Hi all - just mulling over these two units and note that there seem to be fewer references to the Star than to the Nova on here. Just wondered what the view was in terms of the Star vs Nova + a CD transport. (For info, I do already own a Mission 778CDT.)
Any difference in the power amp modules, save for the Nova being slightly more powerful?
Many thanks for your thoughts 
Note: amended for clarity.
I think of what were the the original three Uniti products the Star had the least sales.
You are right it gets far less mention on the Forum , I know when I had a Nova my thoughts were to add a CD transport.
The Star is closer to the Nova than your Atom in terms of audio performance, but I’d recommend a Nova with your CD transport unless you need the ripping capability of the Star.
I demoed both some time ago and the star to me was a lighter bouncy sound whereas the nova was fuller, more controlled and grown up.
What is a Naim CDT ?
The last question…, only yourself can answer that.
I admit it took me a bit of head scratching to work out what a CDT might be. Got there eventually but abbreviations like this aren’t always helpful, especially with lots of members on the Forum who have English as a second language or rely on translators.
Naim made CD players but never a dedicated CD transport, though some do have a digital output.
As to the Nova, I’d think long and hard about whether you plan to change your speakers and if so, to what. If you did consider active speakers then an Atom HE would be a better option. And if you plan to keep the speakers, is a Nova really necessary? You’d do well to try a few demonstrations at home.
All fair points (including the first )! Anyway, I’ve amended the OP appropriately.
I’m really just including this scenario within a host of others. Keeping the speakers, not keeping the speakers, going active, not going active, upping the amp power, not upping the amp power…
I could absolutely stay exactly as I am, and will do that whilst I develop my thought process. All of that said, though, it’s already clear to me that I have no need to throw a shedload of money at it so, with that in mind
As things are, and with the speakers repositioned , what I have sounds really good to my ears. So, to answer your last question, nothing is - strictly speaking - necessary.
It’s worth remembering that the Star is discontinued, I believe due to unavailability of the CD transport thing. They are available use of course. Given how you are making big steps in fitting everything into your room, it’s perhaps worth considering whether a CD player is needed at all. With the CDs ripped and just a Nova, you could put it on a little table and say goodbye to the hifi rack. It’s a more discreet solution. With a Nova a whole world of better speakers opens up, should you wish to do that down the line.
Good points. I know that I’ll need to go down the NAS route at some point anyway as my Time Capsule will soon be obsolete, so I’d just need to partition it for it to be both a backup drive and a media server.
Thanks, again, for your thoughts.
Funny as this is a no-go for me.
I’d consider ripping a waste of time, a thing in the past.
If you wish to listen to CD’s just buy a dedicated CD player or stick to what you have.
With Star now discontinued and Naim’s ability to support most of their entire CD player catalog, I’d stay clear and look elsewhere.
Naim amplifiers are the more safe buy re. support. You can add a poweramp to your Atom if large room or difficult speakers, no knowledge to your Focal.
Depending on the size of your CD collection and how you use it, you may find that you don’t need a NAS for storage. A USB drive hidden in the back of the streamer may be all you need once you have ripped them.
You missed the point. I’m going to have to get a NAS for backup purposes anyway. A media server on it too would just be a secondary benefit.
Noted re the Star, thanks. The Nova with my current transport would appear to be the answer, unless I go active.
Agreed. I actually have most of my CDs on a USB drive already, but they’re just copies from my iTunes library and unfortunately AAC. I’d want FLAC or ALAC for sure.
As I mentioned above, I’m going to have to buy a NAS anyway, so…
Every snipe praises its own swamp
. For me, that solution was the Innuos streamer with a built-in NAS and CD ripper; the sound quality is excellent.
If you need a NAS for other purposes, yes, it makes sense to run the server and music store on it.
It’s a pity iTunes encourages the use of lossy formats, although it can be used to rip to lossless WAV, ALAC or AIFF. Plenty of other ripping software available too if you prefer something different.
If you live in Australia you can pick up a new star for less than half its original retail price…I grabbed one for my second system to replace an old Uniti2…a pretty big step up and def use the cd
Back in the day I um-ed and ah-ed between a Star and Nova. Whilst many have correctly stated that the Nova is a more powerful animal, I had a CD collection and wanted to have a ripping capability, so opted for the Star.
Years later, down the track, I still have the Star and use it for CD playback and occasional ripping to an attached SSD. My system is complimented by an Innuos Zen which is now the default ripping machine and also serves music to the Star.
Thanks for that, and CD certainly ripping isn’t something that I’ve completely pushed to one side. This is largely because I’ll need to buy a NAS shortly for general computer backup purposes, so it seems sensible to use ot as a music server as well. However, I do have a quite decent CD transport, so don’t need anything to play CDs… may as well just buy some ripping software as and when, it seems to me.
A bit late to the party I guess. I extensively compared the Nova vs Star (no CD though), the difference is there, but IMO it wasn’t worth the extra outlay for the Nova. The Star is a big step from the Atom and then there’s a smaller step to the Nova. For me that, and the Star having a CD player as a bonus, made the choice easy. Even without the CD playing, the difference in SQ wasn’t worth the price difference (to me).
Hi
I have the nova after listening to all 3 models in the line up all really good
for detail nova has endless detail
I have paired with kef ls50 so I am lacking bass a little but still on the break in process which I am told with Naim can be long