I can buy a second hand Superuniti for about the same price as a Uniti Atom.
I don’t care about the beautiful design of the Atom and the screen but just about sound quality. What would be the better choice?
I guess the DAC of the Atom is newer and probably better than the one in the Superuniti? Does the Superuniti outclass the Atom soundwise?
I don’t know your location, but in the UK a Superuniti should cost you less than an Atom, and it should sound quite a bit better. You should also consider the benefits of the newer designs, though. If you use web streaming services, you should get better reliability, and a wider range of connections, such as AirPlay, Chromecast, Roon, much better WiFi performance etc. For local streaming from network storage, this is perhaps less of an issue.
I am in the Netherlands so less on offer than in the UK 2nd hand wise.
I do want to stream mostly Tidal and therefor Chromecast and Airplay are not so important to me. I also will be wiring the unit instead of using WiFi.
Is the Superuniti inferior when it comes to streaming Tidal than the Atom?
Yes, the older Naim streamers were designed before web streaming was widely used. They therefore have very small buffers, which is fine for local streams from storage on your own network, but can be a problem with Tidal in particular. Unfortunately it’s very hard to predict whether or not you will be affected by this issue, but the new streamers are a safer bet.
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OK that is quite important indeed to take into consideration. Thanks for the quick replies, super helpful!!
Also, you might want to consider the costs for replacing the display of the Superuniti. Apparently it is only a matter of time before it fails…
With these old displays it depends whether they are on all the time or not. My Superuniti is 2014 and the display is like new because I have the display turn off after 30 secs.
Best
David
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That’s true, but one doesn’t know the current owner’s habits…
That’s also true. Something to bear in mind, but if the display is good and bright then it’s probably ok.
Best
David
I guess if you bought one of these streamers intending to use it with Tidal, you might have cause to take the matter up with your retailer, despite the fact that there are some relatively easy workaround solutions that can fix the problem.
@ChrisSU, I saw this comment from you on another topic regarding the Tidal dropouts on the Superuniti and other first generation streamers. Could you tell more about some of these “relatively easy workaround solutions”?
One I have used is an older Apple TV with an optical output connected to the optical input on, in my case, a Uniti2 and a Untiqute2 and then using Apple airplay. But SQ is not as good as wired internet. Tidal is usually pretty reliable on the older streamers, I’ve only had problems for a few weeks, which was a change on Tidal’s part.
I don’t really want to use airplay as it loses a lot of sound quality in my experience.
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Hi, the simplest workaround is probably to use BubbleUPnP server, which you run on a computer or NAS on your network, and which works with Tidal, Qobuz and/or your own locally stored music library. There are a few threads on here discussing this.
Oh that sounds interesting. Is it also possible to remote control this application through an iPhone?
Yes, true. Back to your original question, for SQ I think the Superuniti is your better option.
for SQ I think the Superuniti is your better option
I am going to look into this to see if I can demo this unit somewhere. Hard to find stores that have it and offer demos with it.
Yes, there are a couple of apps you can use, Lumin or Linn Kazoo. It takes a bit of fiddling around to load BubbleUPnP, but it’s free, and straightforward once you are used to using a different control app.
I am new to this forum but I love how fast it is to get help. Thanks so much for the input everyone.
I would have to hook up my computer to the Superuniti in if going down the BubbleUPnP route. If I go down that road I guess I could also go for a Nait XS2. Since they are about the same price secondhand, what would be the better choice?
Then you need a streamer as well, as the Nait is an integrated amplifier.
But the original Supernait1 has a DAC if you can find one.
Yes but that DAC is very old so I doubt it is still up to par of today’s standards.