First HiFi for 17 years - Naim or Wadia?

[admin_exported]

Hello,

After my first and last foray into hifi at 15, where i bought an Arcam Alpha 3 amp, Marantz CD52 MKII CD player and KEF speakers with Linn cable (which i still have and will give you a good idea of how long ago it was) im now long overdue an upgrade.

I imagine things have moved on quite a bit since then and am looking at a system based around my ipod. I am looking at the Wadia 171 transport and 151 power dac, Naim uniti or the naim unitiqute. I know some one will say what about the arcam solo but would like something a bit more 'exotic' if thats the right word to use?

I know the naim uniti has great reviews but I really like the idea of having a wadia system. Does the wadia have the potential to add a tuner/turntable at a later date and also upgrade with a power amp?

The cute appeals to me as i do not use a CD player any more and would save myself £700 or so over the uniti.

So just wondered if any one had listened to any of the above, reviews of the Wadia setup are hard to find and the cute i believe is just out. What would you go for or is there anything else I should listen to before parting with my cash?

Thanks for your help

 

[chebby]

Try the Onkyo ND-S1 transport. Just like the Wadia, it is a transport so it passes the digital signal directly from the iPod without molestation from the - necessarily - cheap analogue bits inside the iPod.

Again, just like the Wadia, it will need to be connected to a DAC (or an amp with built in DAC).

Unlike the Wadia it is only £140* and does exactly the same job. (Although the Onkyo will also allow you to plug in the laptop/pc - with USB - to sync iTunes and has a remote and charges the iPod too.)

*This saves you £210 over the price of the Wadia 170i transport.

 

[the record spot]

boborange:
Hello,

What would you go for or is there anything else I should listen to before parting with my cash?

Thanks for your help

Not sure if you have a desktop, laptop or Mac, but £70-80 will get you an Airport Express, £10 or less will get you a cable to connect it to your Alpha 3 and iTunes will stream wirelessly to your existing system. Sound quality is excellent (and one component in my system - my amp from 1977 - is even older than your Arcam! Both setups co-exist happily and the sound quality from both is rather good.

 

[AlmaataKZ]

Have you considered computer-based setup? pc or Mac -> DAC -> existing or new amp -> existing or new speakers. I have just went through a similar process - working out an upgrade after 10 years - and settled on a computer-based setup. I looked at unity, linn ds's, olive etc but thought computer + dac is overall a more versatile solution.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice. Im looking to move on from the existing set up and having looked through the internet since my first post am leaning to the unitycute as it has analogue inputs and can be up graded with a power amp so gives me more flexibility. Has anyone auditioned one as yet? Im sure it will be top draw as its from naim and is the unity without the cd?

 

[chebby]

boborange:sure it will be top draw as its from naim....

That means nothing except that it will be styled like a top drawer

Seriously though, I have heard the naimuniti and it is great but I have not heard the Unitiqute yet.

It is not just a naimuniti minus CD player though. (The naimuniti is 50w per channel and the Unitiqute is only 30w per channel.)

 

[Anonymous]

Not sure when its released, I will give a few dealers a call tomorrow and find out. by the way when i said top draw i meant as in top quality...

 

[John Duncan]

The Uniti is fabulous. The Unitiqute I thought less so, but in less than ideal conditions it has to be said (noisy bristol show), and it is undoubtedly qute. The Arcam Solo Neo will fit somewhere between the two pricewise, I think.

And personally I'd go for one of these over a Wadia thingie (or other brand alternatives), if only to add internet radio capability...

 

[chebby]

boborange:...by the way when i said top draw i meant as in top quality...

Yes, top drawer means top quality. I was just having a little joke at the expense of Naim 'styling' (or lack of it.)

Check my signature for my feelings about Naim sound quality.

 

[Anonymous]

I had not heard of the arcam neo until now and that certainly looks like a contender for me and at £1400 or there abouts its a direct rival to the naim.

Im just starting to understand the potential these machines have with wifi capabilities and certainly something i want to have. Will have to get listening to them as soon as they come out on the market

 

[John Duncan]

Well you can listen to a Uniti now, but don't think the Qute or Neo are in the shops yet. I'm a firm believer, and very excited about the thought of other manufacturers bringing them more into the mainstream price-wise...

 

[Anonymous]

I'll suggest a different angle. Stick with computer setup - or wireless AirPort Express or even a Squeezebox or Sonos setup if you wish - or Onkyo Dock with the iPod - buy a Caiman DAC with volume control on the analogue out and spend the rest on speakers with built-in amplification. The UnitiQute is how much - about £1350? And that doesn't include speakers which arguably is where you should spend the most. So with speakers you're looking at around £2k or above? Now consider that you can get sophisticated studio grade speaker/amp combos for less than that which would leave the UnitiQuote and it's 30W amp for dead. Something like this for example with dedicated 50W/150W amps for the tweeter and mid woofer respectively. Should work out just over £1k which leaves a bit to spend on DAC and wireless streaming services. Or the AVI ADM 9s, although that sugestion always sparks controversy here.

I know this has been a bit of a theme in my posts of late.. But I'm sold on the idea and absolutely convinced this is how you get the most sonic bang for your hard earned cash.

 

[Gopi]

Just an additional point about Wadia PowerDAC - it has only digital in and not analogue in. So, if you have any source with analogue outs you cannot use it with them unless you buy an ADC also.

 

[gbhsi1]

boborange:
I had not heard of the arcam neo until now and that certainly looks like a contender for me and at £1400 or there abouts its a direct rival to the naim.

Im just starting to understand the potential these machines have with wifi capabilities and certainly something i want to have. Will have to get listening to them as soon as they come out on the market
Have you thought about the KRELL KID?