Difference between Superuniti and Qute2 + NAP100

Better DAC, better power output (80W vs 50W) and I'd guess better circuitry too.

Your current speakers will be fine until you feel the need/can afford to upgrade

In a nutshell!

As far as what I hear when I move from Qute to SU is somewhat akin to getting 'closer' to the action, more muscular, far more attack, subtlety is traded for excitement, more hi-def, less compromised by frequency rolloff, less 'fun', more analytical. It will expose poor recordings, the Qute has a way of flattering! SU gives more, but you may not like all of that extra 'giving', for instance the vocal effect on the third track of King Crimson's 'Lizard' LP is odd but listenable on the Qute, but the SU exposes the overdriven, coarse 'rotary' effect as ham-fisted, it distracts. Step up by all means, but keep in mind you may need to chuck out the odd recording (I'm busy looking at replacing my Rush recordings atm).

Incidentally I found a Qute2 on it's own to be slightly more 'musical' than when partnered with the NAP100.

Well, thanks for the feedback.  Very useful food for thought.  

I am very happy with the Q2+NAP100 combination, i must admit.  Nice sound, enough detail, perhaps a bit flat-ish on the soundstage. Very musical. Overall very satisfying and capable. No complaints.

I just have a chance of getting an ex demo SU from the NAIM dealer for Euro 3,500, and i think it is a good price.  Ok it is not the very latest model with the Bluetooth, but who cares.  I have the BT on the Q2 and i have never used it.  Plus i already paid Euro 3,000 for the Q2+NAP100, so for a little additional i can get the SU!!!

Still i have the problem of what to do with the Q2+NAP100, although i could ask the dealer if he is interested in a trade in.  The Q2 alone i could keep for another room in the house actually.

But i need to decide if it is worth going for the SU in the first place.

I am sorry, i forgot to comment on your last point, above.

I agree that Q2 alone sounded more musical, until i changed the interconnects to Vertere D-Fi.  This was just pure luck.  The Naim dealer where i live happened to be friends with the owner of Vertere products, and he just gave it to me to try at home.  The difference it made was unprecedented.

Therefore, in my case, i am one of those who are much much more satisfied with the Q2+NAP100 combination, even at the slight change in colour.  Perhaps the Q2 on its own with the Linn 109's is too weak, at higher volumes the distortion is evident, so is the huffing and puffing of the Q2.

I think the SU is terrific, and that it would work really well with the Qute. But 3,500 euro sounds a lot to me - you can pick them up used in the UK for £1,800, which works out about 2,500 euro. 

Yes the price needs to come down some, but leaving aside the price it should be a big step up. I've heard 109s briefly at a Poole dealer, not bad but I preferred the Stirling Broadcast monitor (and bought neither!) I've read a few comments about the SU being 'dull' maybe there is some variability in this particular product not found in others? Multiroom is a lot of fun, i have 2 Qutes and wouldn't consider trading them for a single 'all singing all dancing' Naim system, I like the versatility and flexibility of music round the house, especially as I am an insomniac!

No joy yet then with selling your SU?

Being a Qute owner, I'm always very interested in the "from Qute to SuperUniti" posts...

I keep looking for someone to say the equivalent of:

"oh YES!! DO IT!!  The leap from Qute to SuperUniti will bring you so much joy!"

Instead it always seems to be a "use caution" type of response. hmmmmm 

Tom - You certainly won't hear that from me. You're better off with the nap100.

Hi Paristhea,

Are you using the D-Fi to the RCA connectors on the NAP100? I have the same Q2/NAP100 combo and would be very interested if a new interconnect could give a nice improvement over my standard RCA-DIN cable. Could you describe the SQ differences?

Well you won't hear that from me! Maybe people who run SU (for more than 5mins) are less afflicted by rash or hyperbolic comments?

If any upgrade gave nirvana there would only be need for 2 Naim products, so as with all things in life, perfection is in the eye of the beholder. So the SU will "lift veils previously unknown allowing you to raise your aspirations to scale the peaks that were mere hummocks reflected in the vision of the Qute's rose-tinted myopia".

Very well said, in a beautiful and poetic manner.  Thanks!!

Kindly explain why do you think the price is high?  A brand new model today would be Euro 5,500 right?

A demo unit from a Naim audio dealer, with a full 5 year warrantee, how much should it be?

I would try and find out how long the unit has been on demo. In the UK the retail prices are proportionately lower than say France, and with the advent of the 272 there may be more pre-loved SU's coming on the market (and lowering the value) in the UK than on the continent. If you are happy with the price you pay that is all that matters.

I agree with much of what's been said above, but do want to add a pause for thought.

The SU is a very 'robust' sound. It's full on, in a good way. Plenty of oomph and brio and attack and all those kind of words. But the Linn 109s are the opposite of all that . . . they are very, very short of bass by comparison with almost any other speaker I've heard. They're beautifully musical with chamber music or some nice female vocal and guitar, but if you want oomph, that's not their thing. So I think it's worth thinking about what sound you like and putting together the right system . . . an SU and 109s sounds like steak and custard to me.

the only good thing is at least it's not a speaker with too much flabby bass. If the OP likes them, an SU might be just the ticket to warm them up a bit. I remember Roxy Music were once described as a hemisphere of anchovies on a hemisphere of marmalade, creating a unique whole. So maybe, just maybe!

Yes, indeed . . . sometimes weird combinations work. A wonderful song by Roxy Music is 'If there is Something', which feels like three unrelated songs bolted together, but somehow it's brilliant! I adore it. 

But for all that, I find it hard to believe that 109s and an SU is a match made in audio heaven. Dressage ponies and race horses are both great at what they do, but mating them together doesn't make a horse than that can run fast sideways. 

My own theory, having spent over a week with the 109s, is they're designed to be part of a high-end surround system and really need a sub.

Hi Paristhea,

Are you using the D-Fi to the RCA connectors on the NAP100? I have the same Q2/NAP100 combo and would be very interested if a new interconnect could give any improvement over my standard RCA-DIN cable. Could you describe the SQ differences? I may even be able to get a secondhand Pulse C interconnect at a similar price to the D-Fi.

Anyone else have experience changing the standard SNAIC to Vertere on a NAP100, and if so was it to DIN or RCA?

Hi. There was no DIN to RCA in my case. itnwas normal RCA both ends. 

So I tried a few different brands of RCA cables, the dealer gave me the Vertere to give it a try, and the difference was huge, so I haven't removed it since. 

It just pulled the sound together. Sound quality difficult to describe in words, the sound of the Q2 is wonderful, add the nap100, reduces the distortion at higher volume levels and makes it overall a more serious sound (like from 1.6 to a 2.0 litre engine). The vertere cable is like you add a turbo into the engine.  I am an engineer, easy to describe using engines as the tool

Thanks, that's good food for thought. I'll check with the dealer here in Singapore (who is also the Naim dealer) to see if I can get a home demo first, and also see if the used Pulse C is available - possibly that cable may give even a bit more of the same benefits than the D-Fi. 

I do like the 109's.  I do not think i am a big bass fan, and the music i listen to is mostly classical, vocal, instrumental (Classical, Yanni, Sade, Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, Il Divo, Celine Dion, Elton, etc etc) 

The NAP100 with Vertere interconnects, added the missing bass to the 109's, for my room size.  To me the 109's are like a nightingale.I can listen to them for hours, never feel tired of them, or anything missing.

I have two "homes", a working "home", and a home country "home".  In my working home the space is smaller and that is where i have the 109's.  Ok i don't have huge bass, but what i have is enough for my ears

In the home country home i have ProAC's Studio MkII, and yes a much bigger listening room.

Ok, the dealer offered to let me try the SU at home, no obligation, so nothing to lose.  I spend most of my time in the working "home" and i do listen to a lot of music during my free time, so it is important to me.

The SU ideally might be more suitable in my home country with the ProAC's, i think.

I think Hungryhalibut refers to the SU version prior to the updates with Bluetooth and Spotify. The price of a new SU was approximately what your dealer asks for, which suggests that he's offering you the latest version. If so it's a good deal, but you can easily find a used SU without the Bluetooth for a much better cost. If Spotify is important to you then it's just a software upgrade - free of charge!

Oh, and the Superuniti really is super!

Not Spotify nor BT are important to me.  The SU will be hard wired via ethernet, what is the benefit of having BT connectivity, i fail to see it?

I checked Naim April 2014 price list, and the SU was UK 3,495 (incl VAT).  I don't think the April 2014 model had BT.  Spotify is nothing special, can be added any time, as you say above.  I use my music which is mostly FLAC or ALAC or AIFF, or internet Radio where some stations have good transmission.

Bluetooth is very useful for us in our home.  The kids use their iPhones for music, and like being able to connect via Bluetooth.  They prefer to play their music, controlled the way they do on the phone; this is the easiest way for that to happen.  They do not care about ultra-high fidelity, nor about learning to use the Naim App (or being limited to "my" music sources).

And while Naim sort out various online streaming options, Bluetooth opens up the entire ecosystem to playback on the home hifi, with the proviso that some fidelity is lost in the process.