If my calculations are correct, it is now over seven years since the release of the Naim Uniti Core………does time not fly. 
What surprises me, is that after all this time, you still not easily combine a album/cd together when the release is more than one cd.
The software updates for the Core have become a trickle and it seems like the Core has become the long lost cousin in the Naim family.
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I bought one when it came out. So did a certain reviewer who used to frequent the forum, had a hissy fit and left……and got rid of the Core. At the time the Uniti range was a botched launch, very late and i think Naim never really got the most out of the Core potential.
I did hear that somewhere in the bowels of Naim hq a Core2 might be very slowly evolving?
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Thank you for that @Gazza. On a different topic, can I please ask you where you fit your Innuos Phoenix Net. Is it pre or post your Melco?
They don’t even need to do that (unless I guess they feel like doing a high end ‘Melco’ type model) ……there’s not a lot wrong with the current Core hardware – it’s the software that’s way behind and needs some TLC ….
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Talking of software updates, a little man has just informed me that v 2.5.6 has finally gone live these past few minutes…!!
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Thank you for that, but not exactly a earth shattering update. 
No, I agree. (I must admit I was hoping for more and that there was more underneath that I wasn’t privy to…I was put on an early release to fix the ‘waking’ issue I had……)
BUT, I am very grateful to Naim and particularly Duncan at support with whom I worked through things, that a fix was indeed identified and that it successfully resolved things…I was on the cusp of returning what would have been my second unit, believing it to be a hardware fault, and walking away to an alternative solution……So, finally, all good for now, on that front……
But on topic, I could not agree more – The Core desperately needs some software development and increased functionality…i.e Metadata handling.
But, Naim know this. They can’t not. So it’s interesting just why there’s been so little development in 7 years……
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If I had to guess and before @Gazza reply, it would be that they have decided to keep it ticking along, while a new product is developed. I would love to be proved wrong, as like you, the hardware is great. It just needs a rethink with the software. I would really like to see Naim release a completely new software release for it this year…………not long to Christmas
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Melco to Phoenixnet to ND555……it sounds better to my ears……perhaps the reclocking?
Do you still have the details on it ?
I click ‘update’ too quickly 
The details of 2.5.6 just said something on the lines of support for changes to the Rovi service and a fix for the occasional fault that a Music Store may not be visible.
The hardware and physical construction are still excellent. No need for a Core 2.
The software is terrible and the way it handles metadata is simply outdated.
The way multi disc albums are handled would be one quick and easy update.
The very slow pace of any naim app changes or improvements, plus the lack of any updates to software on Core, leaves me thinking naim are under resourced in the developer/test area generally. A pity in an era when devices and interaction with them is now all software driven.
Thank goodness for Tidal Connect - the Tidal app is highly usable and fairly slick (but not flashy, just functional). That, combined with RadioBox, means the only reason we have to use the naim app is when ripping via Core.
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This was the page as I updated from the RC back to the official version….As David correctly states, just those two details listed –
— Makes me chuckle how the descriptions typically gloss over fixes etc…The Rovi API issue certainly wasn’t a small ‘Support’ thing on my Core, causing regular ‘crashes’ of the OS and ‘waking’ the Core – I had already replaced the unit believing it all to be a hardware issue….I’m still bewildered that more users haven’t been jumping up and down about it these past months….
It is also the issue behind why many are reporting the Core doesn’t automatically pull in artwork on 2.5.5, again not directly stated as a fix here…
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This was also Rovi in fact.
I think the reason why most people haven’t seen the crashing and restart problem (aka “playing stopping and Core waking up”) is that the Core only consults Rovi to deal with lack of metadata or cover image on new rips. It maintains a list of required look ups and automatically goes off to find them. If you edit the metadata or add a cover on a new rip, that album is deleted from the list. Many people who have had their Core a while will either not have met the problem of the Rovi lookup not working or will have fixed the metadata as soon as they ripped something new. And anyway they may not rip things very often so don’t have an overwhelming list of metadata lookups for the Core to deal with. That’s my theory anyway!
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Your explanation certainly fits my situation. Over recent months whenever I ripped a new CD and there was missing artwork, I simply fixed the problem straight after ripping. No crashes with my core. Pleased to hear though that the problem may now be fixed.
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Yes, that’s what I meant David – ‘it is also the issue…re the artwork’
Your theory is probably about right…but still surprises me that not more users were/are in a similar position….
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Me too, mostly….though I don’t believe it was just missing artwork causing the issue, but also album/track metadata ….
2.5.6 is certainly a lot improved in terms of pulling in initial album artwork, though it still has its quirks (often, if you subsequently do a manual metadata lookup, the initial auto artwork changes on you, and not always to a better version…but no way to go back…!) ….
I also like the Artist images it now seems to pull in, though for all I know the Core may have been doing this all along, just not on mine as I started using around the time of the Rovi API change……
Ultimately, once the bulk of my ripping is done, I think I’ll be moving all the files and re-editing/enhancing the metadata anyhow, as well as improving and making consistent a lot of the artwork….unless things drastically improve in-house with the Core……
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A lot of the older Unitiserve threads are now unavailable - I recall a very useful ‘owners group’ or similar - but the same thing happened. Obvious faults with the metadata implementation were not fixed.
I think that would have been @Adam.Zielinski ’s thread which was ostensibly for Unitiserve owners who had had at least one catastrophic failure requiring a visit to Salisbury. I think that was on the old forum.
The Core suffers less from such failures, not least because it doesn’t rely on Windows stored on a hard disc along with the music, such hard disc only able to be changed by the factory. Nor does it need a new CR2032 battery to be fitted, every three years or so, to maintain the CMOS state, with a non-obvious BIOS setting procedure after battery change!
But there is a quite extensive Core section in the FAQ which has a lot of user experience buried in it and it would be a good idea for Core owners hitting any knowledge barrier to scan through that!
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