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NAIM HDX

S

Shaun555

pfm Member
Hi,

I am looking for a Naim HDX assuming it can do what I want which is to copy my CDs and allow me to program a selection to play from multiple CDs. Does anyone know if they are reliable and why Naim stopped making them. I presently have a CDS3 and I have read that the reproduction on the HDX is just as good. Also, do any members know how much they sell for 2nd hand? Thanks Shaun
 
On eBay not many sold but going rate appears to be £1K to £1250. There is a dedicated Naim forum you could ask on.

I never owned one but have helped some guys with them over the years, they rip to WAV not FLAC and have a kludge to get artwork and info attached to the CD rips. You can change them to rip to FLAC and convert the WAVs too, useful if you want to move to a 3rd party NAS (QNAP or Synology for example) or USB Disk as storage. I'd be wary buying one used, it's basically a computer and if not supported under a warranty might be an expensive repair.

A very popular method to rip CD's is using a PC or MAC with CD Drive and software like dBPoweramp ripping to FLAC - loads of advice/info out there https://www.dbpoweramp.com/

It's really monotonous feeding CD's in and ripping/checking/tagging so don't go in full bore, do some test disks and practice, make sure the tags and artwork - artist, track names, composer are how you want them to appear.

Unless you have loads of rare or obscure CD's I'd forget ripping the lot and sign up to Qobuz, Tidal, Amazon or Spotify and just rip the ones not on the streaming platform.

Do a search of pfm and Google there is literally a shed load of info and guidance out there

If you want an all in one no faff device there are a few out there from a few hundred quid that you'll get a warranty with - check out - Google for reviews - INNUOS, Brennan, ZoneRipper, NovaFidelity. BlueSound Vault, Naim Uniti Core

HTH

Gus
 
To rip your own CD Collection, DBPoweramp is a good way to go. Make sure you keep backup(s) of your data!

Data > Streamer > DAC
 
Shaun555 said:
Hi,

I am looking for a Naim HDX assuming it can do what I want which is to copy my CDs and allow me to program a selection to play from multiple CDs. Does anyone know if they are reliable and why Naim stopped making them. I presently have a CDS3 and I have read that the reproduction on the HDX is just as good. Also, do any members know how much they sell for 2nd hand? Thanks Shaun
Click to expand...

I know it may seem more faff but I'd rather use a computer to rip CDs; it's just as quick and you can easily fix any problems with tagging or artwork. Occasionally you get a CD that won't rip easily; you can either bin it or often get it ripped by trying other machines, cleaning, etc.

There's also a trade-off between ease of use and set-up, and best value/sound. Personally I'd always go NAS, Raspberry Pi, DAC of your choice (Pi accessory or USB external). If you'd rather have something more packaged, Sonos usually comes out well for ease of use, or there are a zillion other options.

Tim
 
Shaun555 said:
Hi,

I am looking for a Naim HDX assuming it can do what I want which is to copy my CDs and allow me to program a selection to play from multiple CDs. Does anyone know if they are reliable and why Naim stopped making them. I presently have a CDS3 and I have read that the reproduction on the HDX is just as good. Also, do any members know how much they sell for 2nd hand? Thanks Shaun
Click to expand...

I still use an HDX in a second system. I had it for 10 years with no problems and last year sent it to Naim for a service and new mech. Cost was c£400 so reasonable in Naim terms and good to go for a few more years.
I too had a CDS3 previously and the HDX with an XPS2 power supply sounds just as good.
You should be able to pick up a used HDX for c£1000 but perhaps factor in £400 for a service depending on age.Also make sure it is running the latest software, if not you can still get a CD update disk for free from Naim.
Not worth spending more than a £1000 IMHO but for that price not bad for a streamer/storer/ripper all in one including internet radio and still serviced by Naim.
 
I had an HDX for a while, and it served me very well. I'd say a CDS3 is better sounding (HDX was more like a CDX2), but I slowly added a 555PS and nDAC to mine to make it quite an impressive streaming hub.

However, if you're set on one, make sure it's SSD. You can rip direct to FLAC but the artwork is quite low-res by today's standards. I'm finding that I have to re-do the artwork on HDX-ripped stuff when I play it on my KDS3, just to make it prettier. Also make sure you back up your data to a remote store.

I wouldn't go that way now. As others have said, it's based on a PC, so pretty obsolete, so I wonder how long they'll be able to service them. You can easily do better by ripping on a PC using dBPoweramp, and you get a range of metadata providers too - the one that HDX uses (FreeDB? can't remember) does have limitations.

I do remember having a 'discussion' at a Naim presentation day where a young chap insisted that the Naim way of ripping was different, special and better than any other way. Hmmm.

If you're set on Naim, try a UnitiQute2 or similar. You can rip using your PC and store the files on a NAS, on which you can run a Upnp server like Asset.
 
I wouldn't touch an HDX. Although the case is good to work in :)

It so easy to create your own. For instance you can get a cheap dell or hp pc, SFF, with a dvd drive etc and install Daphile on it. This does accurate rips and can be a server too. Its amazing and free software based on LMS.
 
The modern equivalents of the HDX are, indeed, better but they are also much more expensive. You should be able to pick up a used HDX for under 2 grand (maybe even one)! The nice thing about the HDX is the all-in-one functionality. Just plug it into an amp and it does everything. Being close to 15 years old, the hard drives may be on their last legs but you should be able to get it updated for about 300-400 quid. I traded in my CDX2 for the HDX and never looked back. I'm not sure if it is as good as a CDS3 but for the convenience, I'd go for it.
 
Hi,

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts. Having spoken with a NAIM dealer in Sydney as well having read your comments I am leaning towards a Naim Uniti Core and DAC. Does anyone know if the quality of these units approached that of the CDS3?
 
sktn77a said:
The modern equivalents of the HDX are, indeed, better but they are also much more expensive. You should be able to pick up a used HDX for under 2 grand (maybe even one)! The nice thing about the HDX is the all-in-one functionality. Just plug it into an amp and it does everything. Being close to 15 years old, the hard drives may be on their last legs but you should be able to get it updated for about 300-400 quid. I traded in my CDX2 for the HDX and never looked back. I'm not sure if it is as good as a CDS3 but for the convenience, I'd go for it.
Click to expand...
I don’t think it would be too difficult to make an attractive equivalent for a lot less money, certainly as far as sound is concerned.
 
Am I right in thinking that the Naim HDX is just a CD ripper & NAS with a built-in DAC? Could it be also used to stream Qobuz for example, perhaps from another computer or with some kind of adapter?
 
Shaun555 said:
I am leaning towards a Naim Uniti Core and DAC
Click to expand...

That would be a very good syste, (using the NAIM DAC). Connected to a NAIM system would give you pretty much what the HDX has (except internal backup).

The HDX is a music server with additional features. It can rip, store (like an internal-only NAS), serve, and has a pretty decent DAC. It isn't a full function streamer so I don't know if it would stream Qobuz, Tidal, etc. It can receive internet radio stations (Paradise, etc).
 
Avon said:
Am I right in thinking that the Naim HDX is just a CD ripper & NAS with a built-in DAC? Could it be also used to stream Qobuz for example, perhaps from another computer or with some kind of adapter?
Click to expand...

No.

And also do not touch one with a barge pole at this stage. The base system is based on Windows XP imbedded which should give you an idea of its vintage, ddr2 ram etc. Unless you can pick one up for the price of a similar PC of this vintage then look elsewhere.
 
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