Naim Uniti Core and NDS

i think the chances of making a difference is pretty remote. I would say its more important to have UPS on your NAS which will be using electronic power regulation or switching anyway... A NAS directly connected to your mains is at mercy of glitches from lightning, power cuts, etc etc... I know I lost a NAS once this way - its power supply completely failed with a mains glitch  and destroyed the attached disks - I always use UPS now

Mike-B posted:

I don't believe I loose or change anything   ......  unless an IT pro can tell me why its a bad thing,

An IT pro can tell you that there is nothing bad with that whatsoever....

I remember a similar thread a few years ago, where ultimately Phil Harris acknowledged that a NAS and PC based ripper can serve files up with equal quality to any Naim server... *can*... *if* the devices are  properly set up and optimised. The question is whether people can be bothered to invest the time, energy and technical knowledge to achieve this. Alternatively, let Naim do the hard work, but be prepared to pay a premium price. There are options.

Sure, and the Naim forum is the perfect place to look for

skilled IT and trained workers to gather precious information from.

Yesterday i borrowed a Uniti Core from my dealer, and put in the same HDD as in the Qnap.To be very honest, the differences are marginal. A little better  soundwise on the Core, but nothing to justify the amount for the Core.

But...... The TEAC drive inside the Core is absolutely stunning. I compared my ripped CDs which where ripped with a very expensive Plextor drive and the Core was definitely and hearable better in ripping the same CD.

So the stored music from the Core is marginaly better as my QNAP, but the drive inside is (for my taste and ears ) very good.

laurence posted:

But...... The TEAC drive inside the Core is absolutely stunning. I compared my ripped CDs which where ripped with a very expensive Plextor drive and the Core was definitely and hearable better in ripping the same CD.

So the stored music from the Core is marginaly better as my QNAP, but the drive inside is (for my taste and ears ) very good.

Did the other ripper you used with the Plextor drive produce a bit perfect rip? Have you tried transferring these rips to the Core and playing them on it? If the two rips are not identical, something is wrong. 

This could be the case. You can never say never because the equipment and setup permutations vary so much.

I have never detected any difference between a variety of makes of HDD, of various speeds and capacities, used in my total of seven NASs. Three ReadyNAS and four QNAP, which are all still doing various tasks for me on the network. I can't hear a difference between Minimserver and Asset, regardless of the RAM capacity or processor speed of the NAS.

The things that have sounded different to me are: 
HDX, being inferior to QNAP/Asset,
WAV compared to FLAC, in favour of WAV.
Ethernet cables.
Ethernet switches - the relatively inexpensive, unmanaged, common or garden ones seeming more transparent and realistic to my ears than anything fancy or "audiophile".
Network isolator. Bloody awful. 

In another room or system or brain or pair of ears, the results may have been something completely different. It's sometimes easy to get frustrated by all this variability and subjectivity. I like to think of it as one of the fun parts of HiFi nerdism.

If you can reproduce a difference and you like what you hear, then go with what you like. Regardless of cause (if known) or what anybody else opines. Your ears are all that matters. And interesting to know for possible future reference.