Ed Selley
Hi-Fi Editor
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2003
- Messages
- 12,046
- Reaction score
- 5,503
- Points
- 3,078
- Age
- 43
I had the chance to audition four systems which were LINN Selekt DSM, Sim Audio Moon ACE, Naim NOVA and the NAD M10.
I had gone in with every intention to purchase the Naim Nova, however walked away with the NAD M10!
The BluOS app was easier to use and the tidal integration was excellent.
In my experience the sound quality the NAD was better. The system gripped the speakers better giving them a more controlled and tighter bass with a nicer open midrange/vocals.
If you have the time, would you expand on this? Your pros and cons for the various devices and how you rated their sounds, and also which speakers you listened with. At present you have done the group comparison test I would most like to read!
Sure, please bear in mind I'm no audiophile journalist, just a regular guy with a little disposable income to spend on gadgets.
LINN Selekt DSM with Katalyst DAC and AMP £6,750 Click here for video link
Really liked this system. The sound was beautifully detailed, with a lovely open soundstage great for vocals. Bass was good, but not as deep as I've experienced with the other systems. The app was very easy to use and set up. This system features a calibration tool called ‘Space Optimisation’, where the user can dial in the room measurements including windows, doors and speaker placement. It then runs the software to adjust the speakers as if the where position in their ideal placement.
Moon Audio Ace £2,850
I had high hopes for this system. Unfortunately paired with my speakers, I felt it wasn’t the best match. The amp also struggled at mid to higher volumes. Another strange thing that kept happening every time I would listen to the system was my ears would experience that trapped air in the ear feeling (like when you take off in a plane). The App didn’t feel as polished as the NAD, LINN or Naim. Build quality was very good. One of the features that attracted me to this system is the MQA decoding built in. I have tidal Hi-Fi which makes the most of this without having to go down the roon route.
Naim Nova £4,000
The presentation of the Naim was the most forward out of all the systems. Its midrange presentation was good and detailed but felt it was missing that deep scale bass from certain tracks from my demo playlist. The App was nice and easy to use and set up. From what I’ve been told the Uniti range will soon feature an HDMI input which should start shipping shortly. As mentioned I was set on purchasing this unit from my initial research. However, it wasn’t for me.
NAD M10 £2,199 Click here for video link
(laughing to my self) This was quite the “don’t knock me till you’ve tried me” moment. I didn’t even know such unit exists till I had a demo against the Naim Nova as it had just arrived on the day. From my initial experience on the ease of setting up the BluOS app and the way tidal integrated and works with the speed, I was very impressed. Then as I started to listen to the M10, I knew this was the one. The presentation just had this clean, crisp sound as if it was inky black and the bass was controlled yet deep when it needed to be. All in all thoroughly impressed to the point I’ve actually replaced my Cyrus 5 box system.
Very much appreciated and it's always good to get the layman's thoughts and opinions.
As much as I would love a Linn DSM in whichever configuration, I'm more in the Uniti Atom/NAD M10 bracket, the latter clearly intended to take the fight to the former, least of which it has HDMI as standard whereas it costs extra on the Naim. There is also the cost factor. If money is no object, then... But either of these two would still nuke my current system, which is of such shame and embarrassment I dare not name it. Which speakers do you have? Are you considering any changes here?
Very much appreciated and it's always good to get the layman's thoughts and opinions.
As much as I would love a Linn DSM in whichever configuration, I'm more in the Uniti Atom/NAD M10 bracket, the latter clearly intended to take the fight to the former, least of which it has HDMI as standard whereas it costs extra on the Naim. There is also the cost factor. If money is no object, then... But either of these two would still nuke my current system, which is of such shame and embarrassment I dare not name it. Which speakers do you have? Are you considering any changes here?
This became a factor too.... After the blind demo the guy at the store casually said "which did you prefer".... as I had no clue which system was first?... I enthusiastically said ... Yep the first one .... the Naim...
He then Laughed and said... I just saved you a few thousand pounds... The first System was the NAD M10..
The speakers I am using are Monitor Audio Platinum PL200II. They retail as £6,300 and M10 has no hesitation in driving them.
I'd like to add a cautionary note to this review. Since purchasing one of these units in early 2017, I have been the unhappy recipient of three replacements:
1. First unit was constantly disconnecting from the network meaning the control app was barely able to connect to the device.
2. The replacement caused a burned-out woofer in one of the connected speakers. The room filled with a dreadful acrid smoke. I never did find out why the Nova decided to send a blast of DC down the speaker cable.
3. The perspex logo bar on the front of the third Nova fell off. I then saw that it had been attached with double-sided sticky tape; not quite what you might expect in terms of fit and finish. A representative from the dealership fitted 'better quality' (apparently) tape and reattached the plastic strip. Then the proximity detector in the screen failed which meant I was unable to re-register to remote control after performing a factory reset.
4. I still have the fourth unit which seems to have a quirky personality. On two occasions it has developed an intermittent fault where short staccato bursts of severely distorted audio are heard and a warning appears on the screen concerning the amplifier developing an overcurrent situation. Switching off at the power socket and leaving it off for several hours has resolved this, but something is evidently amiss.
The screen that the reviewer loves so much cannot be turned off; meaning that if you like to listen in a darkened room, you will have a small bright rectangle of colored light with you at all times.
The sound quality is no better than what could be achieved with an inexpensive Shiit audio streamer and a modest integrated amp from Arcam.
Avoid.