Naim UnitiServe - is it as good as a good CDP??


Hi all
I am interested in the Naim UnitiServe HDD version. It has 2 TB storage and is networkable, and has a built in CD drive for Ripping CDs to WAV files.

BUT, as always, and I have read quite a few reviews, it is not all plain sailing.
Aside from the dream convienience of all my library in one place at a click of a button, does the black box do what it is suppoed to do, i.e. is it audiophile, and does it realistically equal a good CDP.

I would use the Coax out to my Audio Note DAC, so not the analogue outputs from the Naim, only the 'pure' digital signal.

I am not a Naim fan either, more Audio Note. I use a CEC TL51 transport and an Audio Note 3.1 DAC.

I wonder if this all in one solution is better than the almost as cute MacMini using a USB to SPDiff convertor?
sunandmusic

Showing 1 response by larryi

In my system, and in my opinion, the top of the line Naim NDS server/Uniti ripper is NOT comparable to their top of the line CD555 cd player in sound quality (I own both).

There is a slight bit more brittleness (artificial edge to the attack of notes) with the server. That said, I like how easy it is to find and access my collection from a server.

I've heard a number of dedicated computer music servers playing into to pretty good DACs. They certainly do sound good. But, I have not actually heard a direct comparison, with a server and a top of the line transport playing into a really good DAC in my own system.