Ndx2 or hugo tt2 & mscaler

Hi-Fi Corner
1

Hi all

pondering whether mileage in upgrading my NDX / NDAC & XPS DR source

Curious if people had chance to compare NDX2 OR HUGO TT2 & MSCALER and what thoughts are (demo for me requires lot of planning due to travel so seeking some views in interim)

Rest of system is nac282 with hicap Dr into nap250 Dr and kudos s20a speakers fed from Melco server cables mainly chord sarum

Thanks all

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Do consider swapping the NDAC and NDX out for a used NDS. According to my dealer the NDS is quite ahead of the NDX2.

We’d have identical systems if you did that and the upgrade over the NDX to NDS is spectacular even with an XPS DR powering the NDS. I don’t have experience of the NDAC though

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I agree with Trickiedicke that you should consider the NDS,I use mine with an XPSDR, and love it. I would also consider keeping the NDX, and running it into the TT2/Mscaler, unless you really want the new streaming platform. I am actually considering getting the TT2/Mscaler myself to add to my NDS.I want to drive my Sopra 1’s Directly off the TT2 amp though.

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thanks for NDS suggestion not thought about that

just for clarity i would either keep the ndx to feed the hugo TT2 & MScaler OR trade the NDX/ NDAC for the NDX2

thanks

2 Likes
5

Second the NDS option. I got a pre - loved NDS to replace my n-DAC and love it. Second hand prices for these are insane value now.

Use it with a 555DR though…

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I did consider swapping NDX / nDAC for NDS, all with 555PS. I was not persuaded; but if I had not already had the former, it might have been a toss-up, especially as NDS would save me one Fraim level.

In the end I did swap the NDX for NDX-FM. Very happy.

Nick

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Having just gone through demos of Naim streamers/SN2/Dave kit I elected for NDX2 with Superlumina into my SN2 (Focal 1028be speakers/black cat cables). My demo review can be found here at the end of the closed thread ND5 XS2 / NDX2 connectivity into HUGO 2

The decision factors ultimately came down to

  1. box count
  2. cost vs acoustic return to my ear ( very subjective and some ears are better than others :wink:
  3. concerns on the introduction of distortion in some music when using the dave which seemed unique to my demo but non the less a concern
  4. Nicely surprised at the increase in clarity when we swapped the Superlumina over from the ND555 to NDX2 (Nd555 presentation still clearer with more detail but not an ocean apart.
  5. HMSc introduces lag from buffering which would not work with the rest of my Naim Musos in multiroom, which was a hard requirement.
  6. I can add in and play with my Hugo 2 when in tinker mood :slight_smile:

Lastly to house this I went for a Quadraspire SVT bamboo rack. Interestingly this rack had a good rep and thats from both my old supplier friends in old blitey and over here in Qld.

Should get the NDX2 and rack installed in the coming weeks once dealer receives shipments.

On a completely seperate note oh my oh my, just listed to Natalia Merchants Tigerlilly on 45rpm MFSL…all I can say is wow. The recording quality is so good it blew my wife and I’s shoes and socks off. Big smiles all round.

Have a great weekend one and all, all the very best

Rob D

2 Likes
8

Nice one. I’m enemy new NDX2/SN2 combo, though with standard Naim cables.

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Im so looking forward to using the Naim app on the NDX2. Im currently using an AK240 into H2 into SN2. While it does sound very good and the dap is no slouch the AK Connect app stops playing on the ipad when you close the app as its the primary control. The alternative currently is to squint hard and read the tiny writing on the dap which in all fairness is rock stable as android based software goes. Anyhow Im going to play with connecting the ak240 via usb dock into rear of NDX2 and use as my server and it will do double time as the family portable rig along with H2 and Kef muo speakers…should have some Campfire Audio Atlas IEMs turning up at some point which will also be some more fiddle fun. I just need a man shed now.

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I don’t think this will work. Better to copy the files to a USB drive and use that with the Naim app for control.

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I think you’ll find the NDX2 with TT2 a very fine setup, especially into higher end Naim amplification. The sweet spot of the NDX2 in my opinion is when you configure it as digital output mode as opposed to its analogue out (note it’s one or the other, it can’t do both at the same time no doubt how it optimises it’s internal componentry to the task in hand.)
As streamer transports the new streamers are heads and shoulders ahead of the legacy streamers… Naim have made immense strides forward here.

2 Likes
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Thanks Chris, will do if need be. These daps are great all rounders and also act as a server. I will play when NDX2 arrives and report back. Would make a great use case. I’m half way there anyway using the Naim app on the musos to access the ak240 server to stream 500 Gb of albums…just whether this feature works directly through the dock. I can use my h2 downstream to double check bit stream rate…In a different life I used to be a multiplexer op, this sort of stuff let’s my inner geek play. Soul food sandwich :slight_smile:

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did you get chance to demo hugo TT2 into an mscaler as part of it aswell???

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No HMS/TT2 testing just Naim Streamer/H2/SN2 or Naim streamer/Dave/SN2 (note:- streamer>MSC>TT2\or other dac).

There are some owners on here I understand that enjoy the HMS/TT2 addition, but ideally you want a streamer with DBNC as opposed to using a splitter certainly the advice I got both in UK and over here…was to use a different streamer specifically designed with DBNC out if going HMS into Dave or TT2…but each to their own.

Also check your use case if you want to multi room. You wont want the delay the HMS introduces but this can be turned off Ive read which indicates you can negate the delay. I havent tested this however.

When we ran our tests with and without the Dave in the chain the audience where 50/50 split. If I were to make an analogy its like the brightness and clarity of a Samsung LCD vs the darker perfect black Panasonic/Pioneer Plasma tvs if that makes sense. Neither are better than the other, just different. The chord is very resolving and has very defined edges around notes which stand out more, without the dave the Naim gear is smoother and lacks that sparkle. Having said that there were some tracks through the Dave that fatigued my ears being almost harsh bordering sibilant/distorted.

Sorry I cant talk to HMS/TT2 but maybe this helps a little.

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Remember that the new Naim streamers also run a UPnP server, so if you put a copy of your music library on a USB drive on the NDX2, it will be available to your Musos and any other UPnP streamers you may have. This avoids the need to fire up the AK for home use, and you’ll have another backup copy of your library.

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Dave has signal grounding same as a Naim source.
So when connecting Dave, the Naim source should be set to floating chassis, or disconnected from the preamp.

Otherwise the differences between Dave and the Naim source will not be as apparent.

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