272 DAC/Upgrade?

Does anyone know what DAC chip is in the 272? Has anyone compared it to any of these new Chinese DACs with the latest and greatest Sabre chips running in dual mono? Just wondering if it would be worth adding one to my system. It would be used for both CD and streaming. Im already running an outboard streamer with upgraded LPSU and CD transport is Audiolab 9000CDT.

I wouldnā€™t focus on the chip as there is far more to how well a DAC does its job than the chip. There are a lot of DACs out there, Iā€™ve no idea how many are good - you will gave to try for yourself unless you can find a review by a person you know always recommends things you like and doesnā€™t recommend things you donā€™t, or similarly with several people on the forum.

I found the Chord Hugo was a significant upgrade on the DAC in the ND5XS, which I believe is the same generation DAC as that in the 272 though how similar they sound Iā€™ve no idea.

If you bypass the DAC in the 272 you cannot continue to use both the streamer and the preamp. So you would need to use a separate streamer or combined streamer/DAC. Using an ND5XS5 is a popular way to update the streamer on a 1st generation Naim device, so could be an option to consider.

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Add Lindemann Bridge II as a streamer. Itā€™s the weak part in 272. And add a power supply.

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Sorry, should have mentioned im already running an outboard streamer with upgraded LPSU. Im only interested in DAC options to see if its worth updating to the latest DAC tech or if the 272 still holds its own DAC wise

An nDAC improves on the DAC in a 272+PSU, so no reason to think any other competent DAC might not also do so.

The preamp is the best bit of the 272.

Another DAC might just give a different presentation though. The 272 DAC wasnā€™t that bad at all in our experience.

If you have external streamer and then add DAC, it would make sense to move to a 282.

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The 272 is a box that really really starts shine with a power supply on it. I would spend all on XPSDR and nothing on DAC and streamer if doing it again. It sounds unrefined slow and boring without an external PS.

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Thinking of trying the Lindemann Bridge + PS on my 272+XPS based largely on recent posts on the forum, or maybe Innuos Mini Pulse+LPS. Any knowledge of how they compare in terms of SQ and UI?

An XPS2 makes everything better on the 272. If you donā€™t have one already, I would look to get one.

I thought, the 272 DAC was derived from the nDac?

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Complete list of DACs here:

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We owned both.

Absolutely not :laughing:

272 sounded much like our SuperUniti before XPSDR was added.

nDAC at home with our 252. Different league.

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I had Lindemann Bridge II + Farad Super 3 PS in front of the N-272. For online streaming obviously itā€™s a lot better than the 272. But for local file streaming from a NAS, it was only fractionally better. The 272 was surprisingly good for local file playing, considering its tech age (2015).

And all my listening is via NAS, so I sold the Lindemann/Farad combo to get an XPS DR for the 272. Then I got the 555DRā€¦

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One other thing I noticed about the 272, its USB port playback was also very good. Not as good as ethernet or spdif, but very close.
On all other streamers and DACā€™s I have had, any sort of USB playback is bad compared to the preferred input. So a good job by Naim on making that input quite capable.

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so you are saying the SuperUniti and 272 have the same chip set?

Chipset is only a small part of a naim DAC implementation

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My first move from 272 was to Auralic Vega G2, which uses an ESS Sabre chip. For my taste, it was a worthwhile improvement on the 272 even with XPSDR, but has others have said, the sound depends on a lot more than the chip, which I understand Auralic modify anyway.

Roger

Thereā€™s a link to a thread with a whole table of implementations ā€˜upsteamā€™.

According to that the 272 has the elder streaming board and the same DAC as the NDX2 and ND5-XS2. Same DSP hardware too, although thereā€™s a note about Gen4, I donā€™t know what that is.

My 272/XPS2 still sounds great and is hugely flexible. Am running a WiiM Ultra into it at times for a bit of fun.

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After some consideration I decided to buy myself a streaming bridge bypassing the SU within the 272. I have too many dropouts (few a day), the Naim app does not recognise the SU anymore, there is another client etc. Iā€™m done with it.
I chose the Primare NP5 mkII including Ifi power Elite and a AQ Cinnamon RCA to BNC cable in order to make use of the BNC port of the 272.
Letā€™s find out the benefits. I will report on that in a few days (hopefully).
Last, I am considering AQ Niagara 1200. I am using a Kemp Powerstrip for a decade now, but never connected amplifiers as I did not like the resulting SQ (dull).
As you see I still have confidence in the DAC of the 272. I think a lot of the ā€˜Naim soundā€™ relates to that. Besides, this solution is a bit cheaper.

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Good choice. :grinning:

There is a good video on youtube called ā€œNP5 Prisma Tips and Tricksā€.

Although you wonā€™t need to watch the first 5 minutes, which concerns the supplied power supply.

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Yesterday I installed the Primare NP5 as a replacement of the SU within the 272. Besides I bought myself an AQ Niagara 1200 replacing the Kemp Powerstrip. I was unhappy with both. The SU because of the dropouts and other instabilities listening to Tidal. Also no possibility via the Naim app to listen to highres files except when listening via UPnP (but less SQ following simple solutions like the Bubble app). The Kemp because it flattens the sound of amplifiers significantly.

My setup is now:
GigaWatt circuit breaker and wall socket (audio circuit).
AQ NRG-Y3 power cable to the
AQ Niagara 1200
Primare NP5 powered by IFi Power Elite
AQ Cinnamon digital sp/dif to the NAC N272
Netgear GS105E ProSafe Plus switch powered by IFi Power-X
AQ Cinnamon RJ/E to the Primare NP5
Naim NAC N272
Naim NAP 250DR
Transparant Super interconnect
Powercord speaker cables
Vivid Audio V1.5 speakers

First impression after a few hours of listening. More stability of the app, SQ a bit more depth and detail. A bit less punch in the bass, but more refinement. The sound is a bit tighter. No loss of PRaT, as far as I can hear. So, a slight improvement overall. SQ may alter some more next week, so we will follow up. Happy so far.

About the Prism app of Primare: both Tidal and Qobuz are implemented, thatā€™s nice. Navigation of the Naim app is more user friendly however. It needs some time to get used to the Prism app. The biggest problem so far is the one second silence between two songs. Letā€™s find out if this will be solved in the future. Moderately happy so far.

TBC.

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