Has anyone heard or tried the new Naim Dac?

I don't know if you're interested in just the Naim dac or not, but last weekend I spent 2 days in Seattle just listening to cd players and the one I liked the best was the Simaudio 300D dac for $1600. It was warm, rich, detailed, had excellent bass. I had listened to the McIntosh MCD500, Audio research CD8 and their new USB based dac, Ayre QB9, Naim dac, Meridian, Linn and a few others. The Simaudio was just what I was looking for and it was hooked up to a Wadia 170i transport with a ipod which completely surprised me. I really had no interest in listening to Simaudio products as I really don't like the looks of them and you also don't hear much about them, but I wanted to hear everything that I could in the 2 days that I was over there. It was playing through Dynaudio speakers, then I had them move it to another system that had Avalon speakers. Great sounding dac at a very reasonable price, includes USB, spdif, toslink connections and plays high resolution music. I don't know much about Itunes, I'm trying to find out if you can download high res. music from them. If not, I will just buy this dac and connect it to my windows computer.
Just thought I would mention it in case anybody is looking for a good computer based dac. Sandra

Sandra -

That's the first I've heard about the Simaudio DAC, apart from press releases. I'm glad you found one you like. Simaudio is a great company that makes bullet proof gear that sounds fantastic. Its too bad they don't get more mention.

Have you heard the Bryston BDA-1 DAC or BCD-1 CD player? How does the Simaudio 300D compare?

I heard the Naim DAC yesterday at my local dealer's. I didn't find any brightness personally. That doesn't mean I doubt what you or anyone else heard either. System matching, room acoustics, and tastes all have to be factored in.

iTunes only has compressed music avaiable for purchase. Not sure if it'll do hi-res from your own ripped discs or not. I use iTunes for my library. I rip everything in Apple Lossless and I can't hear a difference between them and CDs. I don't own any hi-res stuff, so no comment on that.

JR

Hi JR, I really wanted to listen to the Bryston cdp or dac but didn't run into any in Seattle. I was only there for 2 days and had to keep a close watch on my time.
I would like to hear the Naim dac with other equipment, it may sound completely different, although if you get on the Naim forums there are a few others that say the same thing I heard, somewhat digital sounding. I didn't hear anything digital about the Simaudio dac, it was smooth, warm, rich, with plenty of detail, just what I like.
I'm finding out that the ipod will not play high res. material, so it and the Wadia's out. I really don't listen with earbuds anyway, I don't think it's good for your hearing. I guess I'll just hook up the dac to my windows computer via USB, and if I really like the sound, will work on getting a pc with spdif coax. I talked to Simaudio today and that's what they recommend-coax. USB doesn't do high resolution, but apparently the Wadia/ipod doesn't either and it sounded very good.
What was the Naim dac hooked up to when you heard it, and what speakers?

Sandra,

Don't doubt your ears. Everyone listens for different things. Naim may very well be the most polarizing gear there is. People either love it or hate it. There's very little in between. Most everyone respects it though.

I really like Naim's presentation. I also like a livlier and more energetic presentation than many people do. To some ears that my be bright and/or grating. I like a touch of warmth, but not a lush, romantic like presentation. To me stuff like that seems too wram and slow. Everyone's got their preferences.

The Naim DAC was connected to Naim's top tier seperates, HDX server/hard disc player, and the new S600 speakers. I can't afford a single piece of that system. I wasn't auditioning it, it was playing when I stopped in for a different matter. Listened for about 5 minutes or so.

The Bryston DAC is a great DAC IMO. Probably the best one I've heard, not that I've heard a ton of them by any means. Its got a great balance of detail, smoothness, energy, and just about anything else most people look for. Its gotten a ton odf praise from everyone who's reviewed it, and for very good reason. To my ears, it was pretty much undistinguishable from their CD player, which has gotten even more coverage and praise.

Its a bit over my budget, but I could swing a Simaudio 300D if I saved up a bit more. Simaudio and Bryston have sounded very similar in the past. Simaudio has been a touch softer in the highs. I haven't heard the newest Simaudio gear, but its supposedly is a bit more pacey than it was, hence my interest.

Rega is rumored to be developing a DAC that'll sit between the Apollo (which I own and love) and the Saturn, according to a few guys on the Pink Fish forum. I'll wait for that before I buy anything, unless of course it comes out sometime this year.

Sorry if I'm rambling.

I just got the Naim DAC last week. Hooked it up to my HDX and 555 power supply - the sound is amazing. Very open, wide soundstage. Sounds considerably better than the HDX on its own. Highly recommended!