Perhaps a stupid question, but did Naim ever officially refer to it as an nDAC or just their DAC?
It was just (Naim) DAC.
nDAC is a forum nickname to differentiate it from the acronym for digital to Analog converter.
1 Like
I suppose if theyâd continued with the the old naming convention of NAxxx, it would have been a NADAC 
1 Like
For whatever reason I wasnât in the mood for a hi-fi DAC back when it was released but had been aware of some of their other DACs and non-physical media digital offerings.
Iâd long assumed it was officially called nDAC which has a nice feel to the name, but when I searched for info on the current site I was surprised I could only find the DAC info linked to above.
Or NACADAC!
2 Likes
Hi I see no reason why USB3.x based USB Audio canât work very well if using well designed interface decoupling. Itâs a specific USB protocol for audio. It can be an effective input on a DAC and indeed on my DAVE it works well.
Earlier pre USB3.x interfaces had half duplex wiring and were not ideal as flow control was managed by deliberately breaking the balanced twisted pair which theoretically increased the chance of interference to audio. circuitry.
With regard to i2S.. not so sure. The protocol was developed by Philips specifically for inter integrated circuit communication where short PCB tracks are used.
There is no standardized external interface as it simply wasnât designed to be optimal for that. There are some specific implementations that use proprietary methods for external interface, but I would keep clear. The protocol was not designed or engineered for that.. and until it is ever standardized such an arrangement is proprietary and specific.
From an engineering point of view those sort of clocked synchronous integration have been largely phased out elsewhere for higher bandwidth external interfaces due to phase and slew issues.
1 Like
Also helps to distinguish it from DAC-V1, at least among forumites I suppose.
Roger
Iâm seriously considering the jump from XPSDR to the 555 and wondered how youâd describe the sound compared to a bare Ndac? I really cannot fathom how the XPS can be bettered but the general concensus it can by the 555. Question is how much of a difference and is it worth the extra expense?
1 Like
I found that adding a PS555DR to my bare nDAC had a profound effect in making all aspects of the musicality more enjoyable.
Bigger wider and deeper sound stage, more melodic voices, deeper and better controlled bass.
However I prefer to describe the end result of adding the PS555DR is comparable to upgrading every component in my complete audio chain - from source to speakers. I know this description may sound controversial - but thatâs how I feel it summarizes what I hear.
4 Likes
I too have had a similar experience when adding the XPSDR. I just wondered if the move to 555 would be worth it.
1 Like
I agree the Naim DAC came into its own with the 555PS - but for me the it was original 555PS and not the later 555PSDR which I found was the perfect match - having really fallen in love with the nDAC /555PS I found the 555PSDR just spoilt the balance to my ears and it lost some of its organicness. Though sourcing a non DR 555PS these days is going to be quite a challenge I would have thought.
The nDAC wasnât particularly resolving I felt hence its organic feel which I really liked on the whole (though it did change slightly with the final firmware update). Some genres like Choral or Orchestral I felt were disappointing to my ears where subtle details and reverb in a cathedral or positioning of instruments appeared blurred and lacked definition detracting from the musical feel - but give it some rock or blues and it really boogied
6 Likes
Iâm guessing that was down to the transport you where using at the time.
With a modern, good quality transport the ndac has plenty of depth, detail and finesse. The DR power supply might be preforable with an appropriate transport.
Although having said that, there are people who donât find the added depth and detail preforable.
1 Like
it was with an NDX and NDS and USB memory sticks as digital source, so apart from the USB memory stick all Naim streamer sources.I bought my NDAC with my NDX to go as a pair. from the get go.. The NDAC is quite sensitive on digital source - and one even notices the differences between the front and rear port for USB memory sticks.. (I preferred the rear port)
We also tried - albeit at my dealers with an NDS with 2x 555PSDR feeding the NDAC into 552/500 feeding a pair of Kudos Titans for a giggle - sorry I mean serious evaluation. We also tried an NDX with 555PS. The similar traits were still there in the NDAC as I guess this is really about how the NDAC is designed and plays out - and yes it has been improved upon in later products in the analogue domain and digital synchronisation and clocking domains. To be honest I think some of the sheer fun of the NDAC has been diluted in more refined products. This quality was endearing quality of the NDAC (its slightly organic analogue or slightly rounded sound but hugely entertaining sounds with many genres) it is also its limitation for some other genres, possibly more minority genres, but for rock and blues and even some electronica itâs hugely entertaining. The NDS with one or two 555PSDR had more apparent resolution and finesse but didnât have the boogie factor in my opinion.
I wasnât alone noticing or feeling this I have been informed - and that is one reason (perhapsâŚ) why the ND555 has the traits its does - it aimed to capture the musical resolution of the CD555 with different digital sources and bit rates which the NDS or NDAC didnât quite capture ⌠I think they got it right with respect to the Naim architecture. However for me personally I had jumped ship at this time in to the Chord Electronics approach for DACs which seemed to gel better with me with how I hear reconstructed audio- at this level there are subtle personal preferences on the reconstruction choices and compromises made.
The biggest change in my opinion with the NDAC was the final firmware - the code was significantly cleaned I was informed and as such there was less processing therefore digital noise per second of sound as it were - and this tidied up the performance - but I think it lost a little something for me - perhaps I had got very used to the previous NDAC sound, This change was consistent with both the 555PS and 555PSDR. This was my first foray into the changes in Naim product audio with firmware changes.
However the NDAC is an interesting product - as it set the digital architecture to this day for many of the Naim streamers - or at least to the ND555.. and I enjoyed mine whilst I owned it.
Perhaps I was sensitive to Choral music as I had been a chorister upto my mid teens and so have quite an ear for choral music. The NDS captures it well, the Chord Hugo nailed it - and the DAVE does it with aplomb⌠I havenât had a multi hour session with the ND555 listening to choral music
We are spoilt for choice.
5 Likes
Yes, Ndac, DC1, lavender interconnect is a really good combination, made great by the cd555 power supply with SXPS burndy. Add a Powerline to the cd555 if you can! This combination gives a real uplift to the nd5xs2 and cdx2.2. It sounds really great just using a usb stick into the Ndac (the usb socket on the back panel is the best). Uniti Core can also be attached using a DC1.
5 Likes
Add a Powerline to nDAC too, if you can.
2 Likes