Unitiqute - initiate me, convince me, teach me

Posted by: Tap on 07 December 2017

Hi All,

New member here.

First, I must get this out of the way .............. I'm a long time Cyrus user and of an age where my HiFi swapping and changing has pretty much come to an end (but I'm sure I've thought that before).

So, why am I here? Well, a colleague has offered me his Unitiqute ...... and I am very tempted! I have thoughts about using it as a second system.

However, I know little about Naim equipment and a little research has led me here and hopefully to a few answers to questions I have.

Initiate me - what are the joys (and perhaps woes) of the Unitiqute?

Convince me - I'm aware that the Unitiqute (1) is an older piece of equipment, but I get the feeling it is not entirely out dated and I wouldn't be making a mistake in purchasing the item. Is this correct thinking? I'm not really able to get a depth of information from my colleague as he really isn't an enthusiast and originally purchased his Unitiqute on the recommendation of another family member. In fact he couldn't be sure if he had Unitiqute 1 or 2, but I think it's the first model because of it's age. Perhaps someone could let me know how I confirm this.

Teach me - I'm old enough to have a good collection of vinyl (from the first time round) and have a decent CD collection, but I haven't really had the need or desire (until recently) to obtain my music by downloading or streaming. Perhaps someone could kindly provide a little guidance to how the Unitiqute could help me to make a move in this direction.

Hope I haven't arrived here asking too much.

Posted on: 24 December 2017 by Richard Dane

Hi alan,

I don't have a drawing I'm afraid. The small amount of movement allows the pin to follow the best contact course up the socket - when the pins are jammed solid in the housing then they are forced up a particular path - not always the best contact. The housing though prevents too much stress from the cabling being fed to an individual pin - i.e. it means both pins take a more even stress.

Posted on: 24 December 2017 by Adam Meredith

Tap posted:
One quick question.
Why the loudspeaker plug warning?

In addition, the plugs are designed in such a way as to prevent them being accidentally inserted into European mains sockets - hence the warning in your Owner's Manual

"The Naim loudspeaker connectors supplied are designed to comply with European safety legislation and must be used."

Posted on: 24 December 2017 by Richard Dane

Ah yes, thanks Adam. I knew there was also a safety issue in there somewhere...

Posted on: 24 December 2017 by ChrisSU

If you’re using NACA5 it can be particularly important to use the Naim plugs, in terms of strain relief, as the stiffness of the cable means that there can be much more strain in need of relief (depending on the space available behind the device.) With other cables, it’s perhaps less critical.

Posted on: 24 December 2017 by charlesphoto

I've used naca5 with both my UQ and now 110 with just dealer soldered bananas and no issues. I did make a nice bend in the cable using a hair dryer right before the cables plug in - seems to give some relief and they don't pull out on their own.