Question on DACs...........

I have a pair of Dali Ikon 7s which need very little power and I also have Maggie 1.6, which surprisingly enough I was running off the Naim Nait51 (50 w per channel) and they worked ok but light up much more with more power. Right now (last day or two) I have been considering the Simaudio i7 at 150w and it has had very good reviews. I have speakers outside the country and can get away with putting integrated into my bags but no way could I get away with heavy separates....and since discovering higher end audio the Ipod and Bose don't cut it any more these days (he he).

The Super Nait is a good bit better than the Nait 5i. Its not just a Nait 5i with a DAC. It has a different pre-amp section and power amp section. Every aspect of the sound is improved upon. I've heard them side by side (with and without the internal DAC being used), and its not a subtle difference. If the difference is worth it from a financial perspective is a personal thing.

I haven't heard the Cambridge CDP, so I have no comment on which will sound better. I'd guess the SuperNait's DAC, but because I'm a big fan of Naim's house sound and prefer it to Cambridge's. Not that I dislike Cambridge by any means.

The Nait XS is said to be the stripped down version of the Super Nait. It either has the same amp and pre-amp, or is very closely based on it. It doesn't have the DAC and other bells and whistles.

I never thought I'd see the day where Naim has a stripped down version of their own product with less bells and whistles!

Great info Kbarkamian - thankyou.

In TAS the review on the Cambridge Azur 840c ($1,500) the reviewer states that you would need to spend $6000 to get a CD player that sounds as good as this. It sounds great to me, but then again I have never had something to compare it to. If that really is the case the DAC in the Supernait may not sound so impressive to me. Well, I guess it is all the exploring and possible happy surprises that makes this a great hobby. I have compared the Nait5i with some expensive separates and it really does get you most of the way there at a fraction of the price - a truly great piece of gear for the price.

"In TAS the review on the Cambridge Azur 840c ($1,500) the reviewer states that you would need to spend $6000 to get a CD player that sounds as good as this."

I'd take that with a big grain of salt. I'm not bashing the CDP; I've never heard it. But I have a hard time believing that it would take $6k to better the 840c.

The SuperNait's DAC is excellent. If you have a dealer, you really should audition one. If not, you may want to look for a second hand one here that you can resell with little to no loss if its not worth it to you. SuperNaits rarely come up and don't last very long at all here.

Re the TAS review, in a subsequent edition he responded to reader criticism in the letters section. Harley reminded the readers that 'of course' he could only compare the Cambridge to players he had heard and he hadn't heard all of the players in that price category. I can't recall if he even mentioned enuf of them to give a person a point of comparison. Many readers thought he was just giving an advertiser a (unmerited, perhaps) boost. FWIW.