Uniti Atom/Nova/Star - New firmware - March/April 2018 Comments

It's a shame as overall the Atom is more stable since the update and more responsive to the app and remote. I've also been away for 10 days unitd been in use through my absence and it still sounds fatiguing especially at volume where it never was before. Not noticing having to crank it up more though.

Dropped support an email so will see what comes of it. Hopefully a path for me to revert back.

SimonPeterArnold posted:

Dropped support an email so will see what comes of it. Hopefully a path for me to revert back.

Let us know how you get on with support, presumably if you revert you can still update again back to the current 2.6 if you want? So in theory can you keep swopping between the two versions? My Atom sounds better since a reset and is actually quite nice at low to medium levels particularly with Jazz, Acoustic or Electronic genres but like you if I crank it up at all it's really quite harsh, rock is a not great either. It's like there's too much detail now and bass end seems down too. From reading the 4.6 thread there seems to be similar reports, some like it, some dont and have reverted and the overall sound characteristics of 4.6 seem to be similar to 2.6 in that there's a lot more detail but too much for some.

Got my link early afternoon, so very good response. I'll downgrade when I get chance. Unfortunately going to need to calibrate my surround amp again as well as it feeds the Atom from preout to run front two speakers for TV and Movies. So finding the time to do all this will be tricky until the weekend.

Mercky posted:

SimonPeterArnold posted:

Dropped support an email so will see what comes of it. Hopefully a path for me to revert back.

Let us know how you get on with support, presumably if you revert you can still update again back to the current 2.6 if you want? So in theory can you keep swopping between the two versions? My Atom sounds better since a reset and is actually quite nice at low to medium levels particularly with Jazz, Acoustic or Electronic genres but like you if I crank it up at all it's really quite harsh, rock is a not great either. It's like there's too much detail now and bass end seems down too. From reading the 4.6 thread there seems to be similar reports, some like it, some dont and have reverted and the overall sound characteristics of 4.6 seem to be similar to 2.6 in that there's a lot more detail but too much for some.

Yeah I find that at low volumes its quite nice but cranking it up really is uncomfortable. It does have a lot of detail thats true but it really comes at the cost of the low and mid ranges on my kit, Was listening to a track yesterday and I could pick out so much I hadn't noticed before but it lacked pace and soul. Shame I hope they can find a good balance in the future and bring back its mojo.

Received a response from Naim and a link to the 2.3 firmware.

Just to let anyone know, the email address uniti_support@naimaudio.com yielded no response but the standard support@naimaudio.com resulted in a response and link today.

Downgraded to 2.3 and immediately found lower level volume much more engaging and had much more presence and sound stage width.

Not sure it's exactly what I had before, but close enough and it's really not tiring or grating the longer you listen like it was with 2.6.

Email form Naim mentioned that by not keeping up with the latest firmware releases, in the future I may miss out on added functionality.

I feel like writing back "if you mean by added functionality, I get a different sounding Uniti Atom after each update, then ... no thank you!".

Happy now

EoinKav posted:

Received a response from Naim and a link to the 2.3 firmware.

Just to let anyone know, the email address uniti_support@naimaudio.com yielded no response but the standard support@naimaudio.com resulted in a response and link today.

Downgraded to 2.3 and immediately found lower level volume much more engaging and had much more presence and sound stage width.

Not sure it's exactly what I had before, but close enough and it's really not tiring or grating the longer you listen like it was with 2.6.

Email form Naim mentioned that by not keeping up with the latest firmware releases, in the future I may miss out on added functionality.

I feel like writing back "if you mean by added functionality, I get a different sounding Uniti Atom after each update, then ... no thank you!".

Happy now

 

So can you go back to 2.6 if you want and does it appear as an available update now? 

Yes you can switch back to 2.6 if you want afterwards,. Shows up as a normal update would. 

EoinKav posted:

Received a response from Naim and a link to the 2.3 firmware.

Just to let anyone know, the email address uniti_support@naimaudio.com yielded no response but the standard support@naimaudio.com resulted in a response and link today.

Downgraded to 2.3 and immediately found lower level volume much more engaging and had much more presence and sound stage width.

Not sure it's exactly what I had before, but close enough and it's really not tiring or grating the longer you listen like it was with 2.6.

Email form Naim mentioned that by not keeping up with the latest firmware releases, in the future I may miss out on added functionality.

I feel like writing back "if you mean by added functionality, I get a different sounding Uniti Atom after each update, then ... no thank you!".

Happy now

 

I know what you mean.

Mercky posted:

EoinKav posted:

Received a response from Naim and a link to the 2.3 firmware.

Just to let anyone know, the email address uniti_support@naimaudio.com yielded no response but the standard support@naimaudio.com resulted in a response and link today.

Downgraded to 2.3 and immediately found lower level volume much more engaging and had much more presence and sound stage width.

Not sure it's exactly what I had before, but close enough and it's really not tiring or grating the longer you listen like it was with 2.6.

Email form Naim mentioned that by not keeping up with the latest firmware releases, in the future I may miss out on added functionality.

I feel like writing back "if you mean by added functionality, I get a different sounding Uniti Atom after each update, then ... no thank you!".

Happy now

 

So can you go back to 2.6 if you want and does it appear as an available update now? 

Yes - you can go back and forth, so I hope Naim officially provide links to older firmware one day on their website for convenience.

Fortunately the web page based update mechanism (basically a configuration page for the Uniti device with a few tabs) just asks you to select the locally downloaded file and does not complain about trying to install an older firmware version which is great.

After you launch the 'update' from the web page it will just 'update' as it would via the Naim app and if you check for updates in the app later it will allow you to access the latest firmware as normal.

I just hope that any future versions of the Naim app do not nag about updating as that would be a real annoyance.

Yes, once you download the 2.3 firmware and keep it safe ... then you can upgrade and downgrade as necessary.

That being said, I would not be advising that you update and downgrade "willy nilly". As with these things there are code changes written to various components, a glitch could cause "bricking" the device.

Mercky posted:

Definitely nothing negative sonically with my Atom after both upgrades, improved if anything. The app and some specific issues I was having seemed much improved but then it threw a complete wobbly last weekend with lots of weird stuff happening but it’s been very good since in fairness.....

What made you change your mind Mercky ?

Alley Cat posted:

Mercky posted:

Definitely nothing negative sonically with my Atom after both upgrades, improved if anything. The app and some specific issues I was having seemed much improved but then it threw a complete wobbly last weekend with lots of weird stuff happening but it’s been very good since in fairness.....

What made you change your mind Mercky ?

Just listening to it more I guess, it is a difficult one, once it gets in on you it really grates. I was listening to some Keith Jarrett earlier and it’s really not great at all however some material does sound excellent, it’s like it’s become intolerable of some recordings and good stuff sounds really excellent and not so good is now really awful! I like Radio Paradise too and it sounds quite tinny and tiresome now I think. I also suspect if we all bought our units with  2.6 loaded we’d probably think it was great! I’m going to email for the 2.3 link tomorrow and listen to a few favourite tracks extensively prior to reverting and take it from there. The frustrating thing is that 2.6 sorted some discovery and app issues I was having so I’d have to forego those. Maybe we just  need to stick with 2.6 and let our ears get accustomed to it and it’ll all be fine!!

EoinKav posted:

Downgraded to 2.3 and immediately found lower level volume much more engaging and had much more presence and sound stage width.

Not sure it's exactly what I had before, but close enough and it's really not tiring or grating the longer you listen like it was with 2.6.

..Happy now

 

I've only done some limited testing, but having been pleased for a few days that the reversion to 2.3 brought back the pleasing characteristics, I decided to upgrade again to 2.6.  

Before I'd had the interim 2.3.1 which really sounded awful, I think 2.6 is better than that but I didn't originally think to see what DSP version 2.3.1 had when I went to 2.6 a few weeks ago so they may be near identical.

The biggest issues I had with 2.3.1/2.6 were:

1 - unengaging sound - for whatever reason with 2.3 I'll play an album through and enjoy it, with the others fatigue would set in and I might not even finish a track let alone play the next one

2 - loss of apparent depth and bass especially at lower levels, sound seemed polite/apologetic which is fine for some music where you're interested in the fine detail but not for other music the power and drive of songs you know very well just seemed completely lacking due to it sounding too lightweight. Instruments somehow became less sonorous, timbres were altered, perhaps more detail but muted overall.

3 - vocals became (esp female) quite thin/brittle at lower levels, though more nuanced, this translated to shouty and harsh at higher levels - previously mellifluous, engaging songs were tiring.

I was actually surprised going back to 2.6 - there is bags more detail, songs sound slower, vocals again sounded thinner even if more nuanced.  The power of certain songs again went walkies because of loss of bass and despite a more detailed Left to Right soundstage it seemed to be very one dimensional and linear from side to side with loss of depth cues.

So what are we missing with 2.3 if we prefer it?  

In a word I think it's colouration - post 2.3 are we hearing the sound more 'accurately' with less colouration and warmth ? It's very much akin to analogue source vs digital source type debates.

Sound slows down - of course it doesn't but lack of colouration/smearing of sound lets you hear more space between the notes.  (Oddly Audioquest 'ethernet cable' had this slowing down' effect for me and I preferred the Chord fro it's warmth and depth.)

The low end sounds quieter as it's far more controlled and less coloured, this I think causes the lack of depth - deeper notes tend to be less directional and seem to fill the room so if they are diminished the whole sound seems flatter.  

Vocals at volume sound harsh due to lack of colouration.

An interesting question to me is whether or not the DSP applied is producing more accurate audio which is no longer augmented adequately by colouration from speakers/amps/rooms etc in our own individual circumstances. O was the audio more accurate before, and the DSP is by intent actually making the sound 'thinner' to compensate for predicted colouration introduced down the line, and in those cases our particular rooms/speakers etc which were ok before can no longer make up for the thinner sound?

I suspect we're hearing more accurate audio replay, but in reality we prefer more coloured audio sound.

The increased detail is pretty amazing but I suspect I'll be reverting again to 2.3 for enjoyment.

Waffling over!

Just spent the evening listening to the Atom in the background while I was doing some work. For the first time since the update to 2.6 a week ago and back to 2.3 this afternoon, I actually found it soothing and enjoyable, gone is the grating, tiresome tones.

Alley Cat, who is more eloquent then me, describes much of what I was experiencing, though I wouldn't say 2.6 was more accurate, perhaps lacking presence making everything else more overpowering. Either way ... the key take away for me is, for what ever reason with firmware 2.3 I actually want to listen to the music and no longer feel the urge to hit the off button after 15 minutes. That's a pretty basic observation, but fundamental as to why I originally bought the Atom after being introduced to Naim via the MuSo.

Alley Cat posted:

EoinKav posted:

Downgraded to 2.3 and immediately found lower level volume much more engaging and had much more presence and sound stage width.

Not sure it's exactly what I had before, but close enough and it's really not tiring or grating the longer you listen like it was with 2.6.

..Happy now

 

I've only done some limited testing, but having been pleased for a few days that the reversion to 2.3 brought back the pleasing characteristics, I decided to upgrade again to 2.6.  

Before I'd had the interim 2.3.1 which really sounded awful, I think 2.6 is better than that but I didn't originally think to see what DSP version 2.3.1 had when I went to 2.6 a few weeks ago so they may be near identical.

The biggest issues I had with 2.3.1/2.6 were:

1 - unengaging sound - for whatever reason with 2.3 I'll play an album through and enjoy it, with the others fatigue would set in and I might not even finish a track let alone play the next one

2 - loss of apparent depth and bass especially at lower levels, sound seemed polite/apologetic which is fine for some music where you're interested in the fine detail but not for other music the power and drive of songs you know very well just seemed completely lacking due to it sounding too lightweight. Instruments somehow became less sonorous, timbres were altered, perhaps more detail but muted overall.

3 - vocals became (esp female) quite thin/brittle at lower levels, though more nuanced, this translated to shouty and harsh at higher levels - previously mellifluous, engaging songs were tiring.

I was actually surprised going back to 2.6 - there is bags more detail, songs sound slower, vocals again sounded thinner even if more nuanced.  The power of certain songs again went walkies because of loss of bass and despite a more detailed Left to Right soundstage it seemed to be very one dimensional and linear from side to side with loss of depth cues.

So what are we missing with 2.3 if we prefer it?  

In a word I think it's colouration - post 2.3 are we hearing the sound more 'accurately' with less colouration and warmth ? It's very much akin to analogue source vs digital source type debates.

Sound slows down - of course it doesn't but lack of colouration/smearing of sound lets you hear more space between the notes.  (Oddly Audioquest 'ethernet cable' had this slowing down' effect for me and I preferred the Chord fro it's warmth and depth.)

The low end sounds quieter as it's far more controlled and less coloured, this I think causes the lack of depth - deeper notes tend to be less directional and seem to fill the room so if they are diminished the whole sound seems flatter.  

Vocals at volume sound harsh due to lack of colouration.

An interesting question to me is whether or not the DSP applied is producing more accurate audio which is no longer augmented adequately by colouration from speakers/amps/rooms etc in our own individual circumstances. O was the audio more accurate before, and the DSP is by intent actually making the sound 'thinner' to compensate for predicted colouration introduced down the line, and in those cases our particular rooms/speakers etc which were ok before can no longer make up for the thinner sound?

I suspect we're hearing more accurate audio replay, but in reality we prefer more coloured audio sound.

The increased detail is pretty amazing but I suspect I'll be reverting again to 2.3 for enjoyment.

Waffling over!

Amazing. You desribe exactly how I think about the Nova, 

Alley Cat posted:

EoinKav posted:

Downgraded to 2.3 and immediately found lower level volume much more engaging and had much more presence and sound stage width.

Not sure it's exactly what I had before, but close enough and it's really not tiring or grating the longer you listen like it was with 2.6.

..Happy now

 

I've only done some limited testing, but having been pleased for a few days that the reversion to 2.3 brought back the pleasing characteristics, I decided to upgrade again to 2.6.  

Before I'd had the interim 2.3.1 which really sounded awful, I think 2.6 is better than that but I didn't originally think to see what DSP version 2.3.1 had when I went to 2.6 a few weeks ago so they may be near identical.

The biggest issues I had with 2.3.1/2.6 were:

1 - unengaging sound - for whatever reason with 2.3 I'll play an album through and enjoy it, with the others fatigue would set in and I might not even finish a track let alone play the next one

2 - loss of apparent depth and bass especially at lower levels, sound seemed polite/apologetic which is fine for some music where you're interested in the fine detail but not for other music the power and drive of songs you know very well just seemed completely lacking due to it sounding too lightweight. Instruments somehow became less sonorous, timbres were altered, perhaps more detail but muted overall.

3 - vocals became (esp female) quite thin/brittle at lower levels, though more nuanced, this translated to shouty and harsh at higher levels - previously mellifluous, engaging songs were tiring.

I was actually surprised going back to 2.6 - there is bags more detail, songs sound slower, vocals again sounded thinner even if more nuanced.  The power of certain songs again went walkies because of loss of bass and despite a more detailed Left to Right soundstage it seemed to be very one dimensional and linear from side to side with loss of depth cues.

So what are we missing with 2.3 if we prefer it?  

In a word I think it's colouration - post 2.3 are we hearing the sound more 'accurately' with less colouration and warmth ? It's very much akin to analogue source vs digital source type debates.

Sound slows down - of course it doesn't but lack of colouration/smearing of sound lets you hear more space between the notes.  (Oddly Audioquest 'ethernet cable' had this slowing down' effect for me and I preferred the Chord fro it's warmth and depth.)

The low end sounds quieter as it's far more controlled and less coloured, this I think causes the lack of depth - deeper notes tend to be less directional and seem to fill the room so if they are diminished the whole sound seems flatter.  

Vocals at volume sound harsh due to lack of colouration.

An interesting question to me is whether or not the DSP applied is producing more accurate audio which is no longer augmented adequately by colouration from speakers/amps/rooms etc in our own individual circumstances. O was the audio more accurate before, and the DSP is by intent actually making the sound 'thinner' to compensate for predicted colouration introduced down the line, and in those cases our particular rooms/speakers etc which were ok before can no longer make up for the thinner sound?

I suspect we're hearing more accurate audio replay, but in reality we prefer more coloured audio sound.

The increased detail is pretty amazing but I suspect I'll be reverting again to 2.3 for enjoyment.

Waffling over!

I've done exactly the same after listening to 2.3 for a while I reverted back to 2.6. Some tracks sound great others not so. It's definitely seems more revealing than the old firmware and not perhaps as forgiving for some recordings. I need to have a long listening session at a good volume to decide what I stick with. 

After 5 days of listening to FW 2.3,  I really don't think I'am going back to 2.6 again.

Just took Quboz for 3 Months free ,  sound is more precise,  less coloured than Tidal.

Really enjoying the Nova by full now in my setup.

Mr.Orange posted:

Just took Quboz for 3 Months free ,  sound is more precise,  less coloured than Tidal.

Is Quboz also loseless as Tidal ❓ 

/Peder ???? 

Peder posted:

Mr.Orange posted:

Just took Quboz for 3 Months free ,  sound is more precise,  less coloured than Tidal.

Is Quboz also loseless as Tidal ❓ 

/Peder ???? 

Yes, and they even have a subscription where some material is available to stream in a hi-res format. A better range of music than Tidal, although I have had poor customer service experiences. 

I listened to a 24bit Qobuz London Grammar download last night on 2.6, very clinical and sharp and not very pleasant to listen to at all, was pretty good on 2.3 as I recall

Mercky posted:

I listened to a 24bit Qobuz London Grammar download last night on 2.6, very clinical and sharp and not very pleasant to listen to at all, was pretty good on 2.3 as I recall

Their latest album is one I tested pre post recently and before/after originally updating and the vocals are very harsh and shouty with 2.3.1 and 2.6 but smooth with 2.3.

Gillian Welch and Shelby Lynne albums had noticeably worse vocals for me with the updates than 2.3, though detail really shows with Shelby Lynne with percussion on new firmware but overall warmth was lost.

Peder posted:

Mr.Orange posted:

Just took Quboz for 3 Months free ,  sound is more precise,  less coloured than Tidal.

Is Quboz also loseless as Tidal ❓ 

/Peder ???? 

Qobuz is better in that it can play lossless HD via Chromecast or from their desktop app or NAS stored purchases.

They have several plans - monthly MP3 or CD quality streaming, or annual Sublime CD quality streaming or CD/HD streaming called Sublime +

Any HD purchases can be downloaded and Chromecast to the Naim Uniti devices plan or no plan.

Sublime streaming subscribers get 40-60% discounts on many HD purchases.

Their latest app update has a glitch which makes tracks restart after playing a few seconds. They know about it.

Gapless only achievable via NAS based purchases for me.

ChrisSU posted:

Peder posted:

Mr.Orange posted:

Just took Quboz for 3 Months free ,  sound is more precise,  less coloured than Tidal.

Is Quboz also loseless as Tidal ❓ 

/Peder ???? 

Yes, and they even have a subscription where some material is available to stream in a hi-res format. A better range of music than Tidal, although I have had poor customer service experiences. 

Chrissu,....interesting❗

Everyone I know have Tidal,and most people on forums talk about Tidal......so a haven't think of anything else. But of course a have heard about Quboz,and see the word....but not think more about it.

◾Mr.Orange,....Less coloured than Tidal you wrote❗ ....you mean it's better in musicality than,or just cleaner and clearer❓ 

◾What is the subscription cost❓ 

◾Have they the same kind of artists/tracks then Tidal,or is it a smaller streaming-service❓ 

Anything else you can tell me about Quboz.

/Peder ???? 

???? Alley Cat,...???? you answer most of my questions before I have posted them,...Thanks.

/Peder ????