Migrating HDX >> Unity Core?

the migration path issue sounds like an ideal topic for a naim white paper. After all, they will know the wrinkles and can help steer existing customers (like me with HDX and UC) towards the best route from one to other.

When I had a UnitiServe, metadata handling was never its strength, and early indications on the Core don't fill one with confidence. The best thing I did was sell the Serve and move to a Synology with Minimserver, which is optimised for classical music. It sounded better too, which I wasn't expecting. Why spend £1800 when £400 will more than do?

In any case you should read the other current threads about the Core before deciding. It's all work in progress for Naim at the moment so things are likely to change.

best

David

Thanks a lot for all the replies. I haven't seen any deeper discussions around meta data and the comparison to the previous NAIM servers yet. The best proof would be by try ripping the CD that wasn't properly recognized by my HDX (see the link I provided in my initial post). I think I just need a Core for trying. 

P.S. I do have a server that could host UPnP server like Minim but ripping CDs w/o a PC/Mac and knowing that the rip made is done in the best possible way without going into 1000000 settings of the ripping app is making the NAIM servers still my no.1 choice as music server

Migratin music to new core is very easy. I had it transferred from my Uniti Serve to the correct folder in the Core without any problems. You don't need to copy to another drive as long Uniti Serve and Core are on the same network.

Gmischol, that was really useful input.

As additional test I provided a CD to my dealer. He was testing if the Core is going to pull the right meta data as opposed my HDX. And the result..... the Core is doing a so much better job.

I don't know what meta data source it is using but clearly an improvement over the HDX. I am going to make the swap.

Thanks for your input.

owenzel posted:

Thanks a lot for all the replies. I haven't seen any deeper discussions around meta data and the comparison to the previous NAIM servers yet. The best proof would be by try ripping the CD that wasn't properly recognized by my HDX (see the link I provided in my initial post). I think I just need a Core for trying. 

P.S. I do have a server that could host UPnP server like Minim but ripping CDs w/o a PC/Mac and knowing that the rip made is done in the best possible way without going into 1000000 settings of the ripping app is making the NAIM servers still my no.1 choice as music server

Ripping CD's with a pc or mac is quite simple. If you already own a nas you've done more complicated things.  The stuff you're asking about in this thread is more complicated than ripping a cd with a pc or mac.

Whilst I fully agree with all the above comments I would like to add that strictly speaking the UCore is an evolution of the Serve, not the HDX - in fact I am curious on wheather (or, most likely, "when") will the new platform be applied to the "D" series (HDX / NDX / ND5...) 

You've only got to set a ripper up once. Back in my HDX days I had a copy of dBpoweramp on standby because the HDX suffered the occasional failure to rip. Not often, admittedly.

If you have a streamer and run a NAS there's no harm in trying something like Minimserver or Asset.

Been there. Had an HDX. Took the HDX out and tried Minimserver into NDS. Not only did the HDX turn out to be a sonic bottleneck, it hadn't tagged my music. It said it had. But it hadn't. Not really.

Did you rip to wav or flac? I think ripping to wav is a bad idea on hdx and core

Why is ripping into the WAV format a bad idea? If you look into the HDX's white paper you see how smart NAIM was doing the integration of meta data into their internal database. I would say the HDX (I can't say anything about other Naim server) is the only device that handles meta data along with the WAV format correct. The web is full of WAV & meta data question but to me that was never an issue with the HDX

Pulling the right meta data was THE issue and it seems to be solved with the Core now.

Thanks NAIM. 

FLAC doesn't sound as good as WAV to me. So I use WAV. It seems that just about everything can tag WAV properly, except the previous generation Naim stuff like HDX. Ironic when you factor in that Naim recommend the WAV format for best quality.  I hope they've moved on from this weak tagging model.

owenzel posted:

Why is ripping into the WAV format a bad idea? If you look into the HDX's white paper you see how smart NAIM was doing the integration of meta data into their internal database. I would say the HDX (I can't say anything about other Naim server) is the only device that handles meta data along with the WAV format correct. The web is full of WAV & meta data question but to me that was never an issue with the HDX

Pulling the right meta data was THE issue and it seems to be solved with the Core now.

Thanks NAIM. 

Because I want portability of my files. With FLAC I have that. With Naim WAV, I dont because the metadata isnt in the wav file. And ripping my CDs to a private non-open file format seems unwise to me.

"Pulling the right meta data was THE issue and it seems to be solved with the Core now"

If you say so. Its not in my experience. Its better on Core than HDX, but still a long way short of 100%. 

"And ripping my CDs to a private non-open file format seems unwise to me".

Well put! Once naim, always naim then - I can live well with this, though...

Do I see it right that with the Core the metadata are now kept in many small files (one 'metadata' file plus one 'rip' file in each CD folder), whilst with HDX/UServe .. where were the metadata kept there, actually? In in one single database file for the whole music collection?

One txt file per CD.