New SuperUnity - disappointed and unsure what to expect ...

It's really hard to put oneself in your position. I've owned a SU for three and a half years, and been very happy with it. I don't recognise your criticisms - but that doesn't make them any less valid for you! None of us will be familiar with your old system, so it's hard to make a comparison. After a couple of weeks (assuming kept switched on) it should really be delivering say 95% of its ultimate performance, so maybe it's faulty - or just not for you for some reason. Are you still using the B&W speakers?

Try to switch to "Floating Ground" on the back of your SU.

Rethink the position of your speakers. Even after one of the last software updates for the SU, I had the need to re-position my speakers slightly.

Keep the SU switched on.

Try to switch from Wifi to Ethernet.

Speakers cables can make a difference. The most expensive is not necessarily the best. Borrow a NAC-A5 from your dealer if you didn't already try one.

Hello,

thanks for your quick reply. I will follow-up your tips to see whether it brings an improvement. The B&W speakers are still in use - I do not think that they cause the issue.

I travel a lot and after returning from each trip it takes a day and a half of gradually increasing volume before the whole rig is singing spirited and free, both SuperU and Totem Model One Signature speakers being big on the run-in thing.

For the sake of churning your perceptions, try using decentish USB DAC (maybe you have one, maybe on loan) into a SU analogue input. Another sound altogether - I wouldn't be surprised if you can't say if it's better or worse - different, it is in emphases, and different emphases there definitely are.

Also during this burn in period of half convincedness, you may like to introduce yourself to some of that HD material, sort of distract yourself while serious transformations are underway in the silicon based innards of the beautiful black box. After that you will likely find yourself re-enchanted by some of your existing discs in 16/44.1.

I'm not familiar with your old gear, but you moved from separates to a one box solution... depending on the quality of your old gear you may be giving something up in making the switch. Did you demo the SU first and compare it to your other gear first?

Also... as stated above... you definitely want to use a wired connection as opposed to wifi... and burn in can take a month or longer.

I'd suggest, as well as sorting out a wired connection, that you set your upnp server to transcode from FLAC to WAV. Just in case you don't know, this process converts the file to WAV as you play it, and leaves the original as FLAC. You should find that it gives a nicer sound. 

I'm intrigued that you find the SU to lack warmth and bass. If anything, its sound leans in a warm direction and there is certainly plenty of bass. 

This may sound silly, but your speakers are wired in phase, aren't they?

It seems to me to be differences in presentation, the Luxman kit (I have owned one of their TTs) might be over-warm and wooly to some ears. The music not moving you is a bit worrying, adjusting to a new presentation (spatially or tonally) can be distracting and remove you from the 'suspension of disbelief'.

You do realise your mind will take some time to be 'broken in' so keep it switched on, no 'traumen'!

HH's last question seems to me particularly relevant because, as he no doubt also thinks, your description does sound rather like your speakers are out of phase.

i have a SuperUniti in my study and it sounds wonderful.....

best

David

I'm a SuperUniti user here and it certainly moves me.
However, I've been used to the "Naim sound" for many years and the speed & tightness of the bass might be perceived as "lacking" if you're more used to a fuller (usually slower & woolier) presentation.
However, vocals on Naim are one thing that always excel, often giving the impression that the singer is right there in the room, very realistic, so I'm surprised to read that observation.
I'm currently using Neat Elite SX loudspeakers connected using Naim NACA5 cables.

My SU took about 1 month of normal use to break in.

Some tips on sound improvements after 1 year with my SU

* Power cable - it does make a difference. Experiment there I ended up with MIT Magnum. Enerr Violet works well too.

* Speaker cables - less critical, but important

* Glass shelf - far superior than anything else for placement. It opens up the sound.

* Speaker positioning - critical. NAIMs have a specifc way of presenting a sound stage and you need to get there.

Also what you may percieve as a lack of bass, is that suddenly you actually have a lot of mid-range like vocals that suddenly jumped into focus. Bass is there - trust me I play a bass guitar and that is the first thing I listen for / to.

Glass shelf? Interesting. Currently my SU resides on a metal shelf. Should I try to change the shelf? Does it really make a difference in sound?

As with anything - do experiment.

I had my local specialist hi-fi rack builder make me some glass shelves, in the exact  size and thicknes as the Fraim shelves. If you have a look at the pic in my profile you will understand what I mean. 

I then put the shelves on some VibraPods. Once I heard what it did to my main system, I tested one of the shelves under my Super Uniti - a transformation ))

I've had my SU since Oct - although it was an ex-demo , I don't believe it had many hours of usage.  It sounded wonderful straight away (upgrade from Unitilite) with ample but not overpowering bass.  I'm using B&W 683S2 with inexpensive Chord Odyssey cables.  Its currently connected through wifi as opposed to Ethernet (I did experiment with cable but couldn't discern any difference).  It sits on a wooden shelf unit  (but this thread has got me thinking).  

Transcoding to WAV made it sound even better.  

Apart from transcoding I'm doing everything else "wrong" and it still sounds great, with plenty of warmth.

Maybe you should continue the burn-in for another couple of weeks and if still not happy seek advice from your dealer.

Borders Nick posted:

Its currently connected through wifi as opposed to Ethernet (I did experiment with cable but couldn't discern any difference).

 

Did you manage to stream high-res (above 96kHz / 24 bit) via WiFi?

Mine was too unstable so a cable was an only option for me.

Coincidentally, I tried a 96kHz / 24 bit file for the first time tonight out of curiosity (A free download from Naim Label site - Neil Cowley Trio - Wallflower). It plays perfectly.  I'm just using the  ISP supplied modem/router with a TP-link booster.  I may experiment with more files.

Neil Cowley Trio - have few of their albums. Good stuff!

First of all - thank you all for your quick and well thought tips and advice - it is highly appreciated !

After some minor changes to power- and speaker cable routing (taking them away from each other as far as possible) I found the "culprit": switching the selector to "Floating Ground" did the trick ! I could not believe the difference - natural sounding voices, beautiful warm violins, clearer bass were the result. The first 5 minutes I had goose bumps on my arms, tremors running down my spine and a smile from ear to ear. Man, what a SOUND !

I will continue optimizing the setting: the suggestion regarding speaker position, power cable and glass shelves are interesting options to pursue. The change of sound to a more transparent "picture" logically results in a less "woolly" character of the sound, however that is something that is more related to what you are used to instead, and definitely is a result of a higher quality system.

Thanks again to all - I wish you a happy and euphonious 2016 !

Welcome to THE sound

Happy 2016!

Fantastic outcome! Happy New Year 

Who would have thought that the ground switch would make so much difference? I'm so pleased that the sound is now so much better.  Well done. 

Just for the record: my power socket does not have any grounding. That might be of influence when switching the selector at the back of the SU: in case you use a power socket with grounding already, the significant sound improvement I mentioned above might not be effectuated at all.