Uniti Star Lite

Hi-Fi Corner
1

We have a new member of the Uniti family. I wonder how it differs from the Nova, other than having Siri and Google Assistant. Curious.

2

I just received the e-mail and was thinking exactly the sameā€‹:wink:

Presto not listed is it?

ā€˜Compatible cablesā€™ Super Lumina :face_with_peeking_eye:

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3

10W less per channel and Ā£1200 cheaper seem to be the major differences.

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4

I havenā€™t read all of the details, but presumably itā€™s just a Star without the CD drive?

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5

Wouldnā€™t suprise me if the Nova PE, became the Nova, and that the machine I bougth 8 months ago is EOL/rebranded Uniti Star Lite

6

Itā€™s rather odd. The blurb says itā€™s a ā€˜natural evolutionā€™ of the Uniti Star. I guess losing the CD player is natural evolution, like humans losing their molars. But it looks like more of a Nova Lite to me. From searching the price seems to be Ā£3,199, about Ā£1,200 less than the Nova. What more does the Nova give? A few more watts I believe, though the Lite has a 70W amp.

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7

The image of the rear panel shows an FM/DAB input, presumably for an antenna, but thereā€™s no mention of this in the specs. Does it have one, or not?

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8

Very strange indeed. Not only is it very similar to the Nova, but - at Ā£1200 less - it will surely impact Nova sales going forward.

I know that great Naim brains will have thought this through, but personally i canā€™t see the sense in it.

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9

Agree with above, more Nova Lite than Star, but presumably just CD mech. removed so hence Star Lite.

10

I guess itā€™s aimed at people who like using voice to control their home gadgets and fancy a move up from Sonos etc

11

It looks as if it sits between the price points of the Atom and Nova , maybe filling that gap .

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12

The whole point of the Star was that it had a CD drive, without that itā€™s effectively a Nova, so yes, Nova lite would be more appropriate

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13

When we had the Uniti Lite, it was a smaller sibling of the Uniti. The Star Lite is, however the only Star. We have two Atoms (the small ones) and it would possibly have made sense to have three Novas (the big ones). But then again, if it were a Nova Lite, would lacking just 10 watts be sufficiently lighter to make it a Lite in the first place.

14

Well, it looks exactly the same as my Nova!

15

Boxes going spare in the factory?

ā€œHmm, what can we do?ā€

Genuinely looks to me like an attempt to clear the decks before the new owners stamp their imprint.

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16

There is link to a thing called ā€œHome Automation Integrationā€, but apparently this is a feature of all the streamers, which is news to meā€¦

17

Of course the principal question is, when did it become acceptable to call a supposedly serious product ā€˜Liteā€™. Apart from the downgrading of language, it seems weird marketing as its target is presumably people who would have little or no idea how it related to its supposed mother product the Star. A new name would make much more sense.

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18

Is this a new feature though? Or is it just that you can use Siri to play to it using an iPhone and Airplay, or Google on Chromecast?

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19

Essentially itā€™s a Uniti Star without the CD drive/ripper, so more in line with the Atom and the Nova. Jason tells me thereā€™s a nice little performance uptick too.

Naim could no longer source a suitable CD drive for the Star so the evolution became necessary. Ironically, despite the grumbles, looking back, many saw the Star ripping facility as superfluous anyway, so it seems to be Star that a lot of people said they wanted.

p.s. Naim used the term ā€œliteā€ before with the original Uniti lite.

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20

I still canā€™t get past Uniti, never mind Lite.

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