Naim HDX Audiophile Hard Disk Player—Now Shipping In The USA At $8,750 SRP

[The following is a release from NaimUSA]

September 19, 2008

NaimUSA, exclusive U.S. distributors of Naim music and home cinema equipment, are pleased to announce the immediate availability of Naim Audio’s new HDX audiophile hard disk player. Originally introduced at the Munich High-End Show in late April, the HDX delivers the performance of a Naim audiophile CD player combined with the convenience of an easy-to-operate music server. From the introduction of the Compact Disc format in the early 1980s, through the rise of inexpensive portable MP3 players in the 1990s and, now, hi-res music download services, digital music is ubiquitous–on spinning silver discs, laptop computers and the Internet, among others. What is required is a sensible way to enjoy all of these modes of access to music, with the ease of use and class-leading performance that Naim Compact Disc players deliver, with the ability to upgrade the capabilities and performance of the device as new technologies evolve. To that end–we present the HDX audiophile hard-disk player. The HDX shares much of its operating software with the NaimNet NS-series range of music servers for the custom integration market, with the ease of use provided by a front-panel touchscreen. A tray-loading drive with custom firmware allows secure, bit-perfect CD ripping (including copy-protected discs) to the internal 400GB hard drive (which can hold approximately 600 CDs in uncompressed WAV format). Aside from loading a CD into the tray, there is no end-user access to data on the select, audio-optimized internal drives, keeping the embedded operating system and locally-stored music/metadata fully secure from external attacks or viruses. Internal music and database storage is backed up to a second, identical internal hard disk which spins up only as necessary, to reduce thermal and noise effects. Compact Disc playback is also possible, by ripping the digital audio to hard disk in real time and streaming the PCM data to the audio outputs. Playback via this setting is seamless and includes the benefits of disc metadata and artwork (provided by AMG), which can be displayed on the various user interfaces (front-panel touchscreen, Web browser, or via the TV/VGA interface connection on the rear panel). An IR remote is also provided, making operation of the player as simple as loading a CD and pressing play! Additional storage can be added via USB (ideal for flash memory-based thumbdrives or portable music players, including Apple’s iPodTM), or, better still, network-attached storage [direct ripping to NAS storage pools supported with software update, Q4 2008]. In addition, the HDX can scan other network shares (including PC- and Mac-based personal computers utilizing Windows File Sharing or SMB/CIFS). Playback of non-DRMed WAV, MP3, AAC, FLAC and WMA files is currently supported with bit-depth / sample rates up to 24-bit/192 kHz [other file formats supported with subsequent software updates]. Internally, the HDX player contains separate power supplies (high-current switched-mode power supply for the server components, plus a high-quality linear power supply with toroidal transformer for the audio circuits). The performance of the audiophile-grade digital and analogue audio portions of the player can be upgraded with the addition of an XPS2 or 555PS external power supply, as with Naim’s Compact Disc player range, while one may simultaneously utilize a UPS battery backup for the server side, providing the utmost in both performance and reliability. A Naim-designed PCI card streams music to the local analogue outputs (DIN-5 180° and RCA phono connections are provided), while providing an identical but separate SPDIF stream to the coaxial and optical digital outputs, for use with an external DAC, eliminating the effects of interface jitter on the performance of the analogue outputs. Music management is provided by way of Naim’s Desktop Client application (Windows XP or Vista required, compatible with VMware Fusion running atop Mac OS X), which permits the user to access the server at a high-level, including editable disc metadata, playlist assembly, and general server maintenance. Lastly–and perhaps the most interesting as regards system upgradability–the HDX is also a StreamNet™-connected six-stream network music server. The HDX can stream 16-bit/44.1kHz WAV and MP3 files with perfect synchronization between zones, with full control and network compatibility with NaimNet and NetStreams’ DigiLinXTM IP-connected audio/video transport and control devices. This includes but is not limited to IP room amplifiers, touchpanels, media conversion devices, climate control and IP security cameras–all from the HDX’s dual-mode touchscreen (simply press a button to switch between local playback control and TouchLinXTM control of NaimNet / DigiLinX networks). The HDX is priced at $8,750 retail and is available now through our select network of authorized Naim two-channel retailers in the U.S.

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