[iamoneagain]

Is there any consensus what the strongest elements of the Naim uniti atom HE is?

wondering how strong the streamer and dac elements are to replace what i already have? and what other stand alone dacs may compare to this part of the all in one

thanks in advance

Are you just planning to use this as a preamp? Part of its charm is that’s an all in one and just plug headphones in. I’ve tried another streamer feeding it thru the coaxial input and didn’t notice much difference, so it’s got an excellent streamer. The dac chip and implementation is basically the same as Naim’s current high end dacs but a few different parts but should have same Naim house sound. And it’s really whether you like this house or not. It’s less airy but has thicker sound. But hard for me to say how much of what I’m hearing is the dac vs amp. I’ll let someone else chime in that had used it as preamp into another headphone amp.

 

[Musicophilesblog]

Is there any consensus what the strongest elements of the Naim uniti atom HE is?

wondering how strong the streamer and dac elements are to replace what i already have? and what other stand alone dacs may compare to this part of the all in one

thanks in advance

Probably not helpful, but I'd say the strongest element is the all-in-one concept. Each individual element is actually really very good, but the real added value is that you stop worrying about individual components, and optimizing bits and bobs here and there.

Just plug your Utopia (or can of choice into it) and be done with it, with a very nice looking unit, no extra cables beyond the power and headphone cords, and quite decent streaming interface via the Naim app.

 

[thecrow]

Are you just planning to use this as a preamp? Part of its charm is that’s an all in one and just plug headphones in. I’ve tried another streamer feeding it thru the coaxial input and didn’t notice much difference, so it’s got an excellent streamer. The dac chip and implementation is basically the same as Naim’s current high end dacs but a few different parts but should have same Naim house sound. And it’s really whether you like this house or not. It’s less airy but has thicker sound. But hard for me to say how much of what I’m hearing is the dac vs amp. I’ll let someone else chime in that had used it as preamp into another headphone amp.

I was toying with the idea of moving it around as needed as an all in one with my utopias and using it as a dac and streamer and connecting xlr outputs to my niimbus us4 for my susvaras.

i’m currently using a holo may dac so i can only assume the dac side would be a downgrade but just a matter of how much.

sometimes there is an all in one where the strength may lie in the dac or amp more so than the other part, that’s what i was wondering

thanks

 

[iamoneagain]

I was toying with the idea of moving it around as needed as an all in one with my utopias and using it as a dac and streamer and connecting xlr outputs to my niimbus us4 for my susvaras.

i’m currently using a holo may dac so i can only assume the dac side would be a downgrade but just a matter of how much.

sometimes there is an all in one where the strength may lie in the dac or amp more so than the other part, that’s what i was wondering

thanks

Well for the Utopia, I had it hooked to a Dave/mscaler before and I found the Naim more fun. Not as technical but overall more fun. So there probably would be some loss in resolution but it does pair wonderful with the Utopia. Not sure if you can borrow one or get home demo before making that kind of choice. Holo May is highly praised and not sure an all in one can beat top end separates.

I’m attending local meet up later today, so I’ll get to see first hand how the Naim HE stacks up against some other setups.

 

[iamoneagain]

Got back from the meet and reconfirmed that the Naim HE is a great setup. There was a nice high end schitt stack that gave a very clean, musical sound with more precision. The Naim is a little more laid back, forgiving, more low end texture and has more of groove. So when I first switch back to the Naim I thought it sounded worse and lacked the sparkling, airy highs but then after a minute I appreciated the differences it has to offer. Both sound great in their own way. But if expecting something like the clean schitt sound, than going to be disappointed.

I don’t know what kind of headphones they were but played on a lower end schitt, they were kind of neutral and pleasant. On the Naim, they had some serious bass and sounded like a totally different headphone. The owner was very interested in picking up a Naim at some point.

I also tried against a DYI tube amp. It sounded great with the Calders having a more ethereal sound, little less dynamic. I think I preferred the Caldera on the Naim.

Almost got to listen to the Stax 009 hooked to my Naim as preamp but couldn’t figure out how to get it to output sound.

Anyway, I found the Naim HE to be quite competitive and to have its own sound. Not better or worse than some other excellent setups. And really any differences start to fade after a few minutes and as long as still enjoyable, nothing to worry about.

 

[thecrow]

Got back from the meet and reconfirmed that the Naim HE is a great setup. There was a nice schitt stack that gave a very clean, musical sound with more precision. The Naim is a little more laid back, forgiving, more low end texture and has more of groove. So when I first switch back to the Naim I thought it sounded worse and lacked the sparkling, airy highs but then after a minute I appreciated the differences it has to offer. Both sound great in their own way. But if expecting something like the clean schitt sound, than going to be disappointed.

I don’t know what kind of headphones they were but played on the lower end schitt, they were kind of neutral and pleasant. On the Naim, they had some serious bass and sounded like a totally different headphone. The owner was very interested in picking up a Naim at some point.

I also tried against a DYI tube amp. It sounded great with the Calders having a more ethereal sound, little less dynamic. I think I preferred the Caldera on the Naim.

Almost got to listen to the Stax 009 hooked to my Naim as preamp but couldn’t figure out how to get it to output sound.

Anyway, I found the Naim HE to be quite competitive and to have its own sound. Not better or worse than some other excellent setups. And really any differences start to fade after a few minutes and as long as still enjoyable, nothing to worry about.

Thanks for sharing that

 

[iamoneagain]

And to sum up the differences, with the Naim is will get your food tapping and you’re just sitting back and letting tue music wash over you. Not trying to pick apart the music. It’s still all there and still has a good soundstage and separation. It just brings a smile to your face.

On the high end schitt stack, you notice the clarity of the highs right away and all the details. It’s what I call a crisp sound. Very balanced and had a little bit of liquid sound which is what kept it musical. It impresses you right away vs the Naim takes a moment. Not sure if the schitt amp would cause any fatigue but think the Naim would do better for longer sessions. Also notice my Caldera has a better soundstage depth than the tube setup.

 

[OnlySoMany]

Naim is all about PRAT, pace, rhythm, and timing. The toe tap effect is real. Combined with Chord it's some of the best I have heard at any price.

The Atom is a great all in one to be sure. I also ran my atom out to headamp gsx mini, and that was also a very good combo.

 

[Focux]

Hey all, anyone has a 1ZM2 to compare with? Am not using my DAP much and will never bring it out with me hence am contemplating to swap the 1ZM2 for a Uniti HE but would like to use it with my MacBook for movies without audio lag hopefully

Any idea if a USB C to Optical cable will avoid audio lag? Thanks!

 

[Roland de Gilead]

I add a MT604 at the output I prefere this relaxed sound now. The tubiness associated with the rectitude of the naim feels good to my ears.

 

[George Hincapie]

Any news from Naim about an update for this?

 

[iamoneagain]

Any news from Naim about an update for this?

What kind of update are you expecting? I assume we should be getting a Tidal Connect update for the Max setting soon but haven’t heard of anything else coming. It uses the same streaming platform as their more expensive stuff, so anything they get will also be offered on the Naim Atom units.

 

[George Hincapie]

What kind of update are you expecting? I assume we should be getting a Tidal Connect update for the Max setting soon but haven’t heard of anything else coming. It uses the same streaming platform as their more expensive stuff, so anything they get will also be offered on the Naim Atom units.

Hardware refresh to the DAC or streaming sections possibly? The world moves on, and 3 years is an eternity in this hobby.

I listened to HE at CanJam London and thought it was interesting, but needed more. Too vanilla with my ZMF Atrium. Not enough resolution or detail to make me commit to a purchase.

Nonetheless, I find it an intriguing proposition.

 

[iamoneagain]

Hardware refresh to the DAC or streaming sections possibly? The world moves on, and 3 years is an eternity in this hobby.

I listened to HE at CanJam London and thought it was interesting, but needed more. Too vanilla with my ZMF Atrium. Not enough resolution or detail to make me commit to a purchase.

Nonetheless, I find it an intriguing proposition.

They just released a higher model streamer with the same headphone amplifier, so don’t think you’ll see a new HE model anytime soon.

https://www.naimaudio.com/product/nsc-222
NSC 222 is also equipped with the full Naim technology for headphone listening, which is inherited from the Uniti Atom Headphone Edition

The Atrium sounds best with tubes, so HE not ideal anyway unless you add a tube headphone amp to it. At the last SoCal CanJam, I felt the HE with the Caldera held up quite well to what else was out there. Caldera sounds best to me on solid state and the HE has a great punch with plenty of texture. Similar to what I heard of the Ferrum Oor setup. I came away from the event feeling I had nothing to upgrade. I already upgraded power cable and have ZMF Verite Silver headphone cable which added subtle improvements.

 

[iamoneagain]

Ok, so looking at when the original Uniti lineup came out, 2017, I can see how that might be due for a refresh within the next year or two. The HE version didn’t come out until 2021. So depends if they plan to replace the whole Uniti lineup at once or stagger out the HE version later. Possible they also scale back that lineup. 2023 was the release of their high end models.