Master Fidelity NADAC DAC and Clock

Davidny

Well-Known Member
Nov 29, 2014
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This should be very interesting and perhaps groundbreaking.
 
Unless mistaken pricing is around £22k/$26k no??
 

No that price is just for the clock I've just realised .Nice that they actually quote the unit's phase noise Typical Phase Noise 114 dBc @ 1 Hz;

That's a crazy amount of money for pretty average clock performance...

A Mutec Ref120 is what, 1/4 the cost for 120 dBc @ 1 Hz.

The actual dac is £30k/$35k I see. Yowzer.
 
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That price Bill referenced is for the Nadac DAC and Nadac Clock.
 
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Last weekend I was fortunate to have a fun listening session with Bill Parish, GTT Audio, in his big listening room (Vivid Giya G1 Spirit speakers, Audionet Heisenbergs and Stern, K-S Realization cables) and his new, but burned in, Master Fidelity NADAC DAC and clock. I’ve heard Bill’s system before, most recently with a Grimm MU1 & Tambaqui DAC.

As longtime audiophiles, we are all conditioned to dismiss the usual superlatives that accompany the latest new piece of gear. However I wanted to share my impressions because this DAC & clock IS extraordinary. We listened to a full range of music; violin and piano sonatas, duets, concertos and full orchestras, and some acoustic jazz. We finished up with the last movement of Beethoven’s 9th, a musically very dense piece of music which I’ve heard live a few times over the years and which no system i’ve heard could come close.
In summary, the newest recordings, in high resolution (DXD, DSD256) stored locally, sound like live music. That’s an achievement I did not think was possible. The following day I attended a cello & piano recital at Zankel (Carnegie) Hall which helped recalibrate my brain to the gold standard, live music. I still stand by my assessment of this DAC and clock.

There’s never a substitute for hearing for yourself and making one’s own decisions. But if you have the $’s and the inclination go to NJ to hear this for yourself. My name is on the waitlist.
 
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Last weekend I was fortunate to have a fun listening session with Bill Parish, GTT Audio, in his big listening room (Vivid Giya G1 Spirit speakers, Audionet Heisenbergs and Stern, K-S Realization cables) and his new, but burned in, Master Fidelity NADAC DAC and clock. I’ve heard Bill’s system before, most recently with a Grimm MU1 & Tambaqui DAC.

As longtime audiophiles, we are all conditioned to dismiss the usual superlatives that accompany the latest new piece of gear. However I wanted to share my impressions because this DAC & clock IS extraordinary. We listened to a full range of music; violin and piano sonatas, duets, concertos and full orchestras, and some acoustic jazz. We finished up with the last movement of Beethoven’s 9th, a musically very dense piece of music which I’ve heard live a few times over the years and which no system i’ve heard could come close.
In summary, the newest recordings, in high resolution (DXD, DSD256) stored locally, sound like live music. That’s an achievement I did not think was possible. The following day I attended a cello & piano recital at Zankel (Carnegie) Hall which helped recalibrate my brain to the gold standard, live music. I still stand by my assessment of this DAC and clock.

There’s never a substitute for hearing for yourself and making one’s own decisions. But if you have the $’s and the inclination go to NJ to hear this for yourself. My name is on the waitlist.
Just curious whether the MU1 was used as a server. If so, would you know if oversampling was used?

Regarding budget, do the two (DAC + clock) cost about $50k? And did you happen to hear just the DAC?
 
NADAC D & C is optimized for USB input, so upstream was an Auralic Aries G2.1 & Nucleus with external power supply. No Grimm. I suspect as Bill finds better upstream solutions the sound should improve further.
For optimal performance the DAC and Clock are necessary, so I didn’t think of listening to just the DAC. These are in such short supply that I believe Bill will only be selling the DAC & clock together for a while.
 
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The clock is easily bettered by something like a Mutec at far less cost so I'd go for the dac on it's own.
 
NADAC D & C is optimized for USB input, so upstream was an Auralic Aries G2.1 & Nucleus with external power supply. No Grimm. I suspect as Bill finds better upstream solutions the sound should improve further.
For optimal performance the DAC and Clock are necessary, so I didn’t think of listening to just the DAC. These are in such short supply that I believe Bill will only be selling the DAC & clock together for a while.
I assume this combo and the Lampi Horizon are in the same budget category. Would be interesting if someone compared the two. Of course, solid state is not the preferred choice for tube lovers (and probably vice versa). But if some owned neither and was seeking top level DACs, that might make for an interesting review.

And/or, comparison of NADAC combo with top solid state such as MSB, dCS and the like, which are pricier. In such company, the NADAC might be a best buy. Digital continues to evolve...

Congratulations on your new purchase!
 
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The clock is easily bettered by something like a Mutec at far less cost so I'd go for the dac on it's own.
Have you compared these? Has anyone? with the Nadac D? Very curious, Thanks!
 
Have you compared these? Has anyone? with the Nadac D? Very curious, Thanks!

What's to compare? The lower the phase noise at 1hz the better and -120 is considered state of the art. Their clock measures -114 according to themselves (and it's great that they report their own measurements, many don't ).
 

What's to compare? The lower the phase noise at 1hz the better and -120 is considered state of the art. Their clock measures -114 according to themselves (and it's great that they report their own measurements, many don't ).
That is interesting. Cosmetics can account for some of the price difference, but still a large delta.
 
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What's to compare? The lower the phase noise at 1hz the better and -120 is considered state of the art. Their clock measures -114 according to themselves (and it's great that they report their own measurements, many don't ).
What's to compare? I would say how it sounds. For me I listen first and then might check specs. Thanks!
 
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I recently visited Bill at GTT to hear his NADAC dac & clock but now with his new Vivid Moya’s. If you can get an appointment I highly recommend experiencing this. But warning, once you hear this system in Bill’s listening room you will be depressed upon returning home to listen to your own system.
The Spirits sounded great, but the Moya’s, which were still in the process of fully breaking in, in combination with the all of the other equipment in his system truly approximate live music. It’s not just being able to reproduce the dynamics of an 80 person orchestra with incredible precision. But for a solo or duet you can really appreciate the expressiveness of each musicians and their instrument. I’ve never hear this kind of nuance in any system before. If I wasn’t totally immersed in the performance, I was imagining where the recording engineer placed his microphones, or imagined that this is what the orchestra conductor must hear.

You should be incredulous to read such a description. But hearing for yourself is believing :)

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I recently visited Bill at GTT to hear his NADAC dac & clock but now with his new Vivid Moya’s.
What was upstream to the NADACs? The same as in your post #11?
Thx
 

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