Upgrade from Naim Nova


Hi

I am looking at upgrading my front end from Naim Nova to one of the following;

Naim NDX2 with XPS DR and EtherRegen
DCS Bartok with EtherRegen
Brinkman Nyquist2 with EtherRegen
Lumin X1 with UniFi Switch8

I use Tidal HiFi/Masters as source

Any opinions great fully appreciated
Regards
rgmd11

128x128rgmd11
Thanks for the reply

For music listening along with the Nova I have ATC20ASL and a pair of Fathom 112v2’s with the CR1 crossover.

Had a Hegel 360 then Diablo 120 and finally Accuphase E470, not going down that route again, love Active speakers.

The Lumin does indeed sound interesting because of the total isolation if using a switch with Fiber, and I will get a home demo from my local dealer.

And more than likely I will also get from another dealer a home demo of the DCS Bartok which has had people raving, good point is that the DAC can be upgraded in the future, which is a great selling point besides the fact that DCS are creme de lê creme.

Would love a demo of the Brinkman Nyquist 2, but sadly no dealer in my country, maybe I will seek a dealer demo somewhere when on my constant travels abroad with my work.

regards
rgmd11




If I had the Nova I would look to trade it in towards an even higher quality integrated amplifier or separates. 

The Lumin X1 is really remarkable  streamer and you can use a switch which has optical ethernet output which will dramatically improve the performance of the X1.

The other thing is that Lumin makes a very nice matching amplifier which might also make a nice package.

What is the rest of your system? 

The Lumin is way more transparent and holographic then the Naim NDX combo, the Naim does have a nice warm full bodied sound however the new NDX is much less of the sound of the older Naim gear which isn't as transparent, but has more of the midrange bloom of yore.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ Lumin and Naim dealers
Hi chayro

Sadly there is no option to upgrade the Nova with one of the Naim separate psu’s.

regards
rgmd11
I don't think you'll find much info on Naim around here, but as an ex-believer, I think that before you do anything, you should try adding an external power supply if the Nova will accept it.  I remember adding the XPS to my CDX2 and it was transformed. Every aspect of the musical presentation was elevated to another level.  Good luck.