This speculative criticism of the Unitis for performing ADC/DAC conversion of analogue inputs seems a little unfair to me. Firstly, putting a matched ADC and DAC in the same box should mean that they perform well together, it’s not as if you’re using two components that are going to be incompatible or badly matched. Secondly, as with any HiFi, you should choose it based on how good it sounds, not on specifications you have read about.
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To a point. I think it’s a very reasonable to thing to say, “I have put a substantial investment into my analog source, and I want it to stay analog through the playback chain, not converted to digital only to be converted back to analog again.” I’m sure the Uniti line is great, but if I’m using analog source I’ll look elsewhere for the system to play it.
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Do you also refuse to but vinyl unless it’s AAA?
Mostly, yes, that’s correct. I love vinyl first and foremost, but it’s expensive, a PITA, and fragile. There is still plenty of all analog vinyl out there that I would like to acquire so that’s what I buy. Once a recording/mastering chain enters the digital domain it might just as well stay there as far as I’m concerned. That’s what my NDX2/XPS is for. I’m not alone with that perspective.
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Nova is a great piece and capable to afford very good sonic performance with a turntable.
In fact, pure audiophile tend to go the more separate way possible, with “pure” approach of the problem. But the conversion ADC / DAC could not be a problem if good implementation, may be it is more reliable and accurate to transport the signal using the digital way or to “format” the signal to attack the last stage of the preamplifier.
I have heard many times integrated amplifier playing better than separate (not on Naim brand). Less is more… 
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Me too. Nova proved that Naim was capable of an excellent AD conversion at a sane cost yet Richard is right in that operating software is probably more work than for very little financial return.
There are a few great sounding new digital recording coming out of DG. Is it better than a mint copy of 60’s Large Tulip DG pressing? probably not. Tho they had many turkey pressings in the past far inferior to what they are releasing digitally in vinyl currently. ( this only applies to new recording. Not reissues which are clearly not as good ) I don’t have a streamer but have you done a AB between, say, Trifonov’s recent Rachmaninov LP release vs. CD release or streaming?
or the other day I pulled out old Ben Folds Five’s record ( digitally recorded ) and sounded better than a CD. If there is a high resolution streaming, it might be better. I don’t know.
I agree that there aren’t much sonic gain in buying those vinyl which are remastered in digital ( almost always original analogue recordings sound better ). I know that streaming has an advantage over vinyl on lack of airborne vibrations but I also know it takes some care and certain level of investment to sound as good as analogue source.
Nova is an excellent integrated combining both sources in a simple one box solution without breaking a bank. Not an be-all and end-all.
I was listening to 272/250 before we switched to Nova. I certainly didn’t think it was a huge loss ( using the same source ). So depending on what level you are at with separates, Nova appeals to the folks who want to downsize without much performance loss.
That said, I don’t have a plan to replace my main rig with Nova any time soon, tho. 
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I really don’t want to get into disputes about the merits of AAA vinyl vs. digitally sourced vinyl vs purely digital playback.
Whether or not there may be great vinyl that is digitally sourced doesn’t matter much to me. My wish list of used and new AAA vinyl is so big that digitally sourced vinyl just doesn’t need to make it on my shopping list.
I recently went from a legacy ND5 XS to to a new NDX2 and a used XPSDR (2016). Anything that is digitally sourced sounds great, so I’m happy to use that instead of vinyl for those cases. Am I wrong or misguided to take this approach. Maybe, but I don’t care. My musical world is blissful enough. No one has to drink my Kool-Aide
Thanks for the Trifonov Rachmaninov. It’s up on Qobuz in CD quality. I’ll give it a listen later. I don’t have a CD player.
What are the new AAA vinyl? I can’t find too many of those. Who’s still recording in an analogue domain?
No one that I know of, but there are plenty of (new) reissues still being done all AAA. I listen so classical to there is lots of used records out there in great condition at reasonable prices.
I didn’t say anything about new recordings.
Correction. It’s 24/96 on Qobuz. My experience with 24/96 audio on Qobuz and my Roon NUC/NDX2/XPSDR is that it is close enough to digitally-sourced vinyl that I see no reason buying the vinyl. The latter is a lot more expense and bigger nuisance for maybe some small gains.
I’m playing it now and it sounds great.
ok. so you are talking about old catalogue. Not new recordings.
Yes, I still have a heap of old vinyl I need to get through too but also curious about new releases.
Since I don’t have a steamer, a vinyl is my high res. digital. ( excluding those bad vinyl with red book qualtiy files: those sound awful! )
I play most primarily acoustic jazz and classical. There is a lot to buy used and new. Original issues and ground-up remasters from the original tapes.
Most classical music listeners seemed to move onto streamer. It makes sense really. No flipping and noise in quiet passages and does not take up a ton of space. ( think those opera box sets )
I moved onto streamer to get newer [digital] recordings. I love, love, love my old classical records. I have taken good care of them over the years and they sound great. I listen to less opera than other genres, but love everything from mediaeval to modern, from solo renaissance lute music to large scale orchestra works (i.e. Mahler, Strauss, et al).
I have about 3500 LPs. While I have a nice digital front end, my analog front end is even better (at 50% higher cost, when considering retail prices).
That’s a lot of records. I have about 3k also but now in the process of trimming down.
P.S. this is OOT, how do you insure your records? Do you buy a separate policy for it?
My records are covered my my homeowners’ insurance (theft, fire, etc). To do a personal articles policy they asked for an appraisal. While I have the entire collection catalogued I do not have each record itemized for value. I don’t think the personal articles policy would add much if any benefit.
I am in the process of adding a personal articles policy for my two-channel system. In the space of one year the retail value of it has increased from about $40K to about $100K so I decided it was time to get better coverage.
Thanks. I am in a process of shopping around for a home owner’s insurance. I need to have a word with my insurance agent as I read my policy ( for the first time ) and in small addendum it says it does not cover records or recorded media. Hardware is covered. But old records would be harder to replace. tho, Discogs make it easier to track down and catalog one’s collection.
Thanks everyone for your input. I am certainly not in the camp of avoiding LPs that are AAD or ADD or heaven forbid DDD. It seems that there are no big concerns about using the Nova to listen to LPs even if the AD/DA signal chain has no logic it to.
Thanks to those who suggested going separates. There are three problems with this approach a) two boxes and b) no screen on a 5000€ budget c) I need to have a smart phone (am in process of selling smart phones and getting the new Nokia 3310 which is just a phone)
I will try and arrange a demo.
Thanks again
Running a Nova without a phone/tablet to use as a remote is not really a practical option.