Has anyone tried a Nap100 with a non Naim Preamp? I’m looking at a smallish system with a Chord Qutest Dac, a Schiit Valhalla 2 Headphone amp/pre. Wondering whether I should try the Schiit Vidar amp or the Nap100. Both are about the same size.
I can’t see any reason why the Valhalla wouldn’t work, although I have no idea what it would sound like. Of course, you could always try a V1, which is exactly the same size, and would do the job of both the Qutest and the Valhalla.
not exactly. The DAC V1 is a very engaging DAC no doubt, but not got the Refinement and hi-end sound of a qutest…
I think Schiit also make a few preamps which just might sound good with a NAP 100.
DAC preference is very personal and really depends on the system, I got a V1 here, a Qutest, and also an Ndac (+XPS). From my point of view, the Qutest is the worst of the three, even if he has more details than the V1, its lack of density and material compare to V1 or Ndac.
This is a good DAC no doubt.
What source do you use for all three ?
Yes qutest is less in your face (but some like that sound) than a Naim source but the fluidity, speed, leading edge of notes and reverberation accuracy , refinement, separation of instruments and clarity are superb
I am using a Celeron n3060 dedicated motherboard + Daphile source with an USB to Spdif (based on xmos208).
Agree that the reverb is better on the Qutest, but there was something missing in term of the “weight of the notes”. This could be also due to my setup and the Naxo, which is set for Ndac usage, and also the interconnect which is not Naim (i tried gotham and flashback cables).
I should try it in with my other setup.
The chord qutest will sound better with Naim, Vertere and Chord interconnects. I find vertere to be the best considering the price/performance ratio
as for USB as a source, I avoid it. I use optical and BNC/coax inputs on my Chord DACs, sounds really musical. Even with a 30 GBP google Chromecast audio through optical.
I don’t find USB as s source even if through a USB to SPDIF convertor to be a musical.
I do really like Naim sources too… musical and engaging , but the chord does retrieve more music due to it’s more advanced filtering.
Probably best to keep your Schiit together.
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Thanks guys. I realized I still have a nait 1 that I’ve never used. Decided to use that for a change. 
You forgot? Sacrilege! Still, the Qutest should work well with it. You’ll probably want to set the output to 1V.
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I bought it a couple of years ago and it’s never been serviced. Volume pot crackles and never got to using it putting away the service.
Used it yesterday and I like it better than the Nait-2 that I had for a while several years ago…
In fact, I like the nait 1 better than the Nac72/HicapDR/250DR system I ran,… different speakers - this I’m running with Totem Kin Minis sitting on my desktop.
That must be some amp !
I do remember my first Nait XS1 had an incredibly engaging sound
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