NDX vs. UnitiServe/nDac vs. HDX

Posted by: jverlen on 14 January 2011

All

I've done my best to understand all these different units...I am declaring defeat and I will just ask a few simple questions. Starting to think what's next after my CDI (which will fail soon I think) and just want to understand...

NDX
If I go this way I could presumably use my Mac to rip CDs and serve them up to the NDX. If so are the files stored on the Mac or do I need Network Drives of some sort? The best way to serve this would be wireless through the network, or through some sort of connection from the drives to the NDX? I wouldn't need a UnitiServe or HDX. True?

UnitiServe/nDac
Seems to be a more traditional approach...you rip everything right in the Naim environment so you don't need a computer. You will need hard drives on the SSD version. Correct?

Comparison:
Assuming I can use NDX/Computer or UnitiServe/nDAC which sounds better?

Thanks to anyone who can help sort this out. I am computer literate but there are a lot of options here...each with a story...
Posted on: 14 January 2011 by jverlen
Allen

Very good info...I'm almost there...just need to understand NAS a bit...

If I buy an NAS drive does it operate from the network without a specific computer server running it...e.g. is the NAS a stand alone device on the network that I can rip to from any computer but which doesn't require a computer to run (and be accessible from the N
DX)?

Thanks!
Posted on: 14 January 2011 by T38.45
Hi,
Yes, it runs without a computer. For a NDX, you need upnp service on NAS. There are some NAS devices out there supporting this, f.ex. Qnap...

Ralf
Posted on: 14 January 2011 by jverlen
Thanks everyone. It is becoming clearer. Naim know what they are doing (I've loved my Naim stuff for 20 years...) and I'm sure all these products have perfectly rational use cases...but it isn't the easiest thing to figure out which is the right one for you.

It seems to me the cost effective approach that might work very well be for me is to have a look at the NDX/NAS(UPnP) when it comes out.
Posted on: 14 January 2011 by Tog
NDX/NAS for what you want seems very sensible - there will no doubt be endless fretting about SQ V UnitiServe/HDX but at this level I am sure the NDX will sound just fine. In the end we don't live in Naim dealerships (well David D might) and won't be swapping out different bit of gear to test every nuance (unless you have a trust fund)

Sit back - uncork a bottle and remember most people don't own a Naim at all ... very sad.

Tog Cool
Posted on: 14 January 2011 by likesmusic
But a UnitiServe + nDAC is 'only' 25% more than an NDX on it's own, yet handles all the ripping, storing and serving completely within Naim's control, and the nDAC is better than an NDX - after all it is marketed as an upgrade for the NDX. And, since it'll take you ages to rip your cds, as I understand it, you can pop a cd in the Serve and it will just play it, just like the old days. So, if it was me, in the current state of the range, I'd want the Serve and nDAC every time. Better sound, fewer headaches.
Posted on: 14 January 2011 by Tog
Far too early to pronounce on the SQ of the NDX when only a few have heard it. Serve/nDac is a good combination but I think (sic) the UnitiServe approach is too closed.

Tog
Posted on: 14 January 2011 by likesmusic
Naim have pronounced on the NDX webpage that the DAC is an upgrade for the NDX, so that tells you a fair bit about the relative sound quality of the two products. The UnitiServe approach may be closed, but there are advantages to that - no mess of bits of software and hardware from all over the place for one thing.
Posted on: 14 January 2011 by Tog
A fair point and you are right 'closed' in this sense is not necessarily a bad thing at all. The UnitiServe is like a high quality concierge service, there to manage your digital life and leave you to enjoy listening to the music. It does a whole lot of things you could do yourself but in the discrete effortless manner of a high class butler. It is the Jeaves of the audiophile world.

I must have nearly bought one at least a dozen times and sometimes the thought of just letting a UnitiServe manage my music is very attractive.

Tog (more Wooster than Jeaves)
Posted on: 15 January 2011 by likesmusic
Absolutely. And remember you and possibly me have some computing skills and might be prepared to suffer screwing around with NAS's, rippers, networks and so on, and have some of these set up already, but from the point of view of someone who isn't so inclined and wants to go out this morning and get a fully supported working system by this afternoon the Serve + DAC option is I suspect the way to go. Easy peasy.
Posted on: 15 January 2011 by Tog
"Thanks to Jeeves's masterpiece. What a wheeze!"

Tog
Posted on: 15 January 2011 by jverlen
It seems to me that most of the advantages in ease that the UnitiServe offers are only true if you go with the version with the internal hard drive. If you go with the solid state version you still need an external drive...true?
Posted on: 15 January 2011 by likesmusic
With the solid state on you've still got Naim controlled ripping, the ability to play a cd directly, the SQ advantages of the nDAC driven from a Naim source, and a Naim remote app to control it. Only the physical storage is elsewhere. If you are being diligent you should have some kind of external backup for the Serve with the hard drive too, but you aren't depending on it to play your music. Depends how much you fancy learning about NAS's, UPnP servers, ripping software, backup strategies ..
Posted on: 15 January 2011 by Tog
In truth you are buying a high quality UPnP solution that is guaranteed to work with other Naim streaming clients. That is what the UnitiServe is good at, where it fits in the Uniti line and what it was designed to do.

It can also be used as a transport into a dac but that has always struck me as counter-intuitive, like having a massive CD multiplayer in your rack. Having all your music in one place is never a good idea so luckily Naim have made it impossible to store downloaded or previously ripped files on the hard drive. Realistically you need a NAS with both versions of the Unitiserve.

By this time you have spent the best part of £2500+ on a music server. That is before you start considering a Dac or Uniti/Qute. Convenience is expensive.

A Naim branded NAS would be fairly straightforward, perhaps in partnership with DigiFi or even Asset but for me the Serve seems...well unecessary

Lovely though ....

Tog