Music Streaming - it's hard to find the right time

It will be interesting to read of your impressions James.

If you have a pure streaming system and need/want to place speakers about 20cm from a back wall, then they could be ideal for many, many people.

Do take care with the choice of “control unit”. The dealer who demo’ed the 8C to me insisted on using the RME ADI-2 Pro FS control unit because “it measures perfectly.” It may perform well on their chosen measurements but it didn’t sound right to these cloth ears.

Best regards, BF

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I believe they are working on them being Roon Ready which would be handy.

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Yes it should be an interesting demo. Digital only in this house (Roon) so i’ll be interested in the options for a digital hub so they could be used with the other sources (TiVo box, DVD player and Sonos) we regularly use in the lounge. As CG mentions, they are supposedly Roon ready (in Beta anyway) but the option that seems more likely for a setup like ours would be a MiniDSP SHD as the hub (and Roon endpoint) and then AES links out to the speakers.

Purely a speculative listen at the moment but we all know where that can lead…

The MiniDSP SHD is getting v good reviews as is the Studio.

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Yes that does seem a neat solution as a digital hub. I’m looking forward to hearing what the 8C can do so i’ll report back in due course.

Well that was quite enlightening. I ended up listening to the Kii3 speakers too (without BXT module running).

I’ll put a few words down when i’ve gathered my thoughts.

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thank you for posting your thoughts.

I would like to add that with my experiences with Blu2 and Dave, the streamer is a part of the final outcome.

So in fact it would appear that Melco was used in USB mode with the qutest and many of your tests with DACS which have USB inputs?

Despite what Chord themselves would say, I found that SPDIF inputs in the various Chord DACs I have owned and auditioned seems to be a more musical outcome.

Not sure why, and beyond saying that I used the USB output on very same Auralic streamer as the SPDIF output, so it’s been pretty consistent for me in terms of all the other USB vs SPDIF tests. These are not small “can be ignored” differences, but pretty obvious ones.

I would still have reservations about coming to definite conclusions about the various streamers and DAC until they are tried out and auditioned in SPDIF input, which for me is the more musical input into a DAC, and one that was actually designed for music.

USB is a computer interface, and not designed for music. It has been “hacked” for asynchronous USB purposes, and while some implementations may sound better than others, none sound to me as musical and foot tapping as the good old SPDIF.

case in point being DCS, which simply could not get their USB output on their network bridge to perform to their satisfaction, so despite having one, it is still not enable on their network bridge.

Why is it that Naim and Linn, which are experts in digital audio, do not include USB inputs on their products (other than DAC V1)?

Something to ponder.

I was a big fan of USB audio, but reluctantly after doing the tests myself came to the same conclusion as outlined below in this rather interesting article.

http://www.the-ear.net/features/usb-vs-coax

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Also would like to add that many of the auditions results for your post were done on Wilson Speakers.

I won’t get into the debate of various speakers, but it isn’t really one of the usual speakers used in a Naim context, such as Kudos, PMC, Dynaudio, Neat or Proac, i.e. British (and in the case of Dynaudio, Danish) speakers built from the ground up for one purpose, musicality and engagement.

It isn’t just a source, that contributes to the engagement of a system, it also is the speakers. I wouldn’t say that the Chord Qutest, Mojo or Hugo cannot time, when in fact to my ears, they are some of the more engaging sources around… and more so when used from SPDIF inputs…

Interesting read,
This Thursday i will be working near hifi lounge and going to call in to demo a few different streamers and dacs.
I have a NDS/555DR at the moment and its next on the list to be upgraded, naturally the ND555 was top off my list, but wasn’t overly impressed last time i tried it, but to be fair i only tried it streaming.
Anyway this time its a naim ND555 v chord v Bartok and finally rossini, to be fair the rossini is a step too far, but going to try it and then i will take home what i like best for a home demo.
So looking forward to this and will post my outcome

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Thanks for sharing Dunc. I would be really interested to learn of your impressions.
If you can find a dealer that stocks MSB streamers, I found them to be well worth a listen too.
Regardless, the ND555/555PS does set a pretty impressive benchmark for any competing streamers.

Best regards, BF

Hi Analogmusic,
Perhaps you didn’t notice all the auditions that were made using Kudos Titan 606 speakers.

Best regards, BF

Would like to keep all naim if i can, but not going to be blinkered as i have a quite good trade in offer already for my NDS/555dr if i want to move away.
But having a 552/500 dr already, it would keep it all in house, but we will see.
I do like that DCS keep on upgrading their gear with updates as things move on and to me in this ever developing field, i like that a lot and it helps to keep it more up to date for a lot longer.
I have heard great things about the Bartok and down at hifi lounge quite a lot off people have traded in the ND555 for the rossini and a few to the Bartok.
As said would love the rossini but dont like the price lol

Interesting reading on this thread.
Dunc
Please post your impressions on the Bartok. I am interested in using it for a strictly headphone based system. My current digital is a Klimax DS which has been kept current with each Linn update.
It is nice to know DCS maintain a similar philosophy and keep on upgrading their products via firmware.
Many ND555 users already trading in?

James N
How is the Brooklyn doing - still happy?

Best
Gregg

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Paul at hifi lounge, said that his most popular dac/streamer is the rossini and that quite a few naim users had switched over.
While talking about the ND555 upgrade from NDS, he said i should try the Bartok as well, as he feels its better and a quite a few have gone that way, so we will see how we get on

Please keep us up to date
Thanks

Many people (including me) find dCS stuff sterile.

But I doubt that you’ll know until you have a home demo.

I didn’t liked the Rossini. I heard it alone, without the clock. I strongly doubt the clock would change its sound signature. I was not emotionally engaged as with Naim or Linn KDSM.
The Chord Dave was not my cup of tea also.
The next upgrade will be more on the Melco side I feel, with an ER switch and linear ps. It will give me the same uplift as Nd555, but for less than half the price.

Hi FR,
I share your impressions of both the Rossini and Chord Dave.
However, the clock made all the difference to us when it comes to musical engagement, as did the M Scaler for Dave.

Best regards, BF

Agree with Mscaler addition to Dave adding a lot of engagement but still I would use the Spdif inputs on any chord Dac rather than usb

Thanks for clarifying !