Naim Uniti Nova practical observations

[Forane12]

I hope you will find what I am about to write useful, when buying new equipment I always try to read between the lines of reviews and I hope my words could help somebody, at least to put a bit more effort to make the most of it than just place it on the shelf and expect miracles, it is worth it. :) I can't write a review, English is not my first language and I can only share how I felt using it in the last months, so please bare with me.

How did I get here? I have always been a fan of Naim and the Naim sound. Never had any of their equipment because I had to have a million boxes with a million PSUs to get what I was getting from two boxes of Mark Levinson, 360s being my favourite resident DAC for quite some time but I always liked what I have heard from Naim equipment. I was hoping the Uniti Nova will be a Swiss A(udio)rmy Knife with Naim sound. It was not... To be honest I thought all reviewers saying that the sound is more detailed, more spacious and clear were mistaken, I thought they were saying that it is a Naim with better sound and hm,it IS different. Not the expected Naim house sound :rolleyes:

Different means this is a much more detailed, 3D and at the same time warm sounding device. I haven't heard the 555 series components which I believe are world class by the words of a friend who has them but honestly I am not interested in more of anything now. I have had dozens of top level amps, DACs, speakers and I was tired of changing something all the time, new cables, new devices, especially USB conditioners. And I decided to sell it all and just buy the Naim.

The first 100 hours were horrible. Lots of detail, no bass. Then it warmed up and started sounding great. Great 3D, nuanced but not the thin detail I hate so much, I prefer the thick but detailed Mark Levinson sound. To give you an idea of what I mean - there are certain recordings that sound awful on the wrong equipment like the Muddy Waters Falk Singer album and the Nils Lofgren's Keith Don't Go, even Louis and Ella's Stars fell on Alabama. Quite irritating, at least for me, if there is just detail and no "meat".

Well, the UnitiNova plays those magnificently!!! Full, weighty, enjoyable! I have a lot of well recorded music and with it it just shines but poor recordings are easily recognized. The idea in my head quite different - a device that can do it all with decent sound that makes it all sound good, now I have a have a device with top level sound(read something at least 3-4times more expensive in separates) and does it all.

Something I should warn you about? Well, my speakers(Suesskind Progress) are 88dB sensitive and I was hoping that I could sometimes listen not very loud but the Nova starts to sing only above the 40 mark, then it breathes and comes alive. Below that it is probably loosing some definition or something and for me it is not easy to like. With the Suesskind Progress 40 and above is a ok during the day but not good for late evening as I live in an apartment building. I have the feeling that with lower sensitivity speakers it would be perfect.

Androind app is awful. iOS works every time, as expect. The interface is ugly though, I don't like it at all. The volume thing on the top is magnificent, a very beautiful device the Nova is even though I miss the green... And it is smaller than I had imagined, my wife instantly liked it(gooood).

The worst part - it needs a good power cord(speaker cables did not make such a difference). I have a friend who is a power cord manufacturer(no, I am not selling cords nor promoting his) but he gave me three power cords to try without telling me how much they each cost so I was not hypnotized by the price. Lucky for me the cheapest of the three fit in a way that many would not believe - it was so much better than the Cardas power cord that I had been using that somehow everything just snapped into focus. It is worth experimenting with power cords on the Nova, just borrow and test, it is easy and not that expensive, totally worth it.

Would be happy if even a word was helpful. :)

[Forane12]

After the overwhelming interest in my observations I decided to give an update :)

Well, the Nova is singing better every day. I didn't expect to hear much with burn in and I was ready to love it as it was but the pleasant surprise is that actually does sound better with time... Of course keeping it on all the time helps a lot as well but it sounds warmer, fuller and more relaxed.

Stereophile and Hifinews can contact me now.

[struth]

Alas not so many naim users here. Was s good write up

[Forane12]

Haha, I saw that but this is the first time I want to share something and this is a forum that is read by a lot of people, not only subscribers. That is how I found it years ago - this place had the only thread about an obscure speaker that I was interested in. So my hope is that someone somewhere might find it useful, very often we buy stuff that gets great reviews and the first encounter is, hm, sobering - it is not that fantastic as you imagine. But then give it some time, give it a bit of effort, don't trust me about cables - just try it. If you don't hear a difference - great. If you hear no change with burn in - great, but if you do not hear a difference between warm and cold - thaaat is a problem :)

Thanks for posting, appreciated, I read that as an encouragement to write from time to time. ;)

[prestonchipfryer]

After the overwhelming interest in my observations I decided to give an update :)

Well, the Nova is singing better every day. I didn't expect to hear much with burn in and I was ready to love it as it was but the pleasant surprise is that actually does sound better with time... Of course keeping it on all the time helps a lot as well but it sounds warmer, fuller and more relaxed.

Stereophile and Hifinews can contact me now.

Sometimes difficult writing reviews of any equipment. I know I struggle describing things somewhat.

Running a Naim Supernait for some 18 months I purchased a HiCap DR PSU in January of this year (2018). To say it was a revelation when first connected would be untrue. The sound was lifeless, tinny and not at all good. The PSU hummed like hell and initially it was very disappointing.

Over the ensuing couple of months there has been a complete transformation and I really couldn't be more than highly satisfied now with the obvious solid, airy bass that can be heard. The silky midrange and sweet treble. Transformer hum is still there but greatly reduced and is hardly noticeable.

This was also a trait of the Supernait when first used and after several hundred hours it certainly settled down very nicely.

Running-in of equipment is, unsurprisingly, a reality especially it seems with Naim. :)

[struth]

I sometimes wonder if it's all equipment running in or our ears too

[Forane12]

That is indeed a bit like with cars - if you like it you forgive it for breaking down every week :)

I would love to think that I am past that after 30 years in this hobby, I try to give new stuff time and support it technically as much as possible but it just doesn't work some times.

Yet the Nova did show differences. For example it was startling how the lightning on the third piece of Roger Waters' Amused to Death develops now. In the beginning I was worried that it sounded like it was just a thunder and now after warm up it does have depth, you can really imagine how it strikes the skies. Difficult to describe but everybody has a song that knows as good as his fingers and that sounds the same on good systems("It sounds properly only at home" is a bad trap) and when something is missing it is not good.

Everybody else's wife says "That sounds better,what did you change?", my wife says "Stop that" if it is irritating even just one bit. She is now OK, if the great human WRONG detector is fine, then it is good indeed ;)

[Yomanze]

I sometimes wonder if it's all equipment running in or our ears too

Without a doubt, this is a big part of it, adjusting to the new presentation. People mistake this as component burn-in all the time.

[Sherwood]

Without a doubt, this is a big part of it, adjusting to the new presentation. People mistake this as component burn-in all the time.

Careful, I suspect some ears are burning (in) right now! :rolleyes:

[prestonchipfryer]

Without a doubt, this is a big part of it, adjusting to the new presentation. People mistake this as component burn-in all the time.

No mistake with my Naim equipment re ''burning in.'' No argument. Fact. ;)

[walpurgis]

Without a doubt, this is a big part of it, adjusting to the new presentation. People mistake this as component burn-in all the time.

I agree.

Although some equipment perhaps need burning. ;)

[Yomanze]

No mistake with my Naim equipment re ''burning in.'' No argument. Fact. ;)

He he and I believe you, components such as capacitors can take a while to ‘form’, and indeed, my HiFi is a little touch brighter cold, maybe needs 15 mins to level off.

[Vanzapp]

A great review and enjoyable read. I've had a SuperUniti (non-bluetooth) from new and it has definitely improved over the time I've had it. I've always loved the 'Naim sound', I came to it through Cyrus which to me has a similar presentation.

[Frazeur1]

Nice review, thanks for sharing it! I have had a Naim Uniti1 now going on six years, it has been a great piece of gear for me. I too have always called it my Swiss Army Knife of hifi gear. It just works and sounds good, no matter if it is used by itself as it was intended or as I use it, as a multiple source into a Croft setup. I will have it until it or I die, whichever comes first!

[Sherwood]

Nice review, thanks for sharing it! I have had a Naim Uniti1 now going on six years, it has been a great piece of gear for me. I too have always called it my Swiss Army Knife of hifi gear. It just works and sounds good, no matter if it is used by itself as it was intended or as I use it, as a multiple source into a Croft setup. I will have it until it or I die, whichever comes first!

.... or a Thelma and Louise type departure perhaps? :eyebrows::eyebrows:

[Frazeur1]

One never knows! :)