The Naim New Classic range - Part 1

Plus the Solstice, the power supply hints at an early update of a newer series , yet to come

Very astute and Iā€™ve done the ā€˜creative accountingā€™ as well. Looking forward to a demo on Tuesday. Iā€™m wondering where I take my NDX 2/SN 3 next. 282/250 DR or New Classic stack :wink:. The jury is out until Tuesday but my credit card is quiveringā€¦.

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Please let us know what your thoughts are after the listen session, very interested?

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It was a quick, easy way to make a nice piece of kit look cheap nā€™ nasty in one simple go.

You really donā€™t want to see it.

Hello Steve
Is there any further feedback on this question - That is, a NPX-300 connected to a nDAC ??

(There was a suggestion of looking at this in the lab, last week, see post 545).

There are a few users (myself included) patiently waiting on any additional information.

Both you and @Richard.Dane have both said it should work. (Maybe in theory). However, it would be great to get that confirmed?

Also, which cable? ( As this is not mentioned in the New Classic compatibility & cable connectivity supplement).

Thank you in advance?

KR
R

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Very interested to hear how an ND5 XS2 with SN3 + NAP250 compares to NSC222/NAP250.
ND5vx2 share same streamer platform and dac with nsc222.
Edit - maybe add an Ndac to the nd5 xs2 to make it even more interesting

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Agreed
Thatā€™s one of the key questionsā€¦

(Would be nice to get some feedback on this from dealer demos or existing users)

Edit :
Yes, your extra [ edit ] suggestion of including a nDAC into the question makes it a bit more challenging. Also more interesting.

With a nDAC in our house, that gets me very interested. ND5 XS2 ā†’ nDAC is a viable option for users like me.

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I am also waiting for the result of nDAC using NPX 300.

In the manual of NPX 300 it looks like the Special adaptor cable for NPX 300 for current ND streamer or nDAC is a Y cable, one end is both Type 3 & Type 4, one end is Burndy.

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Sure
Made that assumption too, that nDAC would be same as for NDX2, etc, (which is listed on the New Classic cable supplement)ā€¦

Would be ideal to get a confirmation it all works and which cable. Hopefully we will hear back from Steve @110dB and the lab experiments?

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This will be a very interesting, if niche, use case with the nDAC.

Many respected posters on these forums listened and said the 555PS (non DR) was preferable to the DR version - but only on an nDAC.

Ourselves, well we never had a chance to test that viewpoint. DR power supplies were introduced in 2012, and the nDAC ran til 2018, so our view was naim were selling the DR as the partner PSU.

We use the nDAC (2011) with a 555PSDR and it sounds fabulous.

Given naimā€™s stated impression here (that listening tests have shown NPX to be better than XPSDR) one would imagine an nDAC with NPX would also sound fantastic.

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Sure
Agreed.
Adding either XPS or 555PS (DR or not) used to be the recommended way to upgrade a nDAC.

I guess this feedback is useful to nDAC users, to ensure there is a PSU upgrade option going forward. That being NPX-300 and/or the new connectivity which seems to be coming with New Classic PSUā€™s

That includes me :+1:
Others have expressed an interest too
@WRivers1987 has asked three times now
@OuYang expressed an interest just above.
So there is interest in this topic. So, I guess Iā€™m just asking on behalf of others before too.

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The pin outs of type 3/4 have all the voltages required for the ā€œlegacyā€ burndy, as evidenced by the fact the Y adapter version is available for NDX2.

I can see no technical reason why an nDAC, which works with XPSDR, wouldnā€™t work with NPX300, plus Y adapter burndy.

Just need naim to dig it out in the lab and confirm :crossed_fingers:

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Exactly :+1:

@IainO At risk of thread drift, Iā€™d be interested a quick perspective on nDac vs NDX2 (when a 555PS is present), if youā€™re open to it. Your system suggests nDac won out? Single stack too?

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Lol there are literally 1000ā€™s of posts on this one :smiley:

OUR summary: after extended listening to both setups it is extremely close, many tracks you hear little difference. Overall we preferred slightly darker/bass character of nDAC, which also seems to dig out the last nuance of detail.

In another room, with different amplification and speakers, we might have made the alternate choice.

Our Sky TV box goes into NDX2 first. For some reason this sounds better than straight into nDAC!

Neither pairing is clearly ā€œbetterā€.

An interesting face off would be NDX2/NPX vs nDAC/NPXā€¦.

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Thank you. Yes, I realise this can be a hot topic of debate, but wanted to get a quick view from someone who still has that setup. Appreciated. I also recognise the ā€œdarkerā€ characteristic you mention of the nDac. Interesting.

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That is the takeaway here - both pairings are excellent, but with very slightly different presentation.

If our nDAC died weā€™d plug the 555 into NDX2 and keep smiling.

Iā€™ll offer to compare both with new PSU if a benefactor sends me an NPX :laughing:

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Another concern is the futher Naim PSU roadmap, NSC 222 is streamer & pre-amp so it use both connectors on NPX 300. How about futher streamer(or DAC) and pre-amp(or Nait)? If a NPX 300 can acts like XPS + HiCap to enhance futher digital and analgue product at the same time, then it will be great.

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I do have a general compatibility question for the new 250 and Snaxo 242. Iā€™m wondering if itā€™s possible to connect a new 250 to a 242, using legacy cables? If so, any concerns if going wonky with a new 250 and a 250DR? This might be one for @110dB?

Would the NPX300 be able to power a 252, as an assumed upgrade?