Naim Experiences & Backing Up Your Music

[moriarty]

Greetings Pop Pickers,

I am thinking of taking the leap into the world of digital streaming / UP&P.

Does anyone have any first hand experiences of the Naim Uniti / Unitiqute / Unitiserve products that they can share?

The Unitiqute / Unitiserve combo looks like a very enticing offering.

I also have an important question - if your music resides on Naim hard drive of some variety, how do you ensure that you have secure backups of all your files? (maybe an HDX owner could answer this)

Many Thanks,

The Professor

 

[Andrew Everard]

I doubt anyone would have the experience you're after - AFAIK there are only a few UnitiQutes out 'in the wild' for various dealer dems, and no UnitiServes.

Regarding the HDX, it's possible to back up to external hard drives, or of course store everything on NAS drives (especially with the new version with the solid state drive in place of the conventional hard drives.

 

[moriarty]

Thanks Andrew.

If the HDX can be backed up to an external drive, then I'm sure the Unitiserve will have a similar function. I read through as much information as I could find on the Naim website on the Unitiqute and Unitiserve (and even the HDX manuals on PDF) but could find no mention of creating backups ... which was slightly worrying!

On paper, the Uniticute/Unitiserve seems to offer one of the 'neatest' solutions for people looking to get into high quality digital downloads and streaming.

Whilst we are waiting for reviews and feedback, if anyone wants to suggest alternative options, I'll all ears!

 

[Andrew Everard]

Yes, both the UnitiServe and the SSD variant are designed to work with offboard storage - indeed, the SSD will only work with external NAS.

 

[CraigDS]

Hello Andrew, You sound like you have a good grasp of the Naim streaming products and I hope you might be able to answer some questions for me.

1. Is storing music on a seperate NAS better than using an internal storage? I can't see Naim bringing out a new varient if the original HDX with internal storage was the best way to listen to your music.

2. Is the DAC in the Supernait the same as the NaimUniti?

3. I know a Uniti can stream your favourite FLAC files but can you play a Sonos through the Uniti?

cheers

 

[Andrew Everard]

1. Yes, as it gets the potential noise of the hard drives away from the audio electronics.

2. Not sure, but I think not.

3. Well, you can run a digital (or of course analogue) feed from a ZonePlayer in through the Uniti's inputs.

 

[Anonymous]

 

[Andrew Everard]

1. It's not about differing sound quality between internal and external hard-drives, but rather the effect of their noise, vibration and heat on the audio electronics.

2. The NaimUniti uses different DACs for CD playback and the handling of other sources, although I don't recall what the actual DAC chips are.

3. Indeed.

 

[CraigDS]

I like the idea of Napster for convenience and cost. If I like a tune or album I can download full fat files and use the better streaming capabilites when I have the time to sit down, relax and enjoy! I have an I-pod Touch already for control and the Napster App is free, I don't need the amp so it will just cost be an extra £250 + £10 a month for millions of tunes. Also my friends and family don't like much of my music

 

[John Duncan]

Or £80 for an airport express, $25 for airfoil, and a Spotify premium account? It's what I do into the back of a Uniti (or have done for the last week anyway) and it sounds fabulous.

 

[AL13N]

moriarty:On paper, the Uniticute/Unitiserve seems to offer one of the 'neatest' solutions for people looking to get into high quality digital downloads and streaming.

Whilst we are waiting for reviews and feedback, if anyone wants to suggest alternative options, I'll all ears!
As Andrew mentioned above, the 'Cute is only just trickling into dealerships and the 'Serve is not even out yet. I'd wait for both to be widely available and then arrange an audition with other 'neat' solutions.

For that kind of money, and for something 'very neat', make sure to demo the following as well, if you can:

Olive 4HD 2TB > PMC TB2S-AII