DCS network bridge
The Roon Core needs to run on a separate computer. If your laptop has SSD storage (for the Roon database, the music library can just be on a USB drive) it may be fine.
Yes, there is a free trial.
Have a look at the Roon KB for info on where to start:
https://help.roonlabs.com/portal/en/home
G1 is just a streaming bridge with native support for TIDAL and Qobuz, Internet Radio, and USB drives, Memory Caching, Gapless Playback and Bit-Perfect Multi-Room, Spotify Connect, AirPlay, and Roon Ready and resolutions up to DSD512 and PCM 32bit/384k.
Here’s a shot of Vega G2.1 Streaming Dac about the same price of the NDX2
Don’t see any copper lined chassis within an aluminum chassis on the other pictures…
How about you analogmusic just relax and stop shaking your cane at the young folks .
And this means what? You don’t pay a thousand pounds for the parts, you’re paying for the knowledge and research that allow the parts to do their thing. I had one for years and it did what it was designed to do. Btw are you happy to pay for a device built around an obselete DAC chip? It doesn’t matter, they are both fine produces from quality companies and blind arrogant bias that disses other people’s hard earned purchases is unpleasant and unecesaary
Thanks Chris, I will check out that link when I have time. Not sure why I need to put music on a USB stick though, I have a Naim Core still.
I was thinking the same thing. Along with now discontinued entry level preamps and power amps. Similar amount of empty space. I mean who cares? The goal isn’t to fill the box. And you wouldn’t want to shrink every box to the size of the contents - well some brands do and it looks very unsightly.
AFAIK, the Auralic stuff is well thought out and engineered. And some bits might be off the shelf. Again who cares. Apart from the case, everything from Naim is nearly off the shelf parts. Implementation is key.
Victor Meldrew might have a different view of course, which is fine.
While something like an Intel NUC somewhere on the network would be the ideal, the laptop just as the Roon Core and Naim Core as the file server would be good… especially as a way to evaluate whether you like / want Roon.
If you do really like it, a Gen 7 i3 - i5 Intel NUC as a long term solution can be found on the auction site for very reasonable amounts! Or, use a 2nd hand Mac mini … NUC would probably be cheaper though.
But isn’t my Laptop all I need, I can hook it up in my bedroom, away from the Fraim rack. I use my IPad for internet browsing, posting here etc., so the Laptop is barely used now…plus I have a smart TV I use a lot for YouTube etc.
I think the laptop with all it’s other circuitry and processes can add electrical noise to the mix whereas a Roon Rock NUC is a headless Linux system which has been optimised to run Roon as effectively / quietly as possible. It can also be carried around like a laptop and hooked up via USB if you want as a portable device.
Edit… as I say, a laptop will do the job just fine for now. The NUC is just something to think about for the future.
I just meant that the Roon database needs to run on SSD, it doesn’t work well on HDD, so you need at least a small SSD on your Roon Core device. The music files can live on any old drive.
You can keep the (Naim) Core and allow Roon access to it. If you keep using Roon it just becomes a rather expensive hard drive so there is arguably no need for it.
Yeah, the Roon Rock NUC’s use Pcie M.2 SSD drives which are very fast… and small.
I added an extra SSD to the NUC for storage (in a fanless case) and it is effectively a Naim Core and Roon Core in one on a headless Linux system.
Ahh, I see…it may end up being nothing I want a part of anyway, too much BS. I haven’t even started my free trial of Tidal yet, maybe I should tackle that first. One thing I found odd, the other day I started to go through the process of signing up for Tidal on my ND5XS2, and it showed my buddy’s Log in Name. We used to share a Tidal account years ago when I owned a UQ2. It must be somehow attached to my network still?
Probably in some browser cache somewhere… nothing to worry about! Roon is something that people either love or hate. I personally love it as I’ve found a stack of music I wouldn’t have found without it.
Just log out of Tidal in the Naim app and sign in with your new user name and password.
(Personally I prefer Qobuz but after yet another free trial you can decide that for yourself.)
No Qobuz in Canada yet.
This is also not a Chord forum, but this is a thread specifically about Chord devices and there doesn’t appear to be the same sort of concern about positive comments in respect of Chord Electronics.
An Auralic device was recommended as a possible option for a poster on this thread and I can’t see why this should be a problem for anyone. I don’t personally own any Auralic equipment although I have had the opportunity to listen to some of their 'streaming devices and DACs, and for what it’s worth I found them to be top notch in virtually every aspect, and most definitely worthy of consideration at their respective price points.
The only thing the picture tells me is that Auralic should have used a half-width box, but I fear market research told them that some hifi nerds like big boxes full of stuff…
In an attempt to resume normal programming:
I bought a second Nimak 5N ribbon spdif cable having I bought one a couple of years ago, this was my spdif cable of choice until it was usurped by the WAVE care of @Fourlegs.
At the time I also listened to the dual WAVE BNC twixt MScaler and Qutest. Whilst I liked what I heard I am a man of short arms and deep pockets!
As a compromise I bought the WAVE spdif and used the supplied MScaler BNCs pro-tem. As it happens it was rather less temporary then intended.
The Nimak cables are not available terminated with BNCs and so I bought some adapters.
In short, these are rather better than the Chord supplied jobbies!
As good as the WAVE? Wouldn’t that be nice. My suspicion is NO. But my system has moved on somewhat, and my audio memory ain’t that precise. Based on my preference of the Wave over the Nimak as a spdif I would expect the answer to be no, but the price is rather nearer to my financial pain tolerance levels for cables.
Had some nice looooooooooong listening sessions with the Nimaks.
M
I believe there’s a kit to install an internal HDD. That’s the reason for the extra room and of course aesthetic considerations
I was wondering if there are DAVE or QBD76 owners here who use balanced XLR interconnects to connect the DAC to the preamp or integrated. I am interested to know if there is a difference in sound quality between different grade of balanced interconnects used between the DAVE and pre/amp in a price range of up to say £1,000 new or used.