NAD DAC2 Wireless DAC Review

NAD takes a product that majors in convenience and ups the performance

by Ed Selley
Hi-Fi Review

NAD DAC2 Wireless DAC Review
MSRP: £300.00

What is the NAD DAC2?

The effect that computers have had on audio in the last few years has been huge. Your laptop has gone from being something you whittled away a few hours playing Solitaire on, to a seriously capable audio front end in its own right. The other functions that we use computers for might be being slowly eroded by the tablet but the fact remains that even a fairly humble Windows machine is capable of handling high resolution files that are vastly superior to a standard CD sized file. USB offers a stable, customisable and universally supported format to get those files off the computer and into your hifi system.

This is all fine and dandy but if your computer isn’t anywhere near your hifi or has to be moved around or used at the same time you use it as an audio player, USB isn’t ideal. It works to five metres or more but not everyone wants a tripwire running across their lounge or listening room. Bluetooth and AirPlay solve this problem for compressed and CD quality files but won’t help you with high res audio. For many people, the answer is a USB transfer speed but without the cable.

NAD cracked at least part of this problem with the DAC1 launched in 2012. This single input device used a bespoke USB connection that allowed for a dongle to be attached to a PC or Mac that sent audio wirelessly to a receiver unit that could be connected to your audio system. The problem was only half solved though. Like Bluetooth and AirPlay, the DAC1 topped out at 16/48 which made it convenient but no good for high res. Now, logical to a fault, they have released the DAC2 which looks almost identical, works in the same fashion as the DAC1 but offers the ability to stream files up to 24/96. Does this new little grey box offer the best of both worlds?

NAD DAC2 Design

NAD DAC2
The DAC2 is clearly a descendent of the DAC1 and is a single input digital to analogue converter that broadly but not exactly fits into the category of USB DAC. The ‘not exactly’ proviso is down to the fact that there is no direct USB input on the main box of the DAC2. Instead you attach the supplied dongle to your computer and the DAC automatically makes the connection to it. Range is far in excess of the notional five metre maximum of a USB cable. NAD claims forty metres in line of sight (useful if you live in a hangar I guess) but in practice this translates to a real world ten to fifteen metres.

The dongle itself is a driverless type. Inserted into a PC, it simply makes use of the standard Windows WASAPI protocol which is presumably why the DAC2 tops out at 96kHz as this is the maximum sampling rate that this system can handle. There is no provision for an asynchronous driver or 192kHz transfer which will put some people off. It is important to remember that realistically, finding a huge reserve of 96kHz material is going to be unlikely any time soon and 192kHz is even scarcer. The DAC 2 has you covered to start experimenting with high res from your computer.

Internally, the DAC2 makes use of a Burr Brown delta sigma DAC that is 24/192 capable even if the DAC itself isn’t. The DAC2 makes use of upgraded op amps and other detail improvements in the pursuit of better sound quality. The same external 5v DC power supply is used as before which reduces the size of the unit and isn’t too bulky at the mains plug end either.
NAD DAC2
Like its predecessor though, it doesn’t have you covered to do anything else. With only the single dongle input, the NAD can’t help you with anything else. Connections are limited to the single internal input for the dongle, a pair of RCA analogue outputs and matching digital outputs to loop the signal through to a burlier DAC. In my experience, a large number of users only ever make use of a single input on their DAC so the NAD is not an outlier in this regard and you can pay considerably more for a single input DAC. It is also worth pointing out that the wireless connection is extremely stable. The DAC2 can’t be discovered by other devices and there is no audible interference on the signal even with plenty of other devices running. In the event that you do find some interference on your signal, you have the choice of three different channels to run the DAC2 on which would also presumably allow you to run more than one of them.
NAD DAC2
there is no audible interference on the signal even with plenty of other devices running.
NAD has been more imaginative in their design work in recent years with the Masters and VISO series showing elegance and flair in equal measure. The DAC2 however reminds us that NAD made their name with minimalist boxes finished in battleship grey. The DAC2 is the same size to the millimetre as the DAC1 and like the older model has a single LED that glows red in standby and blue when the dongle is plugged into a computer. The only problem with this arrangement is that with the DAC2 being able to accept different sampling rates other than 44.1kHz, there is no indication of the incoming rate on the unit.

The dongle has also changed from the older model and not entirely for the better. The new unit is fitted with a rubberised foot that means it stays put if placed on a flat and level surface but if you use it on the short supplied cable connected to a laptop placed amazingly enough on your lap, it tends to get lodged in places and move awkwardly compared to the flatter, lighter design of the older model. If you are using a desktop, it will work well though. The overall build quality of both components is good though and the receiver unit is compact enough to be slotted into small spaces.

NAD DAC2 Setup

The DAC 2 was installed in my AV system of Cambridge Audio 751R AV Receiver and 752BD Blu Ray player. It went through at the same time as the Focal Aria speakers that meant that most listening was done through the 926 floorstander. The digital output was tested into a DacMagic 100 to check the sample rate was correct. The dongle was connected to my Lenovo T530 ThinkPad running Windows 7. Playback software was mainly Foobar running lossless and high res FLAC but Spotify, Grooveshark and the AVForums podcast were also used as some of the test material.

NAD DAC2 Sound Quality

NAD DAC2
NAD equipment has historically demonstrated a presentation that is intended to be smooth, unforced but fundamentally accurate. The DAC1 managed to maintain this basic behaviour despite the change in how information was transmitted. Now in revised DAC2 form, NAD still hasn’t deviated from what it does best. If you heard the DAC1, you are unlikely to find the DAC2 is radically different - not hugely surprising given the commonality of parts - but there are some differences too.

The first is that if you play a CD derived FLAC file which is sampled at 16/44.1kHz, the DAC2 does not resample to 48kHz like the older DAC did and instead keeps the sample rate at the native point. The arguments over exactly what resampling (as distinct from upsampling) does to the signal are varied but the DAC2 simply sounds less processed when running with lossless FLAC. This also applies to compressed material such as Spotify and Grooveshark that also run natively at 44.1kHz.

This means that with a good lossless file like Dead can Dance’s Spiritchaser, the NAD is in its element. The wide soundstage in which unpronounceable instruments go about creating the Dead can Dance sound is well presented and everything sounds both tonally right and has the correct sense of scale to the performance. This combines neatly with the attributes that were present in the DAC1. There is not the slightest sense of harshness or aggression to the performance and even when you choose a more aggressive recording, the NAD stays refined and extremely civilised.
NAD DAC2
This makes the NAD a forgiving and flexible partner with a wide variety of music but at the same time perhaps not the most devastating display of high res audio. The 24/96kHz file of Muse’s The Second Law has the same control and scale that the 44.1kHz pieces have but there isn’t the leap in punch and sheer realism that this album has with some rival DAC’s. The way that the DAC2 goes about presenting all digital material does slightly overwhelm the ability of that material to demonstrate real differences. Part of this is down to the performance at frequency extremes. The NAD’s treatment of very deep basslines is slightly soft and the distinction between low notes is not as good as it could be and the top end, while smooth, is lacking some of the sharpness that makes a good recording really leap out.

This does make the DAC2 a product that still comes down slightly on the side of convenience rather than outright performance but with the bulk of people’s listening still containing little or no high res, this need not be a huge impediment. In many ways, the forgiving nature of the DAC2 is likely to win it more friends than some of the products that really sing with high res material. The DAC2 is tremendously easy to listen to for long periods and using it as a device that simply gets your computer talking to your hifi and presents whatever you throw at it in a very listenable fashion is possibly the most effective way to see it.

One interesting caveat to this is switching from using the NAD via the analogue outputs to the coaxial one into another DAC shows that it is a completely transparent wireless transfer device. With the NAD running into the digital input of a Naim ND5 XS, the performance is completely in keeping with the performance of the more expensive streamer and transfer at sampling rates up to 24/96kHz is seamless and extremely effective. Whether paying £300 for the NAD to do this more limited function makes any sense to you will really depend on your budget and the existing digital to analogue conversion you have to hand.

Conclusion

Pros

  • Extremely stable and convenient
  • Smooth and refined performance
  • Compact and solidly constructed

Cons

  • Only a single input
  • Doesn't always realise the full benefit of high res files.
  • No 24/192kHz support

NAD DAC2 Wireless DAC Review

The first and most important thing to point out about the DAC2 is that on a technical level, it does exactly what NAD set out to do. It builds on the positive attributes of the DAC1 and ensures you get a foolproof and utterly stable wireless connection between your computer and audio system. Unless you live in a giant house with a cellular signal tower on the roof, I can’t see you suffering from any form of dropout or interference. At the same time, the ability to play CD material at the correct sample rate and the support for high res gives the DAC2 more audiophile credentials than its predecessor.

These audiophile credentials are not quite as deep as they could be however. If you really want to give high res computer audio a fair crack of the whip, I would still encourage you to use a wired USB DAC or if wires really aren’t on the menu, have a look at UPnP streaming. The NAD is unable to handle the largest files and doesn’t always show what high res is truly capable of. Despite this, I do rather like it. The DAC2 might be best seen as a variation on the AirPlay theme, where all the audio on your computer is seamlessly made available on your Hi-Fi. When you also consider the total transparency afforded by using the digital output, you have a product that clever, convenient and usefully flexible which goes about making music in a way that is likely to win it plenty of friends.

Scores

Build Quality

.
.
8

Connectivity

.
.
.
.
6

Ease of Use

.
.
8

Features

.
.
.
7

Audio Performance

.
.
.
7

Value for Money

.
.
.
7

Verdict

.
.
.
7
7
AVForumsSCORE
OUT OF
10

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