The treble on the Naim CI-Uniti 102 sounds harsh

Hi-Fi Corner
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I’m currently using the Naim CI-Uniti 102, but I find that the high frequencies sound a bit harsh, especially with female vocals—there’s an emphasized sibilance that makes the sound feel rough.

I suspect this might be due to the digital filter used by the internal DAC, as this issue completely disappears when I use an external DAC and preamp, feeding the signal into the Naim CI-Uniti 102’s analog input and using it as a power amp.

Since there are no settings to change the DAC’s digital filter on the CI-Uniti 102, I wish there were a way to adjust it or to refine the treble response.

Would using the built-in EQ to reduce specific high-frequency bands be the only solution?

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HI there,

Welcome to the community

I deleted this as I was incorrect according to robert_h

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Speakers?
Martin

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The CI units are a different platform and don’t use that firmware.

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Aha. I stand corrected. Thanks

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Having one streamer that lets me play with every filter and processing flag on the DAC chip, I can tell you, be careful what you wish for. It’s simpler to audition and match source, amp, and speakers than it is to endlessly play with the DACs filters, flags, and oversampling and wonder which is really best.

It is a lower end product (but now low end) and almost certainly needs speakers that won’t reveal shortcomings while playing to it’s strengths. What speakers did you pair it with? What is the room like?

Naim is a pretty punchy sound so I imagine any Naim system with equally agressive speakers in a certain room could be over egged.

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Definitely take a look at the software available from Naim to adjust the CI. Perhaps also ask your dealer if they can assist you in setting it up in your room? Given adjustments seem to be an integral proposition of the unit I don’t know there’s any downside giving it a try. Best of luck!

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When using as a power amp, is it still possible to use the high/low pass filter using the analogue inputs, and use the subwoofer output?

Thanks

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Depending on what speakers you’re using, I would contact your dealer who may have installed your 102.
There are adjustments which can be made through the management software / app (Not the Focal Naim app) but I personally wouldn’t want to mess with those settings for fear of damaging the speakers and / or wrecking the sound totally.
The only thing I have adjusted on the management app is the level of loudness for my kitchen setup which is only ever played quietly.