Sorry, newbie question time, would I hook a NAC-N 272 as per this poorly drawn schematic? Would the subwoofer (B&W DB4S) connect via the preamp or line output? I think I might have this mixed up it sounds more logical that both subwoofer and power amplifier would operator post volume control?
Just reading into how people add extra capability to previous generation Naim streamers and it seems simple enough to plug something in as a transport if not going down the upnp route to get Qobuz etc. working.
You won’t be able to stream Qobuz directly with the 272 and using Naim app. You will need to install BubbleUPnp elsewhere, or use Mconnect app.
Then, for Tidal, it’s not sure that the streaming will be stable, as it’s the ancient platform.
No problem for local streaming.
Thanks I’ll take that into consideration. From what I read on other threads though there are workarounds like you mentioned via upnp or using the 272 with a streamer/network bridge as a transport. It’s an interesting alternative to the Chord or more recent Naim streamer options but it would be acting primarily as a DAC / Preamplifier and DAB tuner. I read that over a network connection it has no problem with 192khz/24bit streaming but over WiFi the buffer size is too small by current standards or something like that.
Over network it can also be not stable. But not necessary. However many posts about the freezing, not playing, interrupting…for Tidal with the old platform.
If you take a different transport, then 272/ linderman bridge or Primare …/250 dr would be good. But be aware how many people will advise you a 555 dr which will transform your 272. It’s completely on another level.
Personally, if I were you, I would move go into a transport with separate dac ( as discontinued Ndac) and 282/hicap/250 dr. 272 bare is on 202 level. The dac inside is inferior to Ndac. And the transport is obsolete.
I run a mk1 Hugo and Primare NP5 streamer into a XS3, it sounds really good. I compared it to a bare ND5 XS2 at a dealer, their XS3, my speakers and cables. I preferred the Hugo actually, by quite a way. My setup is nowhere near as easy to use as the Naim box. I’ve thought a lot about whether to go for the Naim box anyway, as my main source is vinyl, but so far I haven’t made a decision! I think I’ll probably make sure I can beat the Hugo for SQ when I change it. For the used money they go for it’s unbelievably good.
The dealer did swap the standard lavender DIN leads for Superlumina at the end of the listening session. That made quite a difference, and closed the gap nicely, but they are something like £1500, which is an awful lot of money!
I would stay with the Naim platform, using the Naim app with the Naim streamer, especially if you are frustrated ('mixed success") with streaming. Get the newest streamer you can afford, just be sure it will handle Quobuz. It just works, particularly with a Supernait 3. I think SN3 has the AV bypass, too. Simple.
Certainly sounds like the simplest solution! Yes the SN3 has AV bypass (and also a preamp out labelled ‘subwoofer’ so simpletons like me don’t plug into the line out).
Better on hifi criterias very probably. Lesser for enjoyment and involvement.
But it can also be better on both aspects. For you and Dayjay, yes, for me and Phystech, not.
Not sure to what criteria you refer in saying thst (I’ve never looked at its performance specs) - to me it brought a naturalness to the sound that the ND5XS lacked, improving enjoyment and involvement. Some people described it as more analogue sounding, whatever that means.
the Hugos method of recreating analogue sound isn’t accurate to the recording/source. (vs other ‘cheaper’/lesser DACs)
When comparing against some other products, the method that Chord uses obviously was shifting absolute locational accuracy in favour of ‘more natural sound decay properties’…
whilst musically speaking I find it very easy to fall in Love with the Chord ‘house sound’, the subtle shifting of locational cues that I am dependant on when gaming isn’t my preference, and so I found an iFi Diablo an improvement over the Hugo (1)…
(a Topping D90 being ‘trash’ for the same reasons/when compared vs these parts etc)…
Chord Hugo output sloghtly homogenising the location of some ‘point sources’, again, “I’m a gamer”, isn’t a detriment to 95%plus of DAC buyers and hence Chord DAC are easy musical DACs to choose.
any on the fence-this is super subtle stuff and not even noticeable to many (it would seem)…
subjectivity aside, we provably all have differing experiences given we may all seek different traits in a presentation.
I think Chord DACs are musical, but for gaming there is an obvious positional accuracy improvement from different DAC topologies…
(iFi and the ‘GTO’ filter, for bargain basement pricepoint is an incredible buy and can sound per poundwise ‘touch’ the value found from Chord DAC products.
That being said I am happy to mix my hifi separates and, that being the case, a Chord DAC and a Naim amplifier will always be on my shopping shortlists…
That’s an interesting perspective I hadn’t considered. In my case though music is definitely what I would be using the DACs for in either setup as my Arcam AVR850 handles all the processing for films & gaming.
Now that the NAC N-272 has been mentioned, I’m seriously considering swapping out the Bluesound Node 2 for something like the iFi Audio ZEN Stream WIFI Transport to retain an up-to-date streaming interface then picking up an NAC N-272 and a NAP 250 DR. Obviously the ND5 XS 2 or Hugo 2 + 2go into an XS 3 or SN3 would be a simpler option but there is a certain appeal to picking up the older generation stuff and just adding a current streamer/transport to try out the Naim ‘house sound’ in my system.
Thanks everyone, that has given me some good insights into three options to mull over.
I have had both and I would go with the ND5 XS2 over the Hugo2/2Go all day. To my ears the Naim streamer sounds better and the Naim app is vastly superior to MConnect.