Don’t know if anyone can proffer some advice? After a house move and then renovation work I have been without my main Hi Fi for nearly two years now so chomping at the bit to get it all re-set up! However I am looking to add streaming to the system and also perhaps ripping my cd collection for convenience? At present my system comprises of all older ex demo/pre-used Roksan equipment being a Xerxes turntable (I still want to play vinyl), Caspian Cd player, Caspian Integrated & Power Amps together with Electrocompiniat Phono stage & Stax Basik headphones. Whilst happy with the sound from the Roksan I know my wife would prefer the convenience of a one box system and someone suggested the Naim Nova albeit it appears rather costly? I just wonder what general thoughts out there were about it and how user friendly it is? (I am not good with IT!) and really whether it would be a worthwhile upgrade/change?
I have the Uniti Star, which is a one box solution (well except for the Linn and head amp), with the Nova you need to get a Core if you want to rip high quality wav files. I am really happy with it and think it is great value for money. I did listen to both the Nova and Star together, the Nova was better but I personally did not feel the additional cost of the Core was justifiable for me.
You don’t necessarily need a core though, it’s costly plus you still need to buy a drive for it, there’s other solutions such as just attaching a usb drive or in my case I have an Innuos Zen mini with my Nova that I got from my dealer for the same price as an SSD for a Core! Works perfectly and along with Tidal and a vinyl deck I’m sorted. The Nova is an excellent one box solution but pricey for what a it is.
I sold all my separates and bought a nova. One of the best pieces of hifi I’ve bought to be honest. It’s easy to use, powerful (drives my Atc SCM11’s well) and suits the whole family who hook their phones into it and we all muck in. Yes pricey but it’s naim after all and you get what you pay for. Mine is 15 months old and I’ve had no issues.
The Nova is a great piece of kit, worth an audition.
I would just get your old HiFi set up properly first. Once you’ve got it working nicely in your new room, you will have something against which to judge the Nova, otherwise you will never know if you have gained anything in sound quality.
For ripping CDs, you do not have to spend £2k or more on a Core - a decent NAS/server can be bought for about £300, or you may decide that a £20 a month streaming subscription as all you need.
Thank you for the information; I will have a look at the Uniti Star and perhaps at least get my old system set up to then judge against as someone advises. Appreciate your time.
Thanks for that and will certainly do so though may get my old system set up so can at least judge against it?
Thanks for the reply and I feel your suggestion is the right approach. Appreciate your time.
Appreciate your reply and comments and will take this on board. Thank you.
I’ll be receiving my nova tomorrow and then ill be able to help answer your question. I stream most of my music, and I have a cd player not naim but I’m going to hook it up to the digital input and let nova dac decode when I want to listen to a cd. I have a rega rp6 with ortofon black cartridge that ill be using with it also. I’m really looking forward to it!
I bought a Nova about 6 months ago and it’s been awesome. I have a Core, but as Chris says, there are other options if that is not affordably, though it’s a good match and a doddle to use. I also use Tidal Hi-Fi, which I found to be really good.
You could always keep the older system for another room if you want too.
Traded my old naim system ( NaitXS/ND5xs,FlatcapXS) in for the Nova and the Core. And yes this sounds much better, is more stable and looks better. and setting it up took me about 2 minutes.
Got a Nova about 3 months ago and love it. I have a NAS for storage and jRiver Media Centre running on a PC for ripping my CD’s and streaming via DLNA. I also use digital radio streams frequently and recently changed from Tidal to Spotify. All work effortlessly and sound very nice.
Just curious but did you listen to a ND5XS2 before going with Nova? Wonder if that would put it above Nova or just on par with Nova.
I love the Nova, it’s sublime. A one box solution with plenty of power to drive most floorstanders, offering option to attach other devices to it (cd player, turntable, tv) and to be connected to power amps in the future, should you wish to do so. Beautifully designed and superbly built as well. Takes 5 minutes to set up and the phone app is excellent. In my house the Nova remote sits in a corner abandoned. Worth every penny.
As far as ripping your cd collection goes you do not need a core. You can simply get DBPoweramp software on your computer and rip them to lossless (software offers 1 month free trial and is very cheap to buy). Stick them in a drive, connect to Nova or NAS and enjoy.
Thank you for your reply. Not had a look at the ND5XS2 but will bear it in mind when back at the dealership. As someone suggested it is probably worth getting the old system set up so can compare whilst deciding which way to go.
Before my Nova I owned the ND5XS for several years. And yes the Nova sounds better.It terms of imaging, and details.
Right. Just curious about ND5XS 2. No worries. Enjoy!
Very nice. I’d be interested in how you think the RP6 compares with digital streaming through the Nova as well.