NAIM DAC - User manual

DAC: digital to analogue conversion by Naim
iPod
Connect an iPod (generation 5 models and above)
to play its stored music or music streamed from your
network via UPnP over Wi-Fi.
iPhone
Connect an iPhone to play its stored music or music
streamed from your network via UPnP over Wi-Fi.
Games console
Connect a games console digital audio output to play
games audio.
DVD player
Connect a DVD player digital output for stereo
playback of DVD-A discs.
PC
Connect a PC external sound card digital output to
play stored or network music.
Mac
Connect a Mac digital output to play its stored music or
music streamed from your network via UPnP over Wi-Fi.
Hard Disk player
Connect a hard disk player or music server to play
stored or network music.
CD player
Connect a CD player digital output to play CDs.
TV
Connect a TV digital output to play TV audio.
Satellite TV receiver
Connect a set-top-box satellite TV receiver digital
output to play satellite TV audio.
Streaming device
Connect a music streaming device to play multi-room
streamed music.
USB stick
Connect a USB memory stick to play stored standard
or high resolution music.
Everything comes together
Connect to DAC
If exceptional music making is the first hallmark of
the Naim DAC, the second is versatility.
Versatility comes thanks to S/PDIF inputs that can
accommodate either optical or coaxial formats
and USB inputs that can accommodate memory
sticks and iPod and iPhone models. It arises also
from the numerous Naim system upgrades that
the DAC makes possible. Simultaneously with its
introduction, the CDX2 and CD5 XS CD players
have gained S/PDIF outputs and can now benefit
significantly from use with the DAC.
With the addition of a DAC, existing preamplifiers
can be incorporated into digital audio systems.
The Naim DAC can be controlled by a Naim
preamplifier remote control, seamlessly integrating
analogue and digital inputs across the two
units. The DAC becomes an extension of the
preamplifier. And when a USB stick, iPod or
iPhone is docked, the DAC front panel input
buttons transform to operate as playback controls.
NAIM AUDIO LIMITED


www.naimaudio.com
AUDIO OUTPUTS
Audio Outputs: 2 (RCA and DIN, selectable)
 2.2V RMS
Frequency Response:
THD: <0.002%
INPUTS
Digital Inputs: )
USB: front and rear panel - the front overrides the rear

IR Input: front and rear panel
IR Output: rear panel socket
FORMATS
Audio files supported: 

USB: 
S/PDIF: 
iPod, iPhone: 

Supply Voltage: 
Power Consumption:

Dimensions (mm):
Weight:
Colour: black
Finish: anodised fascia, painted cover
Specification
“Made for iP od” means that an ele ctronic accessor y has been designe d to connect specifi cally to iPod and has b een certified by th e developer to meet A pple performan ce standards. “Wor ks with iPhone” mean s that
an electro nic accessor y has been design ed to connect spe cifically to iPho ne and has been ce rtified by the dev eloper to meet App le performan ce standards. Ap ple is not respons ible for the operat ion of this device o r its
complia nce with safety a nd regulatory sta ndards. iPod is a trad emark of Apple In c.,r egistered in the U.S. a nd other countrie s. iPhone is a tradem ark of Apple Inc.

Cables play a part in the Naim DAC experience.

and RCA Phono options, is the perfect conduit for
connection to the DAC from any digital source.

SHARC DSP Operates on the digital data to filter the out-of-band artifacts.

 DSP Handles USB, controls the DAC and
conditions the incoming USB data.
DATA RAM Buffers the incoming S/PDIF data stream ready for re-clocking by
the appropriate crystal oscillator.


iPod and iPhone models. The Naim DAC is
the world’s first Apple-Authenticated high-
end digital to analogue converter.




complimentary buffers.

Convert the current output of the
digital to analogue converters to
a voltage waveform ready
for analogue filtering.


electronics cannot leak into the analogue output stages.
Technology under the hood
Designing an external digital to analogue converter
capable of offering the exceptional musical performance
obligatory for a Naim product brings numerous
technical challenges. In particular, the S/PDIF interface
protocol for digital interconnection has significant
jitter and noise problems. Original solutions to these
problems had to be conceived and developed.
The Naim DAC has more in common with Naim CD
players than with conventional external digital to
analogue converters. It overcomes the jitter issues of
S/PDIF by reading the data into a “rotating” data RAM
buffer independently of its timing signal and reading it
out again clocked by one of ten extremely low noise,
fixed frequency crystal sine-wave oscillators. In terms
of system topology, the DAC’s rotating memory is
analogous to a rotating CD feeding raw data to be re-
clocked. The rate at which the memory fills and empties
is controlled by the DAC automatically selecting the
oscillator that matches the average incoming clock
frequency. The data entering the downstream digital
filtering and DAC chips is then completely isolated from
the incoming S/PDIF jitter.
Along with being a source of jitter, S/PDIF is a
potential source of RF noise. The Naim DAC
suppresses S/PDIF noise through electrical isolation
of its DSP front end from the digital to analogue

run from separate power supplies
The Naim DAC’s digital filtering is handled by a powerful
SHARC DSP chip running unique Naim authored code
to create an ultra high precision 40bit floating point filter.


Following the digital filter are the two mono Burr-Brown
digital to analogue converter chips, as used in the
CD555 CD player. Finally the Naim DAC features a very
high performance, low noise, and low distortion fully
discrete analogue output stage.
Ground breaking technology and digital audio engineering

is something else entirely. Startling in its clarity, arresting
in its detail, beguiling in its warmth and inspiring in its
rhythm, the Naim DAC seduces from the first note.
The nature of music delivery is changing fast. CD has
been joined by downloads, portable music players
are part of the landscape, computers are routinely
connected to hi-fi systems, and USB memory sticks are
used to store high resolution music files. So the Naim
DAC, our first stand-alone digital to analogue converter,
arrives at an exciting time in the narrative of high quality
music in the home. And listening to the DAC builds the
excitement yet more.
The Naim DAC marks a technical milestone comparable
to our first CD player, the CDS. The CDS demonstrated
that CD replay and lifelike music reproduction were not
mutually exclusive. Now, the Naim DAC demonstrates
that the jitter and noise that bedevil traditional external
digital to analogue converters can be overcome and a
new route to the real enjoyment of music opened.
The Naim DAC provides eight S/PDIF inputs, two
USB inputs, and is capable of handling audio data

It not only brings all the digital inputs together into
the analogue domain, but does so with a level of
performance that can compete with the finest from any
Naim CD player to provide unrivalled musical fulfillment

whether its source be an iPod, a CD or a high resolution
data file, is presented afresh, with more definition, more
insight, more warmth, and simply more of those hard-
to-define clues of rhythm, melody and emotion that
distinguish the real thing from pale imitation. The Naim
DAC is an advance that brings real music in the home
closer to reality than ever before.
Naim digital to analogue - for the converted
Upgrade Path
Upgrades are a fundame ntal element of the Naim philosophy. As well as providing a significant performanc e
upgrade for the CDX2 and CD5 XS CD players, a nd HDX hard disk player, the Naim DAC can itself be upgraded
by the addition of an XPS or 5 55 PS external power supply.
The essential ingredients

in its musical virtuosity, but it is not just the specifics
of each that is important, it is their organisation also.
The influence of signal path, the microphony of
circuit boards, the impact of track layout, the noise
contribution of components, the noise sensitivity of
others - each one is vital, and each one influences
every other.
The DAC signal path is fundamentally simple. The
SHARC DSP, operating as a filter, receives the data, then
over-samples and low-pass filters the data and feeds

the memory outputs data clocked by the oscillator. The
DAC chips turn digital into analogue current, and the I to
V converters turn current into voltage. The analogue low-
pass filter removes high frequency artifacts, and buffers
the signal for a preamplifier.

Multi-regulated and smoothed
power supply with separate
outputs for each element.
CHASSIS

chassis and machined-
from-solid fascia
provide the fundamental
structural rigidity
necessary for low
microphony.
DAC CHIPS

analogue converter chip as used in the CD555.

Re-clocks the data immediately before it enters the DAC
chips to remove any influence from the isolation circuits.

Crystal oscillators have lower signal correlated noise
and phase noise than voltage controlled clocks. The
DAC employs ten
separately tuned
oscillators.


multiple secondary
windings.

Six layer glass fiber PCBs
optimised for low microphony
and high speed data transfer.