I read somewhere on the forum that when an Atom is connected to a 250dr the dr circuit is bypassed. Does the same ring true with an Atom HE? Also, what cable config is needed to hook this combo up. Many thanks
You might be thinking of the 200 DR. Here the DR bit is used for powering a preamp eg 202/200 combination (ie not with a flatcap or hicap). If you then power the 202 with a hicap, the DR in the 200 isnāt doing anything. Same as using an atom HE plus 200 DR.
The 250 DR is fully regulated, and cannot power a pre; itās not possible to disengage the DR bit.
Ref cables to connect them ; 2 rca /phonos ~> a single 3 pin xlr.
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My Naim local dealer did make one with a Linn Silver cable and Iām happy. (But I did not compare with other oneā¦ yet)
I went that path because it was the fastest for me to get a cable.
Chord is an ocean away from my house, otherwise I would probably had tried one.
Sometimes you also can see a second hand one on the market if you feel like exploring.
Enjoy!
Thanks for the information. I donāt need a din to xlr then? Didnāt know the phono output on the atom acted as a pre out, thought they were line out. Iāll visit the Chord site. Tanks again.
If you look at the back of the HE youāll see that the phonos are within the āpreamp outputā box. It doesnāt have a Din sockets.
Out of interest, what speakers are you using? I wonder if active speakers are an option for you, rather than a 250 and passives. You can then connect balanced to the XLRs.
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To reduce any terminology confusion, the plugs you need are also called RCA. I am also using this between my Atom HE and 205DR.
Did not want to wrangle out my cable to make a photo so you need something like this, with a 3 pin DIN:
I had one made by Chord.
Waiting delivery of Atom HE. Using Superuniti into 250dr at present and Proac response 18, but Spendor A7 on order. Looking at the rear pics online I thought it would be XLR from the HE to din on the 250, obviously thought wrong. Hope it all arrives before Xmas.
The 250 doesnāt have a DIN either, itās a single XLR input wired in a nonstandard way to be a single end stereo input
You could easily have the cable supplied with the 250 changed from DIN to RCA. Not ideal if you come to sell the 250 as it would be best to include the original cable in the sale. In which case, have an RCA to XLR cable made up. Just make sure that whoever does this understands the correct way to connect up an XLR plug for the slightly unusual single ended use in a 250DR. If in doubt use the little connection diagram on the back of the amp.
So not twin 3 pin XLR from HE into single 3 pinXLR to 250DR then? Just thought the XLR outs from HE would be better than RCA, or are the XLR from HE purely for active speakers?
Pls refer to previous post. Atom HE is balanced. Nap 250 is not balanced. So use single ended rca outputs on the atom.
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@robert_h thanks for clearing that up, not having the atom yet I was searching for info which is now answered. I will contact Chord and get leads made up 
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The XLR outputs on the HE are balanced. The XLR input on the 250 is single ended. You cannot connect one to the other. Of course, you could get a New Classic 250, which has balanced inputs. But at a price.
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However, Naim do offer a dual XLR to single XLR cable, presumably to allow the NSC 222 to be connected to an OC 250/250DR?
So the XLR outputs on the 222, 322 are different from those on the HE?
ATB, J
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The outputs are same, so the cable must be wired to do the necessary. Itās a good idea.
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After a bit of digging online, futurebeat media on fleabay sell a Naim compatible āmogamiā 3pin din to RCA. A buyer has connected atom HE to olive 250. Wondered if the 250dr and olive 250 xlr are wired the same. Looks good quality, OFC cable.
See the two inputs diagrams (olive and 250DR) copied and pasted from google images atop one another. Identical.
Yes, all 250s are like this (i.e. single unbalanced XLR input socket) with the exception of the current New Classic version.