Anyone using a Naim Superuniti?

matt49

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jerry klinger said:
OK.... and what did you think?

Excellent piece of kit. Powerful, clean and rhythmic presentation. Good connectivity. On balance I preferred the sound of the Linn Majik DSM that I auditioned a few days later, though admittedly the Linn was through better speakers. I also found the Linn GUI easier to use and more attractive, though still not up to the standard of the Sonos GUI.

I decided I didn't want either though, because I prefer a smoother-sounding amplifier.

Hope that helps.

Matt
 

John Duncan

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matt49 said:
Excellent piece of kit. Powerful, clean and rhythmic presentation. Good connectivity.

Agreed. I had one for a while and really enjoyed it.

matt49 said:
I also found the Linn GUI easier to use and more attractive, though still not up to the standard of the Sonos GUI.

I don't know the Linn UI, and am only just getting into Sonos, but I liked the Naim app a lot. You *need* an iPad or, at a push, an iPhone to run it properly though, IMO.
 

logemajn

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Hi Jerry,

I do have one and absolutely love it.

When you want to move to a one box solution from your current gear you should home demo it.

Its my first Naim kit so can't compare it to yours but check the Naim forum; lots of discussions there.

Good luck :cheers:
 

Singslinger

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I used to own the Uniti and have auditioned the SuperUniti extensively. My conclusion is that the SuperUniti is a fabulous bit of kit - almost as good as the SuperNait/NDX combination which costs twice the price.
 

jerry klinger

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matt49 said:
I decided I didn't want either though, because I prefer a smoother-sounding amplifier.

Thanks Matt - which amp did you get in the end?

Interesting about the Linn Majik DSM - I've always had mixed experiences of recent Linn kit. May check it out.

As far as the UI is concerned, I thought the Naim app could be run on e.g. a Nexus tablet or similar - don't really want to get into iphones.
 

matt49

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jerry klinger said:
Thanks Matt - which amp did you get in the end?

I haven't pulled the trigger yet. I'm thinking about the Musical Fidelity AMS35i (which I have on home demo next week) and Pass Labs INT30A; possibly also the new Devialet 170, when it reaches our shores.
 

gurux

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If you want to stay in the Naim camp and keep costs / box count down I would either go Nait XS with the DAC or the streaming preamplifier (I think it's 172, I have lost count of their model numbers and names at some point) with whatever power amp you can afford. I didn't think highly of the SuperNait and to my ears the SuperUniti sounded worse.

A third solution would be SuperNait and UnitiServe but the weak link here would be the SuperNait's DAC.
 

jerry klinger

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Well the cost of the 172 streamer/preamp + the 155XS power amp is £2845 compared to the Superuniti at £3350, which makes the former look rather poor value in terms of power, inputs and probable SQ.

What didn't you like about the Superuniti ?
 

gurux

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Well, the first question would be, since the SuperNait has been around for a few good years now, whether you have ever had the chance to demo one.

It's not a bad machine and it's very good value, particularly on the SH market, you have several upgrade options but the sound signature divides opinions. Quite a few owners of higher end Naim stuff will tell you that it's rubbish, with a mellow, bloated sound, unacceptably high hiss and hum levels, a below average transparency and detail retrieval. On the other hand it has quite a bit of power (although it could never drive my Ultimatum's to acceptable levels unless biamped), the warmish sound signature is easy to listen to and quite pleasing while it still retains most of the typical Naim qualities. So it is not without fans, in fact I know quite a few people who prefer it to the NAC202 / NAP200 combo.

Now SuperUniti shares a lot of the Nait's qualities and has a similar sound signature but it's a bit leaner, more hifi, detailed, less bloated. Which sounds very well in theory, it's just that it's not as energetic, engaging, lively and warm as the SuperNait. And some things tend to sound a bit artificial and digital through it. Just a bit, it's not a huge difference but I think the SuperNait does voices, live recordings, drums, rock and similar better while the SuperUniti might be a better choice for classical, acoustic, that sort of stuff. I would certainly advise you to try them side by side because most of the people I know prefer the SuperNait.

Besides there is the question of whether you want to stop here or plan to upgrade in the future. You can get a HiCap for the SuperNait which later could be used to power a NAC202 / 282. The SuperUniti doesn't have any upgrade path, apart from the external amplifire which kind of defeats the purpose of having a one box solution. Better still a 272 / 155 or whatever can be upgraded step by step, allowing you to spread the costs and enjoy the upgrades step by step.

And while the SuperUniti has a better dac than SuperNait, no question about it, the standalone DAC is a big upgrade over the SuperUniti. Combine it with the slightly more pleasing, fuller and livelier sound of the SuperNait (and I felt a bit more powerful as well but I might be wrong) and I think you have a better proposition. The DAC, don't forget, is an upgrade path for anything below NDS and it is in my opinion one of the big bargains in the Naim range. And a HiCap for the SuperNait and a XPS / 555 for the DAC will widen the gap.

But in the end it depends on what exactly you are trying to achieve. If you have little space and you simply want something that sounds good straight out of the box, no snake oils, cables, racks, power supplies - SuperUniti delivers, although I would certainly try to give it a listen first.

If on the other hand you have plans for the future and this is just a stage in your quest for building a proper hifi system, I think there's more value to be had elsewhere.
 

matt49

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This is slightly tangential, but may be of interest. I've had the Naim DAC V-1 on demo at home for a few days. It shares with the new Naim amp range a new Class A headphone stage, which is absolutely glorious IMO. So if you do a lot of headphone listening, it might be worth considering one of the new Naim amps.

Matt
 

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