Naim Unitiqute 2 vs Arcam A19/irDAC vs Sonos

[tgreen]

Hi- I'm putting together a new home system to run audio from iTunes, Spotify, Apple TV, Mac mini etc and also boost the sound from my new W905 Sony tv. I've been to-ing and fro-ing on whether to add a Sonos playbar and Play3's to support my needs but think I prefer the idea of Naim UQ2 with KEF LS50's more as I reckon the sound and appearance will be better. There's lots of hype about pairing Arcam A19 and irDAC with the KEFs but wouldn't Naim be better? It's not the biggest room, so 30W per channel would be fine. The cost is similar too!

Any advice would be very gratefully received!

 

[matthewpiano]

Your projected use of the system suggests to me that actives might provide the way forward. Probably a good idea to audition the AVI ADM9.1RSS as well as the two options you mention.

 

[BigH]

The KEF LS50s are good speakers buy IMHO they are fussy about amplification and room positioning. Also I did not find them very good at lower volumes. The AVI suggestion is worth trying if you can get to hear them.

 

[chebby]

Your projected use of the system suggests to me that actives might provide the way forward. Probably a good idea to audition the AVI ADM9.1RSS as well as the two options you mention.

Or the OP's suggested UnitiQute 2 feeding the new AVI DM5 actives from it's pre-outs. (The DM5s are about the same price - or cheaper - than the KEF LS50s so are within budget.)

http://www.avihifi.co.uk/products.html#dm5

 

[tgreen]

Thanks all for the very quick responses. I have to admit that the speaker choice is largely driven by aesthetics- I absolutely love the look of the KEFs and think they would complement my new lounge quite well! (Probably the wrong audience for a statement like that!!). Will certainly audition those options though, thank you.

But, the Naim (or equivalent) component is what's been troubling me. Would it be THAT much better than a Sonos with all the Play3's, Sub, etc? I'm asking a lot in terms of connectivity and don't see there being all that many solutions out there.

 

[The_Lhc]

The problem with the Playbar is it only has one input, so you'd have to connect all the other stuff to the TV and then take an optical output from the TV to the Playbar, which can problematic, depending on the type of TV you have.

I don't know what the NAIM is equipped with in terms of connections for all the other stuff.

 

[davedotco]

Your projected use of the system suggests to me that actives might provide the way forward. Probably a good idea to audition the AVI ADM9.1RSS as well as the two options you mention.

Or the OP's suggested UnitiQute 2 feeding the new AVI DM5 actives from it's pre-outs. (The DM5s are about the same price - or cheaper - than the KEF LS50s so are within budget.)

http://www.avihifi.co.uk/products.html#dm5

AVI active speakers driven by Naim electronics.......

Enough to give AJ apoplexy.......

Actually looks like a really good call to me.... :cheer:

 

[tgreen]

Does anyone know any decent looking active speakers though? My GF wouldn't let me have the AVI's in the new lounge! Needs to be more Bang & Olufsen than Bowers & Wilkins if you know what I mean (not in a budget sense!). Thanks again though guys, this is really helpful stuff.

 

[BigH]

Does anyone know any decent looking active speakers though? My GF wouldn't let me have the AVI's in the new lounge! Needs to be more Bang & Olufsen than Bowers & Wilkins if you know what I mean (not in a budget sense!). Thanks again though guys, this is really helpful stuff.

Depends what you mean by good looking, so you say LS50s are fine? So you want a piano black finish?

 

[chebby]

Does anyone know any decent looking active speakers though? My GF wouldn't let me have the AVI's in the new lounge! Needs to be more Bang & Olufsen than Bowers & Wilkins if you know what I mean (not in a budget sense!). Thanks again though guys, this is really helpful stuff.

Has she seen the LS50s?

 

[davedotco]

Does anyone know any decent looking active speakers though? My GF wouldn't let me have the AVI's in the new lounge! Needs to be more Bang & Olufsen than Bowers & Wilkins if you know what I mean (not in a budget sense!). Thanks again though guys, this is really helpful stuff.

How about these, can be had for just under £1k a pair.

Comes in gloss black or white, grills included. Quite hard to get to hear them though.

 

[tgreen]

Ha! Yes, she's seen the LS50's... And quite likes the 'rose gold' aspect! Piano black is the way forward, so those floor standees might be a goer. What are they?

 

[davedotco]

Ha! Yes, she's seen the LS50's... And quite likes the 'rose gold' aspect! Piano black is the way forward, so those floor standees might be a goer. What are they?

Sorry, wasn't trying to be cryptic, just forgot to say.

They are Adam Artist 6, a fully active design in a very slender column. Drive them off a Unitiqute 2 pre- outs for a simple solution

http://www.adam-audio.com/en/multimedia/products/artist-6/description

 

[BigH]

Ha! Yes, she's seen the LS50's... And quite likes the 'rose gold' aspect!

I'm still not sure what you want, so Kef LS50s are OK but B&W CM1s are not?

 

[tgreen]

Sorry, i think I might be being a bit cryptic too... Bog standard bookshelves won't cut it. Something befitting a new contemporary lounge will. My b&W comment was throw-away, they look quite nice.

Found an old thread from someone who bought the original Unitiqute and paired with KEF R100's and said they were amazing. On that logic the LS50's might be a good pairing after all!

 

[ID.]

Found an old thread from someone who bought the original Unitiqute and paired with KEF R100's and said they were amazing. On that logic the LS50's might be a good pairing after all!

On that logic the Blades might be a good pairing after all (but I doubt it). I'd definitely want to audition the combination first because prefer more powerful amplification. I'd guess Arcam A19 at a minimum. Further up the Uniti range is probably better, but to be honest (and I may have just not blanked out on people suggesting Naim amplification) Naim doesn't seem to be suggested too often in the numerous "best match for LS50s" threads that seem to hit the forum at regular intervals.

I thought the LS50s were good at what they do, but they don't go deep enough for me. I'd want to add a sub. The Adam ARTist 6s are high up my audition list, but that's because I'm hitting a phase where I feel the need to explore active speaker options.

 

[James7]

Yes, Naim/ Arcam and some good speakers would be worth it over the Sonus kit but you need to demo combinations, ideally in your home so as to see how room acoustics affect sound. I wonder whether you really need a Naim UnitiQute 2. I don’t think it offers in-built Spotify so I am assuming that you will be hooking up you Mac, Apple TV, etc to its digital inputs rather than using its streaming capabilities. Nothing wrong with this of course, but a DAC/amp combo would suffice, in which case the Arcam kit you mention may suit the KEFs better. There are alternatives to the KEFs though, including options that may be better suited to the Naim, if you prefer the Unitiqute option. Sonus faber’s Venere 1.5, for example, are £150 more than the KEFs and to my eyes are more aesthetically pleasing. Dali’s Mentor Menuet would be worth checking out too … There are other options as well. Maybe try to hear the Arcam and Naim before you head much further – their presentation is quite different.

 

[tgreen]

Really helpful info, thanks so much. Will definitely audition both LS50's and a couple of active options.

 

[davedotco]

Yes, Naim/ Arcam and some good speakers would be worth it over the Sonus kit but you need to demo combinations, ideally in your home so as to see how room acoustics affect sound. I wonder whether you really need a Naim UnitiQute 2. I don’t think it offers in-built Spotify so I am assuming that you will be hooking up you Mac, Apple TV, etc to its digital inputs rather than using its streaming capabilities. Nothing wrong with this of course, but a DAC/amp combo would suffice, in which case the Arcam kit you mention may suit the KEFs better. There are alternatives to the KEFs though, including options that may be better suited to the Naim, if you prefer the Unitiqute option. Sonus faber’s Venere 1.5, for example, are £150 more than the KEFs and to my eyes are more aesthetically pleasing. Dali’s Mentor Menuet would be worth checking out too … There are other options as well. Maybe try to hear the Arcam and Naim before you head much further – their presentation is quite different.

No Spotify, no airplay and it costs £1100 +.

Didn't realise it was quite so minimalist, though it is a Naim so I should have expected this.

So not for me, for the same <£2k budget I would be tempted to try a Marantz 610 into a pair of ADM9 RS. Find out just how good the 610 is.

 

[Sospri]

Yes, Naim/ Arcam and some good speakers would be worth it over the Sonus kit but you need to demo combinations, ideally in your home so as to see how room acoustics affect sound. I wonder whether you really need a Naim UnitiQute 2. I don’t think it offers in-built Spotify so I am assuming that you will be hooking up you Mac, Apple TV, etc to its digital inputs rather than using its streaming capabilities. Nothing wrong with this of course, but a DAC/amp combo would suffice, in which case the Arcam kit you mention may suit the KEFs better. There are alternatives to the KEFs though, including options that may be better suited to the Naim, if you prefer the Unitiqute option. Sonus faber’s Venere 1.5, for example, are £150 more than the KEFs and to my eyes are more aesthetically pleasing. Dali’s Mentor Menuet would be worth checking out too … There are other options as well. Maybe try to hear the Arcam and Naim before you head much further – their presentation is quite different.

No Spotify, no airplay and it costs £1100 +.

Didn't realise it was quite so minimalist, though it is a Naim so I should have expected this.

So not for me, for the same <£2k budget I would be tempted to try a Marantz 610 into a pair of ADM9 RS. Find out just how good the 610 is.

Don't know about airplay, but Spotify is a very poor source anyway, why would anyone want it in a good quality set-up.............

 

[tgreen]

Spotify is very convenient though. Great way to audition music. It's not my preferred source, but I certainly get my £10pm worth.

 

[davedotco]

Yes, Naim/ Arcam and some good speakers would be worth it over the Sonus kit but you need to demo combinations, ideally in your home so as to see how room acoustics affect sound. I wonder whether you really need a Naim UnitiQute 2. I don’t think it offers in-built Spotify so I am assuming that you will be hooking up you Mac, Apple TV, etc to its digital inputs rather than using its streaming capabilities. Nothing wrong with this of course, but a DAC/amp combo would suffice, in which case the Arcam kit you mention may suit the KEFs better. There are alternatives to the KEFs though, including options that may be better suited to the Naim, if you prefer the Unitiqute option. Sonus faber’s Venere 1.5, for example, are £150 more than the KEFs and to my eyes are more aesthetically pleasing. Dali’s Mentor Menuet would be worth checking out too … There are other options as well. Maybe try to hear the Arcam and Naim before you head much further – their presentation is quite different.

No Spotify, no airplay and it costs £1100 +.

Didn't realise it was quite so minimalist, though it is a Naim so I should have expected this.

So not for me, for the same <£2k budget I would be tempted to try a Marantz 610 into a pair of ADM9 RS. Find out just how good the 610 is.

Don't know about airplay, but Spotify is a very poor source anyway, why would anyone want it in a good quality set-up.............

Really?

When I do go to the bother of organising a proper comparison it is extremely difficult to pick the live Spotify feed from a FLAC of the same recording, and I mean the same, same album, same tracks, same version, (mastering etc).

 

[altruistic.lemon]

Really? Yet me and my mate can pick the diff every time.

 

[davedotco]

Really? Yet me and my mate can pick the diff every time.

Of course you can, never occured to me otherwise.