CD transport vs CD5si with SuperUniti

If you are getting a SuperUniti, why do you need a CD player at all? It seems like such a waste of money. 

Personally I'd buy a NAS and rip my CD collection to it instead. Hopefully this won't turn your thread into another streaming vs CD argument, as we've probably had enough of those here, but as you've bought a streamer, that's what it's good at, and that's how I'd use it.

Fair points but I can't afford a UnitiServe at the moment (unless there are much cheaper options that would work well?) and also I don't have the time at the moment to sit down and rip my CD collection. A CD player would at least let me hear my music straight away, albeit at not as good a quality that I know I can get eventually, given time and money!

+1 (& then some) for both the above,  CD plays only 16/44,    Uniti plays the same CD's at the same 16/44  when ripped to NAS (WAV/FLAC etc) nothing is lost & some say it sounds better;  from then on you buy HR downloads up to 24/192 & enable all the abilities of the Uniti.     A lot of posts on the forum about CD never being used once the streamer & NAS was in da house.  Some remain diehard CD'ers.  OK if you've got a top end player,  but the CD5 is not top end & I would sell it ASAP as 2nd hand prices are falling day by day.

A Unitiserve isn't cheap, but you'll get good results with a regular NAS which you could get for about £300.  

Can't see the point of buying a CD player/transport better to direct the money towards a good NAS and stream your music.

After owning a Naim CD player for more than twenty years I sold it several months ago not missing it at all, in fact I play  more music than ever before since I started streaming.

I assume you have purchased your soon to be acquired equipment from a dealer if so I would ask for a demo of the streaming capabilities of the  Superuniti.

You don't need a UnitiServe. All you need is a nas. You can get a really good Qnap or synology with two drives for under £500, which I found sounded better than a UnitiServe. If you must have a CD player get something with a good digital output secondhand, such as a Linn, Meridian or Marantz. When I sold my CD player and bought a SuperUniti I had 2,000 CDs that I couldn't play until they were ripped, so I ripped those I wanted to play and the others followed in due course. 

Pompitious,

I think you're absolutely right. There's no point in wasting money on an expensive CD player like the CD5si if you already have a DAC of Superuniti quality. Other transports to consider include the Cyrus CDt and the Project CD Box RS (or DS for a cheaper option). The Cambridge has had good write-ups but I'm not convinced about the company's reliability (cue legal representation).

You're probably like me and want to play CDs off the cuff as it were. I have some ripped, but it's not much good when friends pop over with a CD and I have to say ('hang on for half an hour or so while I set up the ripping process').....

How about...

Get a NAS (about £250 - £500) [and a network switch (about £25)]; and rip your CDs.

In the meantime as a temporary measure to play your CDs before you've ripped them connect your DVD player to the SU (Optical or coax digital).  Best of both worlds and no extra expense over a CD transport.  The digital link from the DVD to the SU can even find a long term use as your SU will give better audio playback from DVD than will the TV.

It is not safe to assume that every CD player you might consider will be improved by running through the SU DAC.  You will need to test for yourself.  If you were to go as high as CD5XS or CDX2.2, it could go either way.

It is not quite the same thing, but good sources into my UQ2's Analog input easily beat the on-board streamer, FWIW.

Nick

If you are cd based a xs or 5si combo might make more sense than a superuniti.  Nothing wrong with cd and cd players.  CD is where 90% of digital music comes from anyway.  And every dac has been tailored for a certain sound - the one in a cd player may well be the sound you prefer.  

A used, factory-modified CD5x with SPDIF out might be a decent option to use with your SuperUniti, in the short- to medium-term.

One thing to consider is that digital inputs on the SuperUniti will perform better than those on a standard Uniti device, on account of the additional DSP de-jittering and re-processing, so you may find that a decent transport will sound alright (the output stage is not relevant).

NickSeattle posted:

It is not safe to assume that every CD player you might consider will be improved by running through the SU DAC.  You will need to test for yourself.  If you were to go as high as CD5XS or CDX2.2, it could go either way.

It is not quite the same thing, but good sources into my UQ2's Analog input easily beat the on-board streamer, FWIW.

Nick

 

The UnitiQute 2's digital inputs, like those within the rest of the Uniti range, are not nearly as jitter-resistant as those found in the ND* units, NAC-N 272, or SuperUniti, so the same argument may not hold. It's always worth doing the dem rather than guessing, of course!

As a slight deviation from the main question, just suppose that the OP (or anyone else) DID opt for a dedicated CD transport, but that this transport lacked a BNC output, would anything be gained by running digital cable from the RCA into the BNC input on a Naim DAC or streamer? Or may one just as well use the RCA input? (hint: if you're going to answer this, please try & stick to the question..... ;-)

Pompitous posted:

Hi all, building a system with my soon-to-be-acquired SuperUniti/Motive SX2s: any thoughts on how playing CDs on a CD transport like the Cambridge CXC via digital input would compare with say, the Naim CD5si which would only connect via the analog inputs on my SuperUniti? I guess I'm thinking at £300 the CXC would be a good starter CD player until I can afford to aim higher, unless I'd get much more of the Naim musicality with the CD5si? Thanks for any advice.

Notice there might be a new range of "Uniti products" just around the corner, have you acquired the SU on sale %off ?

The cd5i is entry level and a used cd5 or 5x/xs even a Cdx is a much better choice, on budget a Rega Apollo is hard to beat, my own Apollo much better single than into Qute Dac.

Cambridge looks interesting, guess it can follow rights of return terms.

I have a cd5si, SU and Neat Motive 2 speakers, along with an inspire built Rega deck and am delighted with the ensemble.

......tho reading this forum always makes me envious and wonder what would be a next step upgrade....better speakers perhaps? (I'm not interested in streaming).

If you are not interested in steaming, the SU is an interesting choice. 

John132 posted:

I have a cd5si, SU and Neat Motive 2 speakers, along with an inspire built Rega deck and am delighted with the ensemble.

......tho reading this forum always makes me envious and wonder what would be a next step upgrade....better speakers perhaps? (I'm not interested in streaming).

The CD

The SU

Or vice versa

Your speakers are superb provided you can control basperformance

SU much used for tv audio, radio and iPod as well as cd and vinyl so almost full use of  its wonderful multi use flexibility.....

I was wondering about speaker upgrade perhaps the Neat Motive up.....but the implication of BLund's post is that's not necessary? Room is 26ft by 15ft white walls, wood floor, big windows.

Sorry, I don't mean to hijack this thread. Back to Popitious's original question....