Naim DAC-V1 Asynchronous USB DAC/Digital

The DAC-V1 is an asynchronous USB digital to analogue converter with multiple digital S/PDIF inputs, precision volume control and a high-quality headphone amplifier. It will produce stunning sound quality from your computer and transform it into a high-quality, high-resolution music hub.

Digital made musical

Connect the DAC-V1 to your PC, Mac or Laptop via a standard A to B USB cable and the quality of your music will be defined not by the limitations of the computer hardware, but by the quality of the data itself. And with DAC-V1 that can be incredibly high, up to 24bit/384kHz resolution.

Flexible yet powerful

While the DAC-V1 is perfectly suited to being positioned on a desk near a computer it is also highly versatile. It can integrate seamlessly into a traditional hi-fi system or be used with any two-channel digital audio source such as a games console, satellite box or any other device with a digital output via one of its five S/PDIF digital inputs. The DAC-V1 can also be combined with the Naim UnitiServe hard disc server and its matching power amplifier, the NAP 100, to create a compact high-end music system.

Connect to:

• PC/Mac/Laptop – Make the most of music from your computer via asynchronous USB
• Hard disk player – Create a compact yet powerful hi-fi system by combining DAC-V1 with the NAP 100 and UnitiServe 
• Games Console – Immerse yourself in games and multi-media sound from your favourite console 
• CD Player – Take over preamplifier and DAC duties for your CD player and give extra connectivity 
• DVD Player – Play sound from your movies, documetaries, live concerts and more 
• Satellite TV Receiver – Improve the sound quality of your TV or set top box
• Speakers – the 50W (into 8 ohms) NAP 100 power amp will drive a wide range of demanding loudspeakers 
• Headphones – play direct through your headphones from the front panel of the DAC-V1

Key features:

• High-speed asynchronous USB input up to 24bit/384kHz
• 5 x S/PDIF inputs up to 24bit/192kHz (1 x BNC, 2 X RCA, 2 x TOSLINK)
• Selectable fixed or variable analogue outputs (DIN or RCA)
• Zero S/PDIF Jitter design in common with the original Naim DAC
• Naim custom designed Digital Filtering with 16 times oversampling
• SHARC ADSP21489 DSP for Digital Filtering and zero S/PDIF jitter
• Classic discrete Naim preamplifier gain stage topology with selected components
• High-quality Burr Brown PCM1791A DAC, in common with NDX and SuperUniti
• Single ended Class-A headphone amplifier. Front panel ¼ inch headphone output
• Optical isolation between digital and analogue sections
• Naim digitally controlled analogue volume control for performance and precision
• Linear power supply with 210VA transformer, windings for Digital, DAC and analogue stages
• Operates with computers running OSX, 10.7 and above, Windows XP, 7 and 8
• Floating or Chassis ground switch for optimum performance with any system
• Field upgradeable firmware
• OLED display for adjusting settings and checking incoming bit-rates
• Control via IR remote control or front panel controls
• DAC-V1 can control computer playback and volume
• Compact non-magnetic low-resonance chassis and sleeve
• British design and build

Asynchronous USB Explained

Digital audio isn’t just about the data – 0s and 1s – and ensuring that each sample value is accurately converted into a corresponding output voltage. Also vital to achieving the highest fidelity is ensuring that each successive sample is reproduced at a precise time interval from those around it. If that time interval varies – an effect known as jitter – then the output waveform will be distorted. To prevent this, the master clock that controls the process should, ideally, be placed right next to the digital to analogue converter circuitry, not remote from it. Asynchronous mode USB provides for this because it allows data to be ‘pulled’ from the source as required, whereas in other modes the data is ‘pushed’ down the interface under control of the far inferior and distant clock in the computer.

World class headphone amplifier

Naim has a long tradition of using discrete transistor, single ended Class-A amplifiers for all its pre-amplifier stages. This has now been extended to the headphone amplifier of the DAC-V1. The headphone amplifier cleverly uses the pre-amp output amplifier for headphone drive. The moment headphones are plugged in, the output current drive is automatically turned up five times to give dynamic drive for all headphone impedances. The amplifier runs from a high voltage power supply so has the ability to drive high impedance headphones with the voltage swing they require for open and dynamic sound. The result is the audio stages are kept as simple and pure as possible for both normal and headphone modes. Single ended Class-A is long known for its natural sound quality and exhibits zero crossover distortion. Its Achilles’ heel is that it is inefficient, for headphone drive this is not important so all the benefits can be exploited. Most headphone amplifiers are Class-AB, where the amplifiers output stage is in two halves; one pushing and one pulling. Here the two halves meet in the middle and can produce non-consonant distortion or distortions that do not occur naturally in music.