- Sep 18, 2007
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Diary of a Naim Unity Lite buyer
- Thread starter Juzzie Wuzzie
- Start date
- Sep 18, 2007
- 414
- 232
- 19,270
25 May 2013[/b]: spent an hour-and-a-half with Paul Janove of Grahams Hi-Fi listening to a) Naim Unity Lite; b) Naim Unity Qute; and Naim Unity Qute + NAP 100 power amp all feeding into a pair of Neat Iotas (my speaker of choice). Music was supplied either a) via N-Serve (incl. Radio Paradise) or b) USB key (my choice of music - ALAC). I had warned Paul that I was probably only interested in the NUL, but he insisted on providing a comparison with the NUQ and the NUQ+100. First up the NUL - which blew me away on first use - possibly due to the (more ideal than my lounge) conditions of the listening room, or the fact that the NUL is better than my current, soon to be on an auction site, Naim Nait 5i-2. I'm very familiar with my choice of music - Salmonella Dub, Fat Freddy's Drop, Of Monsters and Men, Lumineers, etc - and it just sounded better. The drum and bass genre sounded tighter and punchier, and instrument definition on all music was clearer. The question was whether I needed a CD player, given I hadn't played from CD in years, and could always use the Oppo 103 if I needed a disc spinner. Stay tuned for the answer.
Next up was the NUQ. On its own, it didn't sound anywhere as good as the NUL - which shouldn’t be a surprise given the 30w v. 50w difference. However, for a bedroom or kitchen, or small flat, I could see how it could be a winner. It had the advantage for me that it didn't have a (superfluous) CD player, but the disadvantage that it was half width, which didn't appeal to my OCD nature. Shifting to the NUQ+100 came closer to the NUQ, but it was not better. Coupled with the fact that it would be two boxes rather than one, was £150 more, and lacked the optionality of a CD player, it confirmed for me the attractiveness of the NUL. As such, a patient Paul took my order for a NUQ, warning me that it could be up to five weeks before delivery was possible. Luckily, I was not in a hurry.
29 June 2013[/b]: true to his "five week word" Paul rang me earlier in the week to say I could come in and collect my NUL. Balance of the purchase price paid, I walked out of Grahams, eager to get home to replace the Nait 5i-2 with my new purchase. Upon arrival at home, the great London weather (no lie) meant that I was required for the rest of the day and evening, so the NUL sat patiently in the corner. At least the cats had a new box to investigate.
30 June 2013[/b]: Nait 5i-2 removed and boxed up, the NUL now occupied top shelf of the AV rack and was ready to go. In a show of "thank you for not getting in the way of my purchase" the better half got to choose the first piece of music that was played through it. A minute or two later, she appeared with a Shins CD, and track one was dutifully spun. "Wow" was the reaction, "the guitar and other instruments are so clear". I knew I had made a good purchase. Some more Shins, and then a shift to Radio Paradise - which sounds superb - and I was in audio heaven. I can only imagine what this set up will be like when a) in a bigger room; b) using a proper AV rack and c) proper speaker stands. For the pedants, I used the Naim power cord that came with the NUL, am operating wirelessly (N-Serve via iPhones and iPads), and speaker wire is Maplin £2/m special. My lounge and flat are relatively small (54m2) so I think wireless is fine, but would understand the need to go wired (via homeplugs if necessary) in a bigger place.
Future[/b]: hopefully 2013 will bring a move from flat to house, so I look forward to setting the system up properly - which will probably involve some Neat floorstanders (motive 1 or 2) and integration of my NAPV175 so that Naim provides (along with the Oppo) all the A/V sound processing. In this regard, I continue to hunt down a well priced AV-2. Until then, a QNAP 2 bay NAS with WD Red drives should be delivered by end of week, and this weekend will be spent integrating that into the system, shifting two iTunes libraries to it, and using it as a backup / music / video server. I may even drag out some CDs to justify the CD player!
So, to finish. Paul was great, Grahams as well, and I'm a very happy NUL user.
Next up was the NUQ. On its own, it didn't sound anywhere as good as the NUL - which shouldn’t be a surprise given the 30w v. 50w difference. However, for a bedroom or kitchen, or small flat, I could see how it could be a winner. It had the advantage for me that it didn't have a (superfluous) CD player, but the disadvantage that it was half width, which didn't appeal to my OCD nature. Shifting to the NUQ+100 came closer to the NUQ, but it was not better. Coupled with the fact that it would be two boxes rather than one, was £150 more, and lacked the optionality of a CD player, it confirmed for me the attractiveness of the NUL. As such, a patient Paul took my order for a NUQ, warning me that it could be up to five weeks before delivery was possible. Luckily, I was not in a hurry.
29 June 2013[/b]: true to his "five week word" Paul rang me earlier in the week to say I could come in and collect my NUL. Balance of the purchase price paid, I walked out of Grahams, eager to get home to replace the Nait 5i-2 with my new purchase. Upon arrival at home, the great London weather (no lie) meant that I was required for the rest of the day and evening, so the NUL sat patiently in the corner. At least the cats had a new box to investigate.
30 June 2013[/b]: Nait 5i-2 removed and boxed up, the NUL now occupied top shelf of the AV rack and was ready to go. In a show of "thank you for not getting in the way of my purchase" the better half got to choose the first piece of music that was played through it. A minute or two later, she appeared with a Shins CD, and track one was dutifully spun. "Wow" was the reaction, "the guitar and other instruments are so clear". I knew I had made a good purchase. Some more Shins, and then a shift to Radio Paradise - which sounds superb - and I was in audio heaven. I can only imagine what this set up will be like when a) in a bigger room; b) using a proper AV rack and c) proper speaker stands. For the pedants, I used the Naim power cord that came with the NUL, am operating wirelessly (N-Serve via iPhones and iPads), and speaker wire is Maplin £2/m special. My lounge and flat are relatively small (54m2) so I think wireless is fine, but would understand the need to go wired (via homeplugs if necessary) in a bigger place.
Future[/b]: hopefully 2013 will bring a move from flat to house, so I look forward to setting the system up properly - which will probably involve some Neat floorstanders (motive 1 or 2) and integration of my NAPV175 so that Naim provides (along with the Oppo) all the A/V sound processing. In this regard, I continue to hunt down a well priced AV-2. Until then, a QNAP 2 bay NAS with WD Red drives should be delivered by end of week, and this weekend will be spent integrating that into the system, shifting two iTunes libraries to it, and using it as a backup / music / video server. I may even drag out some CDs to justify the CD player!
So, to finish. Paul was great, Grahams as well, and I'm a very happy NUL user.
Big Aura
Well-known member
- Oct 13, 2008
- 522
- 10
- 18,895
thanks for that - sounds like you're very happy with your purchase. I used to live by Graham's (my bedroom overlooked that yard), but didn't get a very warm welcome when I popped in to browse. Perhaps they're used to people making appointments.
- Sep 18, 2007
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Not sure - as I don't use either - but when I trialled Spotify, I could Airplay it - and my ATV is optically fed to the NUL for exactly that purpose.
Thanks, JW, just seems a bit strange that you can play internet radio but not Spotify, think they are missing out on market share. Used to play Raio Paradise but half the music I did not like and then other music wasa t wrong time or did not want to hear because I already own the album. At least with Spotify you can play what you want when you want.
chebby
Well-known member
- Jun 2, 2008
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BigH said:
He can (via his optically connected ATV and AirPlay).
He said so...
Juzzie Wuzzie said:
The first thing I would buy after a Naim Uniti would be an ATV for BBC iPlayer Radio and streaming iTunes from my iPhone/iPad and laptop. (Along with a heap of other stuff I use AirPlay for now which can include Spotify if I wanted it.)
Deliriumbassist
Well-known member
- Apr 27, 2011
- 170
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- 18,770
It's my understanding that Spotify (the company) will only work with other companies that can bring a certain of new subscribers and users in general. Hence the likes of Marantz and Denon having Spotify, as the number of units shifted a year are much bigger than the likes of Cyrus and Naim.
- Sep 18, 2007
- 414
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Chebby - as long as you're not alergic to cats, you are welcome to come around and pretend you purchased the NUL. Personally, I could handle the five/six week wait as was away for every weekend, so it was not a high priority. Now that I have it, I can't resist using it. Thankfully, my weekends are vacant. Next step will be to upgrade the living situation, so I can really set the system up properly - a 7x3.5m room doesn't really do it justice!
John Duncan
Well-known member
- Jan 8, 2008
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Chebby, I'm not sure you'd need the ATV, since there's catchup radio associated with each station, sorted by programme. You might find the ATV easier for navigation if it's hooked up to the TV as well of course, and I can't warrant that the selection of past programmes on the Uniti is as good as that available on a dedicated iPlayer app.
The ATV is quite a nice thing in its own right though.
The ATV is quite a nice thing in its own right though.
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