He says this sub 1000$ DAC/preamp is better than the Naim NC 222.
He has been taking pot shots at Naim for 3 straight videos. If he cannot hear and see the difference, well it says a lot about him.
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What did he say about Naim in his prior 2 videos?
He continually bemoans tweeter hiss (which I have with my SN2. It is inconsequential) and lack of HDMI.
What he excludes, is that the Naim gear has MUCH better build quality. The Naim gear is built in Europe by people who have good wages (I will always support that). Naim can still service 30 year old gear and Naim will still exist in decades (the DAC under review is from a new company in China…). Naim gear lasts for decades. These China made DACS will be in landfills in 2 years.
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Understood and agreed. Disappointing from him.
My SN3 + HCDR has very minor tweeter hiss with ear-to-tweeter. But more than 9-12" away and it’s gone.
Watched his original review for the NSC222/NAP250/NPX300 just now. I’m highly dubious that the Eversolo Sino DAC is going to match, much less exceed, the NSC222. I’ve heard nearly every Sino DAC on the market and nearly the only ones worth messing with are the higher-tier R2R units from Denafrips. Venus II and up, IME. The flat, tonally bleached, colorless, and un-dynamic presentation of the vast majority of those Sino DACs bear a familial resemblance across nearly every brand, with very few exceptions.
The only Sino-made DAC that I currently own is a Lumin A1 with the later revision S1 power supply. It’s fantastically organic. A rarity. And, unlike most brands, the software lead (Peter) just released a new beta FW to me that even further increased SQ. On a 12 year old design. Very Naim-like, to Lumin’s great credit.
I’ve no idea as to who the named video producer is, or what his background or credentials - does anyone take any notice? The utube and the internet generally are riddled with people who like to promote themselves and their personal views, so why does it matter what he thinks or says?
You make no mention of sound quality: Is the Naim DAC better? If not, then cost will be a factor for very many purchasers, and which of that and the other factors you cite wins will depend on the differential and on personal priorities and principles and they weight the individual gives them.
As for hiss, how intrusive that might be will depend fundamentally on speaker sensitivity (does he state what his speakers are?) as well as on the amp.
Never heard of the guy but did look at his Naim video review after being alerted to it here.
He said he loved it, noted the tweeter hiss and lack of HDMI and didn’t think the PS did much and queried whether the 3 were worth $27,000.
He really loved the NAP 250 and suggested partnering that with a DAC plus streamer would be more cost effective or perhaps an Auralic Altair.
To be honest it seemed a fair enough review to me as the pricing in the States is mouthwatering.
The review would make me think that Naim has got its mojo back with this NAP 250 but that there are other more reasonably priced options to feed it with.
.sjb
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That was pretty much my take out too.
Who cares what any one individual thinks? Their musical priorities, budget, room, expectations, are probably different than your own and will come to different conclusions.
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I think he gave a pretty honest review. He was simply expressing that it would be some lovely gear to own as anyone would agree, however, once you realise the cost of ownership you start to question if it’s worth it. Andrew has nothing against Naim. He reviewed the Atom and Muso 2 in the past with nothing but praise.
My takeaway is that he is saying the Naim gear is very nice in terms of sound and build quality but a similar level of sound quality can be had for much less. Something I completely agree with.
I have a Nova. I also have some way cheaper hifi components in the cupboard that perform almost as well, however the Nova is nicer to use, is all in one box, has a HDMI input, and a nice little screen.
I prefer to use the Nova.
I purchased my Nova for $5000 AUD. (New is $10,000).
The new gear would be $40,000. (all three components).
I’m sure you could tell the difference but……. 30k…… ?
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I seriously question his credentials as a reviewer. I’ve heard the NPX300 on a 222. This difference was not subtle, it was a major upgrade. He’s either deaf or a moron.
My guess is the setup was seriously compromised. Cables wrong direction, poor speaker cables and I bet there was a power conditioner that ruined the sound.
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I think he is most used to reviewing “mid-fi” products and really high end stuff is usually wasted on his setups. I think if you have a total budget of say $US5000 for a speaker/amp/streaming system he gives great advice. Many of us have much more expensive systems than that and he does not really cater for those sort of viewers. Overall I think he has great integrity and I enjoy his shows.
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I bet if I was to sneak in and switch the direction of your cables you would have absolutely no idea… 
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His intent is to churn out as many videos as possible with a focus on widely affordable products. He doesn’t put much time into actually listening to any product without bias. It’s just constant rushing to pump out as much content as possible with a main focus on MSRP and features that make a product look better on paper. He isn’t a credible reviewer. He’s a marketer just like most Youtubers. This thread is giving him exactly what he wants; more views.
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I’ve not watched this video, but calling him deaf and a moron is going too far. He’s perfectly entitled to prefer something else. I would hope that Naim owners have sufficient confidence in their purchases that they don’t feel the need to have a hissy fit because someone has the temerity to take a more critical view.
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I agree. I can’t seem to understand why people are taking such offence. He actually really liked the sound. He just said that he felt it was too expensive for its performance, it should include an HDMI, and it should not hiss through the speakers. Nobody had a problem when he very positively reviewed the Atom and the Muso gen 2. He clearly doesn’t have an issue with Naim products as he used the Atom as a benchmark for small steaming amps for years. At this price point I think reviewers need to be more critical.
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Your comment is a veiled insult, but i’ll respond:
I routinely listen to other Naim systems and I can easily tell when a cable is backwards. So far I’ve been 100% right when it sounds “off”. Cable direction makes an audible difference.
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The problem with reviews like this one is it feeds the “all hifi is a scam” crowd. The comments are full of confirmation bias and even wilder false claims. Similar to the Audio Science Review site, remember their Uniti Atom review?
His power supply comment was particularly bad as I know first hand what a difference it makes. The one thing I like about Naim is their upgrade path offers genuine sound improvement be it a HiCap, XPS, etc.
And I seriously doubt his comparisons with other cheaper electronics would hold up. I’ve listened to several of them and they offer the typical lifeless boring sound you get at that price point.
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There’s more and more YouTube reviews on Topping gear, all saying that they beat the competition at 1/10 of their price.
Are they really exceptional for their price or is Topping paying a high money contribution for all these YouTube reviewers?
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For disagreeing with you?
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Hypothesis #4: He gets something for promoting gear, or #5, he occasionally finds a cheap masterpiece that outperforms much costlier gear. Everybody’s hobby on the Net.
I’m sure he drives a cheap mini-car instead of some luxury one.
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That may depend on how much he makes out of utube videos - I am led to believe some people make a very good living out of utube - and every time anyone watches one the producer chalks up another viewing adding to their income.
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