Jim,

You'd be better off posting this question on the 'Streaming Audio' pages. You may even find that the question has already been answered there. Try the advanced search option.

Clive

The Olive is an all in one player that includes a DAC and outputs an analogue signal that can plug into an amplifier. 

In contrast the UnitiServe is just a server and does not include a DAC. It is designed to serve over a network to a streamer, although it can be connected to a DAC if you fancy using that way of operation. 

I used to have a US but sold it once all my albums were ripped. 

My advice to you is to copy all your FLAC albums onto a NAS and buy a streamer appropriate to the rest of your setup, which is...... ?

Hungryhalibut posted:

My advice to you is to copy all your FLAC albums onto a NAS and buy a streamer appropriate to the rest of your setup, which is...... ?

+1

If all your CDs are ripped and you are happy with the rips, no need to re-rip. And if you have a laptop /PC / Mac, any new ones can easily be ripped using a simple bit of software such as DB Poweramp, used by many on here. Easy to copy your HD back ups to a NAS, use that as the server, and continue to use your HD for backing up.

I have a Unitiserve by the way, and I have found it to be very reliable, others havent found this to be so. I like the ease of use and the quick rip / simple metatdata retagging that it offers, as well as it being a Naim solution.

But if I had already ripped all my CDs at the time I bought it, and was happy with the rips, I most likely would have spent the money on my streaming solution.

Hope this helps anyway Jim.

Thanks for the advice looks like a streamer is the way forward i am assuming that my ripped CD's are of adequate quality, i have found a retailer that can copy my CD library straight off the Olive, only trouble is they don't sell Naim but Linn i wonder if a Naim retailer is able to transfer in this way, or how difficult it will be to transfer from the backup, i would rahter have it done from the Olive as it has more CD's on it than my external HD

You are probably best backing up everything to the hard drive, and then copying that to a NAS using Windows Explorer. I moved all my files (2,600 albums) from my old Synology to my new QNAP and it took about eight hours. Alternatively, if you can access the Olive via Windows explorer, you may be able yo copy directly from it. You then load upnp server software onto the NAS and a streamer will see it. 

What's the rest of the system consist of Jim ?

I am using a Denon AVR 5700 which i am loath to change as it serves as a surround sound amp too, it also cost about £2000 when new and was highly regarded as a compromise between Hi Fi and surround, my speakers are Spendor S5s which are excellent  for detail, but lack the punch of the speakers they replaced (Proac tablette) speakers which i still have that i no longer use although i am very fond of them and could still use them. As you can see i am on a limited budget, The Olive was the most expensive piece of kit i have ever purchased and that turned out to be a costly mistake, so i need something reliable, cost effective, with good back up should something go wrong, and of course the best i can get for the money. The more i look the more confused i get though.

I'd avoid the Unitiserve. Good as it is, it's a bit outdated now. Look at something like the Auralic Aries Mini. You can fit an internal hard drive to store your music, it's got good control apps and it'll support a number of streaming services if you decide to go that way. Optical and coaxial S/PDIF outputs too to drive your Denon and a bargain at £375 (a bit more when you add a drive - £495 for 2Tb). 

James