I read that with interest when it was posted, but ATC’s active 50s have 350 wpc to do the heavy lifting and Steve reinforces that with a couple of subs. I reckon that’s a tad different from the 40wpc power amp in the Atom which WHF felt was adequate.
Roger
What Hifi have consistently had a poor view of Qobuz, if you check in their recommended streaming services in the guide in the back of the mag they don’t even list it. Whereas Tidal has been a firm favourite with them, perhaps they’re friendly with Bob Stuart.
Absolutely nothing. If you can’t tell any difference then thank your lucky stars and save your money. I envy you.
Most of the time the differences are there, but there are loudspeakers that reveal them with easy and others are not revealing enough to justify some upgrades.
In my case, I have a pair os sopra speakers, when I change a network, power cable, interconnect, source or amp, there are significant differences on the sound. I have a friend with an old monitor audio speakers and a rotel Michi amp and on his system the diference in cables and other gear are a lot less present than in mine.
Some systems and speakers are less sensitive to changes, they are there but not as evident as other systems.
Also the Marantz and the Uniti can have a similar sound, adding a less revealing speaker in the mix could make them sound almost identical for the user.
I have connected the atom to my NAIM SBL’s MK 2 and there is no difference, my next test will be to connect physically with a cable and eliminate the wireless
@Segovia just checking the obvious, but have you verified the setting in the Atom for the Qobuz bit-depth and sample rate? I don’t remember if it defaults to 16/44… you should make sure it is set to 24/192 – i.e. the highest supported by Qobuz.
I did the same test at a dealers premises with my Marantz and Bronze against the Atom and KEF LS50. There was a difference in favor of the Atom combination but not significant. The Marantz and Bronze put up a good fight; however, there was deal on the Atom and KEF LS50 which was too good to turn down so ordered them.
I now have a dilemma regarding my existing 25 year old NAIM AMPS and SBL speakers, I need to add Rega Planar into the mix and I am thinking the new deck combined with the Atom and the KEF LS50 may make by existing NAIM Amps redundant / surplus to my needs
The points above about Naim not unfolding MQA would have been enough alone to make me choose Qobuz but using the Naim app to access Qobuz, there was a clear uplift in SQ that was particularly noticeably marked on higher res files.
I have more time than most for What Hi Fi but I couldn’t understand their repeated problems with Qobuz. I understand if their catalogue doesn’t match your tastes but I have only found the odd gap and the SQ is great.
Maybe it’s just more advertisement income from Tidal? In any case, there is some sort of bias against Qobuz…
For me, it’s Qobuz any day of the week, and Roon sorts out the interface… 
Update
As mentioned above I went for the Atom and KEF LS 50 bundle and did a head to head with my 30 year old un-serviced NAIM Flatcap, NAC92, NAP 90 and the SBL’s. The older NAIM system sounded better so I swapped the speakers around, ATOM to the SBL’s and that sounded better than the old NAIM through the KEF LS50. I concluded the 30 year old SBL’s are much better sounding and the differences in the AMP sources are negligible. I’ll keep hold of the SBL’s for now and ponder if I should let the NAIM Flatcap, NAC92, NAP 90 go, or pay for them to be serviced.
The Marantz and the the Bronze are still in situ as I had a complete 360 on my original plan. The ATOM and the KEF’s is now integrated with my Sony TV replacing the space taken up by the old NAIM kit. The newer ATOM is much more user friendly and more compatible with the the TV, I now have a single volume control.
Testing has been carried using a trial version of Qubuzz, and when available using hi-res sound sources. I found myself listening and enjoying to tracks which I would never imagined listening to. I am not sure if I have progressed any further, Marantz is still in place , I now have an extra pair of speakers and an ageing NAIM system to ponder over. I want to add a Rega Planar into the mix before the end of the year, I must have plenty of options but not quite figured out what they are.
Have you let all the new gear burn in sufficiently based on manufacturer recommendations, if any?
Is Qobuz in Atom set to 24/192?
I am genuinely curious as to why you are not hearing a significant improvement. I hope the sound continues to improve for you!
Funny huh! I’ve listened to kef ls60 a while back and when I arrived home did the same playlist again on my Atom HE + Nap 200 and SBLs and thought that it wasn’t worse at all. The Nap 200 is due for service and when that’s done I’m pretty sure it’s a clear cut again.
Wonderful loudspeakers those SBLs, even if paired with cheap old amps.
The 92/90 may not be regarded as Naim’s finest amp, but with a Flatcap and a quality source I would expect it to outclass an Atom quite comfortably. That assumes that it’s in optimum condition and properly set up, of course, so the Atom probably has an advantage there.
SBLs are capable and revealing speakers, and to my mind they deserve a good source and amp. While you could get your old Naim amp serviced, now might be time to consider moving it on. A better vintage Naim amp such as a 72 or 82 with a 250 would really bring your SBLs to life.
Agree completely. Though I always thought the 92/90/FC to be a truly superb value for money trio. With the right speakers, it made a unbeatably fun combo.
It’s a real shame the Uniti range cannibalised the entry level pre and power amp sales. I always felt they were Naims strength even more than the higher end stuff.
And I say that as a Uniti owner.
On the other hand, it is very unlikely that I would have become a Naim owner unless the Uniti range existed.
I still have mine too.
I just took delivery of nap100 from my naim dealer. Brand new, In the stockroom since 2014. With the HE is is sparkling if not stunning. I am predicting a new 272 uniti like device with upgrade path and similar amps, it will bring people up from uniti to separates. Makes too much sense.
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