Naim Uniti Star - HiFi Review

This is my HiFi Review of the Naim Uniti Star. It came out a couple of years ago, but it is still worth a proper review as it is the must-listen single-box solution if this is where you’re thinking of spending some money on some proper HiFi in this lockdown.  If you want it all, this is the go-to place to start: the Naim Uniti Star is high quality, has all the flexibility you may need and has a solid amplifier, so you’re just looking for a decent pair of speakers. You’re well on the way to audio heaven, which is the point of this website.

Design – What is it?

The Naim Uniti Star box has the lot, a high-performance CD, UPnP streaming, aptX Bluetooth, AirPlay, a 24-bit/384kHz, and DSD 128-capable DAC. It has Chromecast, Roon-ready features and the recently announced Qobuz built-in to complement Tidal & Spotify.  Also included with the Naim Uniti Star is the amplifier section with a claimed power output of 2x70W RMS (8ohm); all you need for a fantastic sound is a pair of speakers.  I noted on the site that Naim recommends Focal’s Arias, which I’m sure would do the job.  I’d be pushing the boat out for a pair of Focal’s Kantas if it were me (a bit more expensive, though!)!

The Naim Uniti Star CD slot also electronically rips CDs to WAV or FLAC to a given location of your choice.  There are two digital, coaxial and 2x optical and 2 USB slots front and rear and an SD card slot (which I find very handy).  Also in the package is a set of analogue phono-type inputs and an HDMI ARC facility.  There is also a 5-pin DIN input, which is not compatible with my Naim Phono Stageline because the Star has no onboard power supply.  This is a shame, but I’m used to it, as my NAC-N 272 has the same issue.

Quality

I’m sure I’ve said this before, but, being Naim, the quality is of the highest order, from the boxing to the brushed and anodised black aluminium casework.  The Naim Uniti Star is weighty with its huge toroidal power unit inside.  The characteristic Mu-so fins are pronounced, classy and sharp.  Gone is the iconic mechanical ’round the corner’ CD tray with a screw to keep everything in place when you’re moving things around.  I guess life moves on, but I am on my third magnetic dongle weight thingy, so I guess I would benefit from this CD slot mechanism.  I’m used to this slot-loading mechanism as I have a Naim UnitiServe, and I’ve ripped nearly 2,000 CDs during this lockdown with little fuss.

The Uniti Star rips CDs for you and does this to a nominated Music location, such as a UnitiServe or, now, the matching (latest) Naim Uniti Core Server.

The 5″ LCD screen is one of the nicest in the game, and it is beautiful. The remote is also beautiful, though I use the App mainly for setting up the USB slot and other features, such as the CD player/ripper. I really do like the signature Naim logo in the lights in the corner. I’d love it to be Naim green, though!

Performance

…the Naim Uniti Star… is musically very dynamic, highly functional and extremely stylish and has the heritage to match

Set-up

I’ve got the Uniti Star on a sideboard in the kitchen, powered by the Naim Power-Line Lite cable provided.   It is placed on a granite tablet (Wilko £10!!) for a bit of isolation, and two Paradigm Persona B loudspeakers flank it on spiked stands connected with bi-wired Atlas Hyper speaker cable that is beautifully run-in (it’s old in other words!).  I’m sat about 3m away with no obstructions apart from a rug and a wandering dog who is now heavily into Radiohead’s Hacked Mini-disk series from bandcamp.com (particularly MD 125 with the several versions of Subterranean Homesick Alien), poor thing.  I do have a USB stick full of 24-bit recordings for particular critical listening, also, I’ve set up an SD Card and I have a backup copy of the Naim Uniti Serve on the network, for USB comparison.  I’m using an Atlas Equator ethernet cable directly connected to the router via an extension I had put in (so I’m not using WiFi, though that is built-in).  I noted my review sample is a refurbished model, no big deal for me, and performance has been faultless.

CD ripping and Playback, SD Card

The Naim Uniti Star has a ripping facility.  I needed to set up a Music Store with the Uniti Star, which involves formatting a USB or other media.  This is fine but if you wanted to add to an existing source, it doesn’t really work, for example, I would not wish to reformat my Uniti Serve having just completed a full 2000 CD rip on it.  Nonetheless, I used a spare micro 32GB Sandisk Ultra (moderately fast writing speed, 100MB/s) with its adapter and ripped ‘1989‘.  It took about 13 minutes to rip to a WAV, this is no quicker than the UnitiServe but it wasn’t crushing slow either.  Playback-wise, it sounded fine compared to the CD, indeed the Star accessed it (notably) rapidly and without fuss.   I was very happy that Taylor Swift’s Style had its characteristic thump, bounce and rhythm.

Inserting another pre-prepared micro SD Sandisk in the read slot, I could access the bandcamp.com copies of the Radiohead Hacked Mini discs on the Naim Uniti Star; this is helpful for me for two reasons…  I listen to them endlessly on my phone, and I have to resort to Bluetooth to hear them on my own HiFi system.  So, I am finding the SD slot really good for me now.  Playback quality is pretty decent, it is rapid access, which is great and flicking around the tracks is very easy, which is great for the Radiohead Mini-disks.

USB Drive backup of my Uniti Serve box

Sadly, the iPod input is not compatible with the Uniti Star, which is a shame as I have some legacy music files I often go to. Instead, I inserted my SSD backup of the Uniti Server into the USB slot at the back. The playback is brilliant and fast. I’m not getting the artwork in the App, but I can live with that (Stop Press: I am now!).

Overall Naim Uniti Star Dynamic Performance

I find the Naim Uniti Star to be a very dynamic, energetic and exciting music player.  It is without fault. I love it and will be loathed to hand it back.  Dynamically, the entire range is here; it is very clear.  There’s not a hint of fuzziness or stress with this player, and it is clearly a more relaxing listen than my old stager Naim Uniti 2. I think the fact that I have an exceptional pair of speakers also does not hurt the Naim Uniti Star, and switching back to my own B&W CM7s confirms this.  The CM7s probably sound better than they ever have, they are usually tethered to the Naim Uniti 2, a similar, multi-function device that the Naim Uniti Star replaces, thus confirming the epic progress made by Naim in the last 5 years.

Overall Resolution (and record player notes)

I’m finding the resolution and detail to be exceptional here, too. Tracks like ‘Some’ by Nils Frahm are absolutely beautiful, and the fizzing energy from his piano is revealed yet again. It’s absolutely fantastic. My go-to resolution track, ‘Sylvia Plath’ on Side 3 of the Carnegie Hall records by Ryan Adams (vinyl), sounds pretty spectacular, and the detail of the pedal clunk falls through the Persona B speakers.

On the subject of hooking up the record player, the Uniti range is generally designed for those audiophiles who are after fewer boxes, with a bit of multiroom, so the idea of a Naim Stageline-N powered by a separate power source (as designed) or a separate phono stage is not in the thinking (I’m using my Rega Fono MM, perfectly acceptable for me with my Rega Planar RP3, it’s a bit spaghetti but who cares).   Naim might expect a Naim Uniti Star owner to head for a built-in phono staged turntable like a Technics SL1500C.

Nonetheless, my RP3 with the Fono and an Exact cartridge sounds nice, clear and detailed, and this set-up is a good reminder of the warmth and delicacy of vinyl records versus digital, not to mention the pure pleasure of dropping a needle onto a piece of vinyl for the love of it.    I have asked Naim if the excellent MM input from the Supernait 3 might appear in a future Uniti Star 2, incidentally.  If I get a reply it will be in the comments below.

Overall Tone

I’m finding the Naim Uniti Star deep and warm compared to my slightly brighter, angular, Naim Classic boxes that I own (NAC-N 272, NAP 250, then separately the Uniti 2 that is usually in this position in the kitchen).  I’m broadly listening to music that is not so loud and generally vocal, so the Naim Uniti Star works nicely for me.  Often, I’m cooking, so I’m after a stable platform with total app control and warm depth in the background.  However, as you drive the Persona Bs, you can feel the low ends breathing out, and ‘2049′ by Hans Zimmer delivers the full resonant thunder from the track.

In more delicate moments, female vocals (vocals in general, even Dylan!) are wonderfully delivered. For example, Ella Fitzgerald’s ‘Little White Lies’ is absolutely exquisite with this Naim Uniti Star set-up.

Qobuz & Tidal & YouTube

I have to say Qobuz is very nice indeed as I’ve learnt from the Auralic products I’ve reviewed over the period.  Sadly for me, with a Naim NAC-N 272 and a Naim Uniti 2, Qobuz is not supported despite being here in the Naim Uniti Star.  The Naim App handles Qobuz with the Naim Uniti Star without any bother, indeed it is similar to the excellent Auralic Lightning DS App.  For example, if you search ‘London Grammar’, you get a choice of Qobuz answers, Tidal, or both, and they’re handled effortlessly.  In the App, you get the format, bit rate and depth with Qobuz and I like this a lot.  You really feel as if you’re getting the best you can get, like Tidal Masters, but full fat.  I’m still on a one-month trial with Qobuz, and access to the Naim App has been faultless.

If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know how excited I get about watching ‘The Numbers’ by Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood on YouTube. Here, the Naim Uniti Star with YouTube presentation is just what I wanted—detailed, languid, pure genius. To be honest, I’ve not played with Spotify on the Naim Uniti Star.

Here’s my Tidal Naim Uniti Star listening Playlist. The Qobuz version is equally varied, but that’s what happens with these fantastic streaming services!

Headphone Output

There are not many really special headphones with the smaller 3.5mm headphone jack as standard. However, I do have a pair of Meze 99 Neo headphones that are top-drawer for detailed listening.  Here, the output is pretty good, and the headphones cut the speaker output effectively.  The output jack is front and centre, making it easy to access and fiddle about.  The sound quality is very acceptable, though I’d still prefer a 1/4″ jack for a better choice of headphone options, and I’m not likely to use a 1/4″ adapter to fit.

Remote

The remote is really nice and has a good feel to it. It is very angular and sharp. The remote lights up when you pick it up, which is good for ‘dark’ listening. I’ve hardly used the remote save for turning the Naim Uniti Star off because I use the iPad for music selection. There is the Mu-so-style analogue (to digital) volume control on the top of the Star, which is very classy indeed (I gather it is derived from the NAC-N 272!).

Overall

I have a Naim Uniti 2, and it is our everyday in-the-kitchen/living space goto system.  It is a nice setup with the existing CM7s I support with a subwoofer.  This Naim Uniti Star is a much superior companion in our living space, and the pace of improvement by the likes of Naim, and others, is very impressive indeed if I think my Uniti 2 was a really top piece of one-box kit, JUST 5 or 6 years ago.  All of these one-box streaming products are very good indeed these days.  But the Naim Uniti Star has one up on most; it is musically very dynamic, highly functional, and extremely stylish and has the heritage to match.  I’d say it was faultless if it had the MM input from the Supernait 3 included.  It’s an ‘Outstanding‘ from me, again!

Specification

From the Naim Site.

Connectivity

Audio Inputs
2 x Optical TOSLink (up to 24bit/192kHz)
2 x Coaxial RCA (up to 24bit/192kHz, DoP 64Fs)
1 x BNC (up to 192kHz, DoP 64Fs)
1 x HDMI ARC
1 x RCA
1 x 5-pin DIN
2 x USB Type-A socket (front and rear)
1 x SD card

Audio Outputs
1 x Stereo power amplifier
1 x RCA sub/pre output
1 x 3.5mm headphone jack

Streaming – Chromecast Built-In, Apple AirPlay, TIDAL, Spotify® Connect, Bluetooth (AptX HD), Internet Radio, UPnP™ (hi-res streaming), Roon Ready

Multiroom – Serve up to 4 network-connected players via UPnP™ at full CD quality.  Party Mode Streaming: Sync up to six Uniti all-in-one players or other Naim streamers and control via the Naim app.

Audio Formats – WAV – up to 32bits/384kHz, FLAC and AIFF – up to 24bit/384kHz, ALAC (Apple Lossless) – up to 24bit/384kHz, MP3 – up to 48kHz, 320kbit (16 bit), AAC – up to 48kHz, 320kbit (16 bit), OGG and WMA – up to 48kHz (16 bit), DSD – 64 and 128Fs

Notes: Gapless playback is supported on all formats. All formats to 384kHz maximum over a wireless network.

Dimensions – 95mm x 432mm x 265mm (HxWxD)

Finishes – Brushed and anodised aluminium

Weight – 12kg

Power – Auto Standby time, user selectable: adjustable from off up to 2 hours

Amplifier Output – 70W per channel into 8 ohms

CD Ripping – Create bit-perfect copies of your CDs, store them on the local storage and playback.

Front Panel – 5″ colour LCD display and rotary volume control with proximity sensor and four buttons

App Control – Naim App for iOS and Android