Hi
Has anyone had a hardware update on a first generation Super Uniti? and was it worth it? I am told it makes a significant difference.
Secondly, I am thinking about adding a power amp, has anyone done this and which amp did you use
Thanks
There are no hardware updates available for SuperUniti. It already has the 192kHz capability that was the update that was available for the Uniti.
Best
David
Even if you could upgrade the internals I don’t think it’d be cost effective.
I’d suggest selling it and buying a younger Superuniti (I believe the bluetooth version was the last model).
Never added a power amp to one but I’m not sure if you’d really hear much of a benefit by adding one.
The Nova is a good shout as a replacement though.
The only difference with the latest version is the Bluetooth, so unless you want that specifically, there is no reason to look for a later one. You pay about £500 extra for a used BT model compared with a similar age SU without BT.
Best
David
I have three-way floorstanding speakers. They benefit from tri-amping. So for about two years I used the ‘second power amp’ feature on my SU to connect 2 x NAP-160’s. This was a big improvement over using my SU with such big speakers (it could not cope well enough). At the same time, I had DAB FM and streaming by adding an N-Dac.
If you try something like this, you’ll likely be pleasantly surprised.
Best wishes,
Skyebridge
@Gasman, I run a 2015 SuperUniti with a used NAP300DR driving my ATC SCM40 speakers. The 300 certainly makes a better job of driving the ATCs than the SU on its own. Is it worth the cost? Probably, if en route to a more resolving front, end but as yet I have not upgraded.
And not as impressively, I’ve got a 250DR running power amp duties with my first generation SuperUniti, and an NDX2 as a source. I’m hopeful that I’ll get a chance to get a 282 or 252 next year, but in the meantime the SuperUniti sounds good as a pre-amp.
The biggest change was the NDX2, although the 250DR has been a rather pleasant addition.
I went through a similar process a few years ago with 1st gen. NDX. The final addition of the 282 was by far the biggest step up.
Yes, I would agree with these later observations. I, too, moved onwards (and backwards in my instance) to a Nac-282 - Having previously downgraded owing to a lengthy ‘time out’.
The SU pre-amp is not in the same league, and can be bettered by other alternatives (older or younger).
Personally, I also found that digital FM was getting on my nerves. Eventually I got a Nat-05XS, hauled my old Nat-101 out of the loft, and sat down to compare. My conclusion was that, even with the benefit of an NDac and ND5XS, digital FM lacks precision and atmosphere compared with analogue-signal-processed FM.
I am not knocking the SU concept or performance - It is a wonderful, helpful idea and device. But it is not the answer to everyone’s hopes for a ‘one box type solution’.
Better to junk that idea, and get on with reality.
Skyebridge
Skyebridge
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