Naim NDX2 and Chord Hugo 2

I’m pretty sure you’ll find that both NDX2 and Hugo2 (and probably also your laptop) only officially support up to 24/96 via optical. It’s not unheard of to get 24/192 to work, but it’s not guaranteed. Obviously this depends on more than just the cable itself, but given that the cables bundled with Chord DACs are usually pretty basic, it’s conceivable that a different one might just work a little better. Or not! You could always order some online to try, and return them if they don’t help.

It sounds like some sort of RFI contaminating your DAC from your laptop… or it might be coupled noise from instability from your laptop at that sample rate.
You could try using a access method like SPDIF or Toslink, but ultimately to get the best from your DAC you will likely need a top quality/precision transport, which alas a PC is far from. An NDX2 feeding a Hugo or DAVE is defo one of the best digital sources out there. Alternatively you can go for a more retro DAC performance of a ND555 with 555PSs… what ever floats your boat.
The reconstruction technique is very different between those two DACs so it will be personal preference and how your brain listens to sound,

Or try the budget combo of ND5XS2 and Qutest. Dam fine. Having “only” a BNC output on the Naim is a slight pain. Not the end of the world, just would have been nice to try USB to USB.
Going to trial a couple if modest digital interconnects to see if I can hear any difference. Then leave alone.

Hello Simon,
Many thanks for your thoughts on RFI contamination from the laptop to the Hugo 2 - seems a very logical possibility and fits with my findings of earlier today. This morning my new cable (BNC - 3.5mm coaxial) arrived so I have been able to connect my Hugo 2 directly to my NDX2 coaxial output, so obviously just using the transport section only. The interference problem has gone completely and I am now able to listen to 44 / 192 recordings without issue.
In terms of “musical quality” the step up from using my laptop to the NDX2 transport into the Hugo 2 is very significant, as you suggested - no suprise really is it!! Whilist I would not criticise a laptop/Hugo combination, it is very good, the NDX2 transport as source is a step change improvement - particularly instrument separation and detail.
At the moment I have only compared the laptop and NDX2 transport using headphones (Senn HD650), but when I get hold of an RCA - DIN lead I will try a comparison between the Hugo 2 and NDX2 inbuilt DAC via the rest of my system (282/Supercap / 250DR / Sonus Faber Olyimpica IIs). It should be an interesting comparison!
Out of curiosity, which DAC do you prefer - the one in your NDX or the one in your Hugo?
Many Thanks

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Hi Chris,
Thanks for your comments on the cables. As you will have seen from my post to SIS the interference issue goes away if the Hugo 2 is connected to my NDX2 coaxial output. Whether its RFI from the laptop or a cable issue though is still an unknown. At some point in the future I will try your suggestion of different cables between the laptop and Hugo to see if it makes a difference on the higher res 44 / 192 recordings.
cheers

For me I prefer the Hugo mk1 over the TI converters that Naim use in their products currently.
BTW you will be using your NDX2 streamer section, SHARC processor section, the precision clock components and digital output stage as well as controller section when using it in digital out mode. It is only the specific DAC and analogue section that you won’t be using… but they are there as a standby should you need them.

Thanks Simon for your DAC view and the technical info. As they say “every day is a school day” - I just thought I was employing the very front end of my NDX2!
cheers
Neil

Welcome to the crazy world of the Naim streamer as just a digital transport. There are still plenty of people around who insist that as long as the right bits get to your DAC, sound quality cannot possibly be affected, and that if you think otherwise you are delusional. All I would say is, trust your ears.

I absolutely agree Chris!! A blind comparison between my PC as the source and the NDX2 “transport” as a source is not necessary - even with my cloth ears I can hear the difference.

And then some people say all digital transports are the same :lying_face:

a computer is not optimized for top quality audio…

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Maybe, but I heard some people here are happy with a computer into a DAC, such as a Mac Mini to a Chord Dave, or even a Chord Hugo with or without a USB isolator.

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There always might be a few… but personally I would keep any computer such as a Mac or PC well away from my audio… they are inherently noisy, don’t use precision transport clocks, and huge RFI generators.
Plugging either of my Macs into my Hugo (via USB) is light years away compared to using a precision transport such as my NDX2 into my Hugo via SPDIF.

Now my AudioQuest Cobalt DAC is not bad via USB, but there is specialist USB decoupling and clocking circuitry built into it to help decouple it from noisy computer RFI but it is still a world away from my NDX2 into Hugo into 552

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That is a good tip for the people who own a DAC such as Chord, I own a Klimax so connectivity is very simple, just an Ethernet cable is needed.

Hi, in my opinion USB 3 is ok, as it works a bit like duplex Ethernet … however I would be wary of USB2 in a high end system as they are inherently noisy because of the unbalanced signalling for flow control through the twisted pair.
I would also ensure the USB transport has a precision quality clock to avoid frequency modulation/phase modulation noise coupling. This is the same as for SPDIF. There is no real difference between USB and SPDIF in this regard. Again computers don’t tend to have precision clocks.
I think if I was wedded to USB I would look at a Melco or similar to drive a USB DAC.
But to get up and go, sure basic connectivity is simple.

I am very happy with a Mac mini feeding Blu DAVE as it lets me run JRiver MC. I remember Noel Keyword measured the 2012 version and found it one the quietest transports he’d used (it was a few years back). I have tried an advanced USB cabling system and it has no effect that I could hear.

I spoke to Chord about its new 2go2yu transport and the engineer said he felt it would be useful if I intended tp switch to Roon, but when I said that was very unlikely as I prefer JRiver MC then the advice was the Mac mini was ideal. (JRiver Panel is the ideal interface for me and is completely devoid of any social media clutter: when I play an album it shows the lyrics for the one currently playing).

Blu2 DAVE is the best CD player I have ever heard and in my opinion sounds better than any stand alone streamer I have heard, which includes ND555 and Linn KDS. So I’m delighted using the Mac mini as a USB music server I can hear no discernible difference between my CD rips and the CD. If my Mac mini ever breaks down then I’ll replace it with a MacBook or a new Mac mini.

I do have a microRendu which works well too and if I drop my JRiver DSP Studio configuration sounds the same as the Mac mini.

I did measure the in-room response using REW/UMIK-1 calibrated microphone and I couldn’t see any difference. To prove I’m not simply short sighted or hard of hearing - if I remove Blu2 I notice a drop in sound quality, if I put a pre-amp between DAVE and power amp then I notice a drop in sound quality.

So my vote is firmly for the Mac mini - though I’ve not tied a JRiver ID, which is cheaper and would most likely sound exactly the same.

Please accept there is an implicit IMO in all these statements. If other folk want to use something instead of the Mac mini or a pre-amp that’s fine.

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Pink Faun make USB, SPDIF and I2S cards for standard mainboards. The cards can be ordered with high precision OCXO or ultra OCXO clocks. Alternatively, one can use devices like the Shiit Eitr, the Mutec MC-3+ Smart Clock USB, the dCS Network Bridge, the Meridian 210, the Allo DigiOne Signature, the Chord M-Scaler, etc.

Quick question I may get an answer for on this thread.

Is there any benefit of using an XPSDR on an NDX2 if using an external DAC?

Struggling to find guidance on this

Just to add, Mutec Ref 10 with Mutec MC3+USB works a treat

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You would add a 4k external clock and 1k usb clock for a Chord Hugo?
Better buy the Dave instead I feel.

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