A better Naim headphone amplifier, please!

I hate to state the obvious but Naim users need to get out more. The world is awash with great sounding headphone amps. I use the Beyer A20 (around £300 direct from the company, with free earbuds) which is certainly more detailed than my old headline and flatcap combination - much as I enjoyed it 15 years ago.

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How do the internal headphone stages in (say) XS3 and SN3 compare?

Did you get that direct from Naim themselves that they are no longer producing the headline?

Why is it still available on then website then ?

  • No Aro
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Doubtless because there are still some in stock out there.

I guess Naim can’t win, either way; some have complained in recent years at the size of the range and there being too many options. Trim it back though and there will always be those who aren’t happy with a product being discontinued.

Personally, sure, I’d love a serious assault on the Headphone amp market from Naim, and much as I love the Headline, it’s doubtless getting on a bit and the market has definitely matured at a very rapid rate in the last decade or so. In their partner, Focal, Naim have some of the finest headphones around at their disposal. So I say, bring it on Naim.

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It was announced on the forum a couple months back.

Buried in here Email from signals: end of NAC-N 272

I have a Violectric V281 arriving today to replace a Headline 2/HC2DR.

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As a dedicated headphone system fan, I’d like to see the NDH2 based on the NDX2 player, with a Naim developed headphone amp stage sitting at the end of Analogue filter instead of the usual mute relay / socket switching stage. Single ended and balanced headphone output sockets on the Front panel. Can be used standalone, or with the XPS / 555PS upgrades.

For even better performance (at a price), base it around the ND555 (the NDH555) and replace the whole filter board with a combined filter / headphone stage.

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I look forward to your comparative review!

(Just when I thought the expense was pretty much behind me…lol).

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Sudgen HA-4

Do you mean to each other?

Built-in compared to Headline…

I guess I’m assuming that the built-in headphone amplifiers are sufficiently similar that any audible difference between them is attributable to the differences between XS and SN preamp stages.

Interested , full report please.

Don’t sit there enjoying your new acquisition…that’s selfish :wink:

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I run my Heed headphone amp directly from the NDX2 using the analogue RCA with the SN2 connected vi din. This works really well, and I just switch outputs in the app and use variable volume control on the NDX2. I’d hoped that Naim was going to develope a headphone amp that would switch automatically with the streamers, but gave up waiting.

I use a dedicated Heed headphone amp from the NDX2 and it’s significantly better than the headphone stage on my SN2, that’s using HD800’s.

I have a number of headamps not all are expensive and they sound better to me than the dedicated headamp in my Atom. There is lots to choose from out there other then Naim in this section of the market. If I could afford it I would get a V281 to add to my RME DAC although it’s headamp is absolutely wonderful, but not for some considerable time.

Is anybody using the Violectric V281 with the DAC fiited? I noticed on one site it says that optional digital inputs can be retrofitted, just wondering how this would work for say an SPDIF input and what the DAC sounds like?

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This is what I hoped 10 years ago.
SuperNAHA!
Basically it’s a Hicap size chassis with the same build qualtiy of 555 series and cct. board mounted on a floating brass chassis.
No silly captive lead. Add a proper DIN or RCA so ppl. can cable roll.
supernaha
Interesting that 10 years ago, NOONE was talking about a headphone system as most detested it.

I no longer use my NAHA but It is a fun amplifier just like the rest of Naim amplfiers.

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I was using my Atom headphone socket for a while but unable to build on it so I now have a separate setup
Roon on Mac mini
Allo usbridge sig
Mytek Brooklyn Dac+
Focal Headphones

When I started playing around more seriously with headphones two years ago what struck me at home was that the headphone output of my first gen 'Qute was really quite poor compared to a mid level DAP or a really cheap dedicated headphone amp like the rHead in my main system (but with the same source files) . Maybe it is on those products with integral headhone outputs that Naim should invest some R+D if they are not going to make a dedicated box?

Bruce

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