What components are suited together

Mark

my dealer suggested QNAP - even better now it runs with Asset - number of members use one or the other for NAS  very happy with my QNAP use the HS 210  with red x2 TB mirrored

works for me

Either of those NAS is great if it's set up right. There's plenty of advice about that on the forum. Naim does make the UnitiServe, so check that out. A lot more money. I don't use one so I'm no expert, but there are plenty of posts about them on the Forum. It's sometimes abbreviated to US. 

If you have a large CD collection to rip, the Unitiserve is a great option, although it's not cheap. Plug it in, and start loading CDs into it. Nothing could be simpler. 

If you're comfortable with setting up a NAS, getting to grips with UPnP software on it, hooking it up to a computer for ripping, etc. you'll get good results for less money.

Either way, you'll need a backup strategy. One option is to buy a Unitiserve and rip your CDs to it, and store your downloads on it too. Then buy a NAS to back it up. Then, once you've ripped all your CDs and are confident with operating the NAS, sell the Unitiserve and use the backup NAS as a server instead.

I did exactly what Chris summarised above. I only got the US because I was scared of getting a NAS. But as you know what you are doing, just get a Synology or QNAP.

It seems to me that most people these days are using a third party NAS like QNAP or Syno, rather than a Naim UnitiServe. That's not to say there's anything wrong with the UnitiServe - it's a great fit-and-forget solution - but a third party NAS is considerably cheaper. If you have even basic IT skills (eg can set up a printer) then I would save your money and get a QNAP or Syno. Both are excellent: Either way, get WD Red disks, unless you're going for SSD, and get a switch.

You can use a cheap NAS for backup such as a WD My Book Live - it's fine and simple for back-up but don't use it to serve your actual music. Or you can use a portable HDD which will plug in to he NAS via USB and just do a monthly back-up - it's a cheaper option. Or you can back-up to a laptop, which is what I do (plus an occasional HDD one) so I have my music when I'm in the office.

(There can be legal issues with the last option depending on where you live).

The website needs some work as it looks very poor and doesn't install confidence that you are buy a good product. Have you written up a review?

Assetnas, far more flexible and resilient than most mass market nas and comes set up and ready to go.

Did you go to the "small green computer website"?  Or the VB Forum site?

Not wishing to argue with others' experience, but in the interests of 'keeping it simple', the Syno and QNAP options are tried and tested. Lots of forum folks use them and Naim staffers use them, so to get going with a reliable solution and easy support, I would go that way.

What other components are you interested in? The UL is an all-in-one, so just add cables and speakers. . . . Is it speakers you're asking about?

Monkadil, with respect to music streaming, its not so much the NAS that is important. In fact these are largely irrelevant as far as Naim is concerned, but its the UPnP media server that you use. If you actually want to run the media server on the NAS, and many seem to do on this forum, then you need to chose a NAS that can run your Naim compatible media server in a performant way.

So looking at Media Servers the two most popular I suspect are Asset and MinimServer possibly even followed by Twonky - but there are others out there - some of which are specific to some consumer NAS vendors.

So .. try out different media server programmes. Which do you prefer.. remember these are the brains behind the UPnP media experience. Try out on a PC or Mac. Once you are happy and still want to run on a NAS, then look for a NAS that supports that media server. The support forums for those server apps tend to be a good starting place for queries.

But I strongly advise against starting out with a NAS and then trying to find an app that you like that works on the NAS -

However you can always run the media server on a separate machine. You will typically find it performs better and may have more options this way. This is what I do - and essentially what Naim does with the recent UnitiServe products designed for NAS conectivity.

Simon

Well, it's a rare thing for me to disagree with S-i-S. Not, I emphasise, on the actual content of his post, but on the context.

I think the software-first advice is great for people who are experienced with setting up streaming and have good tech skills. For the rest it could get very confusing. I think most people buying their first Uniti/Lite/Qute are working within a 'hi fi paradigm', ie a streamer is like a giant multi-CD carousel on to which you load up all your music and there it is. Those people are not so bothered about the exact differences between UPNP server software choices, they want their giant multi-CD carousel to be up and running and playing lovely music. That's why they bought the thing, and that's why I suggested starting with a Syno or QNAP NAS - because those options work well, and if there's any problem there's loads of advice available.

Agreed Solid Air,  but only in that software first can only work for experienced NAS users,  a first timer or someone who just does not want or has the ability is looking for something that is plug & play in the real sense of the words. 

I do agree with Simon & see where he is coming from as an experienced user;  but I also have a slight deviation in a frustration with some NAS makes & UPnP media serve software not talking to each other, e.g. Synology & Asset. What's so hard in having a NAS that can use all 3rd party media servers.  I have a Synology, chosen on recommendations of this forum & others, but in truth I did not know anything other than it has its own UPnP package & was ready to be plug & play.  Now further down my learning curve, I've tried Minimserver & Plex & gone back to the Synology package & in truth I am very happy with it.  However the other grass is always greener ........  & listening to Asset users on the forum & having played with it on a friends NAS, I would really like to have it on my NAS.  That process has taken me one year,  so I don't think software first is really practical. 

SolidAir, all valid points, but the UPnP server is behind the user experience you have when locally streaming and music navigating. NASs are not generally well suited as general computing platforms - they are compromises in that regard or perhaps best to say they are optimised for the task in hand - storage. This means not all media server programmes will work on all NASs. So hence why I say choose a programme and usability experience you enjoy and - this is the big if - if you want to run that server on your NAS, you had best choose a NAS that will run it.

Simon

Im running Asset on a iMac which feeds my iTunes library to the Unitlite. It does the job but i have no comparison to say weather its any better than the other Upnp servers. 

Would you say that the naim unitiserve is the best option all part from the cost?

I'd say the Unitiserve is the best option in terms of ease of use and setup, and it looks much better than a NAS, if that's important to you. I believe you can get a NAS/UPnP server to sound more or less as good, so if you're confident with setting it up, it makes the US rather an extravagance. 

What ever it is it seems to have over sized heat sinks .. 

This is the media server I use, ok it's not as sleek, but is powered off a USB lead and barely gets warm.

You could connect it with a digital cable, or conect them both to the network using Ethernet leads and a switch. But why spend £2,000 when you can get better sound for £400?

The US, like any other NAS/UPnP server, doesn't connect directly to the Ethernet port on your Uniti. Both devices sit on a network, and need to be connected to it. You can do this by connecting them to spare Ethernet ports on your router, but better to use a switch instead as this handles the data more efficiently.

It's also possible to connect the US via its digital output directly to a digital input on the Uniti, although I've never tried it. It would still need an Ethernet connection to your network in order to control it, so this seems a bit pointless.

I'm using a D-Link Sharecenter NAS, running Mini DLNA (It has options to run other UPnP servers including Twonky which I tried, but MiniDLNA was the easiest to get running).

I'm very happy as this has been 99% reliable for me, just occasionally stopping play halfway through an album, and around once every two months my UQ2 or NAS needing a reboot in order for the Qute to re-aquire the library. Both NAS and UQ2 are wired via an unmanaged 10/100/Gb switch.

These small glitches are acceptable to me so my only question is, could changing NAS or using another UPnP server provide me with better sound quality?