NEWS: Naim's 400GB audiophile music player
This is Naim’s new HDX, launched today at the Munich High End Show and described as ‘the world’s first upgradable audiophile hard disk player.’
The £4500 unit, which will go into the shops in August, uses twin 400GB hard drives, one acting as a back-up for the other, and can be upgraded with the use of Naim’s XPS or PS555 external power supplies.
The HDX is said to deliver ‘the performance of a Naim audiophile CD player with the convenience of a good MP3 player’. It rips CDs at fuil .wav resolution – 16-bit 44.1kHz – and, via a combination of the right drives, no caching, reading the disc at least twice and taking into account errors, gives an accurate bit-for-bit rip of the disc.
The data is stored on one of the two 400GB drives, which is backed up overnight onto the second drive. The HDX can also work with external USB drives or Network Attached Storage devices, and has a database system tested for up to 20,000 CDs.
The Naim Extended Music Database system will find disc details and cover art, and allows searching via a number of parameters including title, artist, composer and so on.
In addition, the unit can store non-DRM downloads of 24-bit/88kHz and 24-bit 96kHz, with Naim’s own record label planning to join the ranks of sites offering such downloads later this year.
The HDX can also play music from a network or from an MP3 player connected to one of its USB sockets, and can also stream to up to six StreamNet devices on a network. It can be controlled via the front-panel touchscreen or the remote handset, or using a monitor or mouse.
It uses a toroidal transformer for the audio section, which is built to Naim’s usual high standards, and can double as a CD player thanks to the built-in drive.
- Andrew Everard's blog
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Comments
Wow!
Does it operate quietly ? and can you get one for £1000, (eventually) ?
If so this is the future of Hifi.
jules.
Not sure what market they're aiming at, considering you could build a PC which is capable of far more for a fraction of a price.
Or, for the impatient, you could buy a NAS and a device capable of streaming and decoding FLAC.
i understand the attraction to a hdd solution separate from the home pc, but this doesnt seem to do anything a home pc can't do, and backing up to an internal drive...call me paranoid...but its not exactly belt 'n' braces stuff is it...?
Want one.
No, I really, really want one.
Are they giving out any freebies?
If it sounds as good as CD - or better - with higher bit / sample rate audio, then this must be the future of hifi. The question is when; CD is the only viable format to buy a wide range of music for hifi playback.
Could be worth the money depending on how well it plays CDs. Knowing Naim it won't just be an afterthought!
I think it looks like a nice product but as per usual Naim appears to be poor value for money. A very limited 400GB of storage is the obvious flaw and back-up internally doesn't seem the best solution. Personally I reckon that a 1TB NAS, a nicer interface (Sonos) and a DAC of comparable quality to the Naim (anything), will come in at under half of the price. Naim do not have the economies of scale and expertise of computing companies, so leave the HD and the software to those companies, and buy a DAC from a HiFi or pro audio brand. My opinion is that something AVI ADM9 are a better approach in terms of a HiFi company embracing computer audio because that leaves the software and HDs to computing brands and is therefore much better value for money.
I think I might detect a slight anti-Naim bias there, darrenwm1
Andrew, I used to own a Naim CD and integrated combo and it was good fun. I won't pretend though that it was accurate or value for money.
Looks like all the posts are anti-naim to me, at least as far as this product is concerned.
Times have changed, many hifi enthusiasts see the benefit in digital libraries and computers, and are no longer gullible about value for money.
Old naim stuff is still popular on the s/h market but it doesn't do digital very well, and new naim stuff seems to be for people who don't care about performance or value for money. And car radio's, what's that all about ?
Is Naim being prepared for a "brand-name & company sale" to China or Russia or India ?
There is no evidence whatsoever to suggest what you imply, jcbrum. But then I suspect your final sentence is just mischief-making...
I'm not implying anything. My comment is straightforward and plain to understand, It's fair comment, and a reasonable question.
I thought you might be in a position to know the answer.
Sorry if I annoyed you.
Not annoyance, just it seemed a leading question. Now you've explained it, I can see it was an entirely reasonable and innocent enquiry.
From the conversations I had at the Munich show, it would seem that no such sale is being planned.
Not that I asked the question directly, but then I had no reason to, not seeing anything in what Naim is doing to suggest such a move may be in the offing.
There are other companies a lot more likely to go that way before anything like that would threaten Naim, IMHO - and, no, I'm not going to name any names...
quote= Andrew Everard. " From the conversations I had at the Munich show, it would seem that no such sale is being planned."
Hmmm ........ Well they would say that wouldn't they.
Anyway it looks like a lemon to me, be careful when you review it to make a proper comparison with something like a MacBook and digital speakers.
Hiya Andrew,
I am sure you will review the HDX in whatever manner you think is right. I work as a journalist and that is what I do.
I am aware of jcbrum from another email loop. He loves to throw his weight around and put down anything to do with Naim.
Give him a minute and he will try and talk you into buying a specific make of speakers.
I got so bored on the other email loop that I put him on the ignore list.
Oh yeah, car radios is about Bentley using Naim. That is what it is about, just in case you had forgotten jcbrum.
I look forward to reading your review.
quote=jcbrum "Hmmm ........ Well they would say that wouldn't they." unquote
Still not implying anything, then...?
But thanks for the pointers on how to do the review - I shall bear them in mind.
Jack Barron
Thanks for the heads-up - yes, i was aware of his body of work elsewhere, which was why I commented on the implications in his previous postings.
Can't imagine which brand of speakers he'll be telling me to buy, though - given the fact he mentions digital speakers perhaps he means Meridian?
Yes but can a 'Macbook' play 24bit/96kHz files?
jules.
Yes the MacBook can. (Source: support.apple.com/.../HT1562). And they start from £699 IIRC.
Looks good. Let the comparisons begin!
jules.