Major or minor difference going from 282 to that?
“HugoTT can be switched to line level output to connect into a preamplifier or used with its advanced volume control as a digital preamplifier directly into an amplifier. To complete the usability, HugoTT comes with remote control and display so the setup can clearly be seen across a room. HugoTT is a truly versatile piece of equipment to help enhance your listening experience.”
So there’s no actual remote control in the unit itself? What am I missing?
I found Dave/282/250 to be a little different to Dave/250, and subjectively I can imagine that people may prefer one or the other, without there being a clear winner. I dare say it might have been different if I had a 552, but I don’t, and a 552 at full price costs about as much as my whole system.
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The fixed volume level of the Hugos and Dave is a bit high for a Naim amp (as are most digital sources in many systems) and along with most others, I found best sound quality comes from using variable volume and dialling it down a bit. This also gives a greater usable volume range on those Alps Blue pots that Naim use, which makes it much easier to use.
Dave comes with a remote, and a volume control on top of the unit, not sure about the TT.
Hi, they or most of them can be used as preamps … but I always like to use them as line sources into my Naim preamps (552)… for me I prefer the sound and performance of the Chord DACs that way. I also have analogue sources into my 552, so the NAC switches those as well.
I now drive my 552 into actives… so for my setup at least the 552 is definitely giving me the performance and musical sound I enjoy… but if you want you could drive your amp or actives directly if you have no analogue sources, but for me it just doesn’t give me that Naim sound I enjoy,
They say the NAC is the heart of a Naim system, and my experience underlines that precisely… it is the component that most gives the Naim sound in my experience.
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For the Hugo original, I find ‘turquoise’ is the best line level for my 552. (And 252 before that)
When I auditioned the TT it cane with a rather nice remote control, allowing control of volume as well as inputs. It also has a physical volume control (thumbwheel rather than knob) built into the main case.
I believe Hugo2 also has a remote, though Hugo1 didn’t.
Yes, hugo 2 does have a remote, more functional than nice but it works well. Hugo 1 didn’t have a remote but as I had only one source going into it and was using the 282 remote for volume I can’t say I missed one
When I had Hugo1, feeding power amp direct, I didn’t miss its lack of remote control - because I had never had any hifi component with remote volume control! (Dave has remote VC, so I am now used to it.)
Well, a DAC should be on its way to me tomorrow. Not too worried about it being discontinued, nor with how it will sound even sans an external PS.
Will be fed from a Expo 3010S2 CD player.
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I’m sure it will sound just fine!
looking forward to your experience with the Naim DAC
Why did they discontinue the 1704ks.
No idea. Possibly considered obsolete and costly compared to newer chipsets such as their 179x series.
Because they were becoming increasingly expensive for Texas Instruments to manufacture and higher performing DAC technologies and architectures could be more easily and reliably produced. Also they are bandwidth limited by some modern practices.
However a lot of expertise had been built up in the specialist consumer electronics industry to get the most from them, such as with Naim, and so there has in my opinion been a bit of a comfort blanket around them.
It will be interesting to see which DAC approach Naim focus on going forward for their signature converters… but I suspect it won’t be cheap for Naim to optimise and gain their development experience for a different DAC at the top end.
We may also see a change in filter approach with higher bandwidth DACs… I would be surprised if Naim persist with IIR filtering.
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The irony for the hifi consumer is that “expensive” was 13 dollars per unit if you bought by the thousand. So for an ND555 customer, it does not sound very much.But i guess if your competition is making a chip quicker, cheaper…something has to give. I know the rejection rate was very high, and then Naim was even pickier at accepting only the very best. When i spoke to Steve Sells last year, I asked about replacement chips, he said they are working on some very interesting ideas?
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Gaza true, however that is with a relatively high tolerance… Naim used to have a small subset of that to meet a finer linearity tolerance, hence the cost would be higher… but I agree a tiny drop compared to the retail price.
The aging technology (based on R-2R networks) in the 1704k meant it was needing to fight hard for linearity… ultimately it’s weaker point in terms of sample consistency
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Does that mean the the chips Naim use are now outdated. And with only a limited supply the chance of an updated (if it happens of course) NAC272 could be out of sync again.
If you listen to the nd555, they are not outdated, if well implemented. The 1704k supply will run out with the nd555 as a stock of spares will also need to be kept. The next generation of 500 series streamer/dac will need new thinking and dac. I expect an updated 272 to use something like the Nova chipset and implementation?
Pete
Its currently only the ND555 that is in production that uses the obsolete/discontinued TI PCM1704K chips. However be rest assured Naim will know how to squeeze every drop of goodness from them with Naim’s implementation - and additionally I beleive Naim bypass the onboard filter on the 1704Ks and use their own implementation that is not using obsolete chipsets.
I look forward to the new top end designs from Naim - we might then hear a narrowing of the differences some of us hear between the 1704K converter architecture and some of the newer higher bandwidth converters from Chord Electronics and others.
Its not unheard of in audio electronics to use obsolete or faulty components because they produce the right performance/sound for a limited time product. The example that sticks out with me is Makoto Muroi, Chief Engineer of Roland Electronics who used faulty transistors (ie they failed when being produced) for the snare generator (I believe) in his TR808 drum machine. That machine is now a legend, and for a long time has not been able to be manufactured. The prices for a TR808 now are astronomical