About to pull the trigger... Naim Unitiqute2

Posted by: mrCardoso on 12 November 2015

First of all, hello to all the Naim community.

Its my first post, although I've been around the forum from sometime now,

and after so much learning, i finally have something to contribute:

my impressions on my future acquisition Unitiqute2.

heard it in my local dealer, with 3 monitor speakers (1000/1500€ range)

with high resolution files, via USB, in this specific order:

Dynaudio Excite 14.

ProAc TabletteAnniversary.

Kef LS50.

playing The Final Cut , Pink Floyd (1983)

and In Utero, Nirvana (1993)

both albuns regulated to volume 50/60

Great to "see" the diferences the speakers make and how the unitiqute can deliver the goods.

(the 30w amp doesnt show any limitation on this segment)

the Dyn have a marvellous tweeter. very modern. precise.

big soundstage. lack a bit of bass for my taste.

the Pro's are the most impressive for me: the sounds seems bigger then is physical limitations (the smallest of them all) would/could make. sound is warmer then the other two. soundstage litle bit more narrow. the most expensive but you know where's the money gone.

Kef,for me, the worst. shrill / simbilance at high volumes. most tiresome at long listenings.

good sounstage. same impressions on bass regarding Dyn.

Even on the three speakers, i could associate a signature sound.

(the reason why i want to move to Naim)

liked the app IOs. liked (the quality of) the remote control. both very intuitive.

Nice fit/finish box. looks better live. enough inputs for my needs.

my current system: Primare DVDi10 / Monitor Audio Silver Rx2

(sounds good. amp is a D classs with a polite sound/ very subtle)

- i live in apartment with a living room 5x4m) -

Reason for change: searching a warmer sound, and eliminate the cds

(logistics and less probability to fail the "moving parts"/ transport section)

My dealer set the oportunity to make an audition with my MA rx2, in home (before buying).

im sure i'll have a bigger bass extension and sounstage, because the MA is the bigger of them all and have a 8" bass speaker. Impressions as soon as possible.

, best regards,

mrC.

Posted on: 12 November 2015 by Mr Paws

Hi there MrC and welcome to the forum.

Those speakers you mention I've never heard them except for the Proacs which are superb but you won't get the bass you're looking for in a room 5x4 mtrs in my opinion.

Recently I had the privilege to listen to a Unitiqute 2 with a pair of Focal Aria 906's and it sounded great and then the dealer then connected a pair of Focal 926's (floorstanders) turned the volume up and again great sound miles better bass but ultimately not much 'slam'. I wanted to listen to the 926's with a Uniti2 and that's where these speakers belong in my opinion just superb as were the 906's.

Ok just my opinions Sir I'm sure others on here will give you loads more advice.

Happy listening and spending

Posted on: 12 November 2015 by mrCardoso

thank you Sir, for the kind words.

..."you won't get the bass you're looking for in a room 5x4"...

I´m not looking for a Bass with "punch effect",

but there are monitors with to much fragility/lacking some octaves, IMO.

just trying to make a (good) compromise facing my limitations (area sq.m2 /budget)

Posted on: 12 November 2015 by dayjay

I doubt you will be able to find a set but the Guru Juniors work brilliantly with the Qute and have very good bass for the size

Posted on: 12 November 2015 by mrCardoso

"...able to find a set..." Probably right.

i couldn´t make a audiction on SuperUniti, by request, as my national importer doesn´t have it available.

(My main target is to change the Source, not the speakers).

Posted on: 12 November 2015 by charlesphoto

I have a feeling those Ls50's weren't run in yet. I know I had a wtf moment after hearing mine at the dealer and then the first couple of hundred hours were fatiguing. Also running mine with an external amp which sweetens it out to a degree even though it's about the same power as the UQ. Pretty sure they must have been a fresh pair though. And the Ls50's need some more watts for big rock music like you are demoing. Try some classic Van Gelder produced jazz.

Posted on: 12 November 2015 by mrCardoso

Dear Charles, don´t get me wrong:

I mention the monitors used just to make a context of the environment.

the rest is a question of personal taste/sensibility?!

i just ask to make a listening, with similar speakers (of mine). (couldnt take my MA due logistics)

just went there, curious about the unitiqute2, after all the press hype.

Posted on: 12 November 2015 by DUPREE

You will really like it I think. I have been hugely happy with NAIM's improvements in the streaming arena. I have 7 Terabytes of high res music and have completely gotten off of CD's thanks to the incredible performance and convenience of their streaming platform. The recent addition of Tidal and other improvements are just icing on the cake, properly setup it should sound amazing..

Originally Posted by mrCardoso:

First of all, hello to all the Naim community.

Its my first post, although I've been around the forum from sometime now,

and after so much learning, i finally have something to contribute:

my impressions on my future acquisition Unitiqute2.

heard it in my local dealer, with 3 monitor speakers (1000/1500€ range)

with high resolution files, via USB, in this specific order:

Dynaudio Excite 14.

ProAc TabletteAnniversary.

Kef LS50.

playing The Final Cut , Pink Floyd (1983)

and In Utero, Nirvana (1993)

both albuns regulated to volume 50/60

Great to "see" the diferences the speakers make and how the unitiqute can deliver the goods.

(the 30w amp doesnt show any limitation on this segment)

the Dyn have a marvellous tweeter. very modern. precise.

big soundstage. lack a bit of bass for my taste.

Kef,for me, the worst. shrill / simbilance at high volumes. most tiresome at long listenings.

good sounstage. same impressions on bass regarding Dyn.

Even on the three speakers, i could associate a signature sound.

(the reason why i want to move to Naim)

liked the app IOs. liked (the quality of) the remote control. both very intuitive.

Nice fit/finish box. looks better live. enough inputs for my needs.

my current system: Primare DVDi10 / Monitor Audio Silver Rx2

(sounds good. amp is a D classs with a polite sound/ very subtle)

- i live in apartment with a living room 5x4m) -

Reason for change: searching a warmer sound, and eliminate the cds

(logistics and less probability to fail the "moving parts"/ transport section)

My dealer set the oportunity to make an audition with my MA rx2, in home (before buying).

im sure i'll have a bigger bass extension and sounstage, because the MA is the bigger of them all and have a 8" bass speaker. Impressions as soon as possible.

, best regards,

mrC.

Posted on: 13 November 2015 by mrCardoso

Originally Posted by DUPREE:

You will really like it I think./

hope so.

Posted on: 17 November 2015 by Andy Barratt

Another consideration would be speakers from Neat.

Lots of people suggest the UQ pairs incredibly well with the Neat Ioatas. I haven't heard the combo myself, but I have a pair of Neat Motive SX3s which might be slightly overkill, but are absolutely wonderful together.

Posted on: 17 November 2015 by spurrier sucks

I'm surprised you feel the X14s lacked bass. I have a pair of XEO 3s and I'm stunned by their bass output. There is a new Excite model coming that is a bit larger than the X14. The X18. You may also want to try the Focus 160. It's about to be discontinued so you may be able to get a good deal on a pair.

Posted on: 18 November 2015 by Solid Air

IMHO the LS50s aren't great with the UQ2 . . . you'll run out of power above a certain volume or room size, and I think it gets shrill. The LS50 is a fine speaker, but I'd be go another way with the UQ2, especially if you want the bass.

I'll also bleat my usual about bass reflex speakers. They tend to be very dependent on positioning in the room, so make the effort to get a home demo - they can sound very different than in the shop. Speakers such as PMCs are likely to be less fussy.

Posted on: 18 November 2015 by mrCardoso

Thanks for the inputs from mr.Barrat/ mr.Spurrier/ mr.Solid.

As i said before, i'm looking for a Source change.

The opinions on speakers are welcome, (maybe i'll use them to change my MArx2 later)

Best regards....

mrC.

Posted on: 26 December 2015 by mrCardoso

Final words: received my UQ2 last week. Trying to put some hours of running to break loose, since.

very satisfied: the MA rx2 make a good pair. and the sound is warmer Then my previous setup. Full understand That is a question of compromises, but all in consideration, this system is all i ever wanted/need.

Posted on: 26 December 2015 by DUPREE

That's awesome news.. I kinda thought it would be a pretty sweet system..

Posted on: 29 December 2015 by Skip

We bought the UQ2 bluetooth last summer and hooked it up with a Powerline and flexible speaker cables from Crimson Electronics into Blumenstein Audio Thrashers (with an upgrade finish from the stranded board version you see on Google). A great West Coast dealer, Peter @ Venice Audio, guided us through the process and the speakers at his recommendation were made in USA, manufacturer to customer direct, from Blumenstein for well under $1000 US. The Thrashers are 91db and designed around a single driver with a simple tweeter for the highest frequencies. The 30 watts of the UQ2 are more than adequate in a small room and Peter could not have been more correct in his recommendations. We bought it all without audition and could not be happier. If I ever need to downsize from my current system, the UQ2 will be on the short list with the right speaker in the right room.

See pics at the second post from the top of this page. This has been a great setup.

https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...29#49436536979319829