There is something happening and no thread on it. Naim announced that uniti core is discontinued together with sn3. Tons of posts in this forum on the latter and nothing on the core. Why? It is supposed to be the “transport” for the top level streamers. What’s next? Will we have a new transport? Let see.
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Apparently more people prefer the SN3 rather to the Core.
DG…
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It’s probably a matter of comparative volume of sales than preference. Not to mention the likelihood that many more people without a Supernait or a Core are likely to express an opinion on Naim’s top integrated amp than on the Core.
naim were never very bothered about the Core, hence the lack of investment in software since it was launched.
There are loads of threads covering this.
I would suspect sales of the Core are very, very low numbers due to cheaper and fuller featured offerings from competitors. So it’s no great loss to the lineup.
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I won’t judge the Core for its sound, which is good, for its price.
What I can say is that the Core produced the biggest number of threads in our forum.
Always problems on metadata, albums not appearing, how to do that or this, ….
Hopefully I didn’t bought it.
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I don’t think the Core has ever been criticised for shortcomings in sound quality. I have found that ripping and metadata have become more accurate and reliable since the recent software update.
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I wonder what Naim will use as a source now when they demonstrate the streamers playing ripped files.
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This is exactly my point. I bet that there will be a new transport. Naim always stated that local files are the preferred source, they cannot remain without transport
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My doubt is on the Melco, it has an horrible software with very limited capabilities but none is complaining about it but we are all in agreement about the fantastic SQ. Core has a fantastic SQ and an horrible software but we are all complaining about the latter. Life is strange
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I have a Melco. Not a single problem since maybe 5 years. Perhaps 10 albums missing cover on 1200 k. The sound is really above the Core.
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As originator of the SN3 thread I anticipated a lot of interest and therefore thought it better to focus on one product at a time. As a former SN owner, I went with the amp and with over 300 responses in a couple of days I don’t feel that was wrong.
But with the Core being discontinued as well, it’s good to have another thread on that so thank you for starting this one.
Roger
Living as I do, in an area with very poor internet service, I often have to use the Core to stream local files. I used to do this with a USB flash drive connected to my ND555. The Core holds all of the CDs I own plus albums I have downloaded from Qobuz.
Its software isn’t that sophisticated but it is simple to use, integrates well with the Naim app and sounds great. I haven’t had many issues with metadata to be honest. Those issues are pretty simple to put right using the app.
It works. It is probably an expensive solution but bought S/H not that expensive.
I’m sure it could have been developed further but I’m happy with it. It does what it says on the can as they say.
As others have said, it will be interesting to see if Naim seek to fill the gap.
Mine still suits my requirements.
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As I said in the SN3 thread: the Core is more of a question. To me it was a missed opportunity - it promised so much, and when first announced I saw it as a Naim product for me - but people’s experiences suggested it was not as good as it could have been, made worse by its quirky approach to file saving. It could have been a Melco or Innuos beater, but it seemed not, and it seems never to have gained popularity, so maybe best just end it. But there is the question: if it does end, will it be replaced by a Melco/Innuos beater, or just disappear???
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As I mentioned in the other thread.
I would guess that many (most?) people will have already ripped their CD’s by now and relatively few still wanting to do so, particularly with streaming services being so popular.
It’s possibly reached the point that only if you have relatively obscure titles in your library that only a few people would wish to rip anything.
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I stongly disagree there. Having physical media backed local streaming is very attractive. No one can take that away. It’s immune to service outages or changes in terms and conditions. And ever more importantly, much of the world still doesn’t have access to Qobuz or Tidal because they can’t navigate the IP laws related to digital content in those countries.
90% of my purchases are still CD. I live in a developed country yet HD downloads libraries are small; lossless streaming isn’t really a thing; and even with VPN, accessing some services is blocked based on the country of credit card.
I’ve been streaming locally since 2013. I still need to buy and rip.
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I actually agree with you, but I strongly suspect that a lot of people simply never buy a CD and don’t care about having a back up.
And a lot of people just use the big playlists on music streamers like Spotify - and smaller artists are slowly being locked out by not getting paid at all (raising the payment limit).
The CD payment system is really nice compared to the streaming mess, you pay royalties when you get CD:s manufactured which means anyone (small local businesses, concert venues, book shops, obscure websites) can then help distribute/sell CD:s just like any product.
And they sound really good, a EUR 5.000 Hegel CD-player may seem expensive until you start checking up all the stuff you need for high quality streaming.
I never saw the point in the Core.
Perhaps a digital source for people that hate anything to do with computers?
Can’t be many of those around now.
I ripped all my CDs in 2012. They have been in a box since, moved between various storage places and attics.
I usually buy vinyl at a gig, but recently I went to see Tom Robinson and there was only a live CD, so I had to download the ripping software again and dig out my CD drive. Easily done.
The local files now live on a NAS, with several back ups.
There are numerous ways of streaming and integrating a local file store and this is a very mature technology. An expensive computer in a fancy case is frankly weird and likely to lose cash faster than an AI startup.
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Maybe the Core (and Melco and Innuos Music Servers) have much better sound quality than general computers and NAS’s?
I cant see any other reason why people would spend so much money on them and there is a significant market for music servers other than for much better sound quality.
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