In a quandary

@Hungry Halibut exactly what I’ve found. Tight and fast vs lugubrious. Should probably upgraded the olive 180 for a 250 then added the streaming box for convenience. I shall report back thx

Still not sure what that means…

Fair enough :+1:

1 Like

Echo what HH says. I had a Uniti which was nothing special. Traded it for an Atom HE which I use as a preamp with a pair of 135s. Great sound now, and only three boxes. In fact, the power amps are on a low shelf so I only see the Atom, which is a v elegant little box.

4 Likes

In my experience, as long as you have a half decent source you can go all the way with speakers to the best you can afford, as long as your amp is able to manage them adequately. After that improving the amp makes the system sing better, and finally the source maximises the effect. The other way round and the sound is always inhibited by the speakers.

Clearly you’re a “source first” adherent so we will have to agree to disagree, but regardless, as I said in my last post it is self-evidently a lowering of amp capability that has caused the OP’s problem in this case, not getting speakers that are too good, and upping the source would not solve the current problem.

As for room, that is another subject, and presumably not an issue in this case as the OP was happy.

1 Like

There is no world where that is an upgrade.

None of the options you put on the table, amplifier-wise, beat an 82/HC/180. Even adding a 250 to any of the other options won’t change the fact that the 82/HC is a supremely capable preamp. All the options are a downgrade.

So I guess the question is, can you find a one box solution that, if not as good, at least doesn’t irritate you and therefore, sound quality aside, may give you the increased level of enjoyment you are after. Personally, I might feel a suitable compromise is a serviced (new screen) NDX with a SuperNait 2/3.

You might find this thread relevant here: Can a one box set-up compete with a multi box system - #45 by garcon

2 Likes

Nice! Only the control unit is noticeable. I’m hoping to control all from the Naim App and have the kit in another room.
I only have an NDS (plus power supply) and an SN2, and it sounds very good. But I will eventually pick up a pre-owned Nova to test against it, as I would rather have a very simple system as HH did. We’ll see …

Not to prolong the debate but the OP in effect put speakers first & now he’s looking to rectify that decision unless I’m misreading his opening post. I trust he finds a suitable solution soon.

The Atom HE is lovely, and far nicer looking than the Nova. The only issue with adding a 250 or your 135s is having to either leave them on all the time, or switch them off manually. I’m keen to save energy and the way the Nova goes into standby is ideal for me.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing of course. It sounds as though this thread has been useful and I’m sure you’ll find something that works for you.

One thing I found about the Nova is that it’s very speaker dependent. I previously had ProAc Tablette 10 Sigs, which just didn’t work with the Nova but were great with a Supernait. I can understand why you want to stick with your speakers so it will be a case of finding something that works with them. Try a Nova, but I suspect a 82/250 and good streamer may be where you end up. There are some fantastic Olive bargains to be had.

Boy answering your question directly - I started my main system amplification as 102/180. Later added a hicap then supercap and went 52/250. That’s just background

Years later in my second system I had supernait 3 and ndx. I got rid (to help fund the main system) and went through an atom and then a nova but am now back with an ndx, 282, hc and 250dr with which I am much happier. This is into a pair of nSats.

The atom and nova never did it for me - the 282/250 instead of supernait 3 again was because I fancied something different and I already had a “spare” hicap.

If you got a 272 cheap enough there wouldn’t be much value to lose later on if / when you improve from there. My ndx is the weak link and will be the first thing I upgrade

@HungryHalibut, agree with the comment on aesthetics of the Atom. If I go down that road and add an olive 250 I guess I’ll need a specialist lead as there a x2 XLR outputs from Atom HE and only one input on olive 250. Naca 5 cable in the loft on standby

Indeed, why not… :expressionless:

You have a very fine combo, in your 82/HC/180. You could re-create it - with maybe a 250…

That… is exactly what I have - and have had since… 2014… :slightly_smiling_face:

Yes, it was a good combo. I was looking for the one box solution hence the change. The streaming of my flac files from my Nas drive and CDs in the loft was pleasing to the other half. So maybe a mix and match with the superuniti just feeding the flac files and radio to an input on th 82 is worth exploring.

The thing is that, globally, there are probably thousands of happy SuperUniti owners out there whom we never hear from.

What about some different speakers to make a better match with your existing SU?

The lead supplied with a 250 could be re-terminated with 2 RCAs at the preamp end for the Atom, or you could get such a cable made easily enough.
The 250 XLR input is unbalanced, so you shouldn’t use the balanced output on the Atom.

Not sure how you get that from this: “I Used to own a Naim Nac82 / Nap180 with hi-cap and really liked the sound playing through Pro-Ac studio floorstanders. The bass went deep and was dry and punchy…

OP downgraded to a superuniti for convenience and now finds the speakers expose a weakness in the ‘new’ source so he’s going to spend money to rectify as far as I can see. Ideally a balanced system is best of course but if a system is unbalanced the balance better favour the source components. Seems simple enough? You’ve probably argued over this many times so I accept you won’t be agreeing with me. That’s fine. I was simply chipping in with a personal view which has served me well but have no axe to grind. Just let the music play.

1 Like

Downgrading exposed the limitation of the chosen new amp! By your logic one should never have speakers that require a good amp to control, no matter how good the front end, lest there is a future decision to downsize the amp!
If the OP hadn’t had the system he had, including thise speakers, he wouldn’t have enjoyed the sound he had before the downsize. The choice now is downgrade the speakers as well and learn to accept the reduced system, or upgrade the amp and go back to previous pleasure (or better).
Anyway, that is how I see it… :slightly_smiling_face:

You keep supporting my point really so it’s back to the music for me with hope that the OP quickly finds the solution he needs :+1: