Naim Unitiqute or DAC-V1 system choices

[SJCT99]

Got about £1,500 for a stereo digital music system and would be interested in any opinions on my shortlist:

System A (£981):

* Naim UnitiQute v1 (used) £736

* Q Acoustics Concept (new) £245

System B (£1,286):

* Naim UnitiQute v1 (used) £736

* Neat Iota (new cosmetic seconds) £550

System C (£1,490):

* Naim DAC-V1 (used) £895

* Quad Elite Stereo power amp (ex display) £350

* Q Acoustics Concept (new) £245

System D (£1,565):

* Naim DAC-V1 (used) £895

* Naim Nap 150 (used) £425

* Q Acoustics Concept (new) £245

 

[Hi-FiOutlaw]

My money would go for system B.

i had at home demo DAC V1 and the Naim UnitiQute and for a all in one system the Qute give you much more for the money!

 

[Philim]

With a limited budget i would be careful where i invested my money.

If those were my only choices i would go for system d however i would be concerned on balance on the quality of the speakers Vs amp.

I am assuming you will be streaming in which case you already have a streamer and dac in the sonos.

In which case i would consider a naim xs 600 to 700 plus some kef r300 400ish or kef ls50 550ish used.

Personally in a digital system the dac is least important but if it is essential consider an audiolab mdac at 400 ish.

 

[richardw42]

If you're using the ZP90 as source, you could connect directly via RCA into a pair of active speakers such as the excellent AVI DM5, or for more inputs and DAC included, the AVI ADM9RS.

There are loads of active options at below £1500. That's what I'd be doing.

Check out out the active speaker thread for ideas.

 

[Scissor_digits]

2nd vote for system B

 

[wilro15]

System B

 

[CJ1045]

Well I would go for system A but you should note that the Q Acoustics Concept 20 are £350 new and not £245. They are stunning speakers.

CJ

 

[ChrisIRL]

Don't be afraid to pair the Concept 20s with an amp well above their price bracket.

I originally had paired them with a NAD D3020 (30W) and found the sound too smooth and lacking punch. I mistakenly put this down to the speakers and started home demos of other options right up to KEF LS50s. During this time I also upgraded my amp to an Arcam A19 (50W).

Recently I read somewhere that the A19/ concept 20 pairing was quiet good, in fact Arcam regularly use concept 20s when givings demos of amps and dacs etc. So back to the concept 20 hooked up to my A19 and I've finally found my ideal system. Clear, punchy, detailed and great fun to listen to. Cliche I know but I've started listening to music again, not my system.

In summary it seems the concept 20s need a powerful amp to drive them well or maybe this is just a nice pairing. Something like the A19 plus concept 20s with stands would leave you a nice bit of your budget to buy a decent cd player.

 

[SJCT99]

There was a 30% of Q Acostics sale a few weeks back so I bought the Concept 20 for £245 but have not opened them as I figured I could sell them and not be out of pocket if I decide not to keep them

 

[ChrisIRL]

Well I would go for system A but you should note that the Q Acoustics Concept 20 are £350 new and not £245. They are stunning speakers.

CJ

Stunning speakers agreed. I picked up my new pair for 380 euro which is about £300. A bit of haggling and shopping around can serve well.

 

[SJCT99]

Looks like I got an amazing deal at £245

 

[richardw42]

You could just add the unitiqute then, and I'm sure you'd be pleased.

However Sonos is the easiest, versatile streaming front end, so I think you'll be better sticking with that. But you'd still want amp and maybe a dac.

 

[Philim]

I am sure the q acoustics are good in their price range but you are considering putting 2k of naim amp on a 350 pound pair of speakers. Not a well balanced combo in my opinion. There is also no point spending money on streaming and dac when you have a good system already.

 

[nima]

are considering putting 2k of naim amp on a 350 pound pair of speakers

Nothing wrong with that, he's putting 1.2k of Naim sources + amps on the speakers tho.

 

[ChrisIRL]

I am sure the q acoustics are good in their price range but you are considering putting 2k of naim amp on a 350 pound pair of speakers. Not a well balanced combo in my opinion. There is also no point spending money on streaming and dac when you have a good system already.

Believing that you had to pair similarly priced components is exactly what caused me to waste alot of time trying to find the right sound for me. On paper it makes sense but in reality you have to hear the components to truly decide and try to ignore prices completely. I also think the Q Acoustics concept 20s get over looked by alot of people because of their "budget" price tag when they could give exactly the sound quality many would like. They certainly need a good quality and decently powered amp though whatever such an amp might cost.

 

[Philim]

I am sure the q acoustics are good in their price range but you are considering putting 2k of naim amp on a 350 pound pair of speakers. Not a well balanced combo in my opinion. There is also no point spending money on streaming and dac when you have a good system already.

Believing that you had to pair similarly priced components is exactly what caused me to waste alot of time trying to find the right sound for me. On paper it makes sense but in reality you have to hear the components to truly decide and try to ignore prices completely. I also think the Q Acoustics concept 20s get over looked by alot of people because of their "budget" price tag when they could give exactly the sound quality many would like. They certainly need a good quality and decently powered amp though whatever such an amp might cost.

Chris

i have no idea what route you have been down but the biggest impact on sq in a digi system is probabably speakers, amp and dac in that order. Sticking budget (and they are budget; good but still budget) speakers on a 2k amp is not going to benefit in getting the best sq for the money

 

[ChrisIRL]

I am sure the q acoustics are good in their price range but you are considering putting 2k of naim amp on a 350 pound pair of speakers. Not a well balanced combo in my opinion. There is also no point spending money on streaming and dac when you have a good system already.

Believing that you had to pair similarly priced components is exactly what caused me to waste alot of time trying to find the right sound for me. On paper it makes sense but in reality you have to hear the components to truly decide and try to ignore prices completely. I also think the Q Acoustics concept 20s get over looked by alot of people because of their "budget" price tag when they could give exactly the sound quality many would like. They certainly need a good quality and decently powered amp though whatever such an amp might cost.

Chris

i have no idea what route you have been down but the biggest impact on sq in a digi system is probabably speakers, amp and dac in that order. Sticking budget (and they are budget; good but still budget) speakers on a 2k amp is not going to benefit in getting the best sq for the money

I agree fully that the speakers make the biggest difference in terms of sq. My point is not that the concepts 20s will get the best from a 2k amp however, but rather an expensive amp will get the best from the 20s, and that best is better than many might believe possible because of their price. That said I don't believe any amp, or any hifi component needs to cost 2k to acheive a perfectly good sq.

 

[SJCT99]

So if it is right that the speakers are the most important thing should I spend £800 on speakers and use the rest getting the Naim UnitiQute? If yes what speakers? The speakers need to be small speakers, nothing taller than 27.5cm which probably narrows the field considerably. Thanks for the helpful info

 

[rainsoothe]

I do agree that the price discrepancy between the Naims and the Q Acoustics is kinda weird. BUT speakers don't necessarily make the biggest difference in a system. My experience is this:

Innitial system: PC soundcard --> Old Sony 5ch reciever --> B&W DM 602 S2

First upgrade: PC soundcard --> ROTEL RA 1520 --> B&W DM 602 S2

Second upgrade: MF M1 DAC --> ROTEL RA 1520 --> B&W CM5

Third upgrade: Naim V1 DAC --> ROTEL RA 1520 --> B&W CM5

Fourth upgrade: Naim V1 DAC --> Naim Supernait 2 --> Martin Logan Motion 40

Out of the ones above, the most obvious ones were Naim over the Musical fidelity DAC, and the Rotel over the Sony amp, and then the SN2 and Martin Logans. The first dac and speakers did make a difference, but not as big as the amps, and the DAC V1 stunned me and that was the biggest gap imo.

I'm not saying that it's the way to go, but you defenately need to audition.

BTW - why are you only considering the Unityqute but not Unityqute 2? Since UQ2 is cheaper than the Dac V1 (which you are also considering)?

 

[rainsoothe]

nvm that last bit, just noticed you were listing used prices.

 

[nima]

Good budget or even super budget speakers can go a long way in a good system. Speakers do have the biggest impact on sound, but it's everything else that makes or breaks the system. It's far more likely to achieve listenable reuslts over-sourced than over-speakered.

 

[Philim]

So if it is right that the speakers are the most important thing should I spend £800 on speakers and use the rest getting the Naim UnitiQute? If yes what speakers? The speakers need to be small speakers, nothing taller than 27.5cm which probably narrows the field considerably. Thanks for the helpful info

SJ

Hifi can be very personal on what sound you like and in all honesty for such a big investment i would get out and listen to some hifi shows or visit some dealer open days. Hifi lounge have a naim open day on 8th june or thereabouts as an example (no connection just had good service). They will have a variety of naim systems on demo, with naim employees on hand and offering discounts on day (talking from memory so excuse if wrong).

Every comment on here is correct in their own way however i would recomend you find out your own preferences.

As an example in the last 5 yrs i have owned q acoustics 2010, 2020, nad 326,, Roksan kandy pre and power, ae radiance 3, naim xs, hicap dr, 282 dac v1, 282, supernait 2 and kef r500 / 700. I have also demoed considerably more lol.

On chris point about cost i was at one point running 7k of amp with 1.5k of speakers to great effect so to a degree i agree with him. You can get value you just need to find it. I saw a pair of maggies for 900 yesterday. They produce the most amazing mids and trebles and with some music some of the best sounds you can get. But if you listen to dance music you are buggered as the bass is not as good as traditional speakers.

Recomendations are ok but can be misleading. The roksan kandy for example gets 5 stars and numerous awards. To me it is utter sh1te and one of the worst amps i have ever heard. To others in here because they own it, it is the best thing they have heard.

When i first started out i had the q acoustics 2010 which got rave reviews; punched above their weight etc and i loved them and praised them on here. Now they sound like biscuit tins compared to what i have in my main system. Equally my system would sound poor to others lol.

I personally love naim sound to a degree. Some hate or refuse to like it because of their business values. From my experience with naim amplification you get what you pay for which is why i recomend you not wasting budget on a dac and streamer when you already have it because you will waste sq if you do. The qute is a nice piece of kit but i would imagine the guts of the pre and power are based off the 5i. If you compare the 5i to an xs. Personally there is no comp. The xs kills it. You also leave yourself with the option to upgrade later with the flatcap etc. later on and you get a better power section to drive your speakers.

You will also find different sounds within the naim hierachy. It is not just a case of same sound all the way up the hierachy. The 5i sounds different to the xs. I dont just mean better seperations, more clarity etc.The old SN sounded very different to to xs etc.

Apologies to you and everyone for the long message but i guess what i am saying is that you need to get out and listen and find what you like but dont rush into it on the back of mine or anyones recomendations. ps hifi can be addictive and you run the risk of never being happy again

 

[Dommer]

If you're thinking to make this a long term purchase, then I would also suggest spending about 1/2 or 1/3 of your budget on some good speakers, and then look at a used Naim UnitiQute v1 or v2. You can always add a NAP 100 to it at a later date.

Or you can stick to the Q Acoustics for now and look at the DAC V1 + NAP150 or even a NAP 200 combo as it should be better in terms of SQ. You can then update the speakers in a year or two when funds allow.

Perhaps go and audition some Kef LS50s or NEATs or even PMC DB1is.

Btw, I managed to find a demo pair of the Kef R100s for 2/3 the price. They are small but sound brilliant and work very well with the unitiQute.

 

[SJCT99]

Hi Dommer, I see from your signature that you have a UnitiQute partnered with a Nap 100 so I am interested to know how much difference the nap 100 makes? On paper if I had the funds a Naim DAC-V1 with the Nap 100 would be top of my demo list. Hyperthetically if you the opportunity to swap your UnitiQute with the Naim DAC-V1 (at no cost) what would your decision be and why? Thanks

 

[nima]

You might find Naim forum more helpful for your queries.