[iamoneagain]

Gotta agree with you. I've been using it with the stellia for more than a month and been. The fast bass and accuracy is so pinpoint making the music"music" critical listening is. there but you tend to enjoy music and just sit back and relax. I don't know if it's the naim or stellia but i tend to find the mids alittle recess. How is your experience with mids ans vocals?

I have no issues at all with the mids however I’m using a Utopia with balanced Danacable Lazuli Reference. The mids have been great on any setup I’ve used them with. My only issue with the Naim HE was within the first week or so it had a closed in sound but now has completely opened up.

So there are some albums I could tell the Dave was clearly better for critical listening but overall I find my whole catalog more enjoyable with the Naim. I think the Chord would be better suited if I was listening to classical and wanted to pinpoint all the instruments. The Naim wouldn’t be as good as separating all the layers. But in a weird way the Dave with mscaler was hyper real. Like first time you see 4K tv in the store. Looks amazing but brings out the flaws and all when using the high refresh rate. So maybe the Naim smooths thing over a little bit but in a good way. Could be why some people like the Bartok more the Dave even though Dave measures better.

 

[eseybi]

Maybe it's just the stellia. You have a nice setup the lazuli is a total game changer it's like next level for utopia. Totally true the tt2 mscaler for me is to dry but super revealing but not something I'll listening too a whole day. The dave waa ok i heard it on speakers on thay price bracket it was just detailed and revealing. I heard the mola mola and it blows the dave away on my ears more natural with the same space and details it gives. Naim really did a good job for a AOI we had the same experience with it being closed sounding on the first few weeks tried the susvara and. He1kv2 and sounded claustrophobic. It can drive thr susvara volume around 75 to 80

 

[buzzlulu]

Do you currently own the Naim - or just demoed it? I see you have the WM1Z - have you compared the Naim to it? I would be curious.

I own the 1Z - and have been a Naim 500 series owner for almost 20 years

 

[iamoneagain]

Maybe it's just the stellia. You have a nice setup the lazuli is a total game changer it's like next level for utopia. Totally true the tt2 mscaler for me is to dry but super revealing but not something I'll listening too a whole day. The dave waa ok i heard it on speakers on thay price bracket it was just detailed and revealing. I heard the mola mola and it blows the dave away on my ears more natural with the same space and details it gives. Naim really did a good job for a AOI we had the same experience with it being closed sounding on the first few weeks tried the susvara and. He1kv2 and sounded claustrophobic. It can drive thr susvara volume around 75 to 80

I just gave the stock cables a try and while the Utopia are very good sounding out of the Naim HE, it leaves me wanting. The mids and highs have a slight veil. The Danacable completely removes that giving them a sound I love. I’ve said before that I think the cable has more of an effect on the sound than the amp. Maybe if I had the cable when I had the Hugo 2, I would have liked that paring more. But with stock cable I can still hear the Naim great bass and rhythm, it’s just the mids are lacking for my taste. So perhaps a Danacable on the Stellia would have similar effect. I haven’t heard the Stellia but would interested if I ended up needed a closed headphone since I like the Focal sound.

 

[eseybi]

Do you currently own the Naim - or just demoed it? I see you have the WM1Z - have you compared the Naim to it? I would be curious.

I own the 1Z - and have been a Naim 500 series owner for almost 20 years

I currently have the naim he and thr wm1z but my wm1z is project k modded so it sounds different. Thr modded 1z sounds a little more airy and the mids are more focused. Comparing them the 1z has a more natural mids and more sub bass extension. While the naim is has a wider presentation very fast controlled sub bass and mid bass. The naim is more musical while the 1z is more intimate to sum it all up.

 

[eseybi]

I just gave the stock cables a try and while the Utopia are very good sounding out of the Naim HE, it leaves me wanting. The mids and highs have a slight veil. The Danacable completely removes that giving them a sound I love. I’ve said before that I think the cable has more of an effect on the sound than the amp. Maybe if I had the cable when I had the Hugo 2, I would have liked that paring more. But with stock cable I can still hear the Naim great bass and rhythm, it’s just the mids are lacking for my taste. So perhaps a Danacable on the Stellia would have similar effect. I haven’t heard the Stellia but would interested if I ended up needed a closed headphone since I like the Focal sound.

That is same belief i have thats why I'm a big cable believer. On my experience with hi fi and headfi the dac/source has a certain tuning/sound and the amp is mostly neutral except for tubes. So source and cables are the ones that plays with the final tuning. Ive been looking at the dana cable and the norne. O tried a 16 core litz from a local cable maker quite satisfied but im getting a hollow feeling on the mids which the cable might solve. Also looking at thr McIntosh mha200 to combine with the HE. The Stellia is a 60%utopia sound revealing and detailed but lacks the mid bass punch of the utopia and the stage it has more depth/taller. Thr HE is wonderful for a all in one they really did tuned it to be a plug and play with focal makes every music FUN

 

[Whazzzup]

I enjoy audio quest fire interconnects. Took my gsx mk2 to a level up

 

[Tanalasta]

That is same belief i have thats why I'm a big cable believer. On my experience with hi fi and headfi the dac/source has a certain tuning/sound and the amp is mostly neutral except for tubes. So source and cables are the ones that plays with the final tuning. Ive been looking at the dana cable and the norne. O tried a 16 core litz from a local cable maker quite satisfied but im getting a hollow feeling on the mids which the cable might solve. Also looking at thr McIntosh mha200 to combine with the HE. The Stellia is a 60%utopia sound revealing and detailed but lacks the mid bass punch of the utopia and the stage it has more depth/taller. Thr HE is wonderful for a all in one they really did tuned it to be a plug and play with focal makes every music FUN

Whilst digressing ; having had the luxury of being able to cable swap on a number of different TOTL headphones at my retailer - the differences in sound signature are definitely perceptible to my ear(s). I once auditioned 3 different cable(s) for a pair of resolving headphones (Hifiman 1000SE) without knowing anything about the cables nor their cost that were later revealed to be the Cardas, Stock cable, and a lower end cable from another Hifiman headphone. Out of the Uniti Atom. The only reason this came to be was that they had originally plugged in the black braided crabby cable and I thought "this wasn't how I remembered the HE1000SE sounded) and so asked for them to check what the stock cable was and bring it out if it was different.

The differences cable make may be less noticeable on lower end headphones. Or I have a sensitive ear. I can hear a difference between the Heimdall (red cable) and Silver Dragon pigtail adapters when plugged to the end of a Lazuli Reference Plus cable with Utopia. They're the same price ; so it's not a quality/cost bias.

I'm going to be controversial here and suggest the silver, copper etc etc ... isn't so much as important as actually listening to the end product. It's like wine - you can discuss wine making technique, terroir and vintage conditions affect the end result but the best thing to do is actually just taste the wine. The Moon Audio silver dragon is an example where 'silver' doesn't necessarily translate to 'bright'.

Hollow feeling in the mids - suggest trialling a thicker gauge. Not because I know anything about cable manufacture. But my thicker audio cables (e.g. PWA audio ; Danacable) have the most weight to the sound. Correlation? Who knows. The Danacable is so damned expensive though.

 

[eseybi]

Whilst digressing ; having had the luxury of being able to cable swap on a number of different TOTL headphones at my retailer - the differences in sound signature are definitely perceptible to my ear(s). I once auditioned 3 different cable(s) for a pair of resolving headphones (Hifiman 1000SE) without knowing anything about the cables nor their cost that were later revealed to be the Cardas, Stock cable, and a lower end cable from another Hifiman headphone. Out of the Uniti Atom. The only reason this came to be was that they had originally plugged in the black braided crabby cable and I thought "this wasn't how I remembered the HE1000SE sounded) and so asked for them to check what the stock cable was and bring it out if it was different.

The differences cable make may be less noticeable on lower end headphones. Or I have a sensitive ear. I can hear a difference between the Heimdall (red cable) and Silver Dragon pigtail adapters when plugged to the end of a Lazuli Reference Plus cable with Utopia. They're the same price ; so it's not a quality/cost bias.

I'm going to be controversial here and suggest the silver, copper etc etc ... isn't so much as important as actually listening to the end product. It's like wine - you can discuss wine making technique, terroir and vintage conditions affect the end result but the best thing to do is actually just taste the wine. The Moon Audio silver dragon is an example where 'silver' doesn't necessarily translate to 'bright'.

Hollow feeling in the mids - suggest trialling a thicker gauge. Not because I know anything about cable manufacture. But my thicker audio cables (e.g. PWA audio ; Danacable) have the most weight to the sound. Correlation? Who knows. The Danacable is so damned expensive though.

Yeah looking over the shoulder regarding interconnect/adapter sound changes anyways i believe in them and they make a difference in my ear too i tried going back to stock cable the stellia is really quite laid back so the cable my local maker made it more laid back with more low bass and smoother on top making the mids a little too recessed. Thinking of norne,plus sound coppers to give it a fuller mids and the black dragon to not hurt the wallet. Its quite an experience matching it to the HE i love the dynamic sound edm rnb and so good. While jazz and Orchestra keeps my feet tapping. The dana is off my list now since im saving for the mha200 and susvara. The tubes might help balanced my problem but goes against the all in one solution we bough

 

[iamoneagain]

Yeah looking over the shoulder regarding interconnect/adapter sound changes anyways i believe in them and they make a difference in my ear too i tried going back to stock cable the stellia is really quite laid back so the cable my local maker made it more laid back with more low bass and smoother on top making the mids a little too recessed. Thinking of norne,plus sound coppers to give it a fuller mids and the black dragon to not hurt the wallet. Its quite an experience matching it to the HE i love the dynamic sound edm rnb and so good. While jazz and Orchestra keeps my feet tapping. The dana is off my list now since im saving for the mha200 and susvara. The tubes might help balanced my problem but goes against the all in one solution we bough

Little off topic but would the regular Naim Uniti Atom work for the Susvara? Heard you need a speaker amp to power them best and thought the regular version might be perfect. Besides cost, I stayed away from the Susvara because of its power requirements. I liked that the Utopia was relatively easy to power so these 2 in 1 or 3 in 1 box solutions work great. With the Susvara you always needed a separate amp but the original Uniti Atom might be the solution. Doubt I’ll part with my current setup but just something to think about.

 

[Whazzzup]

Im over susvara. I mean its a fine HP as far as value.... well that's in the eye of the beholder

 

[Tanalasta]

Yes, any speaker amp would work but you run the risk of blowing your ears and drivers if you accidentally knock the volume dial. Just not worth it

 

[iamoneagain]

Yes, any speaker amp would work but you run the risk of blowing your ears and drivers if you accidentally knock the volume dial. Just not worth it

Well that’s the beauty of the Naim Uniti is volume on top, so should be very little chance and it’s very gradual. I’m going assume same holds true for speaker version too.

But for me the Naim HE and Focal Utopia with Danacable pretty much does everything I need it to do. Lighting fast, punchy, slightly warm, close soundstage, rich mids, airy highs. I prefer very dynamic, energetic headphone over laid back and lush. I also want to feel like I’m right up front by the stage. Too far back feels soft. And when I was younger, most of my live shows were at small clubs and always stood right by the stage. Music was mostly punk and alternative. So this has all carried over to my headphone preference even though I’ve expanded my genres but still like that upfront presentation.

 

[Tanalasta]

Well that’s the beauty of the Naim Uniti is volume on top, so should be very little chance and it’s very gradual. I’m going assume same holds true for speaker version too.

But for me the Naim HE and Focal Utopia with Danacable pretty much does everything I need it to do. Lighting fast, punchy, slightly warm, close soundstage, rich mids, airy highs. I prefer very dynamic, energetic headphone over laid back and lush. I also want to feel like I’m right up front by the stage. Too far back feels soft. And when I was younger, most of my live shows were at small clubs and always stood right by the stage. Music was mostly punk and alternative. So this has all carried over to my headphone preference even though I’ve expanded my genres but still like that upfront presentation.

Well yes ; except it's only single integers we're talking about. So doesn't take much of an accidental twirl. From an occupational health/safety perspective I just cannot recommend it. The Susvara is a very technically competent headphone from the several times I've auditioned it ; but is different enough from the Utopia I wouldn't buy it blind.

Agreed with you the Utopia and Danacable is a rich and punchy listen with the Naim HE. It's really grown on me as a desktop amp and has been very popular at my Naim dealership.

 

[iamoneagain]

Well yes ; except it's only single integers we're talking about. So doesn't take much of an accidental twirl. From an occupational health/safety perspective I just cannot recommend it. The Susvara is a very technically competent headphone from the several times I've auditioned it ; but is different enough from the Utopia I wouldn't buy it blind.

Agreed with you the Utopia and Danacable is a rich and punchy listen with the Naim HE. It's really grown on me as a desktop amp and has been very popular at my Naim dealership.

Thanks for the advice. At this point the only 2 others headphones I’d be interest in hearing with the Naim HE is the Stellia and the Stealth. As more reviews come out, sounds like the Stealth might not be my thing since it missing that punchy sound which seems like the Stellia have. Just looking in case I need closed headphones.