System gone, starting again....where Next ?

I might have approached things slightly differently.  How about  NAC72(MM phono board) / NAP140 plus a streamer (Sonos would be my choice but there are many to choose from).  You can sell your uniti2 and phono stage.

From here you can add power supplies, pre amps or power amps as you see fit. Sticking with second hand will keep the prices down.

I appreciate that you are where you are but I thought this alternative worth a mention.

Matt

Working on the assumption that every mention of a UnitiServe really means UnitiLite, and the assumption that you are happy with your GB1i, I would add a used 200 to the UnitiLite (under £1,000 for a good one - and you don't need the new DR version) and later add a 272 once used ones become available. The GB1s really need the drive of the 200 to get them going, so the 200 will be ideal in the short term and is not too expensive. If down the line the 272 is too costly, then the 172 is an alternative. 

I have a 172 and a Nap 200 and about 16 years of Warranty left on my GB1is.  Given that

• the jump to a 272 is going to cost me £2,500 net
• the 272 opens up all manner of further upgrade possibilities/angst,
• the setup I have now sounds absolutely balanced and sublime, and 
• I'm 54.

I can see my Naim journey as complete and a Job well done.

That £2500 in going to buy a lot of Music..

@Ray Sheldon - a bit confused by the Unitiserve / Unitilite thing . . . but certainly don't buy a Unitiserve, even second hand. A third party NAS (Synology or Qnap) will be equally good and much cheaper.

Other than that, I agree with HH (not for the first time). A second-hand 200 is a bargain and will drive the speakers beautifully, and at a later date you can swap the Unitilite for a pre/streamer. A 172 will improve on the Unitilite a little bit - the 172 is more balanced and fluid, the Unitilite is more of a puppy. That won't cost you much, if anything. I also have a 172/200 and love them. For a proper step up, a 272 would get you near to the level you were before, give or take. 

All,

just read my thread again and what a d***. Clearly I meant I have a Unitilite and was considering a unitiserve much later!

so, re-read that again putting lite/ serve in appropriate location and so on. 

Overall I think I get the message, add a 200 and go from there, which I might add was my thinking prior to this. Previously owned a 200(pre-dr)with 202 & HCdr and found it was much better than SN1 with HCdr. And yes, happy with speakers.  Downsized to rid of upgradeitious.

To conclude, I think 200 first,followed by 172/272 and the alternatives to unitiSERVE.

Thanks guys,

Ray.

Good decision - a 272/200 will very likely be better than a HDX and Supernait. 

All,

just read my thread again and what a d***. Clearly I meant I have a Unitilite and was considering a unitiserve much later!

so, re-read that again putting lite/ serve in appropriate location and so on. 

Overall I think I get the message, add a 200 and go from there, which I might add was my thinking prior to this. Previously owned a 200(pre-dr)with 202 & HCdr and found it was much better than SN1 with HCdr. And yes, happy with speakers.  Downsized to rid of upgradeitious.

To conclude, I think 200 first,followed by 172/272 and the alternatives to unitiSERVE.

Thanks guys,

Ray.

Apologies if my last response came through 2 or 3 times, wasn't me!

HH, thanks for that. Agreed used 200 prices have crashed somewhat, mine was 6 months old and went for 1100 ish I think. 

Back in a few months(or less perhaps). 

Ray.

Hi Ray, in my opinion there are two routs that stand out as clearly better than the others.

First is your option 5.  this is most expensive, but at the end you'll get the best system

The other is to use older s/h gear such as olive per / power or a s/h Nait (XS or SN) with a streamer.  For the streamer I wouldn't consider the Sonos - it's just not in the same league.  I have heard a ND 5 XS through a NAC 72 + NAP 140 and through a Nait XS-2, and in both cases it worked really well.  Overall they were acoustically beautifully balanced systems.  These are still very good systems with all the Naim characteristics, not as good as a NAC-N 272 + NAP 200, but at significantly lower cost!

If you're looking at used or ex-dem gear, to some extent your choice might be dictated by what comes along at the right price and time. If you're prepared to consider a 272, it's a little bit early to be looking for used bargains yet, whereas you could easily end up back where you started with the HDX/SN2; or maybe NDX/SN2. These are still great 2-box systems, which to my ears, are quite capable of giving the 272/200 a run for the money.  

Everyone,

Thanks for your input, eventually I would love to be back at NDX/SN level or 272/200 etc and was looking for ways of having something short term both at a reasonable price and something I could live with until funds allow.... anyway, I think I have found that with a used Superuniti. Been home for a few days and liking it very much. With the sale of the unitilite(currently on auction)the outlay has been approx 1k. 

The SU is very good indeed and with Spotify at my disposal(Tidal next perhaps), I'm quite happy where I am.  Might not need a CD player again, but a ripper/server might be an option later.

Thanks...

A combined ripper / server is an unnecessarily expensive option.  Using a computer to rip CDs to a NAS drive works just as well and is a lot cheaper.

+1. Have the nas already(back up from previously owned HDX). Have a laptop, just need to learn how to do it.....same goes for hi-res downloads. 

I had a SU with GB1i speakers and really enjoyed it. I'm sure you will get the hang of ripping; just put DB Poweramp on your laptop and off you go. Some download sites can be fiddly but most are very straightforward. If you start looking at Qobuz, make sure you use their desktop to download, which does away with the hassle of zip files. If I can manage it, anyone can.

1  download dBpoweramp
2  run dBpoweramp
3  set the output directory in dBpoweramp (NAS or a local drive).  It can be set to automatically put the rip in a x:\...\<artist name>\ folder.
4  stick a CD in the laptop DVD drive
5  check the Metadata that dBpoweramp displays
6  start the rip
7  Go to 4 with the next CD

Hi res downloads are the same as any other: just copy/extract them into a subdirectory on the NAS's 'music' share.

Thanks guys, I'll have a go sometime next week.