Dali Ikon 6 MK2 with NAD 356BEE and Denon 720AE CD Player

Miany

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Current setup - Dali Ikon 6 MK2 with NAD 356BEE and Denon 720AE CD Player

Music genres - Vocal, Country, Jazz, Blues and indian film songs.

Lately, though the mids and highs are good in the system, i feel something missing in the bass section. I am not much of a bass-addict either. Agree that Dalis are not known for an heavy bass sound and i really like the tonal quality of the speakers.

What do you guys think my upgrade should be if i am to get a much fuller sound, especially for the low end notes? Should i retain the amp and cd player and change the speakers? Or should i change the cd player and amp? or should i change the entire setup and go for a new cdp + amp + speaker combination.

I can spend close to 1.5 lakhs for the upgrade without selling off any existing items. Please advise.

Thanks,
Miany
 
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adding a power amp will help considerably. that was my experience. My earlier speakers were Dali Ikon 6

regards
 
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Any idea on how audiolab pairs with Dali? I am considering 8200 CDQ + 8200P Power Amp for Dali Ikons. Will this help?
 
One more doubt. I tried using the MDC DAC that came as part of NAD 356BEE AMP. It sounded better (especially in the lower notes) when compared to the Denon 720AE CD Player. But its having a popping/clipping noise at regular intervals while using USB through PC. Anyone experiencing similar issue?
 
One more doubt. I tried using the MDC DAC that came as part of NAD 356BEE AMP. It sounded better (especially in the lower notes) when compared to the Denon 720AE CD Player. But its having a popping/clipping noise at regular intervals while using USB through PC. Anyone experiencing similar issue?

How are you playing it from PC? Any dedicated player like Foobar or JRiver etc then give the exclusive control to the 356 DAC as sometimes the clicking noise comes because of using the default Windows based sound device.
 
I am using foobar and set the audio output to "NAD USB AUDIO".

I hope you would have already done the settings of giving exclusive control of the NAD USB Audio device under sound settings - Advanced properties section.
 
Thanks for the input. I think i have not done this setting. Let me try that and see if the noise is going away. BTW, here is a link on the same problem reported in internet.

link
 
I hope you would have already done the settings of giving exclusive control of the NAD USB Audio device under sound settings - Advanced properties section.

I have made this setting. But still the popping/clipping sound was being heard. When i increased the "buffer length" in foobar settings and set the output to "24bit", the issue seems to be disappearing. Could not spend too much time today morning. Will spend some more time and confirm by monday morning. Anyway, thanks for the input :).
 
Hello.
I haven't tried that amp combo, so can't comment on that.
However, If you want to upgrade speakers, I would consider the Monitor Audio Silver 6 or 8.
The Silver 6 should be well within your budget. But if you're willing to spend a little more, then the Silver 8 is a significant upgrade.
I had auditioned the Dali Ikon 6. I thought the both the Silver 6 and 8 had better bass and I generally prefered then to the Dali.
But I would suggest you go and audition them yourself. Each person's taste varies, as you no doubt know.
 
I have made this setting. But still the popping/clipping sound was being heard. When i increased the "buffer length" in foobar settings and set the output to "24bit", the issue seems to be disappearing. Could not spend too much time today morning. Will spend some more time and confirm by monday morning. Anyway, thanks for the input :).

The popping/clipping sound is still heard. Dont know what could be the problem. I have the latest versions of the NAD drivers as well. Details on the entire setup is given below.

OS - Windows 8
Player - Foobar with Audio output set to NAD USB AUDIO
NAD USB device made the default playback player as well.
Foobar buffer length set to the maximum.

Any inputs?
 
The popping/clipping sound is still heard.
Any inputs?

Have you tried a different USB cable to connect your PC to DAC, you could also try connecting the cable on a different USB port, preferably which is on-board (avoid even the extension ports used internally)

Coming to your initial query - before you could plan on any upgrade route. you have a good amp & pair of speaker. Just want you to try the following, which would add up a lot (its purely what Ive learnt from the trials with my setup)

1. Speaker connection - connect your wire to the LF terminal mentioned on the speaker.
2. Speaker wire - cables do make a difference, Ive tried 2 cables so far and there was a lot of difference.
3. speaker positioning - I bought my speaker only when I was convinced at the dealers place, but after setting it up at home - it was bright and the bass being cornered to one side of the room. I was able to bring down brightness with the cable selection, for the bass issue - I'm able to get 60% of what I auditioned, still working on it. trying placing solid objects, preferably side drawers about a feet away on the outer sides of the speakers, let there be no intrusions inbetween the speakers. play some bass heavy music and move around your room, you would notice places with higher peaks of bass, the sweet spot is never the right spot for bass in a normal room (my personal observation).

What Ive really come to know after I bought my setup is - be it stereo/ HT you've got to have a dedicated room and has to be acoustically done up to enjoy the money spent on the equipment.

Wishing you luck!
Cheers,
Kannan
 
Have you tried a different USB cable to connect your PC to DAC, you could also try connecting the cable on a different USB port, preferably which is on-board (avoid even the extension ports used internally)

Tried using different USB cable and different ports. Tried with 2 laptops - One with windows XP and one with Windows 8. Still the issue is observed. I have not used any extension ports as well.

What could be wrong? I have already seen this issue posted in the internet. But no solution has been given so far. I have been in touch with the NAD customer support. Though they have responded with some suggestions, it did not help.

Any other thoughts/inputs?
 
If possible borrow a USB DAC from a friend and if the problem exists then the computer is not giving clean signal. If it works well then the DAC on the NAD is not grounded well.
Based on all what uve tried I feel the DAC on the NAD needs to be checked.
 
Got a chance to listen to Naim nait 5si. What an amplifier..absolutely stunning.. the setup was dynaudio xcite x32 with a creek CD player. We just removed the arcam amp in place and plugged in naim..listened to tannoy revolution also with naim and same CD player. I liked the dynaudio chain a bit more...don't know how naim will sound with Dali.. but I think it will be a definite upgrade over NAD...
 
Purchase the Audiolab 6000A Integrated Amplifier at a special offer price.
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