Pomito in my case the network and broadband were checked and found to be ok. Other devices in my house were unaffected.
It was definitely the upgrade to the Nova that temporarily degraded the SQ.
Why the sound was restored after I turned the Nova on and off is a mystery. It’s as if the upgrade slowly installs itself which is a bit crazy.
All I can say is the Nova is not as stable as it should be.
Any new products will have to comply with whatever energy efficiency regulations apply at the time, which is why Naim introduced low power smps for standby mode in the first place. So if there is ever a 272 replacement, you can be pretty sure that it will have a similar power supply design to the other new streamers.
Well, I keep my Nova always on. That way it isn’t warming and cooling and SQ should be more consistent anyway.
I keep my Nova on all the time but I still suffer events such as room not recognised or screen going down. The problems must be due to the software.
After all I’ve gone through with the latest update I must admit the new sound is very good and I much prefer it to the original sound.
I do however, think Naim have a lot of work to do regarding software development.
This is so weird!
The SQ of my Nova changed as well. I haven’t been listening to it for 2 days, and yesterday I just decided to turn it off from the mains plug and back on again and…voila…sound became more consistent, not so harsh to the point that was impossible to hear. It still doesn’t have the full warmth and beat that I was used to, but definitely is more stable. All the definition and details and high notes are there. I do hear lots of things that previously I didn’t. I think it still isn’t 100% perfect but it’s going on the right path.
This said…WTF is going on!??
This is so frustrating! For better or worse, sound should be exactly the same forever since the time you buy a device! That’s why we then choose the matching speakers and cables and etc etc.
I’m not in the mood to change speakers and cables right now! If any (if I had the cash right now) I would change the hi fi component!
I doubt if this SQ ever become stable, for the good way, I’ll install new firmware again!
I have done the software update then did the factory reset turned unit off disconnected the power cord. Switched the Atom back on and well all I can say is Wow. Sound definitely different and for the better loving it. Well done Naim one happy punter I can tell you big difference
We all have more or less polluted mains. Because it is normal to have it polluted unless we live in forest with our own power plant.
Of course we can buy expensive hi-end power filters, like Isotek, Torus, PS-Audio, etc… They cost 3000-15000 Eur. But in this case nobody would buy Atom, Star, or Nova. They are just too cheap for these filters.
I want to say, that Uniti products have to work with polluted mains (as we always have more or less pollution in mains). If not, their circuit or software design is bad. They should not be so sensitive to mains pollution. It is absolutely abnormal in hi-end industry experience such huge SQ fluctuations.
It would be not wise for Naim to design streamer which works well only in perfectly clean mains. It is nonsense. Naim understands that people have always some pollution in their mains, and product should be designed taking this into account.
Again,
Naim should provide the first firmware to all customers who want it (and who have buyed the product with this firmware. There was no problem of quality stability at this time.
I updated my Nova a week or so ago, just had my first listen, Joni Mitchell Hejira. I listened with some nervousness having read the above comments. It seems that for the second time I’ve been one of the lucky ones. I haven’t got the piercing treble mentioned, it seems to be a similar sonic signature to me, slightly better low end (better detail in bass notes), perhaps a more musical midrange, same level of enjoyment.
As I said after the first major upgrade it makes me nervous, people back then got different results when they applied the update more than once, and I want to know that when I apply an update it’ll work consistently.
But I have to say I’m delighted with the performance of my Nova, when home recently I’ve been listening through my new ND555, and although there is a clear quality difference, both systems play music really well and I have just loved Hejira.
Now sounds everything fine. I have no explanation for that. Maybe external network traffic blocked software processes. I don’t know. Better I am quite know.
I want to report, that SQ in my Atom improved dramatically today. Bass became deep without boominess. Mids and highs became very pleasant with remained detail. It seems that dynamic range expanded, soundstage became deeper. Listening is much more enjoyable now. Actually now SQ is pretty much the same like it was before update at the best cases (at the moments when SQ improved). I would like SQ to remain forever in this state. But let’s see when it will worsen again. I will report.
I spent some time today on listening to music with high volume. I picked music with heavy bass and played it really loudly. So seems that one of my “SQ improving” methods worked again. But this is first time when SQ improved to such high level on new firmware update 3.2.
How to explain it? I don’t know. Burn-in or some kind of Atom specific unknown properties…? Only Naim can explain.
Interesting. At the same time you also noticed improvement in SQ :). Anybody else noticed improvement today? Maybe Naim is doing some kind of “secret” updates remotely on our players :). That could also explain SQ fluctuations.
It’s a miracle
I once compared the song Eden, Anna Calvi. Before the voice sounded distorted. Now everything is crystal clear with volume like before.
Mass hysteria. LSD in the water supply. Sauron the Dark Lord has returned. Just some of the possible explanations of the Uniti SQ mystery.
Something happened in Stone Henge, Salisbury
Since the SQ on my Nova suddenly and inexplicably improved on Sunday morning I have been listening for several hours.
The sound I am now receiving has more detail, far bigger soundstage and bass sounds extended or more noticeable.
The whole sound is a little more forward than previous but I am very happy with it.
Fingers crossed the Nova remains stable.
I’m having a lot of display issues on my Nova since the upgrade, I’ve display off option turned on but frequently when I wake from standby via the app the display stays locked on the home menu, also yesterday it wouldn’t turn on at all until I power cycled. Seems a bit flakey since the display option was introduced, I’ve done the usual resets etc to no avail, anyone else having display funnies?
I am one of the individuals that got unexpected results with the V3.2 upgrade. Very bright high-end, less, softer bass, etc as posted earlier. As I mentioned, I took Steve ip on his offer to work through the firmware to resolve my issue.
Short answer, I am now enjoying all of the SQ benefits of V3.2! The sound is more open and detailed. Bass also more detailed with expected punch. A tad bight with some recordings, but nothing like it was when I originally loaded V2.
As i posted earlier, I downgraded to V2.6.1 and got my ‘original’ SQ back. I then reloaded the V3.2 firmware emailed to me and installed via the Naim IP address. Instantly sounded much better. I then downgraded to V2.6.1 again and got the expected ‘original’ SQ. Next I reloaded V3.2 via the Nova Naim App. Each time I verified I was getting the same code versions for all of the components (settings/about/more tab in the app). Again, I got the much improved SQ.
All I can speculate at this time is that a ‘little gremlin’ of sorts may have corrupted the original load of the V3.2 firmware. Reloading delivered the expected results. (Can’t rule out user error, but I’m not sure what I could have done to corrupt the update).
I am also going through a bit of learning curve with Naim equipment. Not having an off switch is new to me. I did not initially power cycle the Nova (disconnect from the power outlet) after the firmware update. The streamer is more ‘computer like’ than my previous audio gear. I would never update my computer’s OS or firmware without cycling the power after an upgrade. I don’t know if this makes a difference with the Uniti Nova/Atom, but I will make sure I power cycle after all upgrades in the future.
Steve, Naim support, has been very helpful and responsive. We still plan to evaluate the V3.2 firmware with each of the functional changes disabled to determine if any of them have a material impact on the SQ.
My Nova is sounding great. I’m really enjoying it again. (I also loaded the Radio Paradise flac streams into the Internet Radio presets. It is nice to be able to take advantage of their higher-res streams as well).
Regards,
Marty
this update is like a drug with delay effect.
I confirm, one time the display stays locked on the home menu!
Okay: MartyK, JohnF, Luc (has discovered first), Flachead and Pomito are happy again .
And is there no explanation for that?
It is clear that they have to be external processes (Tidal, Naim / Google data request, Cyber Security), because the supposedly faulty FW was not reloaded (expect MartyK), or even a silent update?