But the Forests nominal impedance is 8 Ohms, and that changes things a lot in the face of Naim, which, as you know, @Mike_S, doesn’t end up comfortable with low impedances.
Cheers.
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Ah, I missed that. I can hardly get my SN2 warm driving them in a large room. The Nova gets nice and toasty.
As pointed out, in your configuration the Nova probably may be Ok, if the room is not too big or, above all, too high, and as long as you do not require a high volume with complex and dynamic compositions; with acoustics, camera, light pop and such, well, with EDM, symphonic, reggae and such …, mmmmmmh…, parties, few… And having clear you stop using a lot of speaker…
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The Atom is a lovely all-in-one, but the Nova is a far better product as befits the price - my dealer was going to replace my early Atom which developed a fault, but had just had the Nova in and I was keen to hear that - I thought the Atom was good but the Nova had far better control of the music and much better detail.
As I has some old Naim kit in storage, as soon as I found the NAP 250 I tried that with the Nova and it gave a nice boost, and I’m currently using the Nova as a source in an active system which is a bit odd perhaps but actually works well.
The problem of course is that the Nova’s power section is not being utilised.
I suspect the Nova would work pretty well with your speakers to be honest, and I’d urge you to try to get a home demo with a Nova and your Dynaudios. If it works to your satisfaction, job done.
I would however consider also comparing with either an ND5 XS 2/Supernait 3 or perhaps a NAC-N 272 (maybe ex-demo?) with a separate power amp.
If your intention is to keep box count to an absolute minimum, then I suspect it’ll be Nova or non-Naim product. If however a couple of boxes, and potential to upgrade as needed would be desirable the other options give you a lot of flexibility without doing what I’ve done using the Nova as a source (admittedly very good) and not really using its power section.
Nova have biggee power supply? Are you shure?
What about Atom+ Nap 100 or Nap 200? Is it solution?
If by power supply Analogmusic meant the transformer, then definitely, see these pics from the Naim site.
Roughly to scale, the Nova is approx. twice the width of the Atom.
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Of the two you’re asking about, the Nova by far would be the better match.
You can buy a cheap “300 watt per channel” amp which wouldn’t even hold a candle to the Atom, so don’t get too carried away with quoted watts per sé.
However, if an all-in-one is your preferred option, then the Nova would be the far better choice.
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I have Dynaudio contour 30s and I drive them with a nova, and it does it effortlessly! My room is 12x24 and I sit 14 feet from my speakers. And my system sounds just incredibly couldn’t ask for more!
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Wow, lots of ideas and lots of help here! I really appreciate this, everyone.
sandman922, that is great to hear. Contour 30’s are the same impedance and sensitivity as the Evoke 50’s, although my Evokes do have an extra mid-range driver to move. But glad to hear the Novas drive them well. My room is a weird layout with 9 ft ceilings in parts, and floor to ceiling windows on two sides: 17 x 23ft.
I will try out the Novas and see what happens. The dealer has assured me I can try the Atom and then switch up to the Nova but I think going straight for the nova is the better play.
The other option he is suggesting is the NAD M10, which is Class D but pushes 100W into 8 ohms – that might give me more headroom, and has Dirac correction which is a benefit because it’s a troublesome room. But I think I will prefer the Naim sound overall, from what I’ve heard so far in the store.
It really doesn’t seem like there are any Naim options that are in a similar price range and significantly better. So other than finding a NAP 300DR used, not sure what options I have except to look at other brands. And I’m pretty sold on the all-in-one look; the Uniti series just look amazing.
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If you can afford nova, I would get that instead of atom and be done! It will take the what if question away. Then all you will have left to do is enjoy the music!! The atom may do a pretty good job, but if you really would like the nova, you won’t drive yourself crazy later. Lol
I know a lot of guys here always say you need more amp. But unless you listen at concert levels most of the time during normal listening you only use about 10 watts. And my nova will play loud enough that my ears will give in before it runs out of steam. It really is a great all in one solution!,
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Not sure if you’ve seen this, the NAD looks nice, but two things I take from the review are that:
The Naim didn’t need ‘the volume’ turned up as much, was warmer and had a more dynamic presentation, despite a lower ‘watt’ rating (no surprise on the last bit).
The DIRAC software was interesting and brought the NAD closer to the Atom’s performance according to the reviewer.
The NAD had better software platform support and more streaming service integrations - Android/iOS/macOS and Windows supported.
The reviewer liked the Atom’s Chromecast option.
A somewhat odd review to my mind balancing sound quality against form factor and the ability to be placed in an Ikea Kallax! I love Ikea Kallax and use them for LPs, hifi might be great in them too, I’ve not tried but struck me as a lifestyle review to a large extent.
I’ve watched that review about 3 times already 
My continual frustration with tech and music gear (including hi-fi) is that there is never a clear winner. The NAD has so many things going for it – the extra power (albeit Class D), the BluOS platform, MQA (if you don’t find that consideration heresy), and room correction (which I think is going to be a BIG issue in my room, although I haven’t moved in yet to confirm.)
The biggest drawbacks to my mind are no chromecast built-in (for Soundcloud, which I listen to constantly) and no home theatre bypass, making it really awkward to be used as part of an otherwise home theatre surround setup, where it amplifies the left and right fronts, but allows the AVR to do the volume control.
The Uniti series hits all of the important things except MQA, and it’s slightly less powerful, but who knows how they come up with those specified ratings figures.
I was concerned that the reviewer claimed the NAD M10 had “tighter bass”… low-end performance is pretty important to me.
Also it doesn’t have that gorgeous volume knob and brushed aluminum look. I think those two alone speak volumes about quality.
MQA is coming as a Firmware upgrade for the Naim range, as well as Quboz.
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Qobuz, yes. MQA…first I’ve heard of it.
I thought Naim had explained that adding MQA was just a Firmware update?
I think Steve said is that is what it would take, not that it was in the plans. Qobuz has been mentioned here by Naim as coming, no commitment to MQA that I have spotted.
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I think it would require an MQA compatible DAC, Roon can do the first unfold.
I have the NAD M10 and am pretty disappointed with it. The touchscreen is a very nice feature though. I purchased the M10 based on my enjoyment of some of NADs other Master series components, but the M10 really has been a let down. I ended up getting and Atom in another set up and even though the Atom is 40wpc vs the M10’s 100wpc I found the Atom much more powerful and convincing.
You can probably get a SN2 second hand for a pretty good deal.
I’m not sure where you are located but Upscale Audio has the discontinued 152/155XS combo for a little more than 2K. I paired this with the ND5 XS2 for streaming and am very pleased. Or you could add a Blusound Node 2i and then you’ll have BluOS and MQA.
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I did receive a reply from Dynaudio that can basically be paraphrased as “we don’t do amp recommendations because it really depends on room acoustics, preferences, personal taste etc” but he did imply the Atom would be underpowered and that their speakers like a lot of power. However when I sent him the measured specs of the Nova from a HiFi News magazine (measurements exceed stated specs, 2x96W into 8 ohms, 2x155W into 4 ohms, and under dynamic conditions up to 114W into 8, 190W into 4, 290W into 2, output protected beyond 165W/1 ohm or 12.8A), he admitted thats a much more capable setup, but still insisted I should try it with a few different options and see what my ears prefer. But he implied the risk of speaker damage shouldn’t be a concern with the Nova unless I really try to push it to insane levels.
By the way, is there any way to pay to get room correction with the Naim, or can I only do that in Roon? Because this room has two huge walls that are essentially floor to ceiling windows. Very reflective and not something I’ll be able to hang thick drapes from (it would truly ruin the aesthetics). That’s the main draw of the NAD M10.
You run the risk of over-thinking all this IMO. You have done the theory research, now you need to listen for yourself. Get yourself to the dealer’s dem room - or even better, get the units home to demo in-situ 
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