Went to the Naim HDX Roadshow today in Leicester. They ran a demo of the unit firstly on its own and then adding in the different power supplies, which only act on the analogue stages of the unit. It was obviously passing through Naim amps and speakers.
The CD player section when used to play CD's without ripping is apparently equivalent to the entry level Naim CD players and this improves with the addition of the separate power supplies. There are two 600Gb hard-drives, one of which backs up the other overnight. Track data and album art is provided by the AMG and FreeDb databases.
The HDX was demonstrated on its own with an intricate acoustic guitar rock track. It was a little bright at the top end with the strings "fizzing" but still a detailed sound with good soundstaging.
The demonstrator then added in the XPS power supply and it really filled out the midrange and took the edge off the fizz. It was at this point that my wallet started to twitch.
The power supply was changed again to the 555PS which made even more of an improvement. For the money, you'd want it to.
The power cable was then changed to the Power-line and there was a subtle but audible difference. This was not done blind and I'd need to play with it on and off before I'd decide whether to keep it. The demonstrator was quite willing to accept that some people would not perceive that there was much or any difference (even said "Snakeoil!") and that it is a component that should be auditioned in the home environment.
There was also a demo of 24-bit files via the HDX, which was really impressive. FLAC also now works (read from my USB stick).
The GUI was good and easy to use and can be output to a VGA monitor or TV via composite or S-video. Naim apparently haven't made a decision about creating a tablet to control it themselves and the system was controlled by a Nokia tablet.
Didn't put any money down despite an impressive demonstration (unlike quite a few other punters). I'd like to go back and hear the HDX (+/- the power supplies) compared to a Linn Akurate DS and Klimax DS all going through a Leema Acoustics Tucana (which is what I own) and equivalent speakers (to what I own) using my own music to audition the systems. I really liked the HDX's sound, even more so with the additional power supplies, but would still like to hear them all back-to-back. I'm also interested to see what What Hi-fi make of it all!
Lead time is apparently 12 weeks. Unit is £4500.
Interestingly, there will be a Reference server in the next 18 months or so that Naim say will convert analogue sources (vinyl) into digital and store (with imperfections in the signal corrected out) so that wear and tear on the original vinyl can be reduced whilst maintaining the same sound quality.
The CD player section when used to play CD's without ripping is apparently equivalent to the entry level Naim CD players and this improves with the addition of the separate power supplies. There are two 600Gb hard-drives, one of which backs up the other overnight. Track data and album art is provided by the AMG and FreeDb databases.
The HDX was demonstrated on its own with an intricate acoustic guitar rock track. It was a little bright at the top end with the strings "fizzing" but still a detailed sound with good soundstaging.
The demonstrator then added in the XPS power supply and it really filled out the midrange and took the edge off the fizz. It was at this point that my wallet started to twitch.
The power supply was changed again to the 555PS which made even more of an improvement. For the money, you'd want it to.
The power cable was then changed to the Power-line and there was a subtle but audible difference. This was not done blind and I'd need to play with it on and off before I'd decide whether to keep it. The demonstrator was quite willing to accept that some people would not perceive that there was much or any difference (even said "Snakeoil!") and that it is a component that should be auditioned in the home environment.
There was also a demo of 24-bit files via the HDX, which was really impressive. FLAC also now works (read from my USB stick).
The GUI was good and easy to use and can be output to a VGA monitor or TV via composite or S-video. Naim apparently haven't made a decision about creating a tablet to control it themselves and the system was controlled by a Nokia tablet.
Didn't put any money down despite an impressive demonstration (unlike quite a few other punters). I'd like to go back and hear the HDX (+/- the power supplies) compared to a Linn Akurate DS and Klimax DS all going through a Leema Acoustics Tucana (which is what I own) and equivalent speakers (to what I own) using my own music to audition the systems. I really liked the HDX's sound, even more so with the additional power supplies, but would still like to hear them all back-to-back. I'm also interested to see what What Hi-fi make of it all!
Lead time is apparently 12 weeks. Unit is £4500.
Interestingly, there will be a Reference server in the next 18 months or so that Naim say will convert analogue sources (vinyl) into digital and store (with imperfections in the signal corrected out) so that wear and tear on the original vinyl can be reduced whilst maintaining the same sound quality.
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