Is it possible to get 'that vinyl sound' from streaming..?

I have it since 3 years, since I bought ND5XS and kept it when I moved to NDS. ND5xs should have replaced it but than I kept, good value for money, I have the node 2i
it is important how you connect it to the naim streamer: I use Naim DC1 digital cable, quite expensive but very good cable, I found it second hand at a reasonable price.
I think it is a very good combo NDS - node as NDS has impressive DAC and reads extremely well from HD, instead when it comes the time you want to fast change from one song to another and switch streaming services than node does the job and sound quality is still very good.
I admit it is not as good as when NDS goes straight to HD, but still very good and enjoyable
also nd2i can do internally mqa conversion and leave nds (but also any other streamer) do the dac conversion after mqa

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Agreed. But I think the original poster is starting from a bare NDX2. So it’s not just £2,000 to get to an NDS.

well, it’s on a 30 days return. if Jammers wants to really go as much as analogical sound as possible I would suggest to go for a 2nd hand NDS + PS instead of NDX2 and invest the savings in the rest of the chain

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Hi there IB,
If you want to hear what a Chord DAC can really do, remove its cheap-as-chips SMPS and wire in something like a Sean Jacob’s designed and built 3 rail DC3 or better a DC4 or better yet a DC4 ARC6 with Chord Dave capacitor board. The results are stunning; comparable to the World’s very best DACs

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So do DACs.

If I remember correctly, the DAC you use allows the user to select which sound character the Dac outputs.

That’s five different sound characters at the push of a button.

I think additional digital effects plug-ins (as used in recording studios) might be the solution:

  1. Get a plug-in for your streamer that can add surface noise, pops and crackle to the sound. A good one will allow you to simulate this at 33, 45 or 78rpm, as you please, and you could increase it for certain genres (punk, maybe?) and reduce it for others.
  2. Another plug-in could simulate pre- and post-echo in quiet bits and between tracks.
  3. A third plug-in could simulate inner-groove distortion as you get to the end of each side of the vinyl.
  4. A fourth could progressively deteriorate the sound over time to simulate a stylus getting dirty with use.
  5. Finally, particularly if you’re listening to PF’s remastered Animals, you could have an option to make it sound bad until you pay another £25 to try again, or wait two weeks to simulate a new replacement copy arriving in the post.

(With apologies for not taking the OP’s question seriously, but I couldn’t resist)

Mark

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Having posted that, I thought I’d have a google and what do you know? I can’t post a link under forum AUP, but here’s the blurb for a real thing you can pay actual money for:


We are proud to present you “Vinylizer V2

A handy Tool designed to add a wide range of Old Vinyl Textures to any studio toolkit. The Vinylizer V2 generates the warm sound and drive of old vinyl records.

Vinylizer V2 lets you control each nostalgic element independently, giving you all the vintage turntable sounds you love.

Add a Non-Stop Vinyl ‘grit & grime’ Texture to your clean, digital tracks Or Give your tracks that old school flavor by adding a touch of noise dust and Hiss As Simple As Press & Hold a Note on your Midi Keyboard.

These analog artifacts will add life and warmth to your tracks, just like the old records from back in the days when your record-player had “soul”.

" Get that Vinyl Sound ! "

Features :

  • +50 Endless Texture Presets
  • 9 Layers (Rainy Street, Hum, Hiss, Ambient…)
  • Gain For Each Elements
  • Built in classic sounding reverb
  • Built in flexible LFO controls
  • Built in Hi & Lo pass filter
  • ADSR
  • Ultra low CPU usage [perfect if you own a laptop / tablet / low spec PC/MAC]
  • Ultra fast patch loading

:grinning: :smiley: :smile: :grin: :laughing:

Mark

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It may do - I’ve never looked into it as the sound is so natural on the setting as it came.

The sound produced at that setting is determined by an algorithm determined by the DAC designer.

The algorithm is simply producing a sound signature he likes.

Different DACs produce different sound signatures. People purchase based on the sound signature they prefer.

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I prefer as near neutral as possible, which Dave as set seems to achieve, or, more accurately perhaps, if it isn’t neutral it is making it sound natural – though, of course, that is only as perceived by my ears! (However, the sound does seem to relate to the way my ears hear live music.)

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Perhaps a carefully spilt cuppa could get the his distortion and crackle of vinyl…! :laughing:

Well my recent purchase to upgrade the streamer was the XPS DR power supply - it has opened the sound stage at the costs of note definition - dynamics and drive.
I called the dealer and he reckons it needs running in time, has anyone had experience of this?

In the meantime I have been looking at the Chord Hugo 2 - it has great reviews and I know some folks rate it here, some reviews talk of cohesion and very good musical qualities for the money - anyone got this combo here?.. More questions!

I will spend more time with supply this weekend but obviously it will be a while before it ‘should’ come alive.

I think to remember that chord Hugo mk1 is more successful here……try to see in the search part.

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I thought that on this forum I had read that Hugo 2 improved on 1. But I haven’t followed in detail after moving upwards.

I had Hugo 1 and it was really good, to my tastes at least. However (and this will also apply to H2), it is dependant upon the feed, as it is very susceptible to RF. I used mine, fed from Mac Mini running Audirvana, with a Gustard U12 isolater/converter: without it the sound was very veiled. unless fed from a renderer with good RF blocking, at the lower end of the range, the Chord Qutest will be better - it is essentially the same but with galvanic isolation of the input, though lacking a headphone amp. A Naim streamer, however, shouldn’t be a problem with Hugo as I believe they do have pretty good RF limiting - while my MM/Audirvana-Gustard isolater-Hugo was better then ND5XS-Hugo, ND5XS-Hugo was better than ND5XS alone - so I would expect your NDX2 into Hugo, 1 or 2, (or Qutest) to work well. There are a number of forum members who have used Hugo as an upgrade to NDX.

If you want vinyl sound characteristics from a digital source, perhaps try something like the Weiss 502 DAC which has DSP intended to do exactly that.

Personally we love the fact that vinyl and digital sound different. SWMBO is getting pretty good at picking out which source is playing before entering the room.

Which is why I first was a bit unhappy with Naim integrating their digital source. Then I realized the DAC:s I prefer (mostly R2R/multi-bit) most likely wouldn’t work well with the Naim streamer-board. So I am looking at separate streamers.

The source is the most important part. And for digital it is the switch, server, streamer and dac. Which matches up pretty nicely an oldtimer LP12-based system where you tune by changing parts and setup of the LP12.

There are several vinyl-emulators available when mixing in a DAW. They dont work as DSP coding is pretty static compared to the real thing. There are a few ones that emulate the resonances on the vinyl surface.

Back in the days when I was active in mixing I had a few CDR:s with both vinyl surface noise (LP12 of course, no scratches just noise) and of my favorite tape noise (the Studer B67) I could add to a mix.

I’ve no idea if it works!!! Just saying there are (allegedly) options.

From an interview:

Weiss says he uses an algorithm that affects the frequency response, distortion patterns, resonance frequencies, noise at various frequencies, crosstalk between left and right channels, and takes into account other effects caused by RIAA emphasis and amplitude modulation effects.

No, you are right of course. It can be done. But it is difficult not on a technical level but just to find out ways to make it interesting. Sooner or later your ears learn to identify there is some kind of repeating pattern here and from then on it starts to bug you.

Personally I think there is one reason to use it and that is as a “super-dither” to mask the side effects of some digital processing on a recording - but I would prefer to use basic white noise which doesn’t distort the recording.

I have been struggling with this for years, very much in agreement to Innocent_Bystander’s reply. The amplifier is not what you should be looking to change.

By and large, streaming is sounding more like analogue, and analogue is sounding more digital as time marches on.

The crux of the matter is how hi-fi equipment has changed during the analogue/digital transition,so keep all your components (which includes stands, cables and the room itself) in balance. Pay special attention to interconnects, they can make substantial differences.

The only reason to have an analogue player is because you may have a large record collection. New vinyl recordings are digital in any case, not much point paying £40 for a record when Qobuz/Tidal are around.

I have two systems (2 houses). One has a Chord Hugo2 and LP12, the other an old NDX. Both systems and both formats sounding similar now to a point where the equipment disappears and you just get lost in the music. Sorry to say there is a lot of misplaced upgradingitus. Try tweaking cables, stands, auditioning super luminas and place some rugs!

All the best