Qute 2 in da house.

Posted by: Dr_J on 22 October 2016

So, seeking to extend my Naim world to my office/study I eagerly read all I could find, around the forum and the hifi press, on the forthcoming Uniti Atom, and it looked both technically impressive and really rather striking too.

But..... Amongst all the ooh's and aah's, the colour display, the Statement controller, illuminated base logo, a nagging doubt from a lifetime working in the IT Crowd began to scratch at the back of my mind - should one ever deploy V1.0 of anything. Hmmmm...... And then there was radio - I like radio, and whilst iRadio indeed offers thousands more stations than the FM/DAB tuner, missing in action from the Atom, it also competes for network and broadband bandwidth I need for work. Hmmm..... again.

And so, I investigated the state of the dwindling stocks of the UQ2, which not only aesthetically matched my current Naim estate and fulfilled my requirement but was also available now and was more cost-effective - OK, cheaper! And has an enviable track record in both its first and current iterations.

The outcome of all this mithering? Took delivery of a new UQ2 at the weekend and, so far, am delighted with the decision! No doubt many will think it barking mad to go with a model that is in the process of exiting stage left, but my initial experience has reinforced that of the audition, the the UQ2 is a stunning desktop system for both casual and more intense listening. And, I think it looks a whole lot cooler than its upcoming successor, but that's just my opinion, others may differ.

Technically, integrated straight away into my wifi streaming environment and drives my HD800s headphones really well (yes, yes, I know a better headphone amp would give better performance, but Rome wasn't built in a day either .) 

Obviously it's early days, but I very much doubt anything will change, other than improving as running in continues,  therefore I'd say "It's a 10 from Len"!

And, in the unlikely event there are any forum members also wrestling with this issue of stellar proportions , I'd recommend to act now as I suspect dwindling really means dwindling in this case. Not, of course, that they would not be absolutely delighted with an Atom instead. After all, this is just my tanner's worth, and what would I know?

KR, J

Posted on: 23 October 2016 by Yetizone

Interesting stuff - when buying mine a few month back I was certain that change was afoot as there were so many 'ex-dem' dealer models suddenly up for grabs! I still went ahead and that six months plus or so have been great entertainment, plus a steep educational learning curve in making the switch to streaming. Full of praise of the UnitiQute2 here Although, I'm still curious about the Mighty Atom, and may switch units or find a few home for the Qute if the Atom performs as expected.

I think there will be quite a few people in the same situation and want to add the same style units to their current system before a wholesale case styling change.

Posted on: 09 November 2016 by Andy Barratt

I've had my UQ2 for over a year now, after buying an ex-demo model (mine doesn't have BT so its the 1st gen of UQ2). I adore it, and I have to say I prefer its styling over the new Uniti models - but each to their own. 

I do have a display issue - i.e., after a few weeks of owning it a few lines in the display stopped working but Im assured it's a minor fix that won't take long - i just need to get around to making a booking and a trip to Class A in Sheffield. 

But yes, I do want to get a Nap 100 - and obviously in the styling that matches the UQ2 - should Naim decide that they want to update it to match the new Uniti casing... but I figure there'll be enough on the used market to sort myself out once I raise the funds!

My only reservation is that I realise this is the end of the line for the UQ2 though. Naim will presumably always support it from a servicing sense, but the technology that's in there will eventually become obsolete in a way that classic kit won't. There'll be a point presumably when the app won't be supported for example, and lets be honest it's the primary method of operation. And once that point is reached the UQ2 will be quite worthless. 

But that's what happens huh? 

Posted on: 09 November 2016 by David Hendon
Andy Barratt posted:

I've had my UQ2 for over a year now, after buying an ex-demo model (mine doesn't have BT so its the 1st gen of UQ2). I adore it, and I have to say I prefer its styling over the new Uniti models - but each to their own. 

I do have a display issue - i.e., after a few weeks of owning it a few lines in the display stopped working but Im assured it's a minor fix that won't take long - i just need to get around to making a booking and a trip to Class A in Sheffield. 

But yes, I do want to get a Nap 100 - and obviously in the styling that matches the UQ2 - should Naim decide that they want to update it to match the new Uniti casing... but I figure there'll be enough on the used market to sort myself out once I raise the funds!

My only reservation is that I realise this is the end of the line for the UQ2 though. Naim will presumably always support it from a servicing sense, but the technology that's in there will eventually become obsolete in a way that classic kit won't. There'll be a point presumably when the app won't be supported for example, and lets be honest it's the primary method of operation. And once that point is reached the UQ2 will be quite worthless. 

But that's what happens huh? 

I think Naim will not wish to suddenly make all their pre-2017 streamers obsolete so I think you can rely on them either continuing to support the old range (which includes 272, NDS, NDX etc as well as the old Unitis) with the main Naim app or at least leaving the last generation of the old app alive for many years yet. The bigger problem is more likely to be that a future IOS xy won't run the old app properly so that some maintenance of the old app will become inevitable.

best

David

Posted on: 09 November 2016 by Huge

The app isn't a problem - it's just a DLNA control point so new apps will almost certainly continue to work with older units.