I have a very modest Naim system
CD5si cd player
NAIT5si integrated amplifier
NATO5 tuner
NAIM CREDO speakers
NAIM cables etc
I am moving to a new flat with excellent internet speeds and wish to take advantage of this to stream and store .
I have a large classical cd collection and listen only to classical music
I would be very grateful of advice and suggestions
I am a new subscriber to this channel
Thank you in anticipation.
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Hi Swinnerton,
If you’re looking to down size your separates system into a more compact, apartment friendly system I can strongly reccomend the Naim Uniti Star. For me it is the ultimate all rounder in a beautiful one box solution.
Because it has a CD player and ripper included, it might work well for you in terms of your CD collection (Versus the Nova which doesn’t). It is amazing at streaming and has brought my listening on Tidal to life, as has the internet radio. It takes no space up at all and sounds amazing to my ears. At 70w per channel, it should drive your existing speakers well also.
I hope that helps.
Cheers!
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Good suggestion with the Uniti Star a genuine allrounder that will fit a wide range of requirements especially if the thought of ripping and streaming of the existing CD library is a big step initially.
There’s also an Atom + Uniti Core as an option giving a nice path towards consolidation of the CD library in to a convenient ripper/server.
Beyond that you open up options for more flexibility and configuration but certainly an audition of the upper levels of the Uniti range would be a valid starting point.
Beyond that an obvious combination could be a NAIT XS3 + ND5 XS2 for example. You’d still need something to handle the CD requirement like a Uniti Core but likely easy enough to have a listen and comparison against if you felt you would be comfortable longer term with more flexibility in the system.
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I started my Naim journey with CD5Si and Nait 5si. Lovely set up! I then went to ND5XS which sounded better than the CD5Si.
If I were you I would look at ND5XS2 with Supernait 2 or 3. Or a Nait XS3.
Would be a considerable upgrade. You will get good money selling your Nait and CD5Si on well known auction sites. I got most of my money back as I bought them lightly used originally!
Or stick with the Nait and swap out the CD5Si and get the ND5XS2.
Or keep what you have and add an ND5XS2.
You will need a NAS.
I went for a Zoneripper that rips CDs and has combined hard drive of 2 TB. Works very well.
Best of luck with your choices!
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Unfortunately I couldn’t possibly recommend a Naim ripper/server to someone who only listens to classical music. For that reason alone I would avoid the Star, as using it to browse a classical music collection would be a pretty dreadful experience. Much the same applies to the Core.
I would either sell the lot and buy an Atom or Nova and rip CDs elsewhere (or a Star, but I still wouldn’t use it to manage a CD collection), or just buy an ND5XS2 and add it to the current system.
All this assumes, of course, that the OP intends to rip his CDs. If the intention is to buy downloads, it would need to be done on a computer and then transferred to storage, as Naim devices can’t do this. What they do very well is stream Qobuz, Tidal and internet radio.
…or get an Innuos Zen Mini, which will do everything a Naim server can do, plus all the things it can’t!
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Fair comments Chris, I have no personal experience of Naim servers having never owned one!
I use a Mac Mini with XLD to do ripping of CD’s and then use Roon as a database and server on the same Mac Mini.
If you just wanted a simple solution to playback CD’s and compliment it with an integrated amp and a digital streamer then a Star with a suitable ripper/server to support it would still be a viable choice.
Given the profile of the existing system, an NAIT XS3 + ND5 XS2 with a suitable ripper/server like an Innuos Zen Mini could be a nice combination perhaps.
Interested in your zone ripper solution but not a product I am familiar with
Can I ask how do you connect the zone ripper to the amp or streamer?
The good thing about the Zen Mini is that it has a built in DAC that will get you up and running with no computer required. Then if you want a sound quality upgrade, you can use either the digital output into a separate DAC, or the network connection for a streamer, should you choose to add one later. In addition to ripping CDs, storing and playing them, you can use it to download, and to stream Qobuz, Tidal, Spotify, iRadio etc. and it will run either Roon or a UPnP server. So a single half width box pretty much does everything that a separate Naim Core and streamer will do for less than half the price of a Core.
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The Zoneripper is connected to the network. It comes with built in software that Naim and other streamers recognise.
A bit like the Uniti Core. It’s a hard disc server with a CD writer built in that automatically reads and sends your CDs to the hard drive once you place a CD in it , then it’s visible on the Naim app.
So simple it’s unbelievable!
So in effect it can be placed anywhere on your network in the house. Mine is hardwired to a Cisco switch so it can be read by my NDS and other streamers in the house.
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