Is a Unitiserve still a good choice?

Streaming Audio
41

I would say that at this stage a ‘steal price’ is the value of the case, so perhaps £100 tops, if you can pick one up for that I say go for it.

42

Well its apparently got an output so you could plumb it into a DAC I guess, but otherwise yes its a server, you need something receiving.

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43

Yes your NDX would be fine as the streamer to play from a UnitiCore. You can do it either of two ways. You can use the Core as a server and then select it in the upnp input in the NDX or you can use the Core as a hard disc player and connect it to a digital input of the NDX.

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44

Ιt’s worth noting that the Innuos Zen mini has a fixed SSD drive and you need to specify 1, 2 or 4TB on purchase. For the Core you buy and insert an HD/SSD drive of your choice, up to 6TB. This means that a failed drive can be replaced easily with the Core without return to Naim.

I have been looking at various possibilities for some time as a step into ripping and streaming. It was difficult to decide which option was the best given I had no real experience on which to base a judgement. Many here are enthusiastic about the Zen Mini, but it seemed that many used it with a streamer or DAC to achieve better SQ. In the end I managed to find an A graded Core which was a bit above half listed price with a 2-year guarantee and it seems very efficient, although I can see that the data management is inflexible.

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45

I went from serve to Zenith and it was a decent upgrade and I really like the app, it works will with my other devices Included non Naim too.

Gary

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46

I went from HDX to Zenith - also very noticeable :slight_smile:

48

I am not aware that the Naim Uniti Core is Roon Ready. It is not on the list of Naim products certified as Roon Ready. Can you verify your statement? It’d sure help me if it were certified as Roon Ready.

49

The UnitiCore is not certified as Roon-ready.

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50

Thank you, David :slight_smile:

51

It’s been a few months and adventures in the land of NDX and after gaining Tidal Max capability via a Wiim mini into a digital input of thevNDX it’s now really getting towards the time when I really need to sort out my CD collection and storage/play method.

I have just re-read this thread after a moments madness of maybe reconsidering a Uniti Serve again, but it didn’t last long…:grinning:

I have been following a friends streaming journey recently and he has been swapping bits around quite frantically, at the moment he has an Eversolo DMP-A6 which after an initial disappointing experience is now starting to come on song (after constantly playing for a few days) and he is very pleased with it…at the moment…

Any road up, on investigating the Eversolo it seems it has the ability to take an internal drive to store files and this lead me to looking for other similar units, one being the Bluesound Vault 2i. At this point I know next to nothing of this unit so will research, but am wondering if this is a viable alternative to the Innuos Zen mini?

Also are there any other alternatives floating about like the Eversolo or Bluesound Vault? Similar to the Zen Mini?

Thanks for any help

52

Are you wanting it just to serve? Sorry bit confusing, a unitiserve was for serving music files.

If the answer is yes then does it have to be in the hifi rack, there really is no need to spend the audiophile tax on a server.

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53

Yes, I am thinking of purely it as an add on to a streamer to serve files and possibly replace my aging Naim CD5 CD player as I am weary that mechs are no longer available for it.

Therefore the audiophile tax (:+1::joy:) would have to apply in this instance as I would need it to be in the HiFi room where all things music happen, don’t fancy trundling downstairs or wherever to rip a new disc, yes I am still a dinosaur in this instance - still buying CDs, although far less as time moves on.

54

A NAS/server doesn’t need to be in close to your HiFi, it just needs a network connection so you can stick it in a cupboard just about anywhere. The only exception is for convenience while ripping, but you could do that on a laptop and just save the files to the NAS.

55

It’s the ripping side that’s the reasoning behind it living in the HiFi room - I can keep an eye on things whilst listening and also (hopefully) play CDs should the need arise.

I don’t have a laptop these days, just an iMac that lives in another area.

56

So you want it to be a streamer as well as a server? You realise there is a difference right?

57

Probably not, as explained in a few threads at the start of my digital journey this is all new to me so my terminology and descriptions are more than probably way off the mark.

My understanding is that a streamer is a device (My Naim NDX for example) that uses the internet to distribute files from computers, radio stations and streaming services such as Spotify, Tidal, Quobuz etc to enable listening on audio equipment

A server (in my case in a home environment) is a piece of equipment, it could be a PC, a NAS drive or a stand alone unit such as a Unitiserve, Innuos Mini Zen, Bluesound Vault etc that stores your own files after you have ripped them to it and then connects to a streamer (could be contained within the server) to enable listening on your chosen audio equipment.

Am I correct in my way of thinking?

58

Essentially you are correct, more specifically the server is a UPnP server, which streams the media and manages the database. It can run anywhere where there is either WiFi or Ethernet connection. It doesn’t even need to have a cdrom for ripping, as you can rip directly to your storage file system or NAS from an iMac, pc, or specialist ripper.
As far as the UPnP server I use a tiny <£50 Rapberry Pi unit running Asset, that is powered by USB and sits on top of my NAS in a cupboard out of the way. Works really really well with my Naim devices and the Naim app.
I keep my CDs separate from my hifi, and I regularly put new ones onto my NAS using the CDROM on my iMac using a NAS network share. (The same share my UPnP server uses)

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59

So you have the NDX, thats the streamer. Perfect.

So you just need a server. That can be literally any PC in any form factor, or NAS. Plug it into the network and hide it out the way. Specifically get it away from the hifi it just adds noise one way or another. My server resides in the roof of my garage!

No doubt people here will say the type of PC and its ethernet cable and type of plug socket used will make a massive night and day difference. But it won’t if you detect any differences at all, they will be at best subtle.

So get a computer in what ever flavour you like and turn it into a server. I would not recommend Laptops in this context, its not what they were designed for. But something like a dell optiplex would be ideal, and like 200 quid.

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60

Thanks for confirming that Simon

I do have a long way to go regarding my digital evolution, but I am constantly moving forward in my understanding of this witchcraft :grinning:

My biggest problem at the moment is that my files are all stored on my iMac and are a completely screwed up/mixed bag of drag & drop album art/automatically downloaded album art, files that vary in rip quality due to me not selecting the highest quality when ripping and some albums that I have had to type and update the artist and track names due to none available.

I wish to re-rip my files and get them working nicely with a possible move from my iMac to a dedicated storage device with all album art/artist & track names present, which at the moment is not happening.

I use asset UPnp on the Mac to NDX and the Naim app on an iPad to control it all, but there is a huge problem (for me) regards missing album art, I understand that re-ripping using DBPoweramp software should sort this out and it was whilst contemplating doing this that I thought it would be a good idea to use a dedicated device like a Unitiserve as a standalone unit to store the files, however I didn’t realise the limitations and age of this product so am starting to look further afield.

Thanks for everyone’s help, I am getting there, slowly, but surely. :+1:

61

Thanks for the advice Garyi

I am, as stated above in my reply to Simon, already using an iMac to store and stream my music files, that are a very odd mixed bag. I wish to separate my music files from my Mac hence the standalone ripper/storage search

I am very happy up to a point, as in that I am able to play my own files, stream from music apps and listen to internet radio, an amazing experience which I am thoroughly enjoying. I just need to tweak my files and get them running properly (displaying correct album art/data) and preferably in their own storage system.