Help! Is Uniti Lite best low budget solution for my system?

[harry_t]

Hi all!

My hi-fi consists of a pair of Triangle Celius 202, a primare cd21 & an integrated amplifier primare a30.1. I would like to be able to stream music from a NAS in the same quality in terms of sound or slightly better than i do now in my current system. Given the fact that in 5 years time my amp will be 15 years old, is the purchase of Naim's Uniti Lite the best low budget solution for my hi-fi system now?

Thank you in advance,

 

[Andrew Everard]

I'm not sure the UnitiLite would be the best solution for your needs, given that you're going to be doubling up on CD player and amplification in order to get streaming capability.

Perhaps something like the Award-winning Cambridge Audio Stream Magic 6 would be a better bet, not to mention less expensive?

 

[harry_t]

Thanks a lot Andrew !

i suppose i will have to compare it with Uniti Lite in terms of sound quality. I have one question though, will Audio Magic 6 have the ability to succesfully handle sample rates up to 192kHz from a NAS? I will store in NAS mostly wav files

Regards,

Harry

 

[Andrew Everard]

No, the Stream Magic only goes up to 96kHz.

Frankly, if you want 192kHz capability, I'd suggest the Naim ND5XS would be better for your system than the UnitiLite – no CD/amp duplication, and it sounds considerably better. Or if the Naim price is a bit rich for you, the Musical Fidelity M1 Clic would be a good choice, although it'll only do 192kHz via a wired connection, or up to 96kHz wirelessly.

 

[Shanka]

Hi,

Would the new Naim V1 DAC be similar in SQ to the ND5XS, it is less than MF Clic, depends how the NAS will be controlled if it were to be suitable option.

 

[jjbomber]

Hi, Would the new Naim V1 DAC be similar in SQ to the ND5XS, it is less than MF Clic, depends how the NAS will be controlled if it were to be suitable option.

He wants a streamer, not a DAC.

The real question is whether a ND5 XS through a 10-year old Primare amp will sound better than a Uniti Lite? There probably is that there isn't anybody in the World who will have hooked up the former, so it will be a case of getting a demo organised. The second part of the question is cost. The ND5 XS retails at £2,000 and the Uniti Lite at £1,650 (and he can sell the Primare if he wishes). It's a classic sound per pound test.

 

[BigH]

I'm looking at similar solutions at the moment, would the Sonos system not work. For me I have a computer, wifi, dac, amp and speakers, I'm considering Sonos but £250, would a Roku box work?

 

[harry_t]

Let's say i choose the option of a quality streamer such as Musical Fidelity M1 click (or ND5 XS) than an economic all in one system (such a Naim Uniti Lite). What about my current amp? How many more years can i keep it in good condition? 5 more years i think will not be a problem i suppose...(in 5 years from now my amp is going to be a 15-years old device) Any suggestions for a new amplifier that best suit my needs without changing my Celius 202 in the future?

Regards,

Harry

 

[Singslinger]

The Pioneer N-50 streamer might be worth exploring, though I'm not sure if it streams 192kH.

 

[Singslinger]

Let's say i choose the option of a quality streamer such as Musical Fidelity M1 click (or ND5 XS) than an economic all in one system (such a Naim Uniti Lite). What about my current amp? How many more years can i keep it in good condition? 5 more years i think will not be a problem i suppose...(in 5 years from now my amp is going to be a 15-years old device) Any suggestions for a new amplifier that best suit my needs without changing my Celius 202 in the future?

Regards,

Harry

If you do go for the Clic, then for an amp I would suggest the matching Musical Fidelity power amp and to use the Clic as a preamp.

 

[BigH]

Let's say i choose the option of a quality streamer such as Musical Fidelity M1 click (or ND5 XS) than an economic all in one system (such a Naim Uniti Lite). What about my current amp? How many more years can i keep it in good condition? 5 more years i think will not be a problem i suppose...(in 5 years from now my amp is going to be a 15-years old device) Any suggestions for a new amplifier that best suit my needs without changing my Celius 202 in the future?

Regards,

Harry

If you do go for the Clic, then for an amp I would suggest the matching Musical Fidelity power amp and to use the Clic as a preamp.

The M1 is only 65W, for your speakers you may want something with a bit more power, I believe your current amp is 100W?

 

[harry_t]

Yes you are right 100watt...but i don't know very much about the comp pre-amp & power amp though to have any opinion...

Regards,

Harry

 

[harry_t]

Hi again Andrew!

What about Naim Uniti? Is it a better solution for my needs?

Thanks,

Harry

 

[Shanka]

If you use the MF Clic you can always use a second M1 pwr if one is not giving you the oomph you need.

The other option is the naim 172xs streamer preamp and then you can add an additional naim power amp when the time comes to replace your amp.

 

[chebby]

Power should go a bit further with the Triangle Celius 202 speakers than many others. They are 92dB @ 8 Ohms and have a minimum impedance of 5 ohms. (A pretty easy and benign load on paper at least.)

I guess we also need to know the listening distance and maximum volume levels you prefer.

 

[jjbomber]

Power should go a bit further with the Triangle Celius 202 speakers than many others. They are 92dB @ 8 Ohms and have a minimum impedance of 5 ohms. (A pretty easy and benign load on paper at least.)

I guess we also need to know the listening distance and maximum volume levels you prefer.

You can call this number 2.

 

[relocated]

Get yourself an Apple TV or AEX, Sonos, WDTV Live etc. Forget about the rest, you won't notice a difference, it is only 1 and 0 being fed into your obviously loved system.

You could easily start again with the budget, you may well have, but that's a whole can of worms.

 

[Overdose]

Apple TV and AEX won't pull music off of a NAS, an instance of iTunes needs to be running.

Sonos would work and Squeezebox Touch if you happened to come across one, but these are unfortunately discontinued.

I would agree that you don't need 192 for the best sound quality, but you will need the capability if your music is at that sampling frequency, however, there is little to choose from at 192KHz as far as music goes.

 

[relocated]

Apple TV and AEX won't pull music off of a NAS, an instance of iTunes needs to be running.

Sonos would work and Squeezebox Touch if you happened to come across one, but these are unfortunately discontinued.

I would agree that you don't need 192 for the best sound quality, but you will need the capability if your music is at that sampling frequency, however, there is little to choose from at 192KHz as far as music goes.

My error Overdose.

My fundamental point was that there is no need or point to spending large sums to stream music. 192khz is just another way to get people to buy their tunes yet again, cd and their lossless rips are more than good enough for our ears. It's marketing BS.

Said unantagonistically,

 

[Overdose]

Apple TV and AEX won't pull music off of a NAS, an instance of iTunes needs to be running.

Sonos would work and Squeezebox Touch if you happened to come across one, but these are unfortunately discontinued.

I would agree that you don't need 192 for the best sound quality, but you will need the capability if your music is at that sampling frequency, however, there is little to choose from at 192KHz as far as music goes.

My fundamental point was that there is no need or point to spending large sums to stream music. 192khz is just another way to get people to buy their tunes yet again, cd and their lossless rips are more than good enough for our ears. It's marketing BS.

Said unantagonistically,

I agree.

 

[Andrew Everard]

My fundamental point was that there is no need or point to spending large sums to stream music. 192khz is just another way to get people to buy their tunes yet again, cd and their lossless rips are more than good enough for our ears. It's marketing BS.

Said unantagonistically,

I keep reading this – i even hilariously saw someone suggest there are no gains beyond 192kbps MP3 recently – and yet my ears keep telling me otherwise.

 

[relocated]

My fundamental point was that there is no need or point to spending large sums to stream music. 192khz is just another way to get people to buy their tunes yet again, cd and their lossless rips are more than good enough for our ears. It's marketing BS.

Said unantagonistically,

I keep reading this – i even hilariously saw someone suggest there are no gains beyond 192kbps MP3 recently – and yet my ears keep telling me otherwise.

Sounds like you are going to be on a panel to thoroughly ABX test competing digital formats and publish the results in WHF, Andrew. Or have I just wandered off into lala land?