Having invested in a MuSo and a MusoQB now I have the plan of what to do with 100s of CDs. I use apple lossless for now over wifi and i works pretty consistent. I’m new to it so I guess it will break at some point.
In the meantime the units are in different rooms to the internet router and very little chance of running Ethernet to both. I saw the UnitCore and loved the look. Sat next to the MuSo.
My wife is not technical she like the Naim app on the iPad and would like the romantic notion of flicking through her old CD collections and taking a load off and just having some simple listening time.
I have search and there are PC, MAc, Innus and a whole host of other solutions including NAS and bits. But I just want it to be simple, work well but not cost a fortune. I know Naim is not cheap. I looked at the BlueSound Vault but for the price a refurb Core is so so much nicer looking. But I think more proprietary the way it stores stuff.
Would love to have a very strong opinionated set of answers :-). Just don’t want to go to a dealer and be sold to.
There are lots of rational arguments for this option and that option, but personally if a burglar broke in and stole my UnitiCore tonight, I would be ordering another one as soon as my local Naim dealer next opened.
I really like my Core, but wonder if it’s overkill in your situation. It doesn’t play CDs as such, you rip the CD then stream it to the Muso/Qb and the Core needs to be wired to your router to then connect wirelessly to the Muso/Qb. It won’t just play a CD direct to the Muso. You might be better just streaming from the web?
I used a Synology NAS when I first started ripping my CDs and as a Computer numpty struggled at times. When Naim introduced the Core I ordered one as I liked the ease and simplicity of the ripping process no computers involved.
To be honest the metadata editing was a not it’s strong point when first launched but has improved considerably since it’s then it is so easy to edit the metadata using an iPad and you can add custom metadata if you prefer.
It’s a doddle to look through and play my ripped CDs plus a few I have downloaded.
My Core sits on the equipment rack and is fitted with an SSD drive it is totally silent in operation but it can be located anywhere as long as it is connected to the network.
Like most thing in life it is down to your personal choice and preferences and I much prefer using a Core over a NAS.
I would suggest you visit your dealer and explore the various options.
Why buy a server that costs as much as your muso and Qb together? Rip the CDs on your computer and store the files in a NAS. Use Asset to serve the music. Far cheaper, far more flexible and sounds just as good. You’ll need to set it all up, but it’s very straightforward.
Same here as well.
Synology, Asset & Dell are my best buddies.
A Core might be a trouble free easy way to rip CD’s, but in my case I get a lot of pleasure doing it all myself, I like working on the metadata & look forward to anything new that exercises the grey matter.
Or just put it all on a portable 2TB USB hard drive and plug it into the MuSo USB port. You can access it from either one then using the Naim app. That plus Tidal or Qobuz would work pretty well.
The Core is one of my favorite pieces of equipment. Incredible build, amazing sound quality, very good app. A few niggles here and there but overall just fantastic. However in your situation with a relatively small collection of cds and feeding a system that costs less than the Core I agree with the others that it is overkill.
Another fan of the Core here too. Whilst i waited for the new Costello album to come down in price, i had been streaming it via Qobuz on my nd5xs2 in 24 bit . When i finally got the CD the rip comfortably beat the streamed version.
Its a great little box, v good interface. Only annoyance is the Core takes a good while to find albums by artist, but thats the only glitch.
It looks great and i only paid half price for it with 1tb SSD thrown in. Its pretty much childs play to use too.
Love it, no regrets whstsoever. Any burglar who tries to steal mine hasn’t got a hope in hell.
If I rip to a USB drive do you have a MAC ripper recommendation ? And what format does the best job from a Naim if that’s ok to ask ?
I like the honesty from all. I guess it could be over kill and with the Ethernet needing a huge set of holes drilled to get it to the core.
I might have a go at the ripping. I use the grey matter just want it simple for the mrs. And let’s face it once all ripped new CDs will be far and few Between I guess
If you want it really simple for others in the family then a Core make a lot of sense. You just open up the App, feed a CD into the mouth of the Core, and a few minutes later it’s ripped onto the drive and appears in the App, along with the cover art and hopefully some information about the album such as a review. No messing about with computers, no fiddling with files. Anyone can do it. And any editing of metadata or art that may be necessary, you can do on your phone or pad device anytime you like in the background.
If you can’t hard wire to your network then you can use a wireless access point. I have used an Apple Airport express (bought secondhand - total cost £9 from eBay) and a length of CAT5 to connect with my Airport Extreme that provides Wifi around the house.
So essentially it need an Ethernet cable into some form of access point. That then connects to the router. How about Ethernet over the leccy mains ? Would that be enough ? I like the idea of the unit sitting near the MuSo :-). All show isn’t it.
It’s easiest to rip to flac using level 5 compression. I’d gently suggest that doing a bit of research yourself - for example everything you need to know about dbpoweramp is on their website - will increase your knowledge and enable you to ask more focused questions on aspects about which you are still unclear. The Forum search tool will throw up a mine of helpful information too.
Once you plug a USB stick containing music files into the Muso/MusoQB it’s autonomous and you can turn off the computer and control play from the Naim app.