Have a new NDX 2 
, beautiful and delightful. Playing into a new SN 2 .
Now this volume thing. I turned off system automation - watching the volume dial turn on its on is lovely, but past 9am on had dial and the windows are shaking. So the NDX 2 volume is set to variable, works like my Nova.
My wife prefers playing with knobs 
so this seems safer, less chance of the windows going with speakers when see puts YouTube on the TV?
Do I have this right. How do others run the volume controls?
I guess you mean turned on system automation…
but sounds right… the system automation will control the NAC volume control… you can also setup the right NAC input for your streamer under automation settings so that is switched automatically as well.
No, I have system automation turned off as it’s too loud on the volume control on the SN2. I have the NDX 2 volume control set to variable.
Oh I see, well of course you can do what you wish, but for the best SQ and performance Naim recommend the NDX2 volume is fixed (and not variable) and you control the volume though the NAC via automation, or manually. There are also technical reasons why this is the case too.
The variable output on the NDX2 had to be put in to comply with Apple Airplay licensing requirements… but of course it’s use is optional and used if you wish…
9 o’clock is about the limit for line inputs of 2V on most Naim amps. Maybe Naits excepted.
It might be on your system yes… I tend to find the range 8 to 12 o’clock is used on my 552 … depending on source and content. Very seldom do I need to go above 12 o clock… and if I do never above 2 o’clock.
I do volume match my Hugo to match my 552… (turquoise setting) but that uses quite different method of source volume scaling.
Great, thanks guys. I thought it sounded great, I’ll tidy it up tomorrow, about to go to bed. My dealer had wanted to run through system automation, I was worried about little fingers blowing my speakers.
BTW, moved up from Nova. In no way was expecting the lift in level of detail from the streamer. Quite remarkable.
I’m new to system automation, so don’t know what I’m doing basically.
System automation allows you to use a +/- volume control on the app (rather than the slider you are used to) to control the preamp analogue volume pot. A little 3.5mm to RCA lead is required for this. It’s not ideal in some circumstances, because if you press and hold the + you can turn up the volume very loud, very quickly, and getting it just right can be near impossible. If your speakers are sensitive and easy to drive, this problem will be worse.
I no longer bother with system automation, and have disabled it and removed the cable. The streamer remote does still control the preamp volume, but the app doesn’t.
One thing that I find makes volume control much easier is that like Simon, I have a Chord Hugo between my NDX and 282, with the Hugo volume reduced. This allows me to use a much wider range of the volume pot, so that setting the level precisely is now a lot easier.
For my NDX into a 282, 9 O’clock is really the max you want to go. I’ve never been beyond 10 O’clock as that is excruciating.
But I don’t find system automation an issue. A double tap moves the volume much more slowly than a single press on the app. But usually I just use tiny nudges to get it where I want. I’ve not had a surprising volume accident (other than when a child has booby trapped it) in the 5 years I’ve had it.
A few of us did mention once or twice that having had both the Nova and the combination of NDX2 / SN2 in our own homes for an extended period that the NDX2 / SN2 pairing is much better than Nova…
What gives the most uplift over the Nova - the amp or streamer?
Indeed, I stand happily corrected.
Both, I’d say. The NDX2 is revealing huge detail, to the extent that music sounds like competely different recordings, lots of clarity and space around the sounds.
The SN2 is delivering much more current to the speakers, which gives much tighter bass and control and a more cohesive sound.
I use headphones a lot, and that is a big lift too. The most noticeable difference is the removal of any background noise. I think people call that the noise floor? I’m not sure whether that’s the separation of the streamer from the amp, or the DR technology in the amp?
Thanks Chris. So if I don’t use system automation, the only functionality I don’t have is the +- in the App? The NDX2 remote will still control the volume? Is that it?
I like to turn the display off on the NAC or Nait, so when it receives a remote command, the lights turn on briefly to confirm receipt of the signal.
Nick
Yes, for volume control that’s all you lose. If you have other sources such as a Naim CD player of DAC, you can use it to select inputs and control CD playback too. At least, that’s the case with my NDX, so I assume it’s the same with the NDX2.
HH once commented that the display on the 272 for example has been known to fail and the replacement is not cheap apparently. Mine is set to off and comes on only momentarily as you say as well.
The NDX and NDX2 are different. The NDX has an IR remote which can control a NAC due to frequency used. The NDX2 has a Bluetooth connection and so needs system automation enabled in the App to control the NAC. Having had both, I much preferred the NDX remote. Not a fan of the new remotes.
