UnitiServe v Melco, plus system upgrade; advice needed.

Tim, what a lovely fellow you are!! As you know, I'm slumming it with the 272, XPSDR and 250DR, and I have to say it's totally wonderful. I'd have a listen to this against the 555PS and 300, as it might be enough for you. That said, the 372 is almost bound to appear, and if so is highly likely to have no internal power supply and to be able to use both parts of the 555PS. 

As to the UnitiServe, sell it and load Minimserver on your Synology, or get a Qnap and use Asset. 

As to the wires, I've found SL to be extraordinarily good, and they raised the system to a level I thought was unachievable from three boxes. You could try Chord, but I didn't bother - I just liked the idea of everything being Naim. Baa!

As to the TT, it makes more sense to get a Rega phono stage as it will match the cartridge and is self powered. 

You must also budget for a really good stand, Powerlines, and a dedicated mains supply. Should you wish to chat anything through, feel free to get in touch. It's my name at g mail. 

Thanks for that HH. Any thoughts on whether or not the 250DR would be happy paired with the ProAc 48s?

If you want to stick to all Naim, I have an RP8 and Apheta 2 running through a Naim Stageline which works very well at a decent cost 

Timmo1341 posted:

Thanks for that HH. Any thoughts on whether or not the 250DR would be happy paired with the ProAc 48s?

If it were me, I'd decide on the electronics and use it with your existing speakers for a while, then try the D48 at home. The 250 is reported to be very good with the big Sopra 2, so I imagine it would be OK with the D48, but that's just guesswork. 

dayjay posted:

If you want to stick to all Naim, I have an RP8 and Apheta 2 running through a Naim Stageline which works very well at a decent cost 

With a 272 you'd need to budget for a flatcap or Hicap, which raises the cost considerably, and it means another pesky black box. 

Aha. Not something I'd considered HH, I run mine of my SN2

Hmm, lots to cogitate here...

The best streaming 4-box solution would be an NDS/555PS/282/200 (surely you can squeeze the NAPSC somewhere), but I don't know how the amp section would cope with your speakers. The source is in a different league to a 272 obviously. If you need more power, then the 272/555PS/300 is the only Naim alternative.

When we tried the Melco in the shop, there was little doubt it had immense resolution, but it was felt that it couldn't carry a tune. We'd take a UnitiServe over it any day of the week, let alone an HDX (as server). If you really must move away from the Naim solutions, then running MinimServer on your Synology is a much vaunted solution. Remember also, that the Melco is not a ripper so if you still intend to buy CDs you will need a ripper of some sort. I guess the one to look at would be Roon, which has been very favourably received. Obviously there are other cheaper solutions which are also highly regarded such as dbpoweramp and the (free!) cue ripper.

Phono Stages:

The Rega Aria is a fine phono stage for the money. At £800-odd it really is brilliant value for money. If you had to choose a TT with a Dynavector cartridge, then my choice would swing to the DV P75 MkIII for a little less cash, but a better synergy with the DV cartridges.

I have a preference for the Superline. At the level you're considering, the Superline has to be on your short list. The simplest solution is to power it directly from your Naim preamp. Alternatively you can power it with a Naim Hicap (bringing it up to the size of a fullsize unit) or a Supercap (which elevates its performance at the cost of becoming a 1.5 size unit).

That said, we have recently been very surprised at how good the Cyrus Signature is! This is the first Cyrus bit of kit which we can hand on heart say ticks the boxes! Now, you can buy it on its own (£1200) or power it using a PSX-R (£700). It is much better with the PSX-R. This takes it to a full size unit essentially, but if you're looking at something like the RP10, this is the level of performance you should be looking at.

Finally, another stage which surprised the heck out of us is the £1500 Aurorasound. We only heard this on one occasion but it was into our system so we knew what we were hearing. This was a very fine phone stage indeed and it swung beautifully. Well worth a look if you happen to have a dealer who can help. I suspect the Cyrus would beat it, but without being able to do a direct A/B I can't be sure.

Vinyl Spinner: There are so many turntables out there!

The RP10/Apheta2 is a very fine turntable. It's good into the Aria which softens its rather direct presentation, and the Cyrus pulls everything it can out of it without making it sound metronomic. I've not tried it into the Naim Superline.

At the same end of the market, there is the off-the-wall Well Tempered Versalex. Add a DV cartridge such as the DV20X2L and you're in the same ballpark money-wise as the RP10, but the presentation is quite different. The Versalex is off-the-wall because nothing about it is usual other than it has a motor, bearing and tonearm. All the mechanical engineering of this deck is back to first principles and a different solution to the usual problems, yet the results speak for themselves. Not many dealers in the UK but well supported and a real treat.

For the money, you can also look at offerings from Linn (the most obvious match, though some would argue the modern LP12 is not really very much like the original), Clearaudio, Michell, Funk Firm or any of the plethora of new boys such as VPI, analogueworks, EAT (the C-Sharp?), Project...

Hope this helps!

Frank.

Frank Abela posted:

 

When we tried the Melco in the shop, there was little doubt it had immense resolution, but it was felt that it couldn't carry a tune. We'd take a UnitiServe over it any day of the week, let alone an HDX (as server). If you really must move away from the Naim solutions, then running MinimServer on your Synology is a much vaunted solution. Remember also, that the Melco is not a ripper so if you still intend to buy CDs you will need a ripper of some sort. I guess the one to look at would be Roon, which has been very favourably received. Obviously there are other cheaper solutions which are also highly regarded such as dbpoweramp and the (free!) cue ripper.

 

Not sure about the not being able to carry a tune thing... but anyway the Melco units will rip with the latest firmware (just plug in a USB drive and off you go)

I'd question the value of a Melco in the UPnP role over the Unitiserve. It really comes into its own as a USB source (which could take you into some other interesting minimal box solutions but outside the Naim stable)

As HH mentions if you are considering the 272 etc then Minimserver on your Synology will do the job nicely.

Good luck and happy listening. 

My thanks to all those who took the time to respond. Much food for thought, and I'm sure good advice will also be forthcoming from my terrific local Naim dealer in Penzance. I look forward to being able to update you all later this year.

Regards

Tim

I've tried all the above options over time, US-SSD, Synology (as SSD and HDD) with MinimServer running and Melco N1A.

I prefer Melco N1A running MinimServer out of the options, BUT I did get a good deal on a 2nd hand Melco. I have compared my Synology running Minim to N1A running Minim and find the playback to me preferable on the Melco still.

Nothing to do with ease of use or any other factors I just prefer the Melco playback overall, cost though for my Melco is a factor as the full retail price I probably wouldn't have bought one, now I have a do prefer it. 

Dont get Franks "can't carry a tune". What Melco does is exactly the same thing as a good turntable where the streamer/DAC acts as a tone arm/pick up. 

Every thing becomes calm & even more important, quit! The black inkness is amazing. BUT there is differences between the Melco models.  

//Jonas

I will be brief then:

• Keep the US - it is a wonderful piece of kit. But for safety rip everything to NAS, rahter that its interal drive
• RP10 with Apheta - goes very well with Rega's ARIA. The power supply has the same design as the Aria to it sort of looks good too. Be carful with NAIM SuperLine. Apheta is MC cartridge, but with a higher than output than regular. You'd have to get a high output SuperLine for that. Best is to stick with Rega ARIA.
• SuperLumina fool loom - wonderful. Forget Chord.

Adam

Running an RP8 / Apheta into a Superline with no probs.

Jonas Olofsson posted:

Dont get Franks "can't carry a tune". What Melco does is exactly the same thing as a good turntable where the streamer/DAC acts as a tone arm/pick up. 

Every thing becomes calm & even more important, quit! The black inkness is amazing. BUT there is differences between the Melco models.  

//Jonas

Frank's  a Naim dealer Jonas, I suppose he's got to say that.  My Melco carries a tune very well indeed, and sounds better than any equivalent Naim offering I've heard. An exceptional bit of kit.

My local Naim dealer is always banging on about the Melco. The thing is, for £2,000 I can buy some nice granite floor tiles and a Franke tap.

Is this really a fair comparison????

Melco has no integrated CD drive to rip a CD.

Unit Serve has one - just put a CD into it and it's ripped.

Hungryhalibut posted:

My local Naim dealer is always banging on about the Melco. The thing is, for £2,000 I can buy some nice granite floor tiles and a Franke tap.

HH - have a look at KWC taps (Swiss made) - similar price to Franke but much higher quality.

Hungryhalibut posted:

My local Naim dealer is always banging on about the Melco. The thing is, for £2,000 I can buy some nice granite floor tiles and a Franke tap.

But spending similar amount on a Naim item seems almost second nature...

i have no experience of Melco, but some say it gives netter SQ than Mac Mini/Audirvana, which numbers of people on this forum have said gives better SQ than various Naim renderers combined with various NASs and network solutions, costing somewhat more.

for anyone in the market for a NAS and renderer it has to be woth an audition...

Adam Zielinski posted:

Is this really a fair comparison????

Melco has no integrated CD drive to rip a CD.

Unit Serve has one - just put a CD into it and it's ripped.

It's easy to plug a CD drive in, then the Melco does a fine job of ripping CDs.

Hungryhalibut posted:

My local Naim dealer is always banging on about the Melco. The thing is, for £2,000 I can buy some nice granite floor tiles and a Franke tap.

There is one difference. For that 2000 you can have THE feelings that you have THE other thing besides the Hugo.....

Hungryhalibut posted:

My local Naim dealer is always banging on about the Melco. The thing is, for £2,000 I can buy some nice granite floor tiles and a Franke tap.

You feisty little sensation seeker!

tonym posted:

Adam Zielinski posted:

Is this really a fair comparison????

Melco has no integrated CD drive to rip a CD.

Unit Serve has one - just put a CD into it and it's ripped.

It's easy to plug a CD drive in, then the Melco does a fine job of ripping CDs.

Indeed it can. 

But it becomes a two box solution vs one box. 

...but a very small, cheap second box, that's only needed when ripping.

Adam Zielinski posted:

Hungryhalibut posted:

My local Naim dealer is always banging on about the Melco. The thing is, for £2,000 I can buy some nice granite floor tiles and a Franke tap.

HH - have a look at KWC taps (Swiss made) - similar price to Franke but much higher quality.

Too late now I'm afraid. The stuff is already stashed away in the garage, awaiting the builders. 

Hungryhalibut posted:.

Too late now I'm afraid. The stuff is already stashed away in the garage, awaiting the builders. 

Builders to install a tap?  Doesn't even need a plumber, but the mind boggles at the typical builder installing it!