When Naim Audio released its highly acclaimed and widely lauded (full-width casework) DAC in 2010, the one facility that appeared to be missing was any means of making a computer through USB connection. The design had USB ports but these would not connect to a PC output, only to a disk drive or memory stick. Naim’s second venture into DAC territory with the less expensive (half-width) DAC-V1 gives laptop/computer music lovers no such cause for complaint or concern. The new DAC is an asynchronous USB converter with multiple digital S/PDIF inputs, a precision volume control and a high-quality headphone amplifier.
While the DAC-V1 is perfectly suited to being positioned on a desk near a computer it is also highly versatile and can integrate seamlessly into a traditional hi-fi system or be used with any two-channel audio source such as a games console, satellite box or any other device with a digital output through one of its five S/PDIF inputs. The DAC-V1, says Naim, can also be combined with the Naim UnitiServe hard disk music server and its matching power amplifier, the 50W (into 8 ohms) NAP 100, which will drive a wide range of demanding loudspeakers, says Naim, to create a compact high-end music system.
As well as providing preamplifier outputs the DAC-V1 will also drive your headphones through its internal Class A headphone amplifier and 6.35mm socket, which is so much more convenient and sensible than the usual frail mini-jack connection on most contemporary DACs. The headphone amplifier uses the preamplifier output amplifier to drive the headphones. Once headphones are plugged in, the output current drive is automatically increased five times to provide dynamic drive for all headphone impedances. The amplifier runs from a high voltage power supply so has the ability to drive high impedance headphones with the voltage swing they require for an open and dynamic sound. The result is the audio stages are kept as simple and pure as possible for both normal and headphone modes. Class A’s legendary inefficiency – hence its facility for extremely hot running – hardly matters in a headphone amplifier but keeps distortion low, which is a vital consideration for any headphone listener.
The first experiment I tried with the DAC–V1 was hooking up a Logitech Squeezebox to it through the USB input using an Atlas Element USB cable. I say experiment because that is what it was: the Squeezebox – albeit a software-tweaked example – is an okay source. Nothing more. End of story. It is not the sort of device anyone with any sense would expect to work anything more than adequately connected through Naim Reference-class electronics driving Neat Ultimatum XL10 loudspeakers. To my great astonishment, it fared extraordinarily well. It sounded rather splendid, in fact, with a refined, informative sound as smooth and polished as a very smooth and polished thing. It might not have had the authority and tactile nature of a top-quality streamer but it was not so far removed as to make one feel uncomfortable. The music had the qualities and characteristics that one expects from Naim electronics: especially acute timing and natural dynamics, along with a sense of rhythmic get up and go, where appropriate.
I have long appreciated the timing qualities of Naim electronics and their tonal candour. This ebullient forthrightness lends itself to the wide variety of music to which I listen, revealing effortlessly the subtlety and chiaroscuro in the music of consummate, radical guitarists such as Joe Pass and modern jazz maestro, Bill Frisell. There is a wealth of technical stuff to enjoy in Frisell’s playing – the distinctive tone of his vintage guitars and amplifiers along with his motley collection of often budget – for a professional player – distortion, delay and loop pedals – but it is the masterful way he uses them that unfailingly brings a smile to your face; and that is what matters most.
In the early days of Naim Audio its sole focus seemed to be on extracting those emotional clues from recordings: this was something it did remarkably well. Those people who discredited the brand were swift to point out that this, along with “Pace, Rhythm and Timing” was all that the equipment could do (as though that were not enough to satisfy any music lover) and that it did not provide the dressy elements that, say, a Krell amplifier could furnish the listener with. Over the years Naim has – I doubt intentionally – addressed some of these considerations and the performance of my all-Naim-electronics feeding the awe-inspiring Neat Ultimatum XL10 loudspeaker system can deliver fine three-dimensional soundstage creation, startling dynamics, and vocal and instrumental texture and purity. This system fronted by the DAC-V1 certainly did not disappoint in any respect – it was effortlessly musical and communicative, and it also delivered all the cosmetic aspects one would rightfully expect from an ‘American’ sort of system. One would have to say though that it did not have the euphony or warmth of some of the valve driven systems to be heard at High-End shows or in dealerships but that is no great loss for any listener who appreciates genuine openness and honesty in his music.
Human involvement in the music was so obviously appreciable with this DAC: outstandingly so when a top quality source was employed – the Naim HDX SSD used as a streamer being a case in point here, sounding little short of stupendous. The system’s uncanny timing ability played a huge part here demonstrating adroitly the slightly less than perfect timing and phrasing that real people – as opposed to electronic sequencers – produce.
That having been said, the DAC-V1 is not merciless: for example, it made YouTube videos on my laptop PC sound more than half-way decent and so made those low-rent videos far more entertaining than they would be using the inbuilt computer audio system.Ultimately, there is often a vast chasm separating great hi-fi from equipment that plays music with the emotion that the composer intended the listener to appreciate. The DAC-V1 most thankfully sits on the latter side of yet comfortably also straddles that divide…
The partnering amplifier for the DAC is called the NAP 100 and is housed in a desk-top-convenient, half-width Naim enclosure. I imagine it takes the place of the earlier, similarly proportioned NAP 90, which was discontinued as the NAP 90 mk3 in 2000, in the amplifier hierarchy. The NAP 100 delivers 50 Watts per channel into eight Ohms, and 75 Watts per channel into four Ohms. This is a dual mono design based on the circuit topology found in the SuperUniti ‘reference’ allin-one player/amplifier. This is one major strength of Naim’s20cm-width products: they are 100% beef rather than pallid vegetarian alternatives to the real thing. A quick look inside the casework will reveal the hefty mains transformer powering the usual regulated, over-specified, linear power supplies.
The connection between the DAC-V1 and the NAP 100 is the familiar to Naim owners, 4-pin to 4-pin DIN SNAIC cable, but if you wish to use the NAP 100 with another manufacturer’s pre-amplifier or DAC, there is also a pair of RCA phono inputs available.
The DAC-V1 is also relatively inexpensive by Naim standards, costing £1,250. However, it still offers the same DAC technology to be found within the NDX streamer. This uses Naim-written code in a SHARC ASDP, which means the DAC-V1 provides 16-times oversampling and up to 24-bit 384 kHz resolution through its asynchronous USB connection. The rest of the connections – BNC, RCA and TosLink – will deliver 24-bit 192 kHz resolution. There is a hefty linear regulated power supply with discrete mains transformer windings for the digital, analogue and DAC stages, and galvanic isolation to keep digital interference out of the analogue circuitry.
The NAP 100 is a classic interpretation of the traditional Naim power amplifier using discrete transistors in its topology and is fuelled by a muscular linear regulated power supply arrangement. Descended, says Naim, from the SuperUniti of 2011, the amplifier has that reassured conviction and security about its sound that characterises Naim’s designs of this century. I feel that the latest generation of Naim amplification can sometimes sound a little too smooth and polished in some systems and I find myself yearning for the sound of the ‘Chrome Bumper’ and ‘Olive’ models, whose presentation could be a little more ascetic.
That is fortunate because I sat down to listen to the NAP 100 without realising that I had left the DAC-V1 set to ‘fixed volume’, which meant I had no control over the volume without having to negotiate my way through the DAC-V1 menu to cancel that and return the remote volume control to its functioning status. The first rip I played was, of course, that restrained AC/DC ditty “Back In Black”. I do not know who was more surprised by the volume: my wife who was three rooms away in the office or me, sitting only a few metres from the loudspeakers. It was loud. Very loud. Even for me. And I like loud. Mind you it was more than simply deafening. The NAP 100 was doing a fine job of portraying the exquisite tone of Angus Young’s Gibson SG over-driving his Marshall 100-Watt Super Lead amplifier.
The same ‘ambidextrousness’ also emerged when playing both traditional and contemporary jazz. Art Pepper’s “You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To” – from 1957 – being a case in point. The music was presented in a wide, deep, well scaled sound stage and offered sublime instrumental separation with each instrument and player being brilliantly defined and clearly detailed. The low frequencies – the bass, drums, and piano seemed particularly well-handled in this respect with all of the band’s instrumentation enjoying a vivid tonality and texture. Leading edges of notes were especially well portrayed, as was the rest of the note envelope, which ensured that the band’s timing was resolutely crisp and precise. The interplay between the musicians was a joy to relish and this 24-bit 96 kHz rip from vinyl appeared to leave not a stone unturned in creating a near tangible listening experience.
Similarly, the NAP 100 gave an equally dramatic account of “Egg Radio” from guitarist Bill Frisell’s album Gone, Just Like A Train. The way the amplifier delicately conveyed the lush tone and texture of Frisell’s guitar convinced listenersthat here was an amplifier that had considerable subtlety and finesse. As before it offered wonderfully accurate noteshape information ensuring that not only were tone and texture accurately recreated but timing was equally precisely defined. This kind of performance meant that listeners were guaranteed to appreciate the unique skill and mastery of this truly innovative player and the good-natured humour – and guitarist in-jokes – he injects into much of his repertoire.
For my final run-through I transferred the DAC V1 and NAP 100 combo to my desktop and drove it from my UnitiQute UPnP streamer’s BNC coaxial digital output with the system completed by my shelf-mounted Neat Iota. I was most happy with the authorative way the NAP 100 drove the Iotas, which was no less than superb, even if it didn’t show the UnitiQute a clean set of heels. It truly brought out the full quota of skill and sparkle in Bill Frisell’s albums East/Westespecially the bass and drum driven timing of “Pipe Down”, which demonstrated a satisfying impulsive bounce.
The surprising thing was that the NAP 100 managed to make the tiny Iotas sound almost full range such was the appreciable power and solidity of Victor Krauss’ bass line that the 2.6 litre cabinets and diminutive, palm-of-my-hand-sized, bass-mid drivers managed to produce.
While I freely admit that I expected the DAC-V1 and NAP100 combination to be good I have to confess that I did not expect it to be quite as persuasive a performer as it turned out to be. Nor did I expect it to be as unfussy as this system was… my desktop is not the ideal environment for an audio system yet this combo worked amazingly fluently and certainly comfortably persuaded the Neat Iotas to venture closer towards the edge of their performance envelope.
Technical Specifications
DAC V1: 1 x USB 2.0, 1 x BNC, 2 x coaxial RCA,
2 x Toslink inputs
4-pin DIN and 2x RCA analogue line outputs
1/4in headphone output
24-bit/192 kHz (S/PDIF inputs), 24-bit/384 kHz (USB input)
Price: £1,250
NAP 100 power amp: 2 x 50 W into 8 ohm
29 dB voltage gain
4-pin DIN and 2 x RCA analogue line inputs
4 mm recessed speaker outputs
Price: £650
Manufactured by: Naim Audio
URL: www.naimaudio.com
Tel: +44(0)1722 426600
By Malcolm Steward
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