Naim HDX Reference Music Player/Server, 2TB Storage

The world's first, performance-upgradeable, audiophile hard disk player HDX is first and foremost a music player. Like a conventional music storage device it reads audio data from a CD, copying and storing it to hard disk. That is where the convention ends though.

When a CD is inserted in the HDX disc drawer it is read repeatedly until a bit-perfect CD- quality copy of the audio is obtained. This is then stored onto the HDX's 2TB hard drive, which provides a capacity for over 2400 uncompressed albums. You can also save your downloads and music ripped prior to owning a Naim server to your HDX to create one easily accessible and editable store for your entire music collection.

The HDX gives you the option to automatically create duplicate versions of your ripped music and saves them to an allocated storage device. This makes the necessary process of backing up your music simple and pain-free. Thanks to an Internet connection, your HDX will automatically catalogue your CDs at artist, album and track level, enabling the simplest search and selection when you come to play your music, which of course is replayed with an utterly uncompromised sound quality.

HDX is IP-enabled and will connect to your home network to form the heart of an IP-enabled multi-room set up, allowing access to your HDX-stored music throughout your home.

The HDX provides access to tens of thousands of internet radio stations via a standard internet connection, allowing you to browse and discover great music, both new and old. Naim’s Choice, a menu highlighting high quality stations chosen for quality of sound and/or programming, provides instant and easy access to the highest quality streams.

HDX can be controlled remotely from the n-Serve app for iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch, which is available as a free download from the app store

HDX is also now available in a Solid State Drive (SSD) variant. HDX-SSD caters for the music lover with an extensive collection and is designed to save all ripped music to Network Attached Storage (NAS) enabling almost infinite storage capability.

Imagine your entire music collection available for immediate replay at the touch of a screen with Naim UK CD players sound quality. You don't have to imagine anymore; the HDX has arrived.

Features:

• Two variants: HDX or HDX-SSD
• HDX - 2TB Hard Drive
• HDX-SSD - 16GB Single Level Cell (SLC) Enterprise Drive
• Bit-perfect CD ripping to either 2TB internal storage drive (HDX only) or external network attached storage (NAS) drive (both HDX and HDX-SSD)
• Rip to WAV or FLAC
• Save downloads or pre-ripped music to the hard drive for easy access to entire music library
• Naim Extended Music Database - supports extended metadata to track-level resolution for intuitive browsing & selection
• Naim Network Scanning - will discover all playable music & metadata available on networked computers (PC & Mac)
• vTuner 5* full service internet radio service
• Optional automated back-up to NAS feature
• Naim UPnP Server - will serve audio streams to any UPnP rendering playback device, such as the NaimUniti or UnitiQute
• Ethernet network connectivity for reliability
• Front-panel USB port for replay of USB memory stick-stored audio
• Multiple intuitive control interfaces: Front panel touch screen / TV / Web / Desktop Client and iPhone / iPod Touch app
• Naim Desktop Client - for browsing music files, player setup and maintenance with a PC
• WAV, MP3, AAC, FLAC, AIFF, Windows Media-formatted content files and ALAC files played from any USB-connected storage device
• Native 24 bit/192kHz playback and internal architecture with support for hi-resolution audio formats. Plays WAV up to 24bit/192kHz, MP3 both vbr and fbr, FLAC up to 24bit/192kHz, AAC (m4a only), AIFF, ALAC, OGG Vorbis and Windows Media-formatted content files.
• CD replay with display of cover art, album and track data
• MP3 Shadow Encoding – create lower quality MP3 versions of your music for use on iPod/MP3 players
• Set share-scanning schedule – set your server to automatically search for new music on the network
• Stream internet radio over UPnP
• Performance upgradeable with additional of external XPS or 555 PS power supply and DAC digital to analogue converter
• StreamNet-enabled for NaimNet audiophile multi-room replay of up to six streams over a home network
• Separate toroidal transformer and linear power supply for audio circuits
• Naim-designed PCI audio and drivers with ultra-low jitter clocks
• S/PDIF Digital output on BNC or TosLink
• Seven pole analogue output filtering
• Composite, S-Video or VGA display output for screen or touchscreen
• Electrical isolation of data lines and clocks
• Ultra low noise triple-regulated power supplies
• Naim reference non-magnetic, low-resonance low microphony case
• Quiet in operation
• British design and build

Naim's audio experts have been working on the concept of a music storage device capable of audiophile-quality replay for some years. It was only when we were satisfied that we could deliver true Naim performance from hard disk, that we felt happy to introduce such a product bearing the Naim logo. Our uncompromising standards and adherence to Naim's legendary engineering principles, once again, ensured we delivered a music player that was going to stand up to the exacting standards of our audiophile customers.

HDX has been developed to combine the convenience of a digital music device with the performance of a true Naim source component. As with all Naim products, the HDX's award-winning performance results from achieving the optimum balance of electronic and mechanical engineering.

Audiophile playback electronics: HDX playback begins with a unique Naim-designed, multiple audio power supply PCI interface that feeds the audio data to the digital-to-analogue conversion stage. The HDX's playback electronics borrow heavily from the established Naim practices that produce the world's finest sounding CD players. They incorporate multi-regulated power supplies, Burr-Brown digital-to-analogue converters, ultra-low jitter re-clocking, seven pole analogue output filtering, and every last thing we know about maximizing musical sound quality. Even an optional external XPS or 555 PS power supply can be connected for even greater musical performance.

Simple and bit-perfect CD ripping

Ripping CDs with an HDX could not be simpler. Open the CD drawer, insert the CD and in a few minutes you have a bit-perfect copy. You can make bit-perfect rips of around 2400 CDs to the HDX and low cost overflow storage for up to 20,000 albums can be fully supported on your home network. A solid-state drive variant, the HDX-SSD, is available for those who wish to opt out of internal storage, preferring to rip to network-attached storage only. The technology of ripping is anything but simple, however. To achieve its bit-perfect copy of the CD data the HDX employs some of the most advanced data reading and error analysis algorithms ever deployed in the pursuit of sound quality. They are unique to Naim, too.

Your music collection is automatically catalogued and in one place

Browsing your music collection with HDX is a breeze. No more peering at shelves of jewel cases and promising that they'll be in alphabetical order one day. Each CD ripped by the HDX is automatically catalogued through enquiry to an on-line database and its data added to the internal library.

Simplified music search and selection

Searching for music is not limited to albums and tracks. Want to search by composer, performer, artist, or orchestra? Go ahead. Can't remember the name of the Chris Squire album you ripped that Mel Collins played sax on? The Naim Extended Music database, with the power of AMG at its heart will find it for you. Remember the smallest detail and all your music is there at the touch of a screen. And by the way, the Chris Squire album was Fish Out Of Water.

Controllable from your PC

With an HDX connected to a home network you don't have to be in the same room to browse your music library. The Naim Desktop Client is a Windows PC application that can control your HDX, browse its music files and handle player setup and maintenance easily and intuitively.

A choice of user interfaces

The HDX incorporates a front panel touch screen that offers all the control you'll need. But perhaps you fancy controlling the HDX from the listening position? Well, connect a small display screen, or even your television, and you can operate the HDX with its remote handset. Or perhaps you want to run the HDX wirelessly from your laptop? Easy; use either the Desktop Client application or a web browser. There's a USB touch-screen option too. You can also use the free to download n-Serve app for iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch.

IP-enabled for multi-room replay

As well as a stand-alone hard-disk music player, the HDX can be used as a music server that can provide up to six different streams of music simultaneously over a home network. Install an HDX and you've installed the heart of a multi-room audio system too. To find out more about Naim's multi-room system NaimNet, visit www.naimnet.com.

Design features overview

• Independent and separately grounded multi-regulated power supplies for analogue and digital stages.
• Burr-Brown PCM1791A digital to analogue converter
• Naim-designed PCI audio and drivers with ultra-low jitter clocks
• A seven-pole analogue output filtering using Burr Brown OPA604 op amps
• Custom designed monolithic air core transformer isolated analogue output stages
• Separate toroidal transformer and linear power supply for audio circuits Electrical isolation of data lines and clocks
• Ultra low noise triple-regulated power supplies
• Naim reference non-magnetic, low-resonance low microphony case