Unitiserve - General problems/issues

This is an update on my unitiserve reported problems...

The problem has resolved itself, How? I dont know.

I got home on Friday evening and decide to play it again before packing it up - to take to dealer on Saturday.

The playback was Ok - no skipping/jumping, then I slotted CD into the drive - it interuppted the HD playback and played the CD in the drive. Later on, start HD playback & I change it to ripping mode & slotted another CD & it ripped OK during playback.

It performed perfectly throughout the weekend. Therefore if you ever have simlar problem, reboot, reload the service pack 2 and leave it on for the next 12 hours before playback.

Also, I had to rescan the drive for downloaded (NOT Ripped) music (from B&W site) before I could replay any of the music on the drive.

PS: the support from my dealer (Acoustica) & Naim support department is first class - prompt, instant & decisive.

thanks for the update...

so far so good, 5 days & counting.

It will be nice to know, if its hardware or software issue.

Stover, you are right!

The problem is back but this time round, it's pausing for 4 to 10 seconds (more frequently) instead of skipping.

Also, it froze & I had to reboot US.

Anyway, I've taken it to my dealer to be sent to Salisbury.

Regards

doesn't bode well for teh technophobe like me.  I'll wait another year for them to figure out all the digital stuff.

This means I can get someone to do a nice paint job on my apartment instead of me doing it all.

Sounds like your unit got zapped.

Just got my UQ back from Naim service. Mine kept eating discs - and there was no way to eject them.

Turns out the optical drive completely failed. Naim requested to keep the troublesome CD that caused the final lock up. (It was the 'Imagine" soundtrack CD)

Got it back with a new fascia plate - with the pinhole eject on it.

A closure on this problem...

Sent my US to Salsbury - checked & replace the face plate.

Got it back & so far so good for a month now...

Thanks to the contributors.

Akd

The US saga continues,
Got it back from Naim - diagnosis of nothing wrong with it.

Since then it skips occasionally, I've added net gear switch to minimise bt router drop out, moved the music from US local hard drive to Seagate go flex NAS.

Now, music is skipping sporadically, I could listen for hours without skipping & somedays it can skips on every tracks of an album.
Last week, it froze with the error message "verifying DMI Pool Data...... DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK"
I had to reboot with power switch off & on to resume playback.

I had a squeeze box duet for 3 years without a glitch. What is Naim doing wrong?

Naim ask me send it back - I am reluctant to do so, because I don't think Naim is being honest with the bugs in their machine / software.

AKD,

It IS a pain but I would go with them.

I have used a US, and have been running with an NS01 for the best part of a year with none of the issues you are experiencing ......although, I bought the NS01 as ex-dem. In fact it was brand new, but supplied as a replacement for one that had been playing up, the original customer decided to take a different route.

I was a early buyer of the DVD5, which had an interesting early history! It ended up going back to base a number of times, but my dealer / Naim ensured all was put right.

Hope it is sorted to your satisfaction.

M

Come on Tog, tell us what you really think

SJB

Have to agree with Tog on this .... 

Get a Vortexbox - it simply doesn't have these problems and I can't for the life of me see what a US does that it doesn't for a lot less of the hard earned. I'm still lost as to why Naim makes it's own ripping solution; when it works as I'm sure it does in the majority of case then it is fine, but it can't rip any better than perfect or serve UPnP any better. To me the US just looks like a computer and I read hereon that its S/PDIF out is not on par with my UQ.

I read about discs getting stuck or skipping or doing something else that they shouldn't really do - none of Macintoshes or PCs I've used have ever done this and my Vortexbox doesn't, my Yamaha CD/HD recorder has never done it (sounds mediocre, but doesn't eat discs), even my Amiga has never eaten a disc - so I'm puzzled what makes the US so error prone.  Most un-Naim like. 

I honestly don't think it is one of Naim's better products. A high quality CD Transport that could also rip to HD or NAS with top notch S/PDIF output is what I would expect for the US price, but unless I'm very much mistaken it is not quite that. 

This morning I was helping my son with his GCSE revision, the subject being statistics. One area of review was with regard to biased sampling and the inaccurate conclusions drawn as  a result. There are reports of some issues with the US  but of course people without issues will not post to that effect Likewise you appear to be comparing this fully biased sample with just your own experience of alternatives. I have had a CD stick in a car's CD player but have never had an issue with the Serve.

Without the Unitiserve I doubt that I would ever have got round to transferring my CD collection. It enables me to enjoy a listening experience (with nDac/555Ps) that far surpasses that which I obtained from my old CDS3. I am not saying there are not alternatives but I need a Naim box to fit alongside my other boxes.

The internet radio facility is good, and the n-serve is brilliant. It certainly gives good value for money for me, if not for others.

AKD,

This is a bit of an old saw now. Both 'sides' have good points.

Like Gerry, and I believe you, I think the brilliance of the Naim server solution is:

1. Easy good quality rips;

2. Great rendering of the remote files;

3. Expandability of remote shares;

4. Multiple serving of streams around the home; and now

5. iRadio.

None of which takes away from Vortexbox, Music Player, CMP et al.

Personally I played with the open source solutions, and built a PC that delivered great SQ. But ultimately I felt, and heard that the quality of the Naim server solution gave me all that I wanted.

The proof for me is the accelerating rate of my music purchasing!

M

Tog,

Looking at VB as a ripping solution for my movie collection.

M

Yes I agree my sample size was flawed and I should know better than to draw conclusions from it, I did say "when it works, as I'm sure it does in the majority of cases, then it is fine". 

I'm glad a lot of folk who have HDXs an USs do not have problems and are very happy with them. Apologies for my earlier rant. 

All the best, Guy 

PS Gerry did you have Honda by any chance; I got a copy of Spirit's 12 Dreams of Dr Sardonicus stuck in my old one's CD player - don't have the Honda any more, but I did get another copy of 12 Dreams of Dr Sardonicus.   

I agree, great bit of kit.

Earlier this year I was crossing the border back from the Ukraine into Hungary and missed the train connection. Fortunately I had used HB to rip a load of DVDs to mp4, which were loaded onto an ASUS Eeee. Spent a couple of hours watching The Rock with a friend who had never seen it.

M