SuperUniti vs ND5 XS+ NAIT 5Si
Posted by: Ryder35 on 08 February 2015
Hi all
New to these forums and NAIM. I auditioned and paid for a NAIT 5Si to drive my Rega p2, Arcam cd 75 and B&W 603 floorstanders. However the amp is not ordered yet and I have the shop demo on loan until I have to confirm my decision on Tuesday. I have since been thinking seriously about a streaming device (ND5 XS) however adding that to the amp is pretty much the same price as the SuperUniti. So my question is which will give me the best sound overall: the NAIT + ND5 or the SuperUniti?
Anything else I should be considering?
Thanks in advance
John
Ryder35 you are killing me. I just poured out my change jar hoping to come up with the money to upgrade to SU....
Gllad you like it and it sounds like you found a winner.
Sorry It certainly works for me. SO much to get my head around. Been looking at downloading the HD FLAC of Born to Run and there are so many differing sites with poor descriptions of what you actually get that I am almost ready to give up! Did DL the HD version of Led Zep 4 though so will have a listen to that tonight and compare o the vinyl.
I have found that people discuss the quality of high res downloads in the forums at computer audiophile.
Hi There, I have not posted on the forum in quite a while but thought I should comment regarding the Superuniti vs (the rest). I have been on quite a journey with Naim boxes since early 2013 starting with a new SU & CD5si back in March 2013 and recently coming back to a new SU b version with 4.1 firmware with the excellent Spotify connect functionality in Feb 2015.
In the meantime I have worked some way up the Naim food chain, well as far as an NDS / 555DR a 252 / Supercap DR and 250-2, I wont bore you with all the intermediate details including the truly excellent SN2 and Hi Cap DR.
So I have recently acquired a shiny new Superuniti b which currently drive a pair of excellent 3 way PMC 26s with a Rega RP6 TT with £200 Fono stage & Exact cartridge. I still have my 250-2 and have tried it with the SU. I am not 100% sure about the PMC 26s in my room but thats another thread for the future.
My conclusion is simply that the SU simply has to be the best value for money in the whole of the Naim portfolio (apart from MUSO which is truly amazing but not really Hi Fi sorry!!)) and like the MUSO the SU is only ONE box!! albeit a truly remarkable one. I am not even that convinced that adding the 250-2 or even a NAP 300 to drive the speakers is a better opion. Its definitely different and can even be bi amped with the SU to offer you more LF power, sound stage & presence but it seems to my hearing that the 250-2 degrades the HF range if used on its own with the SU power amp switched off (Maybe just my hearing but the wife agrees!!)
Make no mistake the latest Superuniti b which sounds somewhat better to me than my previous 2013 version (supposedly only has bluetooth added) is truly an amazing piece of technology for the money, I would highly recommend it to even the most ardent audiophile.
Of course if you want to spend another £20K and have 3, 4, 5 or even 6 other Naim boxes and a lovely Naim Fraim like I did then thats fine and dandy and will no doubt give you an enormous amount of pleasure, but my experience has taught me to simply put a Powerline on a Superuniti (which incidentally does improve it a lot) sit back and enjoy.......Sorry no wish to offend anyone its just my opinion..
^^^^^ totally agree. Nearly 3 years now with my SU after trading in my multi box olive system and not the slightest wish to "upgrade". The SU still surprises and delights. Add in Qobuz and I've never enjoyed my system more.
^^^^^ totally agree. Nearly 3 years now with my SU after trading in my multi box olive system and not the slightest wish to "upgrade". The SU still surprises and delights. Add in Qobuz and I've never enjoyed my system more.
What is the best way to add streaming services like Qobiz etc? Or did you just mean HD downloads?
I have a dedicated PC connected via optical cable to the SU; thus anything the PC can play can be fed through (the joy of spare shelves in the rack!). I can control the PC from my couch via an Android app so quite convenient but not quite as nice to use as Spotify integrated into the Naim app. Sound quality from Qobuz is excellent - pretty much indistinguishable from ripped CDs.
It's not necessarily the "best" way but it'll do until Naim get their act together integrating lossless services into the app - it's infinitely better than farting around with physical CDs.