New Naim Uniti Line, rebuilt from scratch

I’ve recently participated to a very interesting event held at Jack-Fi (AudioConcept) where I’ve met Mark, the Export Sales Executive from Naim.

Mark presented the entire line of all in one streaming from Naim. I liked the presentation very much because of Mark’s passion and trust in Naim products and their philosophy.

I also had the chance of talking to him separately, before the event and I really enjoyed his stories about Naim and he impressed me with their attention to detail and way of working. Not many audio companies can be associated to Bentley and the story of how they started the collaboration is very interesting.

Basically Naim decided it was time to redesign and remake the whole Unity series from scratch. They actually invested 4 million pounds  and 3 years into this project. Working in a big IT company, I really appreciated investments in R&D and Naim took this seriously.

They remade everything, from software, tools, architecture, design, everything! It’s always good to start fresh than build on something old, as in time you will only make your product worse if you think like that.

If you know their Muso and Muso QB and you like their slick designs and wonderful build quality, then you’ll also love the new Naim Uniti Line, as the new products have similar designs that follow the same philosophy.

There are 4 models in the new Uniti Line:

• Uniti Core ripper/server/player (£1650)
• The £1600 Uniti Atom compact network music system
• The £2999 Uniti Star complete with built-in CD ripping and music storage
• Top of the Range Uniti Nova, at £3800.

Uniti Atom

At the event from AudioConcept we actually listened to Uniti Atom with Focal Aria 926 and the sound was quite nice overall. I would need more time with the unit to give you more details about the sound and the performance but I have a good feeling about the Uniti Atom.

This little guy has it all, and actually the whole new line has the philosophy of making the experience cool, easy and accessible to the user. Wonderful to look at and to play with it. It just works!

The £1600 Uniti Atom is a streaming music player, with 40W per channel Class A/B amplification (into 8 Ohms). The Atom also enables you to store up to 20,000 tracks on a USB stick or external USB hard disc.

Uniti Atom is a beautiful, compact multi-source music player that will seduce you with its amazing sound quality and outstanding feature-set. Its 40-watt integrated amplifier and high-resolution music streaming capabilities will fill your home with stunning high-fidelity sound. Atom is perfect as a high-end main system or even for use in the kitchen or study, where space is at a premium. Just add speakers. Our Naim App for iOS and Android combines all of your music sources in one place, making Uniti Atom even more appealing.

Uniti Core

Uniti Core represents the essence of digital music. It is a seriously powerful machine that will allow you to rip your entire CD collection, store up to 100,000 tracks, serve files to Uniti all-in-one players or other Naim streamers and create a back-up for all of your music. You can also use Uniti Core as a standalone digital source – simply connect it to a digital-to-analogue converter or an amplifier with digital inputs and control playback via the Naim app. Uniti Core is a fuss-free, no-compromise solution to ripping, storing, cataloguing and playing your entire music collection.

Naim Uniti Star

This unit looks very much as the previous two put together. As functionality that is true, but it also boosts the amplification from 40W to 70W and it has better components inside.

The clue is in the name: this system is the star of the show. With plenty of features and the ability to play, rip, store and serve your treasured music collection, Uniti Star offers infinite possibilities. Stream your music in high-resolution, play or rip your CDs, tune in to your favourite radio stations, access a world of music with a host of streaming services and dramatically improve the audio quality of your TV or games console. Ready to go with practically any speaker set-up, Uniti Star will have you rediscovering your entire music collection with a deep, immersive sound.

 

Naim Uniti Nova

Nova is the top of the Uniti line. Beyond other improvements you also get an amplification boost from 70W to 80W.

Audiophile All-in-One

Uniti Nova is proof that an all-in-one player can deliver audiophile quality. Whichever source you choose, your music will be transformed into a stunning sonic experience. The reference player in the range, Uniti Nova has been configured to offer the very best solution that we can implement in a single-box, compact enclosure. All the available space has been used to provide 80 watts per channel of Class A/B amplification capable of driving the most demanding loudspeakers – detail and depth you’ll hear in every note, riff and chorus.

The new Uniti series looks astonishing and personally, I can’t wait to hear them all and test them personally. Mark really did a good job to pass the enthusiasm to me and to all the participants at that event.

At the end of the presentation, Catalin from Audioconcept surprised us with a very spontaneous and wonderful live music by Catalin Milea (Sax) and Catalin Mitrofan (Guitar). I really enjoyed their music!