iTunes to Uniti - Three Ways...
Posted by: Obsessed1 on 16 June 2010
I have an office system based around a Naim Uniti, and a good deal of music that has been ripped to iTunes on my iMac (and some downloaded tunes, which are of much lower quality of course). Just for fun, I experimented to see how best to get the iTunes rips to the Uniti. The contenders were:
1) iMac to Uniti direct (via a Monster mini Toslink cable);
2) iMac to TC Konnekt8 via Firewire, then to Uniti with Naim coax; and
3) iTouch to Uniti via Wadia idock and Naim coax.
The results were somewhat surprising. I was expecting #1 to be the clear winner.
In fact, by far the most engaging sound was from the iTouch to the Uniti via the Wadia. The sound was crisper, and had more snap. Both of the first two options sounded somewhat compressed or damped. Option #1 was maybe slightly better than option #2, but I doubt I could reliably differentiate between the two.
The problem is that using the Wadia dock is the least user friendly. The remote that comes with the Wadia is a joke, meaning that you have to scrunch up to the iTouch while it is in the dock and manually select the music (almost like a turntable).
Any suggestions on how to move forward?
I suppose I could try the Naim DAC with options 1 or 2, but would I still be held back by the interface? And is the DAC that much better than the one built into the Uniti?
I could try a Weiss Int202 firewire connection, but would it be any better than the Konnekt8?
I could try a USB option (Hiface, or maybe an Ayre QB9)?
I welcome your suggestions.
1) iMac to Uniti direct (via a Monster mini Toslink cable);
2) iMac to TC Konnekt8 via Firewire, then to Uniti with Naim coax; and
3) iTouch to Uniti via Wadia idock and Naim coax.
The results were somewhat surprising. I was expecting #1 to be the clear winner.
In fact, by far the most engaging sound was from the iTouch to the Uniti via the Wadia. The sound was crisper, and had more snap. Both of the first two options sounded somewhat compressed or damped. Option #1 was maybe slightly better than option #2, but I doubt I could reliably differentiate between the two.
The problem is that using the Wadia dock is the least user friendly. The remote that comes with the Wadia is a joke, meaning that you have to scrunch up to the iTouch while it is in the dock and manually select the music (almost like a turntable).
Any suggestions on how to move forward?
I suppose I could try the Naim DAC with options 1 or 2, but would I still be held back by the interface? And is the DAC that much better than the one built into the Uniti?
I could try a Weiss Int202 firewire connection, but would it be any better than the Konnekt8?
I could try a USB option (Hiface, or maybe an Ayre QB9)?
I welcome your suggestions.