Adding 2 subwoofers

Forgive my naivety here and that maybe the question has been covered previously.

I have a Uniti-Atom which is powering Dali Oberon 5 speakers. I have a turntable. There’s a TV wired up too but my primary interest is the music.

I have recently bought a Dali E12F active subwoofer and I’m very interested in adding a 2nd one. The Atom only has one RCA out which is occupied by the existing subwoofer. My question is can I safely add a 2nd subwoofer in any way?

If you are setting up the subs as left and right, and they are positioned in that way, you could run two mono leads - the left pre out to the left sub, and the right to the right.

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You could also use a splitter. Please bear in mind that if you are going to use 2 subs, they should be of the same make and model. I have 2 subs on my AV system which are the same.

I would definitely prefer the setup @anon4489532 suggested. Even if the subwoofer has a stereo input (as mine does) you can in most cases connect one channel as well. The sub will automatically adjust itself. So running dual subs means you connect them as mentioned above. You would need to connect to the Left line input on both subs, according to the manual of your subwoofer:

4.2.1 LINE INPUT

Use the LINE INPut connectors L or R if you want to adjust the subwoofer frequency output using the DALI SuB E-12F crossover control.

to use this option, connect the subwoofer output connector(s) of your surround sound (pre-) amplifier/receiver with the LINE INPut connectors on the subwoofer using an RcA cable (sold separately). If the surround sound (pre-)amplifier/receiver has only one subwoofer output connector, connect it to the LINE INPut L connector (white) of the subwoofer using an RcA cable.

Thanks so much for the advice. The option of using 2 mono leads corresponded with a few people on a Naim Facebook group so I’ve ordered one!

I’ve also been thinking of either adding a NAP 200 to the Atom or sell the Atom and buy a Nova. I have seen other threads on here with similar questions but I would appreciate some direct help to make the decision.

I can afford to do it but I’ve got the frugal angel on one shoulder and the audiophile demon on the other! I’m happy to buy 2nd hand and have seen a few priced around the £3k mark so if I can sell the Atom for around £1,800 it’s a net £1,200 cost.

Is it worth it? I’m like a pig in sh#t with my set up now so am I just showing symptoms of the bug that we all catch or would it really be a significant step up? After all, I could buy a whole load of vinyl with that money!

Thanks in advance.

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Trust the answers here. On FB people like to hear themselves sound smart.

They’re all Naim owners so not sure how different that is to on here but thanks for the advice.

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I’ve had some great help from members on the Naim FB, they solved problems i had which could of been costly otherwise.

Well, I have not heard the Nova in my setup, but the Atom is an excellent pre-amplifier with a great form factor. But you will run into the same problem as I did: wanting to connect a power amplifier and two subs. That will only work with the Atom if you use an RCA splitter, which I have done for some time (the AudioQuest hard RCA splitter) and that worked fine. However, I decided to move up to the Atom HE as that has stereo XLR and RCA pre-amp outputs. So I have connected the power amp via XLR and the subwoofer via stereo RCA.

When it comes to the NAP200, I did try that with the Atom connected via a flashback sales RCA to DIN cable. It sounded good, but more different than better. Only when I added a Purifi Class D amp, I felt I made a real step up. I am now using a LSA Warp One power amplifier and that one has similar PRaT as the Naim devices, so for me this combination works really well.

I can’t tell you what to do, but I would not invest in the NAP200, but would then rather buy a NAP250 if you want to stay with Naim. But then the preamp in the Atom will not be up to the task as good as the Atom HE would be. So maybe you should just try the Nova and if that works well for you, go with that.

BR,
Richard

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