And the journey starts

By the way, do you happen to know where does the old NDX sit in the hierarchy of streamers in terms of sound? Does it too have the old architecture like the 272?

NDX uses the old platform. It’s good, but the NDX2 is, in my opinion, quite a lot better, with the advantage of the new streaming platform and also a proper discrete output stage.

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From what I read often here, Ndx seems to be on the level of Nd5xs2. 272 more on the Nd5xs level.

Finally connected them and they’re in their temporary position. I can definitely hear a difference. It is subtle but it is definitely there. Now I know what people have been talking about when they said that the 300DR grips them speakers by the balls. And very tightly it does.

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I must be doing something wrong. When I tried my Nova connected to my 300DR the sound was worse than the Nova on its own!

I never tried the Nova on its own, maybe it would have been even better :slight_smile: The Nova was a placeholder while I was waiting for

I got a pair of absolutely immaculate 606’s ex demo for £4.5k this year (delighted with them btw). There are always bargains out there, I agree with HH you could make a significant saving

This may not be entirely unexpected. The 300 may be showing up the deficiencies in the source. While the Nova is good it’s totally outclassed by the 300. When I got my 300 I had already added a 555PS to my 272, and the two work really well together. But what’s not there in the first place can never be added.

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Sounds as though somethings not right to me. I have a 250DR with my Nova and it significantly improves the SQ over the basic Nova, I also know that if I added a 300DR I might not expect it to leverage the full potential of the 300DR but I would expect another increase in SQ, I would not expect it to be worse than the bare Nova unless there is some other unresolved issue in the chain (i.e. dirty mains, brain/brawn interference, platform instability, etc…)

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Agreed, i had both, and each was a nice step from the Nova. I wonder if it is the din to twin xlr lead that is faulty. My dealer made mine up for me, but you can buy online flashback cables etc on a return if not satisfied basis.

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That would be a strong suspect IMO being a non standard item…

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Agree with this. When I added a 200DR to an Atom I thought it sounded worse. Muddier and removed the fun of the Atom - and the 200 is a relatively modest power amp.

Thats quite a range of experiences adding power amps to the uniti range. The recommended power amp upgrade to the Atom is a NAP100, so a 200DR should have been a good upgrade…oh well, I know what i’m hearing from my system… maybe the type of speakers in use makes a difference?

I agree, I find it quite strange as well. I would have thought adding a more powerful amp would have shown some improvement (even if a slight one). However, like you I am quite happy with the definite improvement that I hear on my system.

That is a superb deal. I think I need to start searching for Titan and Sopra dealers.

Purely my own understanding, and respect what you hear with your own ears, but I don’t believe the Uniti stuff was ever really ‘designed’ to be upgraded in that sense. It’s an all-in-one for a reason, and adding a power amp defeats that purpose.

Naim have put upgrade recommendations because, well, why wouldn’t they?! Think of this - the ‘natural’ partner for a 300, according to Naim, is a £7000 252 powered by a £4500 (I think) Supercap. Why then would a Nova be a sufficient partner. As @anon4489532 said, the 300 completely outclasses what the Nova is capable of.

As I said, this is my understanding and if adding a power amp to a Uniti brings an improvement for you then that’s nuff’ said.

It really is not as simple as that. Having tried various permutations, I have found that a combination of balance and quality source is a far more satisfying than bunging on the muscle.

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Power amp upgrades on Unitis have always divided opinion. I believe Naim provide the option so that you can still use an all-in-one player if you have demanding speakers or a large room, as not everyone wants, or can afford separates. Personally, if I wanted to upgrade my Atom I would buy a Nova rather than adding a 200.

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I dont dispute that at all and agree that different people hear different things. However, at the same time, I don’t expect Nova with a better amp would sound worse. If the Uniti range wasnt supposed to be upgraded with an amp then why would Naim equip the Nova with a pre out?

I had the 200. The Atom was in a second system - twas out of interest.

Also, if you don’t want or can’t afford separates, you buy a Uniti…