Unitiqute 2 does the trick

Hi-Fi Corner
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Did some testing last weeks with the following set ups connected to Neat Motive SX2 speakers in a 27 m2 furnitured room:

  1. Wiim Ultra pre/dac/streamer+NAP100
  2. Naim V1DAC+NAP100 with snaic 4 interlink + Wiim Ultra
  3. Unitiqute 2 bare
  4. Unitiqute 2+NAP100
  5. NAC 172xs+NAP100 with snaic 4 interlink
  6. NAC 172xs+NAP100 with flashbacksales rca-rca interlink

Set up 1: pro’s; clean and fun sound / cons: lows slightly muddied, lacking a bit PRAT

Set up 2: pro’s; clean and warm sound with tight bass / cons: slightly dark and veiled overall

Set up 3: very open, clean and fun/magical sound with little fatique / cons: only 2 analoque inputs and bass is not the fullest/deepest

Set up 4: adding the NAP 100 gives tighter bass but the magic is lost

Set up 5: Going from UQ2 to NAC 172XS+NAP100 was a dissapointment. Sound is less open and natural, a bit shouty and gritty

Set up 6: Changing the snaic 4 for flashbacksales RCA-RCA was an improvement to a more natural and open sound but still miles away from the bare UQ2

My preference from best to “worse”:

3, 4, 2, 1, 6, 5

5 Likes
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I’ve felt forany years now that if it wasn’t for the short lived OLED screen, the UQ2 would have Nait 2 cult status in time. It’s Naim’s lightning in a bottle product more than any other from the past quarter century.

6 Likes
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Add a rel t zero sub to the uq2 bare and all is fine.

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Fantastic assessment, thanks for that. I’m w FZ, the UQ2 is a fabulous product.

BTW, on 5 & 6 the NAP100 is the weak link. I have a 155 with the 172 and it’s great (better than the UQ2 :shushing_face:) but obvs more $ and a very different category

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Something quite magical Qute 2. I have had it with a NAP155XS as a power amp and bare mode running Linn Kans. I think I prefer bare mode but there are swings and roundabouts. AS far as the display is concerned, I’m just getting one off the bay and storing it just in case. This one is a keeper for the man cave/office/studio when we downsize!

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My first Naim equipment was a UQ2, with Neat Iotas. Totally agree with your findings, I ended up swapping in Dynaudio Focus 160’s from my home theatre to try. Damn this pairing just grooved incredibly. I also tried a Nap 100, and found the same thing, it lost something, so the 100 went back to the dealer,

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Agree! Inspired to repair my screen now. Not compared side-by-side with Atom.

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Not sure it would matter for me. The old extruded aluminium tube cases are so much nicer than current Uniti stuff with the heat sink fins. And I absolutely detest the top control wheel. I have two Qbs and they really missed the opportunity to have the top one clean bit of metal.

My 2013 UQ2 is nearing recap. But given the immense costs right now in international shipping I might do it myself and get Naim to do the “approved” one later.

1 Like
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Things have significant changed after a couple of days on the mains with nac 172 connected to nap 100 with snaic 4.

Overall more control, authority, dynamics and sparkle vs bare UQ2 with all sources. Also a bigger soundstage.

So the combi stays and the UQ2 is bye bye.

1 Like
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Not a bad move. And as I said earlier, down the road you can move from a 100 to a 155 and it’s another massive bump up. But enjoy what you’ve got now.

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I confirm the 172/100 (or 155xs) is way better than the little UQ (even its rather good on its own rights.)

Neither UQ or Naits are demanding for recap as the higher amps are.

Given the current value of UQ, and the service cost in mind, a Naim service is fine if you intend to keep the item for long.