Uniticore - first impressions of sound quality and app interface

Wow, thanks for this! Did you also check the Core's digital output, e.g. on the NDS input?

Cheers, Stefan

We didn't, as we didn't have a dc1. I would expect it to sound better as in my experience improving the power supply on the transport makes a big difference!

The first review! Nice work and interesting findings, look forward to hearing more once the Core gets its feet under your table.

Most interesting! Thank you for this summary.

Glad I've got one on order looks as if it's gonna be a late Christmas present ?

Well worth the wait!

Thanks for the detailed and interesting report. I guess it will land on quite some wish lists...

Thank you J. You mention an external HDD; what was the local drive databasing in the UC caddy? HDD or SSD?

Why not running the US with an alternative linear power supply?

Chag -

No drive in the core so far. We may do further testing as to which sounds better, internal HDD vs external, and may play with ssds at some point. It's not my system to do things with, so who knows what will end up happening there!

I believe the owner tried a long dog PSU but returned it due to it not sounding as good prat-wise as the standard serve PSU. Can't say I've ever been impressed with the TP PSU for serve, and I have experienced serves not booting when powered by them. Switching back to the serve PSU allows them to boot up just fine.

Guys - you will get moderated for this alternative PSU discussion

The most important thing is - Core is here and it's cheaper than UnitiServe and seems to work better.

Anyone know what the fundamental differences are between Unitiserve and Core?  Presumably it runs Linux?  What's the CPU?

I believe it's an arm based CPU. Also uses a Naim built PSU with a toroidal transformer. It seems to run very cool with no storage on board. 

Next thing to try is the Core's rendering capability - i.e. SPDIF out into the NDS, as opposed to network connection: how do they compare?

that will be of interest to people with various other systems.

Noogle posted:

Anyone know what the fundamental differences are between Unitiserve and Core?  Presumably it runs Linux?  What's the CPU?

The new Uniticore also runs Naims new embedded customised Linux build which will appear in the other other new Uniti products which I had the pleasure of listening to a a few weeks ago at Naim.. and very good they performed too.

Be interesting to compare SQ wise the Uniticore with my reference ReadyNAS 102 - ReadyDLNA UPnP media server which sounds and measures as the best media server I have tried on UPnP with Naim.. (all to do with interframe timing consistency on TCP data transfer bursts of the media as I have reported on this forum previously).. I suspect and hope it will be similar, but with new improved Naim UI. Great initial feedback from the OP.

I understand a planned big SQ improvement area will be with the Uniticore SPDIF out, where the new powersupply and internal decoupling should really pay dividends.

S

Innocent Bystander posted:

Next thing to try is the Core's rendering capability - i.e. SPDIF out into the NDS, as opposed to network connection: how do they compare?

that will be of interest to people with various other systems.

yes...... very interesting......

Is this a fully in house developed solution or built on an existing platform - i think the original server products were built on the DigiFi platform and customised for Naim ?

It looks like Naim have listened to customers feeback and come back with a nifty solution - Nice work. 

James, I gather it's Naim's own in-house solution.

Thanks Richard - looks really good. 

I'm really interested in this thread & thanks for posting it. Please excuse my lack of knowledge but I have a quick  question. I currently have a muso and also have an order in for an atom and core. My current upnp server is a qnap 210 and apologies if I've got this wrong but it sounds like I will get an improvement in sound quality over the qnap when I start using the core. Is this correct as I thought that the upnp just gave the track to the source such as the muso or the apollo and the sound quality happened there? I'd really appreciate any advice.

Paul -

This is a highly contentious subject.  There are at least two schools of thought.  I am a "bits are bits" fundamentalist and believe it wont make a blind bit of difference which digital server you use.  Then there are those who say "let your ears be the judge", who can hear the difference between different digital components.  You pays yer money and you takes yer choice.

Noogle

If you look at a music server as being like a CD transport, it starts to make more sense. Would a cd555 sound as good with a cd5i transport? 

I was also in the camp of 'bits are bits', but then my ears told me different. I played the same file (a non-naim rip I might add) from asset upnp installed on a laptop, and then on a unitiserve, and the unitiserve had a much better sense of timing. The only thing that held me back at the time was cost. 

And now that the core is here, sounding better again and at half the cost, I'm screwed...

Paul,

As Noogle says, this is a contentious issue.  I have a UnitiServe which has needed to be sent to Naim on two occasions for repair.  Whilst away, I have used the Netgear Ready DLNA server software pre-installed on my NAS to listen to my music.

The difference between the two is readily audible on my system; is one 'better' than the other? Difficult to say, as one person's 'better' is another's 'different' or 'worse' but I prefer the way the UnitiServe presents the music.

Perhaps I will 'prefer' the way the Core presents music, if and when I get to hear one.

Ultimately, as is always the case with these things, it will be up to you to decide whether you have a preference, based on what you hear, or not.

Cheers,

Ian

Noogle posted:

Paul -

This is a highly contentious subject.  There are at least two schools of thought.  I am a "bits are bits" fundamentalist and believe it wont make a blind bit of difference which digital server you use.  Then there are those who say "let your ears be the judge", who can hear the difference between different digital components.  You pays yer money and you takes yer choice.

Noogle

 This is not at all contentious, certainly  in the audio engineering world. Bits are abstractions.. and bits are bits is simply over simplified  marketing mumbo jumbo, we are dealing with physical values in time and quantity as well as cross talk and alien attributes such as noise.. If you are happy with cheaper transports that make many more cost  and subsequent engineering compromises then use a Sonos transport or AppleTV. For those that appreciate that the transport integrity is key to the performance of the  connected down stream systems then they will continue to invest in quality transports... but contentious it certainly isn't it... it's a simple choice.

Lets not turn this into a "bits are bits" argument again ... that's for another thread, lets keep this one on the Core.

... I have just deleted a couple of paragraphs to follow this request ... since I don't altogether agree with Simon but, as I said, leave that to another thread.

Allan

If it could replay DVDs, we would be sure if that drummer was really nodding off.