I’m struggling with this one how can a Nait 2, Qutest fed from a UQ plonked on a sideboard into Allaes sound so musical.
Playing some of my favourite tracks and the insight into the music is tangible.
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I think room size and that intangible of room,amp,speaker, source synergy all come together. I love my Nait 2/ Kans and have since first purchase in the mid 80’s. I upgraded to the cb250 setup wih the Kans and the sound was gone. The nait 2 and the Kans have been moved to the bedroom and the sound is back. The cb250 with a different set of speakers (Oberon 5’s) and again the sound is back.
Funny things these sound waves.
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I’m reading positive reviews on the Auralic Aries G1 and I like the idea that this unit does not have a DAC but can feed any 3rd party DAC so perfect for the Qutest so I may opt for one of these instead of the ND5XS2 especially after all the software flaws of the gen2 streamers.
So end goal main streaming setup Aries G1, M-Scaler, Qutest and opt for an SBooster PSU too for the Qutest all feeding the Nait 2/SL2s sat on a full fat Fraim (still in their boxes)
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At one point this year I had the G1 & Qutest along with the SN2. I still have the G1 but now with the TT2 & M Scaler feeding my PMC 25.22 directly.
The G1 replaced my ND5 XS2 and I’ve never regretted it. The idea was focused around the G1 having an optical output and that the Chord DACs work really well with optical.
They have very good build quality, regular updates, nice screen and every digital out you could ever want. I’ve seen it mentioned in reviews that they’re very transparent, add little to no character to the music. Which is great as I didn’t want anything to alter the sound of the Chord DAC. I’ve been very happy with it.
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I like the idea of the optical out on the G1 which Toslink cable do you use.
Cheers
I use a Wireworld Supernova 7. It’s a glass cable… it has its faults. Like, it wobbles a bit in the sockets and maxes out at 24/178 but, I just set the G1 to downscale 192 to 96 with its built in scaler. It wasn’t to big an issue for me as I use an Mscaler so everything ends up at 700+ anyway. But, it just seemed to have better transients, a lot nicer decay to the notes.
Go to somewhere like Future shop and make use of their 60 day cable trials/ money back. That way you can pick a cable that sounds best to your ears! We all hear things slightly differently 
Excellent thanks for taking the time to post, cheers.
After reading the requirements for the Lightning DS app it only supports Apple not Android so back to the drawing board, bit of a shame the G1 looks like a great product and ticks all the boxes but I refuse to own anything Apple.
Just use the BubbleUpnp app on Andriod. Imo, it’s a better experience than the Lightning DS app and does all you need. I use both and could easily do without the Apple app.
I use the Sysconcept optical cable which provides up to 24/192 and DSD to my Qutest.
Pic of BubbleUpnp doing its thing via Aries G1, Sysconcept optical to Qutest.
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Dear Hifiman
Another Nait 2 worshiper here. Have you thought about an all in one box Linn instead of streamer-dac +++.
Came over a very cheap Klimax renew ds1 which was once said to be up against the nds/xps. The software of DS is great, Roon ready and Renew is a very small and nice box. And you have this SO thing, which works very good.
Just a thought.
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Hi Fred. I have looked at the Linn streamer options and a few others but I’m enjoying my current Nait2, UQ2 and Qutest it sounds superb.
Future - once the listening room is decorated the main setup 272/555DR/300/SL2s will return for the first time in our new home then decision time 
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I’ve compared an auralic Aries vs ND5XS2 into Blu2/Dave
No comparison at all
The Naim streamer sounds a lot better through it’s BNC output than either of Auralic’s outputs
The Naim software is more stable
For Android it doesn’t rely on bubble UPNP app
It has google chrome cast capability which Auralic doesn’t have. No chance of Deezer on Auralic. Other than Airplay which isn’t quite the same as Chromecast.
It has the backing of naim which can service it for decades to come
And, well… it’s made in Wiltshire
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I would also try the 272 digital out Hifiman, into the Qutest. I once used a UQ2 into the original Hugo, when I owned an SN2. Once the 372 is released, the 272 value will plummet. To me the UQ 2 works best on its own, in a second or third system. You could add the 372 to the 555 in the main system, and have two others. I have also used the 272 digital out, and it is much better than the UQ2 digital out.
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Very happy with my G1 and Qutest. G1 is very stable, I use WiFi on 5ghz avoiding all the cable hoopla. I bought the G1 because I expect I can get a good long run with it. Dac’s though seem to change every 12 months. I’ll probably upgrade Qutest power supply soon. But for now it sounds great,
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I see,
I ment instead of Auralic/chord dac, but that was maybe for the other system?
F
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Thanks for the reply, did you try the Aries G1 into the Blu2/Dave
Ah okay, my thoughts for an end goal system with reduced box count is as follows:-
Main setup
Quality streamer (?), MScaler, Qutest, Nait2, SL2s all on full fat Fraim
Second setup placed in another room.
UQ2, Allaes
As suggested above (good idea ) I will try the 272 as a streamer into the Qutest and report back.
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Sounds like a good idea to try the 272 as a streamer into the Qutest I will try this on Sunday.
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Not yet, but based on what I already heard and experienced with the Aries (which looks like a toy made of plastic) I can’t see myself making a big effort to do this.
It does not have Chromecast, and costs a lot more than the latest offerings from Cambridge audio and Arcam (which do offer Chromecast, as do Naim), which are UK companies and offer stability and decades of experience in digital audio.
When I had my 272 still, I borrowed a Hugo 2 from my local dealer to try this way, and I liked the result so much that I decided to get a TT2.
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