Nait XS with cheap streamer vs unitilite

Pioneer make some fantastic streamers punching above their price bracket. 

I can't comment on their potential synergy with Naim but on pure quality grounds, they can partner with an amp at that level.

Consider going down the route of a rega dac-r (~600 s/h and an Allo DigiOne streamer). The streamer will do roon and upnp.

You could also do the naim Dac at some point.

I've heard too many stories of unitilites having issues with their CD section...

Thanks for your replies. On second thought I actually would prefer not to get an extra streamer or DAC as I know to improve on the sound of the AirDAC and keep the Nait XS it would cost me at least another $300-500. At this stage I am not looking at spending any extra money and this will likely stay the same in the future as we are expecting a little one so I'm sure priorities will change.

With the Unitilite that is currently on sale, it is possible that I could get this at no extra cost as I may be able to sell my Nait XS and AirDAC for the same price. I was hoping to see if anyone has had experience with the Nait XS and a cheap streamer/source vs the Unitilite, Uniti or Unitiqute and which setup would sound the best overall with my Neat Motive 2? 

Fingers crossed someone has experience with this as the Unitilite might get sold!

Thanks again

[@mention:17757776930523932] I actually won't be using the CD section at all and just be using optical input for TV connection and upnp for streaming so this issue doesn't affect me. 

My guess is that an all-in-one player like the Unitilite will be a step down in sound quality. That isn’t to say that the quality of a streaming transport isn’t important, but squeezing everything into one box is always a compromise. 

I would be inclined to carry on using your computer to stream to the DAC, and if you do have any spare funds, maybe upgrade the DAC. If you want to be free of the computer, a cheap streamer such as a Yamaha WXC50 or a Sonos Connect would do the job. You can use these with their own DAC, or better, use their digital output into your own DAC. 

Thanks [@mention:36201736949470193] - I think my Arcam AirDAC may be on par or even better than the Sonos Connect? I was just thinking as with Naim I know that they always say source first and the whole garbage in garbage out saying. Was just worried as I have a RRP $4000 amp with a $900 streamer with built in DAC and also via airplay so was thinking it is a waste having an amp of this quality. 

Hold on the nait xs. The young one will be older before you know it. :-) you could upgrade the Dac in a few years.

The unitilites is just too much chop and churn for no reason.

I would rather recommend the rega Dac/rega brio combo if money is an issue. That system would set you back less than 1200 used and sounds awesome

The rega dac-r and rega brio-r to be precise.

On a budget, an Allo DigiOne plus Chord Mojo could be a cracking source for the XS... 

As Timo says, the Allo DigiOne + Chord Mojo is fantastic. Dont forget good cables around it.

Be aware that Chord Mojo is intended for travel and it switches off frequently. Try to stretch to a s/h Naim Dac is you want a decent fit and forget Dac.

Both UnitiLite and UnitiQute are georgeous music makers.

Timo beat me to it!

Allo DigiOne Player (UPnP to S/Pdif) + your Arcam DAC, then upgrade the DAC when you can to do so (Chord MoJo is fantastic for the money).

... and since you are only streaming 16/44, and you are using Mac - you could also use an Airport Express - optical - into a Chord Mojo.

What if I wanted a standalone streamer, capable of hi-res but without an on-board DAC or amplifier?

For the time being I am using a Bluesound Node - no amplifier but I still have to by-pass an on-board DAC to go into a Naim DAC and 252/250 amplifier.

Surely there must be others who want a streamer to function in the same way as a CD player or a turntable - a bare source to which you your own next stages (DAC, phono stage, amplification, etc)?

My ideal streamer would also give access to Qobuz who stream up to 24/192.

Thanks everyone for the help. I’ll need to check out this alo digione player. Is there a benefit of this in comparison to just using a Mac mini? 

Also [@mention:6213129470033851] have you tried the Bluesound node with the internal dac? How does it go.

The internal DAC on the Bluesound Node is OK, as is the internal amplifier on the Bluesound Powernode. Like all things, though, you get what you pay for and the sound via my Naim DAC and amplifier is much better. I'm happy to pay extra for the Naim DAC and amplifier - I'd just prefer to do it without paying for a Bluesound DAC that I'm only going to bypass.

There is the Lumin U1 that on paper seems to meet all my requirements (including Qobuz integration) but I haven't heard it and at GBP 4,500 it's very expensive.

Juls posted:

Thanks everyone for the help. I’ll need to check out this alo digione player. Is there a benefit of this in comparison to just using a Mac mini? 

...

Yes, at least three things things...

The Allo DigiOne Player uses a separate board to do the S/Pdif output giving a degree of isolation from the (electrically) noisy main computer circuitry.

The Raspberry Pi is a lower powered computer so is likely to generate less electrical noise in the first place!

The Allo DigiOne Player is a very low power device, so you can leave it running and if you get (or have) a NAS drive then you don't have to power up the Mac every time you want to listen to music.

Have a look at the review on Darko...
//darko.audio/2017/08/allos-digione-pulls-five-star-sound-quality-from-the-raspberry-pi/ 

Juls posted:

Thanks [@mention:36201736949470193] - I think my Arcam AirDAC may be on par or even better than the Sonos Connect? I was just thinking as with Naim I know that they always say source first and the whole garbage in garbage out saying. Was just worried as I have a RRP $4000 amp with a $900 streamer with built in DAC and also via airplay so was thinking it is a waste having an amp of this quality. 

I was only thinking of the Sonos (or the Yamaha, which I prefer) as a digital transport into your existing DAC if you want to be free of a computer as a source. Otherwise, I think I would stick with what you’ve got in preference to changing it for a Uniti. 

Oh yes...  definitely don't change the XS for a UnitiLite (or even a Uniti 2).

Huge posted:

Oh yes...  definitely don't change the XS for a UnitiLite (or even a Uniti 2).

Indeed.

rainsoothe posted:

Huge posted:

Oh yes...  definitely don't change the XS for a UnitiLite (or even a Uniti 2).

Indeed.

I heard both with the same speakers. The Unitilite is definitely not in the same league.

Huge posted:

Oh yes...  definitely don't change the XS for a UnitiLite (or even a Uniti 2).

I actually changed from an XS 2 to a Uniti 2. Kept it for 2 years until upgradeitus got the best of me. O ended getting another XS 2 with ND5 XS. I can't say that one was better than the other. Different? Sure but XS combo wasn't necessarily better than the U2. I have since upgraded that combo to a 272/XPSDR/250DR. I like this combo as well but if I had to go back to U2 or XS 2/ND5 XS I could without any fuss at all. The XS 2 is a fun amp IMO. I like the mid bass bump it seems to have. I also have a SuperNait I'm using with an Airprt Express for streaming in another room. Not a lot to complain about with that simple setup even though I do have a Qute 1 coming that will take over as my streaming source. 

I used to have an ND5XS fronting my main system with a Nait XS. Now I have a different Nait XS in the second system, fronted by a Bluesound Node 2.

This is used mostly for video actually, but it's decent at playing music. I much prefer the streaming interface of the Node over Naim's, but I'm keenly aware of how the system would sound better with the ND5XS having been there.

As such, I often contemplate getting a S/H nDAC to go with it.

spurrier sucks posted:

Huge posted:

Oh yes...  definitely don't change the XS for a UnitiLite (or even a Uniti 2).

I actually changed from an XS 2 to a Uniti 2. Kept it for 2 years until upgradeitus got the best of me. O ended getting another XS 2 with ND5 XS. I can't say that one was better than the other. Different? Sure but XS combo wasn't necessarily better than the U2. I have since upgraded that combo to a 272/XPSDR/250DR. I like this combo as well but if I had to go back to U2 or XS 2/ND5 XS I could without any fuss at all. The XS 2 is a fun amp IMO. I like the mid bass bump it seems to have. I also have a SuperNait I'm using with an Airprt Express for streaming in another room. Not a lot to complain about with that simple setup even though I do have a Qute 1 coming that will take over as my streaming source. 

That's interesting. I would have thought the XS 2 and ND5 XS would have blown the Uniti 2 out of the water and not just sound different. 

ricsimas posted:

I used to have an ND5XS fronting my main system with a Nait XS. Now I have a different Nait XS in the second system, fronted by a Bluesound Node 2.

This is used mostly for video actually, but it's decent at playing music. I much prefer the streaming interface of the Node over Naim's, but I'm keenly aware of how the system would sound better with the ND5XS having been there.

As such, I often contemplate getting a S/H nDAC to go with it.

I really like the look of the Bluesound Node 2 and may consider a second hand one at one point. If I do get one I will only have funds to use the internal DAC of the bluesound so was just wondering [@mention:1566878603964768] if you used the internal DAC of the bluesound or had it into an external dac? If you used the internal how did it sound against the ND5XS? Was it a huge difference in sound quality or just marginally better and if so what were the differences? 

If you have had experience with other cheap streaming options such as Sonos, or an external dac around $500 etc would the bluesound be a step up in sound quality above those? 

Thanks

Juls posted:

I really like the look of the Bluesound Node 2 and may consider a second hand one at one point. If I do get one I will only have funds to use the internal DAC of the bluesound so was just wondering [@mention:1566878603964768] if you used the internal DAC of the bluesound or had it into an external dac? If you used the internal how did it sound against the ND5XS? Was it a huge difference in sound quality or just marginally better and if so what were the differences? 

If you have had experience with other cheap streaming options such as Sonos, or an external dac around $500 etc would the bluesound be a step up in sound quality above those? 

Thanks

I'm using the DAC in the Node 2 into the XS (as I mentioned, this is a secondary, video-first system). It is serviceable, but the ND5XS was in a different league: much more authoritative, more drive, clearer insight into the music. That said, I do prefer the Node to Sonos. Haven't tried any other cheap DACs with it, I'm afraid.

Juls posted:

spurrier sucks posted:

Huge posted:

Oh yes...  definitely don't change the XS for a UnitiLite (or even a Uniti 2).

I actually changed from an XS 2 to a Uniti 2. Kept it for 2 years until upgradeitus got the best of me. O ended getting another XS 2 with ND5 XS. I can't say that one was better than the other. Different? Sure but XS combo wasn't necessarily better than the U2. I have since upgraded that combo to a 272/XPSDR/250DR. I like this combo as well but if I had to go back to U2 or XS 2/ND5 XS I could without any fuss at all. The XS 2 is a fun amp IMO. I like the mid bass bump it seems to have. I also have a SuperNait I'm using with an Airprt Express for streaming in another room. Not a lot to complain about with that simple setup even though I do have a Qute 1 coming that will take over as my streaming source. 

That's interesting. I would have thought the XS 2 and ND5 XS would have blown the Uniti 2 out of the water and not just sound different. 

Blow out of the water? Not even close. I the U2 is highly under rated on this forum but I guess that is expected when the normal advice is add a 555PS or 300 DR to whatever to correct whatever issue is brought up. 

I would also suggest looking at an Auraluc Aries Mini for a cheap streamer. You upgrade the linear power supply on it for a SQ boost.