Power Supply for Naim dac

Which power supplies are compatible with the Naim Dac and which are the best and worst in order?

Any XPS. Any 555. Olive XPS is the lowest cost and works very well. In Naim shorthand DR means “Dear”.
Price reflects SQ :slightly_smiling_face:

As a Yorkshireman surely you’d want the cheapest :wink:

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Don’t forget the xp5 X’s. It’s cheaper than the XPS. :grin:

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Yes, price versus quality is always a major conflict for a Yorkshireman :rofl:

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What does the DR actually mean/Add to SQ?

The only Naim PS I was disappointed with. I just felt it added nothing to the nDac. An XPS2 or 555PS non-DR worked well ime.

G

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I agree go with non-DR.

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What’s the general consensus from forum members to which is the best Power Supply for the Naim Dac?

555 PS non- DR

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Is the 555 PS the same as the CD 555 (DR or non DR) PS? Or maybe I should say is there any difference between the 555PS and the CD 555 PS?

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The 555 non-DR seems to be the best.

Speaking only for myself I used an Olive XPS for a long time before upgrading to an XPS-DR. The Olive is remarkably good IMHO.

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My only PSU which is compatible with my nDAC is my olive XPS, so it must be the best….innit? :laughing:

Seriously though, I did think that even my ageing XPS was a worthwhile uplift on my nDAC.

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It’s the same, the CD 555 PS was developed for the CD 555 player.They can be DR´d.
But the nDac sounds better with the CD555PS non-DR or 555PS non-DR.

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The NDAC was developed before Naim introduced DR, so perhaps it would be expected to perform at its best with non-DR power supplies. It certainly sounded a little better with a non-DR 222PS to me than it did with the DR version.

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I’ve personally never owned a non-DR PSU from Naim; they’ve always been DR in some manner, whether Supercap or HiCap, etc. However, I can attest that adding an XPS-DR is a worthwhile upgrade for the nDAC compared to standalone. Whoa, what an uplift. It does stand to reason that since it was developed at a time sans DR, anything in that realm would work well. I’d love to try a 555, but I just cannot justify that kind of cost anytime soon. At that point/cost I’d likely move on anyway.

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Go for the non-DR 555 PS if you can find one, would guess you could. I had one on my nDac and really thought it was awesome. I had the ndac on the HDX and then an ND5XS2. I had it fitted with a DR upgrade and it now powers my ND555.

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I don’t really get the idea that products that were around before DR was introduced will perform better with non-DR PSs. It doesn’t chime with my experience, either. At one time my system included a SN1/HC and nDAC/XPS and when the DR upgrades became available I opted to have both PSs done. In the case of the SN1, the improvement was dramatic – one of the biggest jumps in SQ I experienced. The DR upgrade on the XPS also improved the sound of my nDAC, though the improvement was more modest (in spite of being pricier).

As for 555 nonDR vs XPSDR, I have not done the comparison, but would expect the former to sound better, it’s a 555, after all. But, with the PSs I’ve had, I certainly preferred the DR versions.

Roger

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To me the NDAC simply sounded more natural with the non-DR 555PS, regardless of any hypothetical improvement from the newer design. In other applications that is not the case, at least in my limited experience. Preamps always seem to sound best with DR power supplies.

It may well be that the non-DR advantage doesn’t apply to the XPS, it’s not a comparison I’ve ever heard. Of course, a DR upgrade to an XPS is also a full service so there are reasons to expect it to sound better in addition to anything DR related.

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There’s another PSU that will work with the nDac - CDPS cheap if you can find one

Much preferred the CDPS on my then CDS2 to the olive XPS

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