Hi, I have an early Uniti that has been serviced and updated to include tidal. I’d like to add roon. Any ideas other than a compromise workaround? I’m using my MacBook as core for the room. I also have a high end TT with MC cartridge so any upgrade would need to take this into account.
Thanks
Roy
Hi Roy, and welcome.
If you just want to add Roon to your existing system, add a Sonore UPnP Bridge for about £200 and it’ll work with your Uniti. (You can even achieve this for free if you’re prepared to fiddle around with some software.)
Beyond that, the sky’s the limit. How much money do you want to spend, and how many boxes do you want?
Many thank. I told I need a USB connection that my uniti doesn’t have, so happy days. What connections will lI need?
Thanks
Roy
You can make a roon endpoint from a raspberry pi with a hifiberry digi out “hat” which gives either optical or coaxial digital connection to the back of your uniti. Install relevant software eg ropieee os, or raspbian plus roonbridge for armh7. All done for well under £100.
Assuming you are happy with the uniti and just want to add roon functionality, then it’s a small add on that’s needed.
Of course the £n000 spend is ndx2 plus supernait 3 (assuming you are sorted for an mc phono stage, otherwise you can add a step up transformer and use the sn3 onboard mm phono stage).
The Sonore UPnP Bridge just uses a network connection, no USB required. It’s a little box you can buy from a company called small green computer. Have a look at their website.
To add a little more detail, the upnp bridge is added to your network, it doesn’t connect directly to the uniti. So roon core on your Mac talks to the Sonore box via raat (roon’s own protocol that the uniti doesn’t understand) and the sonore box can translate that and talk to the uniti via upnp.
Many thanks, can you point me in a direction of a company that can supply that?
Roy
You buy it from smallgreencomputer who are in the US but will ship to the UK.
Thanks for all your responses. I think I’ll go down the upgrade route with a SN2 and ND5 XS2 when funds allow. In the meantime, I’ve just got a cable from the mac headphone output to the Uniti from input. Not a quality sounds compared to iradio but OK for now.
Does your Mac have an optical output? Many older models do, although you may not be aware of is as it’s from the dual purpose headphone socket. This should give you much better sound quality than an analogue connection, as you would be using the DAC in the Uniti.
Alternatively if you have music stored on the Mac, you can run server software on it which will stream the music to the Uniti. This would probably be better again for sound quality.
Hi, no optical output I’m afraid.
Analog audio out: You can use this port to connect self-powered speakers or other audio equipment using a standard audio cable with a 3.5mm metal plug.
What server software are you referring to?
Thanks Roy
Apple don’t always make it clear whether or not the headphone socket also has an optical output. Mine does, but you can’t easily tell by looking at it, and I’ve never seen any mention of it in their documentation.
For server software I would suggest Asset or Minimserver. Asset it probably best for ease of setup.
Thanks, I’ll hava a look. I’m now listening to Tidal via the naim app on my phone and sounds great. Hopefully a small step to include Qobuz and roon.
If you get Roon working you obviously won’t need the UPnP server as Roon will serve your local library as well as Qobuz/Tidal.
Robert H
Great summary ! I wish you had been around in 2017 when I first came across Roon 
Took me quite a while and a bit of money to work out what you have summarised really well. But it was fun learning
It wouldn’t be mentioned under analog audio out. You would need to look elsewhere in the Mac specification for digital or optical audio out.
It looks like the optical output was dropped for MacBooks released in late 2016 and onwards.
Best
David
Hi, my old and until now redundant iMac has an optical output. Please excuse my complete ignorance but what’s the best way to link the iMac to my naim so that I get the best quality.
Thans Roy.
P.S I also bought a belhinger UCA 202.
You just need an optical (Toslink) cable. You want one with a mini Toslink connector for the Mac and a standard Toslink plug at the Naim end.
Great, many thanks. Nearly there!
Hurrah, Toslink arrived and everything sounds great. I guess I’m only limited in sound quality by the Dac in the Naim Uniti now?
Thanks again
Roy