First off a disclaimer. This is not a rigorous scientific double-blind placebo controlled test…and it has a representative sample of only two!
Recently I’ve been using S/PDIF from my Uniti Core to my NSS333:300 via a Gotham GAC-1 1.5m BNC-BNC and sensing it is better than streamed via switch/ethernet cable.
Yesterday @Keltik came over for a catch-up and some listening to my, now fully run-in ATC’s. Not sharing my preference I did a bit of blind switching between the two options. Twice I asked if he could identify which was better and which was which. Preferring one for its increased clarity and better timing, he correctly identified the Core via S/PDIF each time.
Qobuz gave us the sounds but not as a cohesive band . All relative of course ,and if I had walked in and only heard the Qobuz stream I would still have been extremely happy as Graemes system is a belter.
When we got our Core we tried direct to NDX2 via S/PDIF and over ethernet. We could hear no difference, but that was some time ago on completely different firmware.
Might retry at some point, but Core is not now in main rack and there are no free power sockets there which makes things tricky.
When I first started streaming I thought my Core was miles better than Qobuz, especially with my nice expensive Naim DC1 cable. Then I discovered fancy ethernet cables, switches and other such paraphernalia. In a fairly recent test using my old DC1 cable vs. Cisco/Neet 1008/EE8/Sigma the multiple connection switch/ethernet cable won out by simply sounding more analogue than the DC1 cable.
My dealers uses (or did use) one of the very good Snake River S/PDIF’s for his Core and said that it was a considerable step up from the DC1 but he’s just managed to find a nice Shunyata Sigma and says that it’s very close to the Snake River sound with a lot less of an issue playing from the Core. He still thinks the Snake River via Core is marginally better but he’s not missing that minor SQ lift with the Sigma now in place.
The NDS does seem to favour an Ethernet UPnP stream over the S/PDIF input. It can be made close but there is something about the Ethernet input, it is more relaxed, flowing, more complete.
The S/PDIF has harder edges, is tighter but doesn’t flow in the same way.
Now it may be than the Crystal Clear silver BNC cable hasn’t burnt in. Silver cables seem to take longer that copper. So I will leave it with a radio stream for a day or two.
It’s going directly in the same DSP processing - the issue may be with the S/PDIF protocol, which as a standard was written alongside the Redbook CD standard by Sony & Philips (the S and the P, in S/PDIF) back in the early 80’s.
Plus on the NDS, the Ethernet input was optimized for UPnP playback, as that was the only source at the time - a UPnP server, as demonstrated by Naim with a Unitiserve. And they still do the same today, just with a Uniticore (Linux based whereas Unitiserve was Windows).
Anyway still very happy with the SQ from my NDS within a Roon system, using off-board processing for Internet based sources and the SonoreUPnP bridge (running on a UltraRendu) to interface to the NDS.
I found it was better when I upgrade to a Sonore UltraDigital from a cheap USB → S/PDIF and then the introduction of the Crystal Clear BNC-BNC cable, replacing a Harmonic Tech cable that was RCA-BNC.
However, the SonoreUPnP input on the Ethernet input, is still better, but more different and I prefer it over the S/PDIF.
BTW Over time, other NDS users have found this too and posted here.
Perhaps the DAC on the NSS333 is not as resolving, given it is a PCM1791A and not the PCM1704K-U as used in the ND555, NDS or nDAC.
Or how the NSS333 was powered - dual power supplies?
Or not having the brass isolation platform for the analogue output stage.
Or what cable was used for the output signal. etc. etc.
Melco → Mimiserve (UPnP server in Melco) → NDS Ethernet input controlled by Naim app (UPnP render)
Melco → Lumin using JPlay to manage the library → NDS Digital input as a S/PDIF signal and JPlay remote
If I understand doesn’t JPlay offer an optimized playback protocol over UPnP? That will still be used before the Lumin streamer converts to S/PDIF even though the same files are being played.
Is it the JPlay improvement you are hearing?
