Idle wonderings: Naim Uniti Star or standalone amp and half-size CD Player?

[Entrigo]

You have a very good amplifier, and you would need to go some way to appreciably improve on the Elex-R. Why change it? The same applies with your CD player, and the options are thin these days. Rega discontinued the Apollo some time ago, which at half-width size leaves the Exposure XM, various Pro-jects, Leak transport and (announced but not yet released) the Mission transport.

I've tried the all-in-one approach, and I never settled with it. It may have been in part due to me finding the Audiolab Omnia to be disappointing and the hi-fi equivalent of a wet lettuce, but I'm also very wary of combining everything into one box. Your Elex is a beautifully made amp that should last a very long time and will be very repairable if something does fail. A seperate streamer can be replaced if it fails or is no longer sufficiently supported, without upsetting the rest of your system. Personally, I would counsel caution, but ultimately only your pockets, preferences and ears can decide.

Yeah no real need - hence the thread title. And as I might have mentioned, it'd be a while away - just wondering if a better amp would be needed to allow the turntable to properly stretch - whichever I'd go for, they would be at least twice the price of the Elex. And I guess as part of an organic whole system upgrade. But I really like the Elex so no rush... The space is a little more of a pressing need. Again, not life or death but since I do not really listen to CDs much, even despite the recent upgrade to the excellent SA8005, a half size CD player could have been an idea. But as you said, not much choice. The Apollo is tempting, but scarce to come by. There's also a few Cyrus ones but not a fan of the looks - apart from the CD40, but not spending £2k on a CD player... And I have read Cyrus can be a little forward/bright, so not quite my preferred sound signature.

 

[matthewpianist]

Yeah no real need - hence the thread title. And as I might have mentioned, it'd be a while away - just wondering if a better amp would be needed to allow the turntable to properly stretch - whichever I'd go for, they would be at least twice the price of the Elex. And I guess as part of an organic whole system upgrade. But I really like the Elex so no rush... The space is a little more of a pressing need. Again, not life or death but since I do not really listen to CDs much, even despite the recent upgrade to the excellent SA8005, a half size CD player could have been an idea. But as you said, not much choice. The Apollo is tempting, but scarce to come by. There's also a few Cyrus ones but not a fan of the looks - apart from the CD40, but not spending £2k on a CD player... And I have read Cyrus can be a little forward/bright, so not quite my preferred sound signature.

I reckon the Elex-R would be transparent enough to show an upgrade in external phono stage if you wanted to get the best out of the turntable set-up. The Rega Fono is very good, but not as resolving as you could get.

 

[Entrigo]

I reckon the Elex-R would be transparent enough to show an upgrade in external phono stage if you wanted to get the best out of the turntable set-up. The Rega Fono is very good, but not as resolving as you could get.

Ah yeah the Fono is just a temporary measure, while the Aria was out for repairs and now returned. I have bought a Vertere Phono 1 which I will hopefully get tomorrow. Really looking forward to it. And ideally I would love to pair it with a Vertere Turntable but I cannot stand the sight of the DG1 tonearm, and the MG1 is out of budget...

 

[plastic penguin]

Ah yeah the Fono is just a temporary measure, while the Aria was out for repairs and now returned. I have bought a Vertere Phono 1 which I will hopefully get tomorrow. Really looking forward to it. And ideally I would love to pair it with a Vertere Turntable but I cannot stand the sight of the DG1 tonearm, and the MG1 is out of budget...

If it was me I'd keep the Rega Elex-R. Built-in phono stage on Regas in general are very good. If you want to improve on the Elex then the Elicit is the obvious upgrade. Or dare I say it? Leema Pulse IV, which has a decent built-in Dac and, like Rega, produce very good in-built phono stages.

 

[Entrigo]

If it was me I'd keep the Rega Elex-R. Built-in phono stage on Regas in general are very good. If you want to improve on the Elex then the Elicit is the obvious upgrade. Or dare I say it? Leema Pulse IV, which has a decent built-in Dac and, like Rega, produce very good in-built phono stages.

Well I have moved back to the built in phono after selling a Simaudio Moon 110LP - and briefly after sending off its replacement Aria to Rega -and it's OK but a bit of a step down. Music loses a bit of sparkle, soundstage is smaller... Maybe something has to do with a capacitance mismatch. The Elex built in is quoted at 220pF, I was running an AT-VM540ML which should be under 200pF. With cabling it was probably 300 or above. The Fono MC on the other hand isn't that bad... Anyway I have a Vertere Phono 1 coming tomorrow so built in phono is the last of my worries. As DAC I am probably on the medium level tho. I use the one in my Wiim Pro Plus, in the Marantz SA8005 and if needed a Topping E30. I guess all capable (I think the Topping and Wiim use the same chip) but could be improved. But somehow DAC is not something I am excited about upgrading haha