The Atom and the NAP200 were a worthwhile upgrade, but the biggest improvement in sound was adding the NAC202, I demoed the Atom used purely as a streamer into the the 202 and even the guy at AudioT was gobsmacked at the improvement. I purchased the 202 second hand and then went for the NDX2 when the funds allowed, which was a whole another improvement. The only issue you have by using the atom and the 202 is you have to separate volume controls which isn’t really a problem, I just set the atom and left it and used the 202 as the volume control. It was a remarkable improvement over the Atoms built in preamp. If you can audition the setup and definitely by used.
1 Like
No audition. I’ll just do it. Need to save first though. It’s good to hear that the pre makes such a difference. You’d think the power amp would be the bigger difference. What was the difference when adding the pre amp? Clarity? Dynamics? Space? Or just a bit of everything?
Yes, either way would be fine, and I agree that the preamp upgrade is the biggest step up - it certainly was for me. Hardly surprising when you consider the efforts Naim go to in keeping the preamp in a separate box with a decoupled power supply or three. Squeezing it into the same box as the rest of the system is obviously a big compromise.
1 Like
I agree you would have the 200 would have made the biggest difference, i think that’s why the guy at AudioT was so taken aback. It was a bit of everything in the SQ. You will need to budget for a cable from the Atom to the 202 as it’s a different din pin out than the cable from Atom to 200.
That’s great, cheers for the replies fellas. Much appreciated. I’m off to bed on this side of the world now. Have a good day.
1 Like
When I upgraded my system in to include a Nova, in mid 2019, I wanted headphones to listen in the evenings when my wife was watching TV. I guessed my early 1990’s Beyer’s (£35 at UK prices) may not cut it.
I am not a headphone fan & only use them when I have to. I therefore wanted a good, but not great pair, as I was only wanting to spend £100/150 or so.
My dealer helped me audition several pairs from £200 to £1,000 & I was surprised at the results. The only pair I thought were really good, & perhaps producing the sort of sound I was hoping for, were Grado 325’s at about £350. I did not want to pay this much & also found them to be uncomfortable to wear & have such a thick, heavy lead that I was afraid that if I fell asleep with them on I could have accidentally strangled myself!
Every other pair I tried sounded very similar to my near 30 year old Beyers, including a pair costing just over £1,000.
To cut a long story short I ended up with a pair of Sennheiser HD 599 SE from Amazon at £99 (current price). These are an Amazon only special in black. The standard Sennheiser HD 599 are brown & cost about £170.
In my opinion they were not worth the full price over my Beyers but most definitely were at the Amazon offer price. They are very comfortable, well made open back phones. They don’t leak much noise at all even when turned up a bit. They have improved with use & I would say sound 10% better than the Beyers.
The sound is, I would suggest (& factoring in the price), well balanced & pretty neutral to my ears. Sound is OK with my Android phone but they look a bit silly, being so much larger than the phone. Better to buy some reasonable quality ear buds I feel, especially when listening whilst gardening, car washing & speaker building! The only phones I tried which sounded noticeably better were the Grados.
You may well see it differently, but if you want to dip your toe in the headphone water without breaking the bank (& to see how you get on with phones), I think you could do a lot worse than these.
If you get on with them & want improved sound then you can look around at your own leisure. I know you say that trying alternatives is very difficult for you but, from my experience, this is essential to avoid buying expensive phones which both don’t sound as good as you had hoped & are not comfortable to wear for more than a few minutes.
My experience taught me never to buy expensive phones you have never heard unless you are able to return them for a full refund.
Hope this helps.
1 Like
Out of necessity I have to do a lot of (closed back) headphone listening. I’m pretty happy with my AKG K550’s which I bought about 5 years ago for around £200. Listening to YouTube via my Smartphone, with a Cyrus Soundkey DAC in between, they are more than decent.
1 Like
Thanks for the reply. Headphones are still on my radar. I am actually considering switching out my Atom for an Atom HE so that when I upgrade the main system, the Atom becomes free and can be used for headphone listening positioned next to a comfy chair. I think In this case, the focals seem to be a good choice. Every review of the pairing seems to say they sound great together. My dad has some grado’s. Not sure which one but he likes them a lot and doesn’t seem to feel the need to upgrade. I’ll ask him which ones he has. They are a bit more reasonably priced than the focal’s I’m looking at, and can’t afford right now.
1 Like
This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.