Thanks for the advice Hmack, as I understand it the Empire is a different proposition to other Roon streamers in that it acts as its own NUC - this from Darko’s article: "On the streaming side, Empire will be the first Mytek product to utilise a Linux-based audio platform in which TWO interconnected processing engines, both powered by a dedicated toroidal and power supply, will handle digital audio data flow. With an allergy to moving parts, Jurewicz says Empire will be fanless.
The first processing engine will be loaded with Roon OS for library oversight and Roon’s DSP. In other words, it will be functionally identical to Roon’s Nucleus. The second will run Mytek OS to manage Empire’s Gigabit Ethernet, Wifi, Bluetooth, touchscreen display and I/O: coaxial, AES/EBU, TOSLINK, USB2, 2-8 channel HDMI and Ethernet outputs; coaxial, AES/EBU, TOSLINK and 2-channel HDMI inputs. The in-built headphone amplifier will be a dual-mono, balanced and high-current design.
Having a Roon all in one to perform most other tasks, short of Vinyl and Power amp duties, was a major part of my decision to gamble on this option to downsize. I only wish Naim offered balanced XLR mono and stereo power amps (not least to match their new Atom - but apparently they have no current plans…) cheers David
I hadn’t picked up on the inbuilt Roon functionality. Sounds very interesting - if very expensive!
I see it also has mm/mc phono pre-amps. I haven’t tried the phone amps on my (very much) cheaper Brooklyn DAC+, but they have had very reasonable reviews. I would imagine the Empire phono stages will be very good indeed.
I don’t see any reviews as yet, but I guess they’ll be coming soon. I take it that you won’t be migrating from your Naim amps to the Mytek Empire monoblocks when they appear? 500 watts into 8 ohms and 1000 watts into 4 ohms - they will be absolute beasts! I’d love to hear what they sound like through my (4 ohm) Magnepan speakers.
Just a note of advice, the Roon Core can run very unassumingly on many things… I run it as a background task on the iMac in my office. All simple, no fuss, no added cost for hardware, wires or powersupplies and works a treat with more advanced DSP functions should I wish and database queries and I have media at and stream upto 192/24… I even run my iMac using wifi… absolutely perfect… and how it should be.
I have now taken up a Roon lifetime subscription… it has become a key part of my audio replay experience.
BTW I do like to use the Roon parametric eq DSP for sometimes adjusting very old recordings… I prefer to do it myself rather than rely on some of the eq adjustments done with new masters on rereleases which sometimes can be poor or unnatural in my opinion, and with Roon it’s so easy to do in real time on your iPad as you listen.
It will be interesting to see how it compares side by side with my Rega Aria - I plan to replace my nice but antiquated Rega Planar 3 soonish so I will be on a journey of discovery there.
On the Poweramp side, I will run with the 250DR for the time being using unbalanced RCA out to the Naim’s single XLR in, if its good then I get longer to save up for a replacement. The Empire Monoblocs would cost me AUD $ 30k which is getting close enough to a D’Agostino Progression power amp which I can run full balanced XLR to XLR but time will tell whether that connection method is a relevant factor or not. This also gets me into differing Amp Classes (A vs AB vs D etc) however that can wait for another day!
That is the gamble I guess! Mytek are adamant they have it sorted with the Faraday compartment but its going to have to be good or its going back for the 30 day money back option…
You could be right there, it’s a bit above my head! I’m reminded of that old thread that asked if large amounts of megabytes can add up in weight! I recall someone had enough time on their hands to conclude that they could or maybe I dream’t it…
I will just know whether this device is doing it for me or not; the reviews will be interesting that’s for sure, Mytek usually get a good rap…
I reply to the original post because in ten replies or so any topic usually shifts to other directions.
My opinion is that downsizing is always feasible and not regrettable providing one leaves the idea of an absolute ‘sonic performance’ behind. Less is actually sometimes more, but our audiophile minds are trained to think the more the better, so downsizing is usually seen as the like of quitting smoking - a few benefits at the cost of some pleasure.
My recent amp history is the following: 282/SC/250 that became a Luxman 590 AXII, a very thoughtless and unsuccessful move; which became a Nait XS2, a very sensible and lucky move. It became a Pass Lab INT-25 integrated, a very good but costly amp which, in the end, became a PrimaLuna EVO 100 tube integrated. The EVO 100 costed me exactly 1/10 of the original Naim setup’s current retail and about 1/8 of the Pass. Am I happy with the sonic performance? I don’t know. Am I happy with the sound? Yes.
In the end, I think that one is ready to downsize gear when he’s already downsized delusions and expectations.
Taken as a statement in its own right that seems to imply that downsizing is the right thing to - but if that us the case then upsizing is the wrong thing to do, and re-education as to what is hifi is needed, albeit not what manufacturers would want!
However it is very different if linked to changing life events, when indeed sometimes one must change expectations to fit a changing reality, and that can take time so the “ready to” is apt.
I find all this stuff about expectations a little odd. It seems based on a decades old illusion that less boxes definitely means less of something. I think anyone listening to modern day products will have zero difficulty finding integrated solutions which at minimum match and often outstrip their separates brethren from say as recently as five years ago when comparing like to like in terms of price and functionality and sound quality. People who have trouble accepting that have simply not listened enough. That is one aspect of the new reality companies like Naim are faced with.
In my case in last post, reference to expectation was thinking of sound quality, with which in my mind Max’s sonic performance is inextricably linked - but indeed number of boxes may or may not be linked (as I acknowledged in the options in the downsizing poll thread). Sound quality expectation may need revising at times through life, e.g to match resources, work with declining hearing performance, fit with necessary living arrangements etc.
Gone from 5 box amplification system to a Nova, I need speakers i.e with better sensitivity than 83 - but in no rush. It’s also the size of the boxes .
All in all, very happy. Only mistake was not getting one with separate FM stage (lousy broadband)
Unless you can afford a Statement fed by matching sources- all systems are compromises
Physical separation of the various parts presumably achieves the desired reduction in interference between them. That or for forty years Naim has been pulling the wool over our ears.
It’s pretty hard to achieve that isolation if it’s all stuffed in a single box, isn’t it? So a single box system must compromise on the benefits of separation.
If we accept that interference from a transformer is a real thing, then separating it from parts that would otherwise be compromised is justifiable, no?
Please listen to the people who have downsized and the people writing about these products. Your comment is based on an age old assumption which, whilst correct on paper, has long since been shown to not be the only way to achieve great results.
Does separation of components improve sound quality? Well yes of course it can (albeit many still manage to screw it up). Is it the only way to achieve significant improvements? Clearly not. The evidence? Not a theory. Ears and actions.
It’s a two way street; separate boxes and PSU’s also means that there are more large electrical components wired in the system, each of which can misbehave or influence other components in one way or another.
See for instance the “brain vs brawn” discussions on the forums. Interference is still a real point of attention with larger stacks.
When everything is in one box, that environment is in theory more controllable. The tolerances are smaller so more attention to detail and micro-shielding / separation is needed. But as technology progresses, it’s likely inevitable that this will be the way of the future.
