The Naim Core gets a bit of a slagging off from some here and they tend to have very strong views on the matter but how many have actually owned one and moved on?
If you’ve never owned one perhaps you can forebear to comment for a few days so the topic doesn’t get diverted too soon.
I’ve had both Synology and Qnap NAS’s in the past. Moved to Core about 2 years ago and have not regretted it!
As another PaulW, I completely agree. The Core has been faultless and seems to have the edge in quality over my NAS (which is full of all sorts of stuff including some music). It’s quiet, unassuming, in keeping with the other gear, reliable (hope I haven’t jinxed it!). Yep it’s expensive and there are cheaper solutions but no regrets either.
I am a happy core owner too. So happy I almost feel I should not be commenting as I have no desire to move on. Ripping CDs and transferring downloads from the likes of bandcamp all very straightforward. Rock solid reliable, and no continual faffing with asset, minimserver or something else called twonky. Personally, I like a simple straightforward life. Someone will be along soon to tell you to buy a NAS though….
I did a head-head, Core vs Melco. It was not even close, the Core had the superior sound. Even the Melco dealer agreed. It’s a great product, I’ve yet to hear better.
As regular readers know, I like my Core….
As I struggled with computers and a NAS I ordered one the day they were released it sit silently on the rack and it is lovely and easy to use.
Sound wise I find it a bit better than the NAS that it replaced.
Mine developed a fault whereby it overheated and cut out if you ripped lots of CDs in succession my dealer made a quick call to Naim and a new one was installed within two working days try that with your NAS.
I appreciate my Uniti Core. I use it either SPDIF out or UPnP into ND555, playing music files from an internal SSD (either downloads or ripped via the Core from CD’s). To my ears this is the best sound quality in my system, comparing to Roon, Tidal, or digital out from MacMini (YouTube, DVD or files ripped via dBPoweramp). I feel there is some synergy playing Naim WAV rips through the Naim player, so much so that I re-ripped my 2500 CD collection via the Core. So long as one uses the Core in a Naim system using the Naim app, this works well. Outside the Naim “ecosystem” this could be problematic. I might hesitate to recommend the Core for use in other systems, if the Naim WAV file metadata were an issue; and I have no experience playing Naim rips through other players.
I like my Core too. I use it in the main system via s/pdif into my DAC. It also serves to other devices around the house. I keep the internal disk for Core rips (WAV) and use a Usb drive attached to the Core for everything else.
I like the concept of the Core. It looks nice, rips, and you can change easily the ssd or hdd.
But for sound quality, I found the similar price Melco N1h2 better. But the Melco doesn’t rip.
This thread is a love-in for the Core and I must say I love mine also. Sounds fantastic and never had a problem, a quiet achiever
I like my Core……but the first of the Uniti products has seen little development since, and has seen little love by classical music owners. By contrast Melco have continued the software developments of their products?
You can set the Core to rip in FLAC and all those Naim WAV peculiarities vanish. But I use mine with WAV……
Can I join the love fest…despite being a Serve owner?
I started off with a NAS. What a pain …
Then got a unitiserve which was much easier to live with
Then a Core which worked very well. So simple to use. Now have a Melco n1z (and ripper) which I think sounds better - but at a high price and it is so clunky in use compared to the Core. I got rid of the Core to force myself to use the Melco. I haven’t yet got round to setting up the software on a laptop that I need to to tweak metadata and cover art on the Melco. With the Core there is no need - easy to import album art and correct silly little metadata errors.
I don’t really regret getting rid of the core as such but my life would not have been poorer without it and it would have been simpler with it
Another thumbs up for the Core. I’ve used mine first with s/pdif out into nDAC and now as UPnP into NDX2 and Muso. A great bit of kit, reliable, and excellent sound quality. I’ve compared sound quality of hi-res on Qobuz to CD rips on my Core and in most cases the Core wins out.
Yes well, the Melco started from way back!
Another core lover here,but still waiting for something,or anything to be added.Maybe it can be updated to output 705/768 files?,this is all I ask.
Yes, I love the Core too. It just works, and gives better SQ than hi-res on-line streaming.
I vaguely recall last year that a firmware update was coming with many new features, but it seems to have dropped off the radar?
