New to Naim - moving from NAD

New to the forums, and I’m sure that you get a bunch of these “What to buy” questions. I appreciate your patience and consideration.

I currently have a NAD M33, and find that, while it’s cool, I want to move it along and try Naim. Of course the obvious choice is the Uniti Star or Uniti Nova (I would have use for the CD player but not a deal maker of breaker). I feel they would both do an admirable job, but I want to make sure that I am considering all the options in the $6000ish or less range. My main concern is sound quality. My speakers are Q Acoustics Concept 500’s. I don’t have a turntable yet, but may soon. I have a Cambridge Audio CXN v2 for streaming if I need. I have an RME ADI-2 FS DAC as well.

Would I better served by something like a Supernait 3 integrated, or some of the less expensive separates?

Thanks for any opinions and suggestions.

I would certainly consider ND5XS2/NaitXS3 as an alternative to the Nova. It’s a bit more expensive, but not much and it includes a phono stage. So does the Supernait 3 of course, if you can stretch the budget further.

You say the NAD is cool… why? Because of the coloured screen? If so and you are a fan of the big screens, a Uniti will be the way to go.
If not and SQ is more a priority, go with Chris’ recommendation above. I have this combo and it is wonderful for the money.

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Wait, hold up. What is it you are actually missing in your current setup?

You have a good, neutral amp with more power than any Naim amp at this price point. It has a good integrated streaming module. You also have another good separate RME DAC and another streamer.

What are you looking for that you don’t currently have? Or are you just bored and want to spend some (or a lot of) money? What does ‘sound quality’ mean to you personally in this context?

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I tend to agree with litemotiv here. I’ve never heard the M33, but the Eigentakt technology seems to be very high quality, and you’d be dropping the Dirac room correction option too. If my budget would have been 5-6K too I might have not bought the Star but considered the M33 over a Nova last year.

It seems to me that upgrading SQ from what you have now would demand a higher budget range. Staying in th same budget category of a M33 would rather mean a change of sound signature, so in the end you would be ’ better served’ by listening (a cliche remark, I know)

To be honest, it’s an advice that I have difficulty with myself, if by any chance this situation your are in is like: the ‘greens are burning in your pocket’ (Stakka Bo - Here we go again) due to reduced spend in Covid times, it’s hard to resist. When recently Hifi dealers opened up a little bit for listening, I went over with a shortlist of 5 new speakers, and bought the first set I listened to. Yes, they sounded wonderful and better than my existing speakers, but in the end I wasn’t patient enough to listen and compare the other 4.

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The screen is not what I consider cool, it’s the Purifi Class D amp that first drew me to the NAD. SQ is definitely my main concern.

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Basically, I want to try other equipment in pursuit of sound. Better or worse, I can only tell by auditioning in my home. My local dealer, whom does not have Naim unfortunately, lets me try whatever I want that they carry in home and I have tried a few brands. I just want to try something new. I have a bad case of GAS :slight_smile:

I used Dirac and actually preferred the sound without it. Since ‘better’ is subjective to the listener it’s really just an “I want to hear Naim to see if it speaks to me”.

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You should listen to the Hegel H390. It’s in the 6k price range too

I had a Hegel H80 a while back, it was pretty good.

How did you find the BluOS app controlling the M33? I’m considering a move to it alongside trying out the Nova to replace my SU.

The BluOS app is very good.

To be honest, I don’t think it’s very good. I use Roon, which is much better.

Well thats comparing apples with pears… ofcourse Roon is better.

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