New to Naim - advice on upgrading from UnitiLite

Pick up a used amp... 200 or preferably 250... use your uniti as a digital streamer / preamp... this alone will make a nice difference.... when funds allow get a 272.

That is the approach I took with my Superuniti about 3 years ago... although I went separates + ndx route.

Like Zipperheadbanjo, I upgraded my all-in-one (Uniti 2) with a NAP200 but mainly to properly drive a change in speakers. I am not familiar with your speakers and am not sure how demanding they are. You could try a separate power amp, say a 200 or 250, and see if it brings worthwhile improvements.

Again like Zipperheadbanjo, back in my Unit 2 days I moved on to separates but the 272 wasn't available then and if it were my system might be different today. So if you did go for a power amp now to upgrade your Unitilite you could keep it to go with a 272 when funds allow - maybe? The only thing to be aware of is that the 272 does not offer the flexibility of further upgrades that separates do.

The great thing about Naim is that you can always try before you buy.

You should also consider the SuperUniti which was my own upgrade from Unitilite after a year. It is a whole different ballgame to the UL and also it is a lot cheaper than buying separate boxes.

best

David

Another vote for the SuperUniti. Serious upgrade to what you have.

It will save you money in the long term if you get a power amp such as the 200 or 250 and use the Unitilite as the interim preamp/streamer as mentioned above, and eventually get the 172 or 272. If you go from the Unitilite to the Superuniti and you love the SU, then that is fantastic and cost effective. However, further upgrades then mean buying a power amp and then eventually a 172,272 or preamp/ndx, with subsequent loss on the superuniti.

I know this ,as I went from a Uniti to a Superuniti, against the advice of my dealer to get a 200. I now want a 272 and will lose half the SU value on trade in. Just my 0.02c.

Thanks to everyone who replied with so much valuable advice...

I think I'm going to go down the NAP 250 DR route and use the Unitilite as my preamp, as many have pointed out, starts me down the separates path which given my nature, I'm bound to follow. This approach will hopefully provide some sonic improvements and give me a few options as to possible next steps.

As mentioned, I'm new to Naim & apart from the wonderful sound and build quality, the upgrade paths are many which I also really appreciate.

Thanks again and look forward to contributing to the forum in the future

Smart move IMHO. The 250DR is a stocking amp which you will start to appreciate with your Unitilite and will form the bedrock of several future separates upgrades. I really think you are on the right path.

...oh, but that's not true...272 can have a XP5PS, or a XPS (DR or not) or i guess even a 555PS...

so ... plenty of... the 172, on the other hand, it does not! and this might be a good thing

...another debatable suggestion... a lot cheaper than WHICH separates? for instance, the combo i have 172+200DR has roughly the SAME price as the superuniti. after hearing them shoulder to shoulder on ovator s400 and revel F206, i concluded that the pre+power combo is superior to SU in sound quality.

of course, you will need to consider 2 power chords in case you want to, and you need 2 levels of rack/whatever, but that's entirely a different discussion...

i think that SU is a serious upgrade on unitilite, but not that great on uniti2. and, as i've said, both 200 amps, be it regular or DR, are an upgrade to all integrateds and all all-in-one, including SU or SN. and given the fact that now the non-DR version is like in stock liquidation, or many will want to upgrade to DR version, there is very likely one can get his/hers hand on a mint condition (MY 2013 or 2014)  200 for half the price as new, meaning round 1000 quid... which is, if you ask me, a sweet spot in Naim's range, according to many which have had the 200 in way higher up the ladder setups!

i much preffer the DR version of the 200, cause is right there in the middle of the old 200 and the new 250DR... but for half the price, a mint 200 non-dr, i reckon will be no slouch either.

Should be possible with most other brands as well

Hi everyone and apologies for my question as I'm probably being dense but assuming my choice of power amp is the NAP 250, could I choose between a purely network player such as the ND5 XS or would I need a streaming pre amp such as the NAC N272? As in my original post, I'm only really interested in listening to music from a NAS, streamed via Tidal or iRadio. Does the ND5 XS need a pre amp and if not, how is it different to the NAC N 272? I see both can be upgraded at some point with the additional of a power supply which would be a plus.

Thanks again

I think you would find lots of people here regarding the NAC N272 as the right streaming preamp to put with the NAP250. If this all starts to sound too expensive then a secondhand NAC N172 XS for now would save quite a bit of money and then you could upgrade that to a NAC N272 later when your funds are replenished. Or go with a NAC N272 and a secondhand NAP 200 and upgrade the power amp later.

it really does depend whether you see ongoing upgrading as something you want to get into. As I think was said earlier in this thread, you should think carefully about where you want to end up and then think through the different routes to get there, assuming just buying it outright now isn't an option.

best

David

If you consider further upgrades further on I wouldn't recommend the super uniti as some others, unless that's of course your intended end game.

I would look at a used amp 200 or 250 and pair it with the 272 if you can afford that. Otherwise you might want to start of with an used amp and the 172.

Hi everyone and thank you all once again for such valuable feedback and suggestions. This is such an asset to have access to and feel privileged to be part of the membership.

In the end I chatted at length to my new local Naim dealer in Brisbane and ordered the 272/250DR combination. Expensive...yes but he made it that much more affordable by giving me a trade in price on the UnitiLite equal to its purchase price some 10 months ago. I can't tell you how excited I am and expect to receive both hopefully  before Christmas (apparently the 272 is in short supply).

My speakers are B&W CM8 S2's which sounded terrific with the UnitiLite so hoping the new 272/250DR won't show them up and improve overall imaging and soundstage.

Nice Sweeney,

Ordered 272/250DR hoping it arrives this next week (been delayed a little)

And still deciding on the Aria 926s HH.

Heard Sopra 2 demo this week, they are very good but nearly £10K....

I have an SU , and am interested to know how much of an improvement you experienced when comparing them. as interested in the change to 172/200

As you say Sopra 2 are very large and very heavy speakers, sounded great but a lot of 'kit'

The 926s I'm angling for are a 1/6th of that price and quite large enough for me for now.