unitiserve hard drive

It doesn't matter how quiet it is the HD drive is still inside the box and limits your storage onboard.

The SSD version will benefit from having no HDD in it and ripping to a NAS gives you plenty of expandable storge capacity including the ability to duplicate rips on multiple HDDs for safety.

So personally I would recommend the SSD version if the uniiserve is your choice.

rgds
geoff

Ever see a review where the text explains more about what the reviewer is incapable of than the product?

quote:

Originally posted by David Dever:
Ever see a review where the text explains more about what the reviewer is incapable of than the product?

Yes, lots. Mine was a general question, the noise level actually wasn't really the thing that caught my eye it was the comments about vibration, but I would guess that Naim have it sorted out as usual. But maybe the SSD is the better route (for me)

I am looking forward to hearing a Unitiserve in a couple of weeks as there's a bit of a delay getting them to dealers here in Belgium

Barrie

Ultimately if your music stores are large enough you'll need to go to NAS route or if your downloading 24/96 material.

The answer comes down to the following personal issues:

1. Does the music sound the same to you when played from a NAS through both the HDD and SSD versions?

2. Does the music sound the same when played from a NAS vs. the same music played back from the internal HDD?

Despite the Naim approved list for NAS devices, there still can be differences, just read all the comments about NAS drives on the DS forum.

Comes down to what your ears hear.

I have a UnitiServe. You can do both. Store music on the internal HDD and also from an external HDD piped through the Serve. To me, you get the best of both worlds with the HDD version.

Thanks Gary1,
Just looked on the DS forum, maybe it's just me but the number of DS issues in general look terrifying for someone like me that simply wants to rip, store and play, it reassures me that the Naim option of having an in-built ripper is the way to go for how I want to use a system. I'll try and listen to the different configurations.
I guess that as the untiserve gets into the market more we may see a thread on the characteristics ofdifferent models of NAS,
Barrie

quote:

Originally posted by Develyn:
I have a UnitiServe. You can do both. Store music on the internal HDD and also from an external HDD piped through the Serve. To me, you get the best of both worlds with the HDD version.

Hi Develyn,
What are your initial thoughts on the UnitiServe ?

Barrie

quote:

Originally posted by baz100:
Thanks Gary1,
Just looked on the DS forum, maybe it's just me but the number of DS issues in general look terrifying for someone like me that simply wants to rip, store and play, it reassures me that the Naim option of having an in-built ripper is the way to go for how I want to use a system. I'll try and listen to the different configurations.
I guess that as the untiserve gets into the market more we may see a thread on the characteristics ofdifferent models of NAS,
Barrie

yes i also hope for a thread like this soon. where members describe the difference of the unites.

if you are scared of teh ripping process through the computer you ould also use a RIPNAS. it looks very close to what an unityserve does , but without the streaming option. linn recommend those for their ds range. they are very comfortable and rip in the best quality. cost of course more then an minimac.

Unfortunately the best of both worlds can do a rapid back flip if the internal HDD fails. I would rather have my collection on NAS and backed up than have to return the unit to the factory with fingers crossed. HDDs will fail, they all will at some point. Having distributed across drives that I can configure, upgrade, maintain and back up sits more comfortably with me. If it is possible to back up the internal HDD (I don't know if this is the case) why have one to start with?

quote:

Originally posted by pylod:

quote:

Originally posted by baz100:
Thanks Gary1,
Just looked on the DS forum, maybe it's just me but the number of DS issues in general look terrifying for someone like me that simply wants to rip, store and play, it reassures me that the Naim option of having an in-built ripper is the way to go for how I want to use a system. I'll try and listen to the different configurations.
I guess that as the untiserve gets into the market more we may see a thread on the characteristics ofdifferent models of NAS,
Barrie

yes i also hope for a thread like this soon. where members describe the difference of the unites.

if you are scared of teh ripping process through the computer you ould also use a RIPNAS. it looks very close to what an unityserve does , but without the streaming option. linn recommend those for their ds range. they are very comfortable and rip in the best quality. cost of course more then an minimac.

ive had the 1tera ripnas for a year and not problems with it . quiet running ,well build and ripped2900 cds without any failure .linn audio are very happy with it.and only £840

quote:

Originally posted by pylod:
if you are scared of teh ripping process through the computer you ould also use a RIPNAS. it looks very close to what an unityserve does , but without the streaming option.

The RIPNAS does actually stream I think; you can install a UPnP server on it - some vendors even sell it with a UPnP server such as Asset pre-installed.

So far I like the GUI and the itouch app (N-Serve). To me, the music sounds more open but also at the same time a little more harsh. I truly haven't listened to it enough and have done very little a-b comparisons. I do plan on more listening sessions this weekend. I've also posted some GUI screenshots on my flickr account.
UnitiServeGUI

I fixed the link. Sorry about that.

quote:

Originally posted by Develyn:
So far I like the GUI and the itouch app (N-Serve). To me, the music sounds more open but also at the same time a little more harsh. I truly haven't listened to it enough and have done very little a-b comparisons. I do plan on more listening sessions this weekend. I've also posted some GUI screenshots on my flickr account.
UnitiServe GUI

Your link didn't work Develyn - at least didn't for me.

Eloise

But this one does apparently.
Looks like the HDX GUI - no surprises there then

Since the music on the HDD is seen on your pc due to the addition of the share, you can always back this up to your NAS or some other device.

While I have not heard the Unitiserve yet to compare, I know that in JS' opinion the music stored on the HDX (16 bit) sounds better to him than that stored on his NAS. Agree or disagree that's his opinion. It wouldn't surprise me though considering the "environment" of the HDX should be optimied for handling playback, which certainly will not be the case for a NAS device, even one which passes the NAS simulation test.

That's been my experience at the shop but I'm sure it varies a bit by network and configuration even though it shouldn't technically. Have you compared at home, Gary?

quote:

Originally posted by likesmusic:

quote:

Originally posted by pylod:
if you are scared of teh ripping process through the computer you ould also use a RIPNAS. it looks very close to what an unityserve does , but without the streaming option.

The RIPNAS does actually stream I think; you can install a UPnP server on it - some vendors even sell it with a UPnP server such as Asset pre-installed.

oh this would be an new option. they spoke long about this possibility. i first always thought the naim serve is build by ripnas...or at least licensed

john, no just haven't gotten around to it. The only music that I've entered has been Hdtracks downloads to the NAS, both 16/24 bit. 16 bit all ECM. Both sound great, esp. the 24 bit. Hard to go back.

quote:

Originally posted by pylod:

quote:

Originally posted by likesmusic:

quote:

Originally posted by pylod:
if you are scared of teh ripping process through the computer you ould also use a RIPNAS. it looks very close to what an unityserve does , but without the streaming option.

The RIPNAS does actually stream I think; you can install a UPnP server on it - some vendors even sell it with a UPnP server such as Asset pre-installed.

oh this would be an new option. they spoke long about this possibility. i first always thought the naim serve is build by ripnas...or at least licensed

I doubt there's anything in common except some functionability. I also think the RIPNAS wont rip to wav but someone correct me if I'm wrong.

quote:

While I have not heard the Unitiserve yet to compare, I know that in JS' opinion the music stored on the HDX (16 bit) sounds better to him than that stored on his NAS. Agree or disagree that's his opinion. It wouldn't surprise me though considering the "environment" of the HDX should be optimied for handling playback, which certainly will not be the case for a NAS device, even one which passes the NAS simulation test.

Its a shame the HDX can;t load tracks into memory and play - then you wouldnt have these differences between playback from internal and external drives.

James

it is a shame people cannot get past the minutia and extremely insignificant SQ deltas and simply enjoy the music.

quote:

Originally posted by js:
I doubt there's anything in common except some functionability. I also think the RIPNAS wont rip to wav but someone correct me if I'm wrong.

js, the ripping engine inside the RIPNAS is dBpoweramp, which rips to WAV fine afaik.

quote:

Originally posted by likesmusic:

quote:

Originally posted by js:
I doubt there's anything in common except some functionability. I also think the RIPNAS wont rip to wav but someone correct me if I'm wrong.

js, the ripping engine inside the RIPNAS is dBpoweramp, which rips to WAV fine afaik.

yes WAV possible...

js...to be honest, i think naim got quite inspired by the ripnas...they certainly though built it up on the hdx technology.

Thanks, the web site says FLAC but that makes sense as they are associated with DB. I'm sure Naim just wanted to make sure folks had a proper file to play and give convenience to those getting started. RIPNAS was and is a great idea for ripping and storage.

I wonder what the Unitiserve SSD does since it doesn't store tunes. I recall likesmusic having concerns with delays regarding the large buffer in the DAC. No issues with hog? I don't.

quote:

Originally posted by pcstockton:
it is a shame people cannot get past the minutia and extremely insignificant SQ deltas and simply enjoy the music.

Same-as-it-ever-was with hifi nuts. Not that there is anything wrong with that. We all need a hobby. Directionality of power cords, anybody?