I am considering an upgrade from my Unity Atom HE, which is driving a pair of Focal Stellia headphones. My source is an Audio Research CD9SE. I have not been able to beat the sound of the CD connected to the Atom using SPDIF with any type of streaming. I borrowed an NSC222 from a local dealer and found that it was significantly better as a headphone amp, but the DAC in the CD9SE was better than the one in the Naim. My question: does anyone have insight into whether a NAC332 would sound better again as a headphone amp only? Other ideas and suggestions are welcome, especially on how to gain parity between streaming and the CD source. Thanks in advance for any insight.
@KevinWilson My understanding is that the 332 uses the same headphone amp as the Atom HE. It however goes not have the input flexibility of the HE in that it only has a 1/4 inch input jack. The 332 is a superb preamp. I have my 333 streamer and my Luxman CDP CONNECTED. I also have a NVCTT and Regs P10 connected. Everything benefits. One of the nice things about the 332 is that if you connect headphones, the speakers will automatically be muted.
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Hi Kevin,
I’m a frequent headphone user (Grado PS1000 & Denon AH-D9200)
I have the NAC332 and a Chord TT2 in my main system, an Atom HE and Nait 50 in a second system.
The Nait 50 is used with an ND5 XS2 and NDAC.
I’ve found that the headphone amplifier in both the NAC332 & Nait 50 to be acceptable, but nothing to shout about.
The Chord TT2 is not only a superb DAC but also a very capable headphone amplifier.
The Atom HE is a recent purchase as part of a recent trade in promotion. I find the Atom HE to be a great product and really like its headphone amplifier performance. It’s interesting that you find the NSC222 significantly better performing.
if you are primarily a headphone user a Chord TT2 with a separate streamer might give you the performance to match or better the CD player, which could also be connected to the TT2.
Regards,
HBTN
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I am unclear on the OP question.
Are you mainly streaming to speakers and just wanting to know if the NSC332 has a decent headphone amp compared to the HE, or mainly a headphone user looking primarily at headphone performance?
If the former I am not sure @Jaybar is correct. I have no direct experience but I believe I have read on the Forum that the Atom HE and 332 do not use the same headphone amp sections, or at least don’t sound the same. It does seem to be for debate anyway. I have done a bit of a search without success so far, but you may have more joy. Ultimately only your ears will tell you, but you could email Naim and ask.
If you want to build primarily a headphone system I would look at dedicated headphone amps. A lot cheaper than the NSC 332 if you aren’t accessing its other functionality and you can definitely beat the HE performance, good though it is, for sensible money. I use a Trilogy 933 which is now discontinued but there are lots and lots of other options.
Bruce
Thanks, Bruce. This is really helpful. I am primarily focused on headphone listening, so I like the idea of going with a dedicated headphone amp. I did read that the headphone amp in the 332 is very similar but other components - power supply, volume control, etc. are much better. There was a significant difference between the HE and the 222 in my experience.
Thanks, HBTN. I had a TT2 several years ago - I had not thought about testing this again. My assumption was that the HE was equivalent or better, but I’ll give it another try.
Thanks, Jaybar - really appreciate it. How does your 333 compare to your Luxman CD player?
If headphone listening is your thing then you need to be thinking of a dedicated HPA. And, consider the HPA and cans as a pair. My only experience of naums HPA is the one in my nait 50 and that is not great. Or it wasnt with Sennheiser HD600s, a can that was never that easy to drive (300ohm?).
Many will say a dedicated HPA is not necessary and that cans are easy to drive and require little real power. Or perhaps I have been spoiled with first a Violectric HPA281 and now a Mcintosh MPA200 - both great HPAs albeit at significant cost.
Something to whet your appetite….
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Definitely. The Stellia is a very detailed and dynamic headphone, in fact a bit too much for my tastes. You really would be best auditioning it with the HPA of your choosing. I can imagine some may not be good pairings, independent of bring able to drive them effectively.
Bruce
If you want a fantastic HP amplifier at a reasonable price, take a look at the SPL Phonitor SE. I bought the version with DAC incorporated second hand for €1600. They are around €2000 new
It is a civilian version of HP amps born for studio use. I drive both my Sennheiser HD800S and Heddphone 2GT with this amplifier. The Crossfeed function is useful for some albums with strong stereo effects.
Thanks, Nigel. Very Nice!
You have good headphones being fed a great source so a quality headphone amp is a must. Seeing you run quality American valve gear my suggestion would be the Manley Neo-Classic 300B that I have used for many years. Built like a tank and offering a liquid, three-dimensional sound that still is muscular and clear. Responds very, very well to upgraded valves so you can adjust the sound to your liking.