its held my attention much better then any others did. I did also get to listen to the n-dac and that was truely awesome but slightly above budget even more so once usb input was added, still one to aspire to. Today will be spent trying different bit perfect outputs, pre, pre-bypass and direct to amp connections, all while hunting out tracks. very excited!

 

 

EDIT > ohh and the headphone amplifier will get a work out tonight too

Edited August 10, 2013 by Ace_Beef

[Briz Vegas]

Congrats on the new DAC. The V1 has its own fan club of happy customers over at the Naim Forum. :-).

If its still brand new the sound will develop a little over a week or two according to other owners ( which is consistent with my experience with new gear).

I notice that you also have the grounding switch on the back of your unit. Well worth trying the settings, and retrying it again down the track when the sound settles down.

I had a couple of ok days over the weekend (sound quality wise) but today has floored me. The system is sounding gorgeous. I know it can be a power quality thing when you get greater apparent ease and a lack of grain combined with phenomenal detail that I didn't think was possible with digital without some degree of harshness. Not keen on going to bed when things are sounding so good. The audiophiles dilemma.

It will be interesting to hear how you go with headphones. To my mind its the way to get mega dollar sound performance with a relatively modest investment.