I received similar questions from a few clients recently since NimitraS is $1895 and you can buy Nimitra + Nikola at about the same price too. After answering their questions, I believe it’s worth sharing my insights about this upgrade path.

Upgrading server with good linear power supply will really help your server shine a lot. I tested Nikola linear power supply with my own server, Roon Nucleus/Intel NUC, Mytek/exaSound/Yulong DAC and its worth upgrading for high quality power supply.

The question is actually more like whether you should spend $500 more on NimitraS upgrade or Nikola linear power supply first. If you choose NimitraS, you get SLC SSD and premium RAM upgraded with modification modification including high quality clock on USB audio.

If you choose Nimitra + Nikola, you get high quality linear power supply tuned with highend Esoteric transport as a reference for very low coloration sound and high neutrality. Both choices are good on its own with different ups and downs.

But if you have more budget in future, both choices will affect your upgrade path a lot. If you choose NimitraS first, you can just order NikolaS and you can enjoy the improvements with power supply upgrade immediately.

If you choose Nimitra + Nikola first, you will need to ship both products back to me first to apply Signature upgrade and wait until I finish and ship the upgraded products back. While I offer free shipping for upgrade combo, the waiting time without Nimitra is less desirable.

So I recommend to choose NimitraS over Nimitra + Nikola for your first purchase. Once you have more budget to further your upgrade path, you may consider adding NikolaS later. This way you don’t have to send your Nimitra + Nikola back for continuous music enjoyment. 🙂