You will find that the ones Melco uses are custom low noise ones
That’s a very good point.
On the other hand, with an Mscaler in front of the TT2, I would expect the quality of the digital signal that enters the TT2 to be largely independent of the source feeding the Mscaler.
In other words, if I had an Mscaler in front of my nDAC, I would have no concern feeding it with an RPi, a NUC or whatever other server or network player that has the functionalities that I need.
Again not that simple
If anything the Mscaler makes it even more obvious if you attach a poor and noisy source to it like an rpi based one
And clearly shows a superior source (lowest noise) like Naim ND5XS2
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On the contrary, it is quite simple: if the Mscaler does not manage to deliver a very outstanding signal to a downstream DAC when fed by an RPi as compared to when it is fed by a ND5XS2, then the Mscale does indeed do a very poor job!
A Mutec MC-3+ Smart Clock USB costs about one fourth and does very effectively isolate a downstream DAC from its sources. At least, I could not say that feeding the Mutec with an RPi3 was sounding any better or any worse than feeding it with a Sonore ultraRendu.
I have probably a very bad hearing and it is of course true that, in principle, everything has an impact on everything.
But if you take that point of view too obsessively, you’ll be on a slippery slope: even if you put an ND5XS2 in front of an Mscaler, you could still get a better result by putting another ND5XS2 in front of the first one or … perhaps it would be better to deploy just one ND555 instead of two ND5XS2 or … wouldn’t it perhaps be better chaining up two Mscalers in front of the DAC?
Source first is a very good dogma, especially for manufacturers!
Right, I seem to remember that in the beginning the magic word was “audio-grade”. I think that at a certain point they moved to “medical-grade” SSDs. Perhaps, after the COVID-19 flu is over, we will get “military-grade” solid-state drives, who knows!
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I’m not technically qualified to assert that the Mscaler benefits from a “cleaner” transport or not, but in a Naim ecosystem the ND5 XS2 (as transport) is superb - the integration with the various services and a Naim pre-amp through the app is a joy.
As reported previously I can’t swear to any improvement in sound from the NDX (as transport).
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When we visited Naim it was clear that Steve Sells and the team were pleased with the streaming board they had designed in conjunction with a german company. Others use off the shelf streaming boards and use as they are, or attempt to modify. The new streamers buffer the music and relock it. It the usual attention to little details that add up to a great product. Glad you like it…certainly it would be my first choice streamer with DAVE.
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Just a detail: StreamUnlimited is Austrian, not German (to the best of my knowledge, today it is often difficult to say with certainty what belongs to whom!) Best, nbpf
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True but if you deploy the ND5XS2 as a transport, you’ll have a DAC between the ND5XS2 and a Naim pre-amp. In this case, system integration will not bring much to the table, I guess. Perhaps I’m missing something?
A cable from streamer to preamp enables system integration, so I can switch sources, alter volume via the Naim app.
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System Automation still works fine if you have an offboard DAC between streamer and preamp.
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I eventually want to get another streamer, having owned a UQ2,272,NDS in the past, but wanting the latest platform eventually,I moved them all on. The problem with finding another (new tech) streamer is there are so many choices. I am settled on my speakers, integrated and DAC, and use the Core as my renderer, or NAS.
I was kind of leaning towards an Auralic G1, since it has no on-board DAC, but then Analogmusic said the ND5XS2 is much better.
Then you have :Allo digione,Sonore Ultra-Rendu,DCS bridge,Innous, Antipodes, Chord 2go/2YU,and I am sure there are many more options.
The problem is demoing all of them to find the “best” solution is next to impossible.You basically have to rely on reviews to find the answer.
Don’t do it! Just guess, or buy the one that looks nice, unless you can get a proper demo.
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I may just go with the ND5XS2, since Nick Lees uses one with an Mscaler/Dave…which is close to what I use. Also I have an empty Fraim shelf for it.
But, Sloop uses an Auralic G2 with an Mscaler/TT2 (like me), and I think Bluesfan said he preferred the DCS bridge to the G2…
a decade ago, on the old forum our esteemed moderator @Richard.Dane (that was when the NDAC was released) told us that different (Naim and other) CD transports sounded different into the NDAC.
Some, like you said the NDAC must be poor DAC, but Richard argued a decade ago, on the contrary, the NDAC was an excellent DAC that showed the differences between high quality transports and mediocre/average ones.
I’ve been lucky enough (as this has been my hobby since the last 40 years) to hear now a wide range of transports into various hi-end DACs now and can fully agree with Richard on this.
The Ndac and the Mscaler don’t sound broken with average/mediocre transports, but they don’t sound their best either, and the difference between both is worth the money in buying a top class transport from a hi-end hi fi company to my ears.
It isn’t also about noise being injected in the the DAC - as the NDAC has adequate galvanic isolation
But also about airborne RF (the allo digione has NO isolation at all with it’s plastic case, and is leaking RF all around it) -
Also about the noise from the processor leaking RF back into the mains/air/SPDIF signal - these are issues which need obsessive attention and companies like Naim have decades of experience.
Last but Certainly not least is the quality of the Linear power supply
Not ALL linear power supplies are excellent, and some do in fact leak noise back into the mains and are worse than Switch mode power supplies
I must say, the Naim looks a (lot) better quality for sure.!But the DCS network bridge looks quite good too.
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Also I would not bet $5k usd on a china made product.
Regards,
Sourav
Indeed, the sensitivity of the old nDAC on the quality of its source is perhaps its major disadvantage against modern DACs. Otherwise, the nDAC is still a great design with a very convenient array of inputs and straightforward functionality: no software failures, no need for firmware upgrades, just perfect.
Modern DAC designs offer perhaps better isolation and lower sensitivity, among others via more conservative buffering and better re-clocking.
If a modern DAC or reclocker turn out to be overly sensitive to the quality of its digital feed, it is a poor DAC or reclocker, independently of its price.
This is according to my measure, of course. Folks who like to play around with long chains of transports, reclockers, etc. might find sensitive devices very attractive. That’s perfectly fine too, it just does not correspond to my notion of quality.