[ChrisSC]

In one of the beta versions of ios15 Apple Music sounded different from ios14 and tricked me into thinking it was lossless. But now playing same song in Qobuz vs Apple Music using Airplay, Qobuz clearly sounds better. There is more air, better soundstage, and no blurring. Apple Music has a softer sound. It still sounds pretty good and sometimes hard to tell, but mostly it’s that missing air that makes the difference. I’m using Focal Utopia’s with Danacable, so I have excellent detail retrieval.

Thanks for your insight and great replies - I was going to purchase blind, but think I'll have to demo first. Hopefully not too much is lost in lossless, the Naim otherwise checks all the right boxes for me.

 

[stuartrosen]

Just bought this unit and loving it. Should I ever want to feed Apple Music into the HE from my iPad, do you think this cable would do the trick?

https://shop.musicteck.com/products/type-c-to-coaxial-cable?variant=37432238606

 

[iamoneagain]

Just bought this unit and loving it. Should I ever want to feed Apple Music into the HE from my iPad, do you think this cable would do the trick?

https://shop.musicteck.com/products/type-c-to-coaxial-cable?variant=37432238606

I’m going to guess no. It’s possible it may work on iPad Pro and new iPad mini since they have usb-c port. Make sure you can return it.

On iPad with lightening out, you need camera connector first and then usb-c, to usb-a converter and then that cable but don’t think it going to work. I have a regular usb to coaxial converter that worked on iMac, but did not work on iPhone with camera connector. Well tried with Hugo 2, not Naim HE but imagine same result.

Maybe check out the thread on Naim’s forum about the Naim HE. Thought I saw a few people posting how they connected to Apple Music. Might of been in their Apple Music forums as well. I’m not going to hunt those posts down since I no desire to turn my beautiful wireless streamer into a mess directly hooked to my iPhone.

 

[stuartrosen]

Thanks - I ended up buying an inexpensive Topping D10s DAC which has a USB input and a digital coax output, which will go into the Naim HE. Essentially the Topping will act as a digital pass-through. Problem solved.

 

[tdx]

Hi all, thinking of getting this (or even the non=HE version) to use solely as a DAC/streamer, fed into a headphone amp. Would you guys say the DAC part of the Atom is top-notch? I get that it's not as well rated as a Dave (although from some posts around here they trade blows) but if it sounds as good as similar $3K units on the market then I'd rather get the Atom, as I dont care about the amp part but I love the form factor and streaming part.

 

[u2u2]

Hi all, thinking of getting this (or even the non=HE version) to use solely as a DAC/streamer, fed into a headphone amp. Would you guys say the DAC part of the Atom is top-notch? I get that it's not as well rated as a Dave (although from some posts around here they trade blows) but if it sounds as good as similar $3K units on the market then I'd rather get the Atom, as I dont care about the amp part but I love the form factor and streaming part.

Your use case points to the HE version as being the right choice. I use the HE for the same purpose and it is very strong when used that way. The designers at Naim have covered a lot of bases with this unit. I think the DAC is as good as a Qutest I own. I thought a DA2 from McIntosh I recently received bested the HE but software updates are now my suspected issue and the HE remains right up there performance wise. A Dave ought to beat it but the HE holds up to items I have that cost some 50% more than the HE. The amp is very good but I bought mine for the same reason you are considering it. My only reservations are for use with Apple Music but I use a Naim Unity Core server for my serious stuff so I can set that issue aside. I would buy it again without hesitation. You might find some good info by visiting the forum hosted by Naim.

 

[tdx]

Your use case points to the HE version as being the right choice. I use the HE for the same purpose and it is very strong when used that way. The designers at Naim have covered a lot of bases with this unit. I think the DAC is as good as a Qutest I own. I thought a DA2 from McIntosh I recently received bested the HE but software updates are now my suspected issue and the HE remains right up there performance wise. A Dave ought to beat it but the HE holds up to items I have that cost some 50% more than the HE. The amp is very good but I bought mine for the same reason you are considering it. My only reservations are for use with Apple Music but I use a Naim Unity Core server for my serious stuff so I can set that issue aside. I would buy it again without hesitation. You might find some good info by visiting the forum hosted by Naim.

Thanks a bunch. One question, is it easy feeding the Atom HE to a HP amp? I read somewhere that when you're using the Atom like that you're double amping? Has that been your case?

 

[iamoneagain]

Thanks a bunch. One question, is it easy feeding the Atom HE to a HP amp? I read somewhere that when you're using the Atom like that you're double amping? Has that been your case?

The HE has a pre amp output and volume is separate from the headphone out. So should have no issues hooking to a separate amp.

My question is why not try the headphone out as well. I find it’s a better amp than what the Chord Dave is. And even though dac is not as resolving, I found out enjoy a lot more albums with the HE than I did with Dave/mscaler. So technically performance doesn’t always equal enjoyment.

 

[u2u2]

Thanks a bunch. One question, is it easy feeding the Atom HE to a HP amp? I read somewhere that when you're using the Atom like that you're double amping? Has that been your case?

A solid No to double amping. It works like a pre amp on a top end two channel speaker system. I initially bought mine to use as a pre amp to a McIntosh MHA200 which uses a gain control rather than a traditional volume. It has also done duty as a pre amp to a Woo WA6 and WA22. You set your main amp at its best sounding output setting (McIntosh has a default "unity" setting, I use 1200 on my Woo kit) and control the volume with the HE. It is designed to be a pre amp and does it superbly. Sound wise it will be transparent or very close to it. The ergonomics on the volume are top of the game and you have an excellent remote as a bonus. Balanced or RCA pre amp outputs. Naim did an amazing job.

 

[tdx]

The HE has a pre amp output and volume is separate from the headphone out. So should have no issues hooking to a separate amp.

My question is why not try the headphone out as well. I find it’s a better amp than what the Chord Dave is. And even though dac is not as resolving, I found out enjoy a lot more albums with the HE than I did with Dave/mscaler. So technically performance doesn’t always equal enjoyment.

Totally makes sense. Thanks!

 

[tdx]

A solid No to double amping. It works like a pre amp on a top end two channel speaker system. I initially bought mine to use as a pre amp to a McIntosh MHA200 which uses a gain control rather than a traditional volume. It has also done duty as a pre amp to a Woo WA6 and WA22. You set your main amp at its best sounding output setting (McIntosh has a default "unity" setting, I use 1200 on my Woo kit) and control the volume with the HE. It is designed to be a pre amp and does it superbly. Sound wise it will be transparent or very close to it. The ergonomics on the volume are top of the game and you have an excellent remote as a bonus. Balanced or RCA pre amp outputs. Naim did an amazing job.

perfect thanks so much!

 

[tdx]

Sorry one more thing I need help with: I've been reading up on the Atom, and even though it has USB ports on the front and rear, it looks like it can't act as a USB DAC out of a PC? That seems like a strange omission, unless I missed something. If that is correct though, how does one get music to it from a computer?
Thanks

 

[u2u2]

I did my connections by wi-fi at first then switched to optical, gave analogue a run, and am now using Ethernet. Wi-fi and Ethernet are full featured. It is a network streamer with several built in apps. No USB to computer connection seems to be a very specific design choice. Arguably few need it with most having access to wi-if and/or Ethernet. If you have music stored on a USB stick or drive the two USB ports work well. It is to die for if you use a coaxial connection to it. It can also use airplay. You have hit on why some of this thread knocks it for limited Apple Music connectivity most felt with iOS. I am in the Apple world with some flexibility so I can deal with it no problem. Mac OS requires manual settings in MIDI so Apple Music play lists can be a pain, albums are not. Locally stored music with a suitable playback program presents no issues. If your computer and/or software has limited capability you may need a go between device to convert the USB to a supported format… It is all pretty easy but I don’t have the technical knowledge & skills to explain the whys and what fors. It just works - without USB. Plug and play.

 

[tdx]

Gotcha. I think I can make it work with just Airplay and Chromecast.
BTW thanks to your very helpful recommendations I just bought one, will be joining the club soon.
Thanks again!

 

[465176]

Hi all, thinking of getting this (or even the non=HE version) to use solely as a DAC/streamer, fed into a headphone amp. Would you guys say the DAC part of the Atom is top-notch? I get that it's not as well rated as a Dave (although from some posts around here they trade blows) but if it sounds as good as similar $3K units on the market then I'd rather get the Atom, as I dont care about the amp part but I love the form factor and streaming part.

There was a review of the non HE Atom over at HiFi World. Noel Keywords’ measurements are usually reliable, and he described the Atom’s DAC as ‘budget’ in terms of measured performance by today’s standards. The actual review of the sonics WAS favourable though. Naim does like to do it’s own thing rather than go for measurements as God in terms of DAC design, so it might benefit from an audition first to see if it’s to your liking. Certainly seems very popular.