Should I buy a Unitiserve

The Unitiseve tends to divide opinion here: it's quite expensive for what it does, but if you want a solid Naim box that won't look out of place on a HiFi rack, it's a contender. Ripping and playing CDs is about as simple as it gets. It's also quiet in use or standby.

I'm not sure if the US will see existing playlists. If you use a Naim streamer, that should see them. 

The N-Serve app used by the US works fine, makes metadata editing and playlist creation simple. It is, though, rather basic compared to the Naim streamer app, which has been developed and improved over the last couple of years.

If your existing NAS is any good, using a UPnP server on that is a much cheaper option if you are comfortable maintaining it.

I'd say yes to questions 1 to 4 and probably not to 5. I'd also ask what the current system is, and which NAS and upnp server you are using. If your music is already on a good NAS with a good server, there seem far better ways to spend £2,000. A UnitiServe won't make the music sound any better, and you still need the NAS for backup anyway. 

If you are starting to rip your collection or want to run a smooth music network - then YES.

It is a good product - easy to use once it has been set up properly. Happy to share setup guides if needed.

1-4, yes.  5 - no idea.

What is the state of your current music library / collection?  Do you yet have a lot of ripping to do?

You will find lots of different opinions on this forum.

For me, I can hear definite improvement using my UnitiServe to serve music to my system (over 1400 FLAC and WAV albums), and certainly a great improvement on the Synology or Minim servers that I also have on my system (I've done the A-B comparison, and for me the UnitiServe is definitely better in my system and to my ears).  YMMV.

It's no accident, as Naim specifically develop their products to work together, and the streamers would have been developed and 'voiced' using a Naim Server (HDX, UnitiServe, NS01, etc.). 

I had a disc reader in my US fail early on, however my dealer replaced that with no issues - others on this forum have had more major issues.

As always, a demonstration at a dealer will enable you to hear if this is something you consider worthwhile.

ATB.  George.

GeeJay posted:

You will find lots of different opinions on this forum.

For me, I can hear definite improvement using my UnitiServe to serve music to my system (over 1400 FLAC and WAV albums), and certainly a great improvement on the Synology or Minim servers that I also have on my system (I've done the A-B comparison, and for me the UnitiServe is definitely better in my system and to my ears).  YMMV.

It's no accident, as Naim specifically develop their products to work together, and the streamers would have been developed and 'voiced' using a Naim Server (HDX, UnitiServe, NS01, etc.). 

I had a disc reader in my US fail early on, however my dealer replaced that with no issues - others on this forum have had more major issues.

As always, a demonstration at a dealer will enable you to hear if this is something you consider worthwhile.

ATB.  George.

Those extolling the virtues of the Melco range would certainly advocate that a well specified storage & server device improves sound quality over a NAS, no?

G

As I believe that the OP was asking about UnitiServe, I thought it pertinent to reply about my personal experiences.  I've had good audio experiences with my UnitiServe and make no apologies for that.  Others have had better experiences with other solutions - that's fine as well - as I said, YMMV

If he'd asked about Melco, then I'm sure that Melco owners would have responded.

ATB.  George.

GeeJay posted:

 

GraemeH posted:

Those extolling the virtues of the Melco range would certainly advocate that a well specified storage & server device improves sound quality over a NAS, no?

 

As I believe that the OP was asking about UnitiServe, I thought it pertinent to reply about my personal experiences.  I've had good audio experiences with my UnitiServe and make no apologies for that.  Others have had better experiences with other solutions - that's fine as well - as I said, YMMV

If he'd asked about Melco, then I'm sure that Melco owners would have responded.

ATB.  George.

I was trying to support your argument George - You are suggesting, I think, that the UnitiServe improves playback. The advocates of Melco make the same observation so it seems reasonable that a well designed naim server should offer the same benefits.

G

I also think the Unitiserve is a good product and I also say yes to questions 1 to 4 and that I've no idea of the answer to question 5. It's not cheap, but it is a very easy to use way of ripping and storing CDs.

Best

David

Yes US is still a very sensible option to rip & store. I would however consider the SSD version instead of the HDD's as you already have a NAS.

Chag - 

For me the little unitiserve is everything and more what I imagined it can do.

Chag... posted:

Yes US is still a very sensible option to rip & store. I would however consider the SSD version instead of the HDD's as you already have a NAS.

Chag - 

+1

Safe option too - all the music sits on a NAS, which can run in a RAID mode as a precaution against a hard drive failure.

I've never understood why anyone would choose an SSD version. You can use an external drive to extend the capacity of the cheaper HDD version, so it seems to have all the functionality of the SSD version plus 2TB storage for less money. Wouldn't it make more sense to get that, and use the current NAS to back it up?

I have an US SSD - chose it becasue there is simply one thing less to go wrong (i.e. Internal hard drive). 

Call me stupid - I paid more money for less features

Does any one know if the hdd in the unitiserve can be replace in case of failure?

Most likely yes. But can the data be retrieved, that is another matter.

Safest option is to use a NAS drive or an external USB one for back ups.

GraemeH posted:

GeeJay posted:

 

GraemeH posted:

Those extolling the virtues of the Melco range would certainly advocate that a well specified storage & server device improves sound quality over a NAS, no?

 

As I believe that the OP was asking about UnitiServe, I thought it pertinent to reply about my personal experiences.  I've had good audio experiences with my UnitiServe and make no apologies for that.  Others have had better experiences with other solutions - that's fine as well - as I said, YMMV

If he'd asked about Melco, then I'm sure that Melco owners would have responded.

ATB.  George.

I was trying to support your argument George - You are suggesting, I think, that the UnitiServe improves playback. The advocates of Melco make the same observation so it seems reasonable that a well designed naim server should offer the same benefits.

G

You guys probably already know this but the UnitiServe and Melco both share a gentleman by the name of Alistair Haines ( if memory serves!) who was on both design teams.

ChrisSU posted:

I've never understood why anyone would choose an SSD version. You can use an external drive to extend the capacity of the cheaper HDD version, so it seems to have all the functionality of the SSD version plus 2TB storage for less money. Wouldn't it make more sense to get that, and use the current NAS to back it up?

A few reviews and posts on this forum claim that the presentation of the SSD version is more detailed and clearer while possibly a tiny bit less organic or cohesive. Note that you would have to replace the factory power supply by a linear supply to get the most of either version.

Chag - 

FelipeCG posted:

Does any one know if the hdd in the unitiserve can be replace in case of failure?

Naim can change it, but the unit has to go back to them or to an approved repair place.  You can't just put a replacement HDD in because the operating system has to be put onto the HDD and Naim will not make the image available for you to do it yourself. (There have been a couple of threads about this in the last few months.) Naim will also try to recover your music off a failed HDD but as Adam says, there can be no guarantee about that, so it's definitely recommended to keep the music somewhere as a backup and the easiest way to do that is automatically onto a NAS, but some people manually back up onto a USB HDD.

best

David

Clay Bingham posted:

GraemeH posted:

GeeJay posted:

 

GraemeH posted:

Those extolling the virtues of the Melco range would certainly advocate that a well specified storage & server device improves sound quality over a NAS, no?

 

As I believe that the OP was asking about UnitiServe, I thought it pertinent to reply about my personal experiences.  I've had good audio experiences with my UnitiServe and make no apologies for that.  Others have had better experiences with other solutions - that's fine as well - as I said, YMMV

If he'd asked about Melco, then I'm sure that Melco owners would have responded.

ATB.  George.

I was trying to support your argument George - You are suggesting, I think, that the UnitiServe improves playback. The advocates of Melco make the same observation so it seems reasonable that a well designed naim server should offer the same benefits.

G

You guys probably already know this but the UnitiServe and Melco both share a gentleman by the name of Alistair Haines ( if memory serves!) who was on both design teams.

Thanks, I didn't know that.

G

FelipeCG posted:

Hi all. I'm considering buying the 2TB Unitiserve, but I have a couple of concerns since I had have bad experiences with music servers from other brands.

Is the operation smooth? 

Does the US manage propertly big music libraries (aprox 1000 cd in Flac)

Is the interface easy to use?

The IOS app works propertly?

Does the Unitiserve read M3U playlist that are already in my NAS? Can I copy them along with the music files to the US?

Thanks a lot!

 

Normally I don't advise on these things - but have a listen to a Melco, with the base version you have also already 4TB on board. I am sure you will like it. While I to be honest haven't been able to compare it to a unities rave, so that might be still something to consider.

Melco's indeed seem to be awesome products but don't offer integrated ripping option. This is why I would love to see a US2 coming out.  

Chag -

FelipeCG posted:

Does any one know if the hdd in the unitiserve can be replace in case of failure?

Yes authorized Naim service can replace a hdd if needed.

My Unitiserve is working really well with my new NDS. I use the former with something made by someone I'm not supposed to mention but I like the result!