[iamoneagain]

What I found to be great about the Naim HE for all the headphones I’ve tried with it, it always has the punch and weight to it. On some other setups, it always to seems to be the bass that goes first. Can end up thin sounding. The Naim HE has kept up strong.

When I tried my Caldera directly out of the Chord Dave at CanJam, it was definitely lacking in the low end. I would have to get an external amp if I still owned it. So let me see how many boxes. The Dave, the mscaler, the battery for the mscaler, the Link II streamer, and the linear power supply. That’s 5. But then also need to add an amp. The Ferrum Orr sounded great with Caldera but with its power supply. So that’s 2 more boxes. So 7 total to equal or maybe best what I’ve got with one box.

I also noticed at a recent meet that once you get to a certain level it all sounds great. I heard my Caldera on a few setups and it all sounded slightly different but still great. Its house sound still came thru. Within a few minutes I adjusted and was perfectly happy. So make no sense to be chasing the perfect sound. The Naim HE already gives me what I’m looking for.

 

[WDitters]

What I found to be great about the Naim HE for all the headphones I’ve tried with it, it always has the punch and weight to it. On some other setups, it always to seems to be the bass that goes first. Can end up thin sounding. The Naim HE has kept up strong.

When I tried my Caldera directly out of the Chord Dave at CanJam, it was definitely lacking in the low end. I would have to get an external amp if I still owned it. So let me see how many boxes. The Dave, the mscaler, the battery for the mscaler, the Link II streamer, and the linear power supply. That’s 5. But then also need to add an amp. The Ferrum Orr sounded great with Caldera but with its power supply. So that’s 2 more boxes. So 7 total to equal or maybe best what I’ve got with one box.

I also noticed at a recent meet that once you get to a certain level it all sounds great. I heard my Caldera on a few setups and it all sounded slightly different but still great. Its house sound still came thru. Within a few minutes I adjusted and was perfectly happy. So make no sense to be chasing the perfect sound. The Naim HE already gives me what I’m looking for.

I can but concur

 

[NYanakiev]

Hi folks, got some good news to share. New Atom HE has arrived, it is whisper quiet when on or switched off and the buzzing noise is gone. The noise floor with my Radon 6 IEMs is lower too. Happy days!

EDIT: it is also entirely noise-free when server mode is enabled too.

 

[iamoneagain]

Hi folks, got some good news to share. New Atom HE has arrived, it is whisper quiet when on or switched off and the buzzing noise is gone. The noise floor with my Radon 6 IEMs is lower too. Happy days!

EDIT: it is also entirely noise-free when server mode is enabled too.

So don’t forget to let it burn in for about 50 hours to open up the sound. Happy things worked out for you.

 

[NYanakiev]

Thank you sir

 

[billbrasky]

Hey everyone. I spent some time auditioning the HE with several cans from Audeze, Focal, and Meze and loved the sound with the 109s but even more so with the Empy2. I didn’t care for the Audeze sound, or with any of the Focals I tried it with. (Which I find odd now that I know they sort of worked together?) I don’t think I tried with the Utopias, but those are about 1000 over my budget anyway.

Just wanted to get some opinions on that setup before dropping that kind of cash. I’m mainly interested in hearing from people that have listened to some of the Schiit stuff (Jot2/bifrost, maybe even the mjolnir3?) and compared it to the HE. I thought the HE sounded fantastic with the 109s (maybe a little sibilant on a hi-hat?) and even better with the Empy2, but have no way to audition any Schiit stuff and I’m not a fan of trying it out and then paying a restocking fee if I don’t like it.

 

[iamoneagain]

Hey everyone. I spent some time auditioning the HE with several cans from Audeze, Focal, and Meze and loved the sound with the 109s but even more so with the Empy2. I didn’t care for the Audeze sound, or with any of the Focals I tried it with. (Which I find odd now that I know they sort of worked together?) I don’t think I tried with the Utopias, but those are about 1000 over my budget anyway.

Just wanted to get some opinions on that setup before dropping that kind of cash. I’m mainly interested in hearing from people that have listened to some of the Schiit stuff (Jot2/bifrost, maybe even the mjolnir3?) and compared it to the HE. I thought the HE sounded fantastic with the 109s (maybe a little sibilant on a hi-hat?) and even better with the Empy2, but have no way to audition any Schiit stuff and I’m not a fan of trying it out and then paying a restocking fee if I don’t like it.

I’ve only briefly heard the Mjolnir3 with my ZMF Caldera and it’s a completely different sound and might be equality enjoyable. The HE punches hard, has plenty of bass texture, rich mids and is a fun listen. The Mjolnir3 was very clean, detailed, open, with liquid mids. Seems one of the few setups that wasn’t too warm but still sounded really good to my ears. The issue is it isn’t an all in one setup, so has different needs. And completely different presentation. I like that the HE can just be put anywhere and can control with a remote for volume and playback. The original Utopia sounded excellent out of it too.

 

[billbrasky]

I’ve only briefly heard the Mjolnir3 with my ZMF Caldera and it’s a completely different sound and might be equality enjoyable. The HE punches hard, has plenty of bass texture, rich mids and is a fun listen. The Mjolnir3 was very clean, detailed, open, with liquid mids. Seems one of the few setups that wasn’t too warm but still sounded really good to my ears. The issue is it isn’t an all in one setup, so has different needs. And completely different presentation. I like that the HE can just be put anywhere and can control with a remote for volume and playback. The original Utopia sounded excellent out of it too.

Thanks! I really did enjoy the sound with The 109s and the Empy2. I loved the interface and the all in oneness of the HE.

I didn’t even want to listen to the Elites because… money. I’m already looking at around 5k for the HE and Empy2 setup. I could probably try to swing the extra K on the Elites, but I know I was happy with the Empy2, and this will leave some wiggle for power cable or headphone cable upgrades should I want to.

 

[iamoneagain]

Thanks! I really did enjoy the sound with The 109s and the Empy2. I loved the interface and the all in oneness of the HE.

I didn’t even want to listen to the Elites because… money. I’m already looking at around 5k for the HE and Empy2 setup. I could probably try to swing the extra K on the Elites, but I know I was happy with the Empy2, and this will leave some wiggle for power cable or headphone cable upgrades should I want to.

Personally if you were going to spend money for power cable and headphone cable, I’d probably just put it towards the headphones themselves. That makes the biggest difference. And then with Meze, I’m guessing the pads would be next. With ZMF, pads have a big difference. That being said, I have upgraded both the power and headphone cable. I got a ZMF Silver Vertite mostly for the extra length over the stock and for the looks. It does provide a little bit more sparkle and clarity but at a tiny lose of bass bloom. I don’t know my power cable brand offhand but it seems to give just a touch more liquid sound to it, no grain. It’s al subtle and hard to tell because of how long it takes to swap out. And some claim cables doesn’t make a difference.

And just to put the word out, if at all interested in ZMF, they have their November sale going on. They have all kind of crazy woods for all their products and selling B stock at discounts. I already have my stock Caldera but some of their stuff is temping but can’t afford anything more.

 

[billbrasky]

I’m picking up my Atom HE as soon as my Empyrean II comes in. Hopefully later this week. I’m very excited. It sounded so amazing through the Atom.

Everyone seems to like the ZMF line but I really hesitate to spend that much on something that I can’t listen to before buying.

I just need to figure out Qobuz or Tidal and Roon now. What’s everyone’s preference?

 

[crmiller]

Love Roon. That’s the only way I control my Atom HE. I used Tidal with it for a year and then switched to Qobuz. Actually, I had both Tidal and Qobuz for a few months and decided I should keep just one. Qobuz won for me. I’m debating re-adding Tidal again. Their catalogs have overlap, but each has differing large gaps.

I too am considering the Empyrean 2’s after hearing them at CanJam Dallas. I didn’t try them with the Atom HE, though.

 

[billbrasky]

Love Roon. That’s the only way I control my Atom HE. I used Tidal with it for a year and then switched to Qobuz. Actually, I had both Tidal and Qobuz for a few months and decided I should keep just one. Qobuz won for me. I’m debating re-adding Tidal again. Their catalogs have overlap, but each has differing large gaps.

I too am considering the Empyrean 2’s after hearing them at CanJam Dallas. I didn’t try them with the Atom HE, though.

One of my issues with Roon is that I don’t really have any local files to speak of so it would mainly function as a remote and aggregator for whatever music services I get. I’d have to run it on my MacBook. I don’t really want to build a NUC to rock. I do like the remote features tho.

Man the Empyrean II sound soooo good. I tried them on a couple of Woo amps (wa6 and wa7? I don’t remember but it was a DAC and amp in a cube shape.) The Atom blew them both out of the water in terms of musicality and sound stage. (At least to me and my ears.) the Empyrean v1 didn’t sound that great to me, I prefer the 109s over them. The II version “fixed” the things I didn’t care for in V1.

 

[Daniel Johnston]

One of my issues with Roon is that I don’t really have any local files to speak of so it would mainly function as a remote and aggregator for whatever music services I get. I’d have to run it on my MacBook. I don’t really want to build a NUC to rock. I do like the remote features tho.

Man the Empyrean II sound soooo good. I tried them on a couple of Woo amps (wa6 and wa7? I don’t remember but it was a DAC and amp in a cube shape.) The Atom blew them both out of the water in terms of musicality and sound stage. (At least to me and my ears.) the Empyrean v1 didn’t sound that great to me, I prefer the 109s over them. The II version “fixed” the things I didn’t care for in V1.

If you don't have local files then Roon is a pricey front end for Tidal and Qobuz. I personally love Roon, but I also have several hundred local albums.

I'd try the Tidal and Quboz streaming features of the Naim app first.

 

[iamoneagain]

So with Qobuz, you’d need to use the Naim app (if don’t use roon), which has improved a lot as far as speed in the last year or two. Then you can play hires file with ease. For Tidal, you control with the native Tidal app with Tidal Connect. Tidal is transitioning away from MQA but Naim has not updated their streamer yet to handle the new max setting. Neither has roon. Tidal claims most third party apps and streamers should have updates in place by end of the year. So once that happens, Tidal might be the best choice. Hires files, better interface and bigger selection. But price is little higher than Qobuz. Not counting on it, but Spotify could actually end up releasing their lossless tier by end of the year. Spotify Connect works great with Naim too.

With ZMF, I bought my Caldera blind, never hearing any ZMF headphones before. Had for 11 months and still find it amazing. I have since then heard a few more ZMF models at the last SoCal CanJam. They all seem to have a little bit of this same house sound with a fun punchy bass and musical mids. The clarity and amounts of punch vary from model with Caldera having most clarity and most controlled bass but not most quantity. But it is a risk buying without trying first.

 

[WDitters]

Not counting on it, but Spotify could actually end up releasing their lossless tier by end of the year. Spotify Connect works great with Naim too.

Not sure whether one can simply assume that Spotify HiRes would work straight out of the box without any adjustment from Naim in their firmware though …