Arcam A19 + Pioneer N50 vs Naim UnitiLite

khightower

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Hi all, I'm after a new audio streamer and amp and am considering the following:1) Arcam A19 + Pioneer N50 streamer. Both get excellent reviews, but I have no idea if they pair well. Total cost would be around £1000.2) Naim UnitiLite - again excellent reviews. £1650. I appreciate the UnitiLite is more expensive, but is it worth the extra? Which would be better?I am using Mordaunt-Short Aviano 6 floorstanding speakers.Listen to mainly rock/indie/bit of folk music. I'm assuming either option would be a pretty amazing upgrade from my 20-year old Technics SU-V470 amp, right? Cheers!
 

unsleepable

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Sound-wise it will come down to what you prefer. The A19 is more powerful than the UnitiLite, but not by much anyways.

I used to have the XS-2 and changed it for the A19 just because it was more the type of sound I was looking for—a tad warmer, more involving, and better defined bass.

In terms of functionality, the N-50 and the UnitiLite also offer different things. One supports AirPlay, optional Bluetooth and can be connected to a computer through USB. The other has a CD player. What is better suited for you?
 

emperor's new clothes

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I've only heard the unilite with LS50s and sounded brittle with feeble bass, but others will no doubt disagree.

Latest HiFi news has group test of streamers including the Pioneer and it rates highly against expensive opposition. To my ears, the A19 and irDAC combo beats the NAIM hands down. My irDAC/Squeezebox touch combo works a treat.
 

iceman16

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unsleepable said:
Sound-wise it will come down to what you prefer. The A19 is more powerful than the UnitiLite, but not by much anyways.

I used to have the XS-2 and changed it for the A19 just because it was more the type of sound I was looking for—a tad warmer, more involving, and better defined bass.

In terms of functionality, the N-50 and the UnitiLite also offer different things. One supports AirPlay, optional Bluetooth and can be connected to a computer through USB. The other has a CD player. What is better suited for you?

Are they both 50w @ 8ohms? I used to own a Naim setup and I thought they produce more power than what it says on the tin.
 

unsleepable

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iceman16 said:
Are they both 50w @ 8ohms? I used to own a Naim setup and I thought they produce more power than what it says on the tin.

Yes, they are both 50w at 8 ohms. But the A19 performs better with less impedance.

The difference is probably meaningless, though.
 

calpark46

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emperor's new clothes said:
I've only heard the unilite with LS50s and sounded brittle with feeble bass, but others will no doubt disagree.

Latest HiFi news has group test of streamers including the Pioneer and it rates highly against expensive opposition. To my ears, the A19 and irDAC combo beats the NAIM hands down. My irDAC/Squeezebox touch combo works a treat.

I know that hi-fi is purely subjective, that one man' meat is another man's poison, etc, but, as a Unitilite/LS50s owner, I can not imagine them sounding brittle with feeble bass under any normal domestic circumstances, unless in an abnormally large room.

I fully accept that your set-up may, in your opinion, beat the Naim "hands down" but I find this type of comment unhelpful.

OP - audition and decide for yourself.
 

emperor's new clothes

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Hi Calpark,

Could't agree more regarding subjective opinion on this forum. Having upgraded my HiFi and AV speakers this year, my very first audition of many was the LS50 and unilite at SSAV. Even the dealer was surprised at the sound and we quickly moved on. Perhaps there was a fault or out of phase cabling. I'm pleased that the combo is capable of much more and retract my comment on that basis. I never comment on gear that I haven't heard unless specified. I'm a fan of Arcam DAcs but still own a 20 year old Meridian pre/power to partner it. I've tried amps from Creek, marrantz and Audiolab, but still prefer the old-timer. I find that a £200 SBT is not outclassed as a streamer and there is a lot of hype in this department, IMHO. As you suggest, only the OP's ears can decide and as I'm done upgrading with my new Dyns and Dalis (a Denmark convert) will now retire from commenting on this forum. Thanks guys for all the tips. As they say in aviation, you learn something new every flight. Same can be said of HiFI forums.
 

calpark46

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Well said Emperor's New Clothes. You've auditioned and you have a system you enjoy. Sound advice indeed.

Keep on enjoying. All the best.
 

khightower

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Hi all,

Thank you for the helpful responses.

I did what you all suggested and auditioned the kit at my local hi-fi shop at the weekend (taking along my Mordaunt-Short Aviano 6 speakers), and my findings are below:

- Arcam A19 - I really wanted this to be the one (mainly because it was the cheapest), and based on comments from some of you and What Hi-Fi I really thought it would be. However, I was really disappointed by it. I am surprised at comments above saying that the Arcam A19 had better defined bass than the Naim XS-2. The A19 I listened to seemed to have very weak bass, or at least not the strong level of bass I like. The mid-range and higher frequencies were very nice and I liked the clarity, but I wanted more bass. It's possible the source was to blame for the bass I guess (Marantz CD player, not sure of model), or maybe the A19 wasn't run-in yet.

- Naim Unitilite - I liked it. Punchy and energetic. Much better bass. Obviously the CD player being used here was the one integrated into the Unitilite so maybe I'm not comparing like-for-like. The sound from the streamer playing FLACs was very impressive and sounded much better than CD (a much bigger difference than I was expecting). While I was there the integrated CD player seemed to have issues with a couple of my CDs and I am wary of the all-in-one unit philosophy. If anything is going to break it will probably be the CD player (only bit with moving parts), so I'd rather have a separates system as it's easy to replace bits when they die.

- Naim Nait XS2 - I know this wasn't originally on my radar but someone suggested that an XS2 with a separate streamer might give a better sound, so I gave this one a listen. Again I really liked it and it felt just that bit more authoritative than the Unitilite. In hindsight I can't remember now if the dealer had swapped the Marantz CD player for a more expensive Rega Apollo at this stage so again I'm not sure if I was comparing like-for-like vs the A19 so this may have all been an unfair test.

I did test a couple of Rega amps (the Elex and the Elicit). The Elex vocals sounded too harsh for my liking and I knew it would be fatiguing to listen to long-term. The Elicit was the same, until the CD player was switched from the Marantz to the Rega Apollo at which point it became much smoother and more refined, and sounded really good. But ultimately I preferred the Naims.

After all of this, I think I am going to try and source a second hand Naim Nait XS or XS2 to drastically improve my amp from what I currently have (old Technics) and will get a separate streamer which will probably be the Pioneer N50. Unfortunately none of my local dealers have an N50 in stock for me to listen to or play with so I will be buying that blind, so I will get it new and take it back or sell it on if it's not for me.

Again, thank you all for your advice! :)
 

James7

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Sounds like a very sensible solution. I don't think you will be disappointed with the Pioneer, and if that means more money for a better amp, it seems a well thought-through solution to me. Bets of luck.
 

Hi-FiOutlaw

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Naim rating power number are misleading, Naim can deliver a heavier punch on a 50wpc that any other!

I've home demo the UnitiQute and loved it, it is a Swiss army knife, it has everything and you can't beat his simplicity, I don't need the cd player as all my CDs are riped into my NAS. But if you do need one you can add later even a older one and use the UnitiQute as a DAC

If I was to start again it was a no brainer, i would get one and later on i would add the maching power amp to feed my dyns properly.
 

unsleepable

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khightower said:
I am surprised at comments above saying that the Arcam A19 had better defined bass than the Naim XS-2. The A19 I listened to seemed to have very weak bass, or at least not the strong level of bass I like. The mid-range and higher frequencies were very nice and I liked the clarity, but I wanted more bass.

This is also a matter of synergy. With my Kef R100 and the Naim XS-2, bass tended to be boomy. It got much tighter when I swapped the amplifier for the A19. It may just be that your speakers benefit from a lower damping factor, or that we look for different types of sound. Anyways, the XS-2 is also a fun amplifier.

By the way, the one I had was the second make of the XS, not the latest XS 2. Which one did you audition? If it is the former, you should be able to find it second-hand at a very good price.
 

khightower

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This is also a matter of synergy. With my Kef R100 and the Naim XS-2, bass tended to be boomy. It got much tighter when I swapped the amplifier for the A19. It may just be that your speakers benefit from a lower damping factor, or that we look for different types of sound. Anyways, the XS-2 is also a fun amplifier.

By the way, the one I had was the second make of the XS, not the latest XS 2. Which one did you audition? If it is the former, you should be able to find it second-hand at a very good price.

All good points unsleepable.

I auditioned the latest model (the real XS2) so ideally I'd be able to get one of those on the 2nd hand market, but in reality I will probably end up with the former model (XS) and hope it's not noticeably worse than the XS2.
 

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