philiphifi
pfm Member
Hi - is it foolhardy buying a old streamer like a Naim NDX? The technology is old. Is it better to buy a cheaper but newer machine?
Naim NDX
- Thread starter philiphifi
- Start date
Mynamemynaim
38yrs a Naim owner
Read the nds tread below
flutteringwow
She called me baby, like an old romantic
I wouldn't even dream of buying something that old unless you're getting it for absolute peanuts, like £100.
Hook
Blackbeard's former bo'sun.
Roon is easily added to older UPnP streamers using bridge software that makes them look like LMS endpoints. I am using a SGC SonicOrbiter as both my Roon server and bridge. Works great, and very easy to manage.
Billsie
pfm Member
It’s a good bit of kit but has limitations. I initially used mine as a streamer in a Naim system but then bought a Teddy DAC and used the NDX just as a renderer for the T DAC. To my ears the combination sounded better than the NDX on it’s own. (Adding an XPS is another option but a costly one given the present value of an NDX). If you’re going to stream from Tidal or Qobuz you can use the mConnectHD app. The big problem, as mentioned above is that it can’t be used as a Roon endpoint. There are ways round that (Vortexbox/Audiostore is a good place to start) but ultimately I decided to get rid and use a different streamer (Intel NUCs running Euphony) to let me use Roon.
It all depends on your budget, the rest of your system and if Roon is a must.
Regards
Steve
It all depends on your budget, the rest of your system and if Roon is a must.
Regards
Steve
philiphifi
pfm Member
thanks guys. I wish the NDX was £100 then it would be a no-brainer. Unfortunately, they are still priced at £1k which i think is very steep unless it is an exceptional sounding machine which no new kit would match at that price point presently (which I hope is not the case?)
garyi
leave blank
I am sorry but the difference between the streaming part is marginal. For your money I would be concentrating on the dac. Furthermore I wouldn't be putting money into hifi manufacturer's for the streaming element. Things are coming on line all the time, and these companies are just too slow, or have BOM'ed the hell out of the device so that it is absolute the minute its released.
I appreciate the ndx has a dac, but along with it a very outdated streamer. And probably dead screen.
I appreciate the ndx has a dac, but along with it a very outdated streamer. And probably dead screen.
The second-hand market sets the price. If they were rubbish and nobody liked them then they wouldn't sell.
flutteringwow
She called me baby, like an old romantic
The streaming element is almost as equally as valid as the DAC. Anyone who has gone from say a Bluesound Node 2i to a Auralic Aries G2 as I have, know that. Simply revolutionary!
It's way too expensive considering it's age, considering you can get ND5XS2's for not a lot more.
garyi
leave blank
I don't agree with your hyperbole, there is marginal differences at best with just the streaming element. God only knows I have paid out. I have dedicated USB cards with linier power supplies and all sorts, the differences are very small and I am not confident I could tell you in a blind test.
Dacs yes, night and day on the fair number I have knocking around here. Streamers, well I have Pis in various configurations, PCs in various configurations playing roon, UPNP, various incarnations of LMS, etc. All within a margin of error imo. I have had dedicated streamers through here small differences for sure but not justifying the eye watering price, which becomes even more unbearable when the hifi company drops it like its hot.
If I were starting from scratch today, the DAC all the way for me.
Dacs yes, night and day on the fair number I have knocking around here. Streamers, well I have Pis in various configurations, PCs in various configurations playing roon, UPNP, various incarnations of LMS, etc. All within a margin of error imo. I have had dedicated streamers through here small differences for sure but not justifying the eye watering price, which becomes even more unbearable when the hifi company drops it like its hot.
If I were starting from scratch today, the DAC all the way for me.
Mynamemynaim
38yrs a Naim owner
And at this moment...the DAC has to be a chord...of some type, dependent on budget
(A happy NDS owner)
I think you've absorbed the hype. There are plenty of other manufacturers who produce quality DACs, and the technology is really very well understood and not inherently expensive to produce. Sure, pay for your chord stuff if you like, but please don't imply it's superior to other options.
flutteringwow
She called me baby, like an old romantic
You're still using a Pi's and PC's, that says enough to be honest.
Huge difference in streamers, but once a bias has set in, it's hard to shift it. I had the similar, till I moved from a Node to a ND5XS2, and then moving to a G2.
The Pi wasn't fit for a streamer whatsoever, I wasted far too much good listening time with that thing. Junk.
Just to let you know, in case you are unaware, that 99.99% of music you are listening to has been produced and mastered on a DAC connected to a PC. Noone in the pro audio world thinks this is a problem. Why do you think that streaming is different to running a DAW? You are very much an outlier if you think this, so you have to justify it rather than just assert it as a statement (streamers make a difference).
flutteringwow
She called me baby, like an old romantic
Being a studio musician, I am quite aware how music is produced...on equipment that often costs more than many peoples houses. Not their Dell PC.
I have no interest though how or why a good quality dedicated streamer is far superior to a PC or Pi, they just are. I don't need to justify anything I say on an internet forum. Those that know, know, those that don't use similar rhetoric to you (generally older folk that have little experience of making music). Just how it is.
garyi
leave blank
Sorry flutteringwow you cannot get me on this one. I even had the pleasure of a Klimax for a few weeks, ohherr. At least they keep the software up to date. Nice machine. Eye watering price. Sounds good, like my PC* or Pi. I have no skin in this game so I guess I don't hear the 'night and day massive differences' between streamers, anymore than I hear differences with ethernet cables.
Optimise your network, make sure it works. Pick software that works for you and is flexible, get a decent dac.
*PC:
Low wattage cpu
PLEX Audio power supply
X audio USB with external linear power supply
Running roon rock but only as a streamer not server
The PC was done through my 'this all makes a difference' phase. But to be honest I got a a tiny fanless PC that I think was a control unit for a machine shop as it has loads of serial connections. Sounds great as it should, paid 45 quid for that one, so a little more relaxed on these things.
Looking inside most of these amazing streamers, they tend to be nucs in one form or another, so I dont buy it, I put roon into that bin too with their over priced intel nucs in a nice looking case.
Optimise your network, make sure it works. Pick software that works for you and is flexible, get a decent dac.
*PC:
Low wattage cpu
PLEX Audio power supply
X audio USB with external linear power supply
Running roon rock but only as a streamer not server
The PC was done through my 'this all makes a difference' phase. But to be honest I got a a tiny fanless PC that I think was a control unit for a machine shop as it has loads of serial connections. Sounds great as it should, paid 45 quid for that one, so a little more relaxed on these things.
Looking inside most of these amazing streamers, they tend to be nucs in one form or another, so I dont buy it, I put roon into that bin too with their over priced intel nucs in a nice looking case.