NAD M10 V2 questions for Roon user

Audio Gear Talk
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I have been thinking about how to add Dirac Live to my current setup.

Instead of going the “miniDSP SHD + Amp + HDMI IN Pre-amp” route, for an additional ~$1000 I could get the NAD M10 V2 with these benefits:

  1. Small form factor, no clutter
  2. Dirac Built-in
  3. HDMI built-in
  4. Touchscreen
  5. Smart Assistants
  6. Support Dolby Digital up to 4.1

However, there are some concerns:

  1. Why is it listed as “Roon Ready” instead of “Roon Tested” on this Partners page. Only NAD M32 and M33 are “Roon Tested”

  2. Owners of M10 V1 posted about about the lack of USB input for Roon which has been solved by V2’s inclusion of USB A port. But has anyone tested Roon’s direct USB connection between a Mac (I have Mac Studio) and M10 V2?

  3. Right now, Roon can send DSD via PCM (DoP) to my SMSL DO200 DAC via the USB connection from my Mac Studio (I plan on getting a RP4 later to get native DSD). But M10 V2 DSD functionality seems to be worse as it states on the product page: “Supports converted DSD playback via the BluOS desktop app.” Does this mean I cannot play any DSD files to M10 V2 from Roon? (I really don’t want to use their BlueOS desktop app)

  4. How is MQA unfolding being handled by Roon + M10 V2 combination over ethernet? Any concerns here?

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As it’s roon ready best to plug into the network not via USB. Roon ready trumps roon tested.

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USB A is irrelevant to Roon. It is not a USB audio input; it is a USB storage connection.

Dirac (or any other room correction) and DSD are mutually exclusive. They are not compatible. Choose one or the other.

AJ

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There is no usb audio input on any NAD devices they don’t seem to support it.

Roon Ready means the device receives input from Roon over the network and is the best method for using Roon on any device. The M33 is Roon Ready as is M32 they are Roon tested using the digital inputs and AirPlay but they don’t have usb audio input either as said NAD don’t support it. They added Roon later to these devices so at first they where purely Roon tested. The M10 had Roon from the off solikely wasn’t tested using the other inputs hence why it’s not listed it doesn’t mean it won’t work it’s just not been tested by Roons teams but it’s fully Roon Ready and that’s what matters.
NAD don’t support native DSD in their architecture for the DAC or in BluOS so it’s not supported period. You can still play them they just get converted to PCM either by Roon or BluOS. To apply any DSP to DSD itwould require it to be converted to PCM anyway you can’t perform it on DSD signal itself.

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Thanks for this clarification to help out a new Roon user. Much appreciated.

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Thanks for your clear, detailed and non-judgemental technical information in response to questions from a new Roon user like me. Much appreciated. Thumbs up. :+1:

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Not for the M10, just an FYI

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Wow, what an interesting product, thanks for sharing this!

So it is possible to get Dirac Live and DSD on NAD after all!

Unfortunately it’s not available on the “cheaper” M10, but I can dream of one day getting the M33 :slight_smile:

If I have this card, I would immediately want to know if it works with an RiP4 Roon Endpoint via USB?

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Not really the card just allows DSD as a source file via USB it’s still converted to PCM by the card then processed via Dirac and on to the DAC.

M10 can do the same if you use it in conjunction with the Blusound app on windows or macs as it converts the DSD files to pcm and sends them on. Roon will essentially do the same. NAD as has been said do not support Native DSD in their audio processing chain only PCM.

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Wrong thread.