Simple question, which DAC is used in t the SuperUniti. I searched but couldn’t find it. Is it the Burr Brown PCM1791A ?
Any technical info about the DAC and the SHARC DSP used is welcome.
Thanks!
I believe it’s the same components as used in ND5 XS, NDX and NDS, whereas the Uniti 2, UnitiLite and UnitiQute 2 used a lesser component.
Best
David
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| Year | Streamer | Jitter | DSP | Filter | DAC chip | Analogue filter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Nova | SHARC 21489 (Gen4) | Sells-Nilsson filter (brickwall IIR) | PCM1791A | ||
| 2016 | Star | SHARC 21489 (Gen4) | PCM1791A | |||
| 2016 | Atom | SHARC 21489 (Gen4) | PCM1791A | |||
| 2018 | ND555 | SHARC 21489 (Gen4) | 6th order Sallen-Key filtration | 2x PCM1704U-K | 6th order Sallen-Key filtration | |
| 2018 | NDX-2 | SHARC 21489 (Gen4) | PCM1792A | discrete | ||
| 2018 | ND5 XS-2 | SHARC 21489 (Gen4) | PCM1791A | |||
| 2012 | NDS | 512 cl freqs | SHARC 21369 | Butterworth w/ extra poles (IIR) | PCM1704K | 7-pole discrete |
| 2010 | NDX | 10 cl freqs | SHARC 21369 | Butterworth w/ extra poles (IIR) | PCM1791A | 7-pole, Burr-Brown OPA42 op-amps |
| 2011 | ND5 XS | SHARC 21369 | PCM1791A | |||
| 2012 | n-172 XS | TI SRC4392 | PCM1793 | |||
| 2015 | n-272 | SHARC 21489 | Sells-Nilsson filter (brickwall IIR) | PCM1792A | ||
| 2007 | SuperNAIT | PCM1792A |
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That’s the info on DACs I’ve gathered so far. I hadn’t looked in the 1st gen Unitis, but logically it should be PCM1791A.
SHARC 21369 is my bet for the DSP chip, as it is what was used in concurrent products.
Edit: It’s PCM1791A according to this article from What Hi-Fi?:
Naim’s new SuperUniti network music system: it’s like a UnitiQute, but louder! | What Hi-Fi?
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| Year | Streamer | Streaming card | DSP | DAC chip | Bluetooth | Zigbee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Uniti | Askey Computer Corp. H8NWLL3120 → 2012 SeDMP3 | Wolfson WM8706 | No | No | |
| 2010 | Uqute | Askey Computer Corp. H8NWLL3120 → 2012 SeDMP3 | Burr-Brown SRC4392 | Wolfson WM8728 | No | No |
| 2010 | NDX | Tecom Co Ltd. D6XWL5011S → 2011 SeDMP3 | SHARC 21369 | PCM1791A | Jun15 → 2ACURBLUE | No |
| 2011 | ND5 XS | Audivo GmbH SeDMP3 | SHARC 21369 | PCM1791A | Jun15 → 2ACURBLUE | No |
| 2012 | NDS | Audivo GmbH SeDMP3 | SHARC 21369 | PCM1704K | No | No |
| 2012 | n-172 XS | Audivo GmbH SeDMP3 | TI SRC4392 | PCM1793 | Jun15 → 2ACURBLUE | No |
| 2011 | SuperUniti | Audivo GmbH SeDMP3 | SHARC 21369? | PCM1791A | 2ACURBLUE | No |
| 2012 | Ulite | Audivo GmbH SeDMP3 | TI SRC4392? | PCM1793 | 2ACURBLUE | No |
| 2012 | Uniti2 | Audivo GmbH SeDMP3 | TI SRC4392? | PCM1793 | 2ACURBLUE | No |
| 2013 | Uqute2 | Audivo GmbH SeDMP3 | TI SRC4392? | PCM1793? | 2ACURBLUE | No |
| 2015 | n-272 | Audivo GmbH SeDMP3 | SHARC 21489 | PCM1792A | 2ACURBLUE | No |
| 2016 | Nova | Naim Audio NP800 | SHARC 21489 (Gen4) | PCM1791A | 2ACURBLUE | 2ACURZIGEE |
| 2016 | Star | Naim Audio NP800 | SHARC 21489 (Gen4) | PCM1791A | 2ACURBLUE | 2ACURZIGEE |
| 2016 | Atom | Naim Audio NP800 | SHARC 21489 (Gen4) | PCM1791A | 2ACURBLUE | 2ACURZIGEE |
| 2018 | ND555 | Naim Audio NP800 | SHARC 21489 (Gen4) | 2x PCM1704U-K | 2ACURBLUE upd | 2ACURZIGEE |
| 2018 | NDX-2 | Naim Audio NP800 | SHARC 21489 (Gen4) | PCM1792A | 2ACURBLUE upd | 2ACURZIGEE |
| 2018 | ND5 XS-2 | Naim Audio NP800 | SHARC 21489 (Gen4) | PCM1791A | 2ACURBLUE upd | 2ACURZIGEE |
5 Likes
Thank you for posting this. 
You 're welcome! 
Of course parts don’t tell the full story of how the product will sound like, but they give a hint on the hierarchy of things. For example it seems that SuperUniti had improvements on both the digital and analog sides compared to its smaller Uniti “brothers”…
In the new Uniti generation the specs are pretty similar in the digital front. Of course there will be differences in power supply quality, isolation and so on that still play a role.
The digital front end of the new Unitis is very different from the old models. The streaming board is a complete redesign. I’d say the continued use of TI DAC chips is about the only thing they have in common.
I am afraid you misunderstood what I meant. Obviously I didn’t write it very clearly!
What I meant was that the DSP + DAC chip is the same among all the new Unitis (Atom, Star, Nova). Whereas in the first generation the SuperUniti had a better digital part compared to the rest.
Of course the new generation is a big development over the previous one, especially regarding the streaming board.
Interesting that 272 and NDX2 share same DAC and DSP chipset.
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