Some advice needed for the Mighty UnitiQute

I'd not mess with the Qute in terms of adding amps, it will change its character, and you may not love it as much. Have you tried the 'loudness button' for low level listening? It works rather well.

Important to make sure the speaker setting in the UQ2 isn't set to "small speaker" as that introduces a filter that removes everything below 100 Hz.

Personally I would go for a SuperUniti rather than add a power amp to the UQ2, but this was discussed on another thread recently and I think the final consensus tended towards adding a NAP 200 (but it doesn't need to be a DR because that only works for preamps powered from the NAP).

best

David

Not sure if I'm being dense but the manual isn't that clear when it comes to describing the various speaker settings. It says:

Select the Large option when the UnitiQute preamplifier
output is connected to an external power amplifier or
to a subwoofer used to augment the low frequency
performance of large (full bandwidth) speakers.

Select Small only when the UnitiQute preamplifier output
is connected to a subwoofer used to provide the low
frequency component of a speaker system incorporating
small (restricted bandwidth) satellite speakers. When
Small is specified, a 100Hz high-pass filter is applied to the
UnitiQute speaker output signal.

Select None when no speakers are connected directly to
the UnitiQute.

None of these describe the most common situation which is a pair of speakers such as the OP's OB1s, or my own Guru Juniors connected to the Qute with no subwoofer or external power amp. What is the correct setting in this case? I am assuming Large, but the wording in the manual is confusing on this point.

The manual is confusing, like many Naim manuals are. But the clue is in the description of what happens when you select small, ie a 100 Hz high pass filter is introduced. In other words everything below 100 Hz is filtered out. So if you have no sub-woofer, you need to select Large, as you surmise.

best

David

Hi,

I use my Qute just as a source going into a Nac 122x and then into a Nap 150 driving Guru QM10's, noticably more power and yes  it does sound different and to me it sounds better but  of course that is subjective and a matter of opinion. The thing that did surprise me though when I was messing around with the Nac 122x connections was that it sounded even better connected via the Tuner input, I had previously been plugging into the AV input so that I could bypass the Nac's volume control and use just the Qutes volume much better SQ using the Nac's volume control.

I'm another who found the Qute2 better with an external amp, a NAP100 in my case.  More of everything but still a friendly boppy Qute.  When I connected my Qute to my Guru Juniors I used the small speaker setting.

Using the small speaker setting means that nothing below 100 Hz is sent to the speakers. This is clearly audible (I inadvertently chose the wrong setting originally myself. But I suppose very small speakers may prefer not have bass pushed into them and of course the bass would also make demands on the Qute's power amplifier. 

So so try both and see which sounds best is a good strategy.

best

David

Thanks, David, that makes sense. Naim could do with adding a guide as to which option to use in what is probably the most common use case: a single set of full-range speakers with no sub or external amp. I checked my Qute and it is set to Large. I now remember trying Small and thinking it sounded wrong.

The loudness setting boosts treble and bass for listening at low volume settings, because the average ear is less sensitive at low levels at the frequency extremes than in the midrange. At higher levels the treble and bass boost won't sound good at all and unless your habit is to listen to it really quite quiet, I suggest you try turning the loudness off and play a couple of albums you are used to, so as to check which setting you really prefer.

best

David

One of the benefits of the PMC TL design is usually a good ability to present the full range at lower volumes, but the PMCs do respond well to more power and especially more grip/current.

My experience in upgrading from qute2/nap100 to a far more dynamic, powerful amp was what sounded like an extra octave of bass extension at all levels, so I think your thoughts of adding a 200/250 to the qute are a logical step, as this leaves room to upgrade the source later if you feel the need, and also allows you to tweak the sound to your liking with different cables etc.