rainsoothe
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DAC match for NAIM Supernait/Supernait 2
shp
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Rainsoothe,

Did you ever get an answer to your questions? What did you decide to go with?

audiophile2000
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Good question. I’m actually in the market for a new DAC as well so can comment on a few of them. Basically looking to upgrade from my Simaudio 380D and so far have tried the Benchmark 2 and NAD M51 and have heard the Bryston and Resonance Labs DAC’s in the store. Both of which were good but plan on trying the Ayre Acoustics as the next candidate.

First off would be the SimAudio 380D since I’ve lived with it for over a year. It’s a great DAC but it has its strengths and shortcomings. To me the Simaudio’s biggest strength is musicality. It seems to add a certain warmth to songs and the only way to describe it is that it has a somewhat analog sounding. The DAC seems to excel at keeping things polite and relaxed while preserving a good bit of detail. With that said it wasn’t until I heard the Benchmark Dac 2 at home that I realized how much the Sim was leaving on the table so to speak. The Benchmark Dac 2 is the polar opposite of the sim in my opinion. It is highly reveling and on certain tracks had the best rendition I have heard in my system. But I found it a bit bright and for lesser recordings I found myself feeling fatigued when I was listening to it. Also should mention the imaging on the DAC was amazing, everything was extremely precise and it made the NAD and Sim sound smeared in comparison.

Switching over the NAD, it was a very good DAC and shared some of the presentation with the Sim. It tended to be more forward in its presentation compared to the sim but still preserved a good bit of warmth. Actually the NAD for the price is an amazing buy from what I was demoing.

With that said, I kept coming back to the sim. There was something strange with the NAD that I couldn’t put my finger on. I don’t want to say it sounded a bit more digital than the sim, but that’s the only way I could think to describe it. It could be it just didn’t blend well with my system

TBH I think any of the three DACs above could sound great, really just depends on what gear that follows. I’m going to try and demo the Ayre Acoustic DAC next and see how that performs as I’m really looking for something with the Benchmark’s detail but the warmth and fullness that the sim had.

Also anyone looking at buying DAC, The below is a good read. It does a good job explaining why DACs can sound different despite them all using similar chips. Add USB into the mix and the implementation and design can make a difference. (Ayre Acoustic also has a white paper on the below subject)
http://resonessencelabs.com/digital-filters/

Anyone else have additional experience with the above DACs / additional ones to recommend

shp
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I think we're roughly in the same market. I currently have a Naim CD player from ~2000 when Stereophile gave it a Class A rating. And I'm looking to transition to a computer/DAC combination.

You shouldn't underestimate your M1. It's Class B rated by Stereophile and MF's products are never slouches. Unless you have a real itch to get a new one (or a compelling reason to chase DSD), you maybe should get the SN/SN+, burn it in for a month, and see what you think before spending another $2k.

Of the music you list, I imagine only Pink Floyd will ever be released on DSD. But you can browse DSD download sites and see for yourself.

My Naim player is 14 years old (maybe even 15) and works flawlessly. I'd say the sonic signature is kind of soft though. Assuming Naim has maintained a similar house sound, consider if you want soft in the amp and soft in the DAC. It might say something that the dealership you visited hadn't paired an all Naim system.

As for trying at home, the Benchmark mentioned in the thread offers a 30-day in-home trial. And sites like AudioAdvisor sell NAD and offer the same policy.

I have not had a chance to trial the Benchmark yet (I travel a lot and finding that 30-day window can be tough). But I have heard the Chord. I would like a pre-amp feature (mostly for the remote) which the Chord doesn't have. But I heard it at a dealer in LA connected to a Chord amp and KEF Reference speakers. Playing Zeppelin's Going to California from How the West Was Won was completely magical. If I had the bucks I would have bought the whole setup on the spot.

rainsoothe
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hey, sorry I just vanished like that. If anyone is still reading this, my dealers made me an offer I couldn't refuse - basically they shaved 20% off everything, which meant that for the price of a SN2 + Martin Logan Motion 40 speakers I got the Naim Dac V1 for free. I'm loving the combo, it's detailed, warm and musical - exactly what I was looking for. When I listen to music on it it surprises me every time. Bass can be a little bit full sometimes because of my small flat and poor speaker positioning (because of dog and clumsy girlfriend :) ) but only with recordings that emphasise it (new-ish electronica stuff). But Porcupine Tree, Pink Floyd, Joe Cocker (Jamaica say you will), Elton John (Rocket man, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road) sound amazing.

Oh, and btw, for logistic reasons, when I bought them, I could only take the DAC home for a couple months before being able to bring in the rest of the system, and the improvement was huge imo. It really showed what the Rotel + B&Ws were actually capable of. Indeed, the Dac V1 is a fantastic source. Too bad it has no analogue inputs, because if it did, geting that + a power amp would be a no-brainer in that price category.

Anyway, thanks for your input everyone and goodluck.

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