Core - Why would you do that ?

Dr_J posted:

So realising I am coming to this table long past supper time, I’d like to chime with the OP. The older Naim servers, UnitiServe in particular, have come in for a lot of criticism, perhaps some deservedly so? However, as a recent owner of a runout 2016 US, I have found it really easy to deploy and use. Having ripped just under 100 CD’s, it was time to setup a backup process which, from a number of forum posts, filled me with dread. I needn’t have worried, using a Synology NAS, albeit with the latest firmware, I just followed the Naim Support Synology guide and it just worked first time. First backup running without a hitch.

US’s are a reasonable pre-loved purchase at the moment, even a few virtually unused ex-dem units about, and certainly appear a more stable option, within their design constraints, than the new Core for the time being. The newer server has undoubted advantages, but costs at least twice as much configured like for - I chose the US as an easy-to-use, reasonable interim option to see where SSD servers get to in 3-5 years.

As for performance, I think it is a SQ quantum step up from my Synology NAS and certainly less tedious than cross-mapping my iTunes ripped library with either Synology’s Media Server or MinimServer with my laptop in the middle.

Of course, YGMMV.......

KR, J

i bought a unitserve few months before the advent of the core. When the core arrived, 6 months after, i had first a disappointment having bought an old technology vs the core, but today i don’t regret my purchase:  when i read all the problems some members have with the core, i am not at all ready to change.  I even put a good linear ps on my serve and i am very pleased with it.  Just some cover albums lacking with the downloads, but titles and performers are correct.    I ripped around 300cds also with no problems.

Mind you, there are some of us that went from the serve to the Core and have been perfectly happy with it so it can’t be all bad!

Ravenswood10 posted:

Mind you, there are some of us that went from the serve to the Core and have been perfectly happy with it so it can’t be all bad!

yes, not everyone has problems with the core but enough for now . Enjoy, you are the happy one!

And again running along behind the crowd, this time on the issue of UnitiServe network Music Stores and Backup Shares. Once a significant number of CD’s have been ripped/downloaded/otherwise obtained, it follows that the NAS device itself will require a backup otherwise the single point of failure has just been moved along the road.

I am fortunate enough to have two Synology NAS drives, one of which I factory reset for use with the US, which then worked exactly as described. Rather than confuse the US with multiple, online/offline Music Stores and Backup Shares, I find it easier to mirror the US data to the second NAS using rsync. Now I just need an offsite copy and the job’s done .

Kudos to all those sticking with their old tech and success to those taking up the new - they will surely start to pull ahead with new features and functions . (And for those struggling with updates, network and internet issues, there’s a reason real computer systems have a change freeze at this time of year.......)

Season’s Best Wishes to All.

KR, J

French Rooster posted:

Ravenswood10 posted:

Mind you, there are some of us that went from the serve to the Core and have been perfectly happy with it so it can’t be all bad!

yes, not everyone has problems with the core but enough for now . Enjoy, you are the happy one!

Perhaps I should send mine back to the factory so they can see why it’s working - it’s probaly got Serve guts inside

OK - really daft question from a computer dummy - would the fact that I use mine with a Samsung SSD drive have anything to do with it? Probably not but I thought I’d ask.

Ravenswood10 posted:

French Rooster posted:

Ravenswood10 posted:

Mind you, there are some of us that went from the serve to the Core and have been perfectly happy with it so it can’t be all bad!

yes, not everyone has problems with the core but enough for now . Enjoy, you are the happy one!

Perhaps I should send mine back to the factory so they can see why it’s working - it’s probaly got Serve guts inside

OK - really daft question from a computer dummy - would the fact that I use mine with a Samsung SSD drive have anything to do with it? Probably not but I thought I’d ask.

perhaps the ssd helps. David Hendon uses ssd also and globally he seems satisfied.  But he will tell us i hope himself.

Or maybe it’s like lottery: you had the chance to have the good working one....You should even bring yours to naim shows, perhaps you have the only one core perfectly working so naim can advertise it!

I doubt it - mine's great and I'm using it with a large capacity Toshiba HDD.  

I doubt it as well. The only thing I noticed when I changed from a HDD to an SSD was that it runs cool and silent, unlike with an HDD when it runs quite warm and whirrs quietly but audibly 24/7.

I think the Core works well as a ripper/player but it was feature-poor at launch and all sorts of things didn't work very well for some people.  If you look at the release notes for all of the updates, you can see a list of issues that some people bumped into and some people didn't of course.

As the Core and Star share lots of software modules, we can hope that now the Core has caught up with the Star, further debugging and improvements will go more in step between the two units.

Best

David

I have the same question as the OP in that my UnitiServe SSD (with linear PSU) is sounding superb in my system, and certainly better than my Synology NAS on its own.

My dealer is still trying to get me to consider the Core, telling me that they are “selling them regularly and have quite a large backlog building”, however when I had a blind listening test earlier this year (Core vs. US with LPSU), the US sounded so much better - music from the Core sounded a little ‘muffled’ by comparison (listening to a Lorde album).  This backed up the finding by Martin Colloms in April 2017 edition of HiFi Critic (“Excepting a UnitiServe used with a custom linear supply, the new Uniti Core can hold its own in overall sound quality....“).  Maybe the multiple firmware updates have changed this?

I did originally have a Core on order (since late 2016), but cancelled it early in 2017 when the development issues started cropping up (my dealer at that time was reporting large SQ differences between units and strongly advised I hold off), and it was evident that the Core was still a “product in development”.

I am concerned about what I’m hearing on forum, especially on issues around ripping, meta data tagging (I have a lot of classical music and don’t want anything to “actively” change (mess up) any data), lack of on-the-fly FLAC to WAV transcoding (essential), issues with cover art, CD eject issues, putting my US music into wrong folders, and finally the most important issue of SQ of the Core vs. US.

I appreciate that folks in Salisbury are burning midnight oil to improve the firmware, and also that the Core is a supported product (unlike legacy US), and uses later/improved technology (e.g. not Windows XP!).

So, I’m not knocking the Core, but neither do I want to switch if the Core doesn’t yet offer me what I currently enjoy with the US-SSD (if not more).  I hear some folks on here who swear they are great (David, Richard, etc.), and some who are frustrated that their unit doesn’t yet ‘do what it says on the tin’.  How much of this is down to inter unit variability (e.g. some folks have been lucky to get a good unit)?

So, my question is whether now is the right time right to switch?  My gut instinct (as is the OP’s) is to hold off and see whether future F/W updates address the issues that people report.  It’s not as if I’m in a bad place now - my system is sounding very sweet indeed (e.g. “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”).

Thoughts welcomed.

ATB.  G.

They launched this way too early, and many on the forum have had to put up with the poor firmware. It’s almost there, but the very very poor communication from Naim means you need to work with your dealerto ensure it fits your needs. This to me is sad, this was never a question with Naim in the past. For me I am still waiting for a resolution on cd,s that would not rip, the service from Naim, very very poor for those that bought the initial batch.

If your US is working well and backed up, I would suggest you give Naim a while longer to fully sort the Core out before you buy one. Maybe a couple of more firmware updates will do it. Some of your essentials are just not there yet, eg classical music metadata handling and on the fly transcoding.

best

David

GeeJay posted:

I have the same question as the OP in that my UnitiServe SSD (with linear PSU) is sounding superb in my system, and certainly better than my Synology NAS on its own.

My dealer is still trying to get me to consider the Core, telling me that they are “selling them regularly and have quite a large backlog building”, however when I had a blind listening test earlier this year (Core vs. US with LPSU), the US sounded so much better - music from the Core sounded a little ‘muffled’ by comparison (listening to a Lorde album).  This backed up the finding by Martin Colloms in April 2017 edition of HiFi Critic (“Excepting a UnitiServe used with a custom linear supply, the new Uniti Core can hold its own in overall sound quality....“).  Maybe the multiple firmware updates have changed this?

I did originally have a Core on order (since late 2016), but cancelled it early in 2017 when the development issues started cropping up (my dealer at that time was reporting large SQ differences between units and strongly advised I hold off), and it was evident that the Core was still a “product in development”.

I am concerned about what I’m hearing on forum, especially on issues around ripping, meta data tagging (I have a lot of classical music and don’t want anything to “actively” change (mess up) any data), lack of on-the-fly FLAC to WAV transcoding (essential), issues with cover art, CD eject issues, putting my US music into wrong folders, and finally the most important issue of SQ of the Core vs. US.

I appreciate that folks in Salisbury are burning midnight oil to improve the firmware, and also that the Core is a supported product (unlike legacy US), and uses later/improved technology (e.g. not Windows XP!).

So, I’m not knocking the Core, but neither do I want to switch if the Core doesn’t yet offer me what I currently enjoy with the US-SSD (if not more).  I hear some folks on here who swear they are great (David, Richard, etc.), and some who are frustrated that their unit doesn’t yet ‘do what it says on the tin’.  How much of this is down to inter unit variability (e.g. some folks have been lucky to get a good unit)?

So, my question is whether now is the right time right to switch?  My gut instinct (as is the OP’s) is to hold off and see whether future F/W updates address the issues that people report.  It’s not as if I’m in a bad place now - my system is sounding very sweet indeed (e.g. “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”).

Thoughts welcomed.

ATB.  G.

 

 

Just carefully read the first post of https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...mware-and-app-update and make up your mind. I certainly would not buy a Core if I was interested in classical music. Best, nbpf

Many thanks Gazza and David - appreciate your feedback and confirmation that it’s still too soon to consider changing the US for a Core.

Yes David, all music backed up to a separate NAS as well as passport drives (which are regularly rotated with ones stored offsite).

ATB.  G.

GeeJay posted:

I have the same question as the OP in that my UnitiServe SSD (with linear PSU) is sounding superb in my system, and certainly better than my Synology NAS on its own.

My dealer is still trying to get me to consider the Core, telling me that they are “selling them regularly and have quite a large backlog building”, however when I had a blind listening test earlier this year (Core vs. US with LPSU), the US sounded so much better - music from the Core sounded a little ‘muffled’ by comparison (listening to a Lorde album).  This backed up the finding by Martin Colloms in April 2017 edition of HiFi Critic (“Excepting a UnitiServe used with a custom linear supply, the new Uniti Core can hold its own in overall sound quality....“).  Maybe the multiple firmware updates have changed this?

I did originally have a Core on order (since late 2016), but cancelled it early in 2017 when the development issues started cropping up (my dealer at that time was reporting large SQ differences between units and strongly advised I hold off), and it was evident that the Core was still a “product in development”.

I am concerned about what I’m hearing on forum, especially on issues around ripping, meta data tagging (I have a lot of classical music and don’t want anything to “actively” change (mess up) any data), lack of on-the-fly FLAC to WAV transcoding (essential), issues with cover art, CD eject issues, putting my US music into wrong folders, and finally the most important issue of SQ of the Core vs. US.

I appreciate that folks in Salisbury are burning midnight oil to improve the firmware, and also that the Core is a supported product (unlike legacy US), and uses later/improved technology (e.g. not Windows XP!).

So, I’m not knocking the Core, but neither do I want to switch if the Core doesn’t yet offer me what I currently enjoy with the US-SSD (if not more).  I hear some folks on here who swear they are great (David, Richard, etc.), and some who are frustrated that their unit doesn’t yet ‘do what it says on the tin’.  How much of this is down to inter unit variability (e.g. some folks have been lucky to get a good unit)?

So, my question is whether now is the right time right to switch?  My gut instinct (as is the OP’s) is to hold off and see whether future F/W updates address the issues that people report.  It’s not as if I’m in a bad place now - my system is sounding very sweet indeed (e.g. “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”).

Thoughts welcomed.

ATB.  G.

 

 

i have the same thinkings as you, found my serve/ linear ps a little better than uniticore and not at all ready to change when i hear all this problems with the core.

Glad to have read your post....

Thank you French Rooster - interesting that you got to the same place in thinking on potential purchase of Core (e.g. wait to see when/if issues get fixed, and re-evaluate then).

ATB.  G.

GeeJay posted:

Thank you French Rooster - interesting that you got to the same place in thinking on potential purchase of Core (e.g. wait to see when/if issues get fixed, and re-evaluate then).

ATB.  G.

yes, perhaps later....Or something really better, like melco or other brand.  Some members with nds like us adopted the melco.  But i am not sure for the involvement and prat.

Have you tried?

What about a Core without a CD drive or storage (HDD or SSD) for those who have already ripped their CD libraries a long time ago, and already have an extensive library on NAS units, with backup processes in place. My RAID1 volume backs up to other RAID1 units daily, with snapshot offline copies.

So want I want is the Metadata enrichment and intelligent Tidal integration into the Naim app to improve the overall experience, but with the best SQ, so would need FLAC->WAV transcoding in the server.

Or native Roon Endpoint support in the NDS.

Simon

Thanks FH - I've not had a chance to listen to the Melco - my dealer is definitely not a fan however (says it sound 'broken' vs. US), and has refused to stock it so far.  I hear good things about the Melco from various Forum members here however, but if I wanted to audition it, I would have to go elsewhere.

I'm not in a rush to change - my US-SSD does a great job exactly as it is and drive to move to Core would be mainly driven by; 'one box solution', up to date software, manufacturer supported product (with F/W updates).  I think the Core will get there (see above), however happy to wait in the meantime.

Simes, I'm not sure how Naim would position a CD-less and storage-less Core product (the Core can already be run with no on-board storage I believe - just using a NAS?), and therefore if it has sufficient USP to sell in numbers worth doing the R&D for?  I do like the idea of metadata enrichment, however maybe there could be software (rather than hardware) solution?

ATB.  G.

simes_pep posted:

What about a Core without a CD drive or storage (HDD or SSD) for those who have already ripped their CD libraries a long time ago, and already have an extensive library on NAS units, with backup processes in place. My RAID1 volume backs up to other RAID1 units daily, with snapshot offline copies.

So want I want is the Metadata enrichment and intelligent Tidal integration into the Naim app to improve the overall experience, but with the best SQ, so would need FLAC->WAV transcoding in the server.

Or native Roon Endpoint support in the NDS.

Simon

Hi Simon, IMO it doesn’t make sense to add a Core is this situation. Adding e.g. MinimServer on the NAS would give you the FLAC to WAV transcoding which the Core can’t do ...

Yes, I was looking for a reason to replace an existing non-Naim UPnP server with a Naim one, and the only reason to is to have the space to the right of the Album artwork filled in with the enriched metadata. I have repeatly suggested that if the UPnP server is not Naim to centre the album art, as it looks lost justified to the left, then a blank space.

I use Asset on RPi, and a UPnP Bridge to act as a Roon Endpoint, so I can use the Roon interface, which is hands & feet better then the Naim app.

Unfortunately the SQ from the UPnP Bridge is not as good as native UPnP.

Sorry to ask again but did somebody compared core spdif out to a DAC with HDX/NDSx, unitiserve or aurender etc? Thanks!

ralf

simes_pep posted:

Yes, I was looking for a reason to replace an existing non-Naim UPnP server with a Naim one, and the only reason to is to have the space to the right of the Album artwork filled in with the enriched metadata. I have repeatly suggested that if the UPnP server is not Naim to centre the album art, as it looks lost justified to the left, then a blank space.

I use Asset on RPi, and a UPnP Bridge to act as a Roon Endpoint, so I can use the Roon interface, which is hands & feet better then the Naim app.

Unfortunately the SQ from the UPnP Bridge is not as good as native UPnP.

Do you know, I must be getting old. I read this three times and still couldn’t understand it

I listen to my Core via my NDS and love it. Perhaps I’m not analytical enough and that’s after 35 years in R&D in no less than 4 pharma companies. This makes translational medicine look like a wheeze. Time to to spin another one on those vinyl thingies on my LP 12 me thinks! Strange old world isn’t it?

T38.45 posted:

Sorry to ask again but did somebody compared core spdif out to a DAC with HDX/NDSx, unitiserve or aurender etc? Thanks!

Yes. Core vs UnitiServe, via S/PDIF into the Metrum Pavane DAC (feeding the SN2), and then into the Resonessence Labs Mirus Pro DAC (feeding a 252/SC/250). The Core was more engaging than the stock UnitiServe with its SMPS power supply. Adding a linear power supply to the Serve erased the difference.

I use the digital out from my Core into digital in on my 272.  I’m using a Siltech Golden Eagle digital cable.  Sounds wonderful.  I hope to improve the sound with the SL DIN to XLR interconnect into my 250 DR.

With regard to the Core, I really haven’t noticed any problems.  Guess I’ve been lucky.

Thanks for answering! I had the unisiserve years ago feeding my DAC and it sounded quite „muddy“. So maybe I will have a closer look at core again,,,

ralf