I am currently using a Uniti atom HE as a preamp/streamer/dac via XLR out for my Aune s17 pro evo headphone amp.
The HE does not have a fixed volume setting so I have considered replacing the HE with the ND 5 XS2. Is there much difference in terms of dac, and sound quality in general, will I get value for money if I get the ND 5 XS2?
I mainly stream flacs from my Qnap.
Reason why i’m using Aune is that i have DCA E3 headphones and HE drives them though, but not giving with full potential from E3.
So, now i have two volumes at signalpath, I’m not very fond of the idea.
Your theory makes sense in that the ND5XS2 has a fixed line out and no redundant features. The Atom, at a slightly lower price, includes a headphone/preamp, a colour screen, remote control etc.
I’ve never done a side by side comparison, but having heard both, I’d expect the ND5XS2 to be a better performer. Only one way for you to find out, though.
@ChrisSU I am not sure it is that simple. Unless I am reading things wrong, if the OP uses the ND5XS2 as the streamer, then how will they disable the streaming that is part of the Atom HE. I looked at this early on with my dealer and we could not figure out how. Any thoughts?
I have both the ND5 XS2 and the Atom HE. The ND5 XS2 is currently driving the Naim Nait 50. I use DCA Stealth headphones and both systems drive them well. My honest answer is that I doubt if you would be able to hear any difference between the two systems. (I’m also not sure what you are imagining the benefit to be from using the Aune.) The Atom HE is probably the best value for money in the world of Naim by quite a margin, but there is no room for fiddling around with external DACs etc.
I can understand the desire to unload the additional volume control, but in your position, I would think through the full system options you want before making a decision; do you use, or are likely to want, external speakers for example?
You could connect the ND5XS2 to either a digital or analogue input on the Atom, but as I understand it, the OP just wants a streamer/DAC to connect to a separate headphone amp and doesn’t want a redundant preamp in the chain.
There is pretty big difference in soundquality between HE only and HE+Aune doing amplification. HE is superb headphone amp also but it can’t handle DCA E3 all the way, i have noticed
Aune gives more air, dynamics and overall control vs HE alone. And bigger soundstage with better three dimensionality. There’s little more “flesh over bones” with Aune. Overall; more lifelike.
I can live with HE only, but with Aune+HE heaven is pretty close.
I have the same question although mine would be for ND5 XS2 or NDX2 to replace Atom HE feeding a SN2. My main query is if any ND5 XS2 audio improvement is really worth losing the screen, physical and remote controls of the Atom HE? I don’t like the idea of only having app control.
Regards the NDX2, the screen and controls are a bonus but even bought used it’s still a significant outlay that I’m not sure I can be comfortable with for a 7 year-old discontinued digital product.
I ended up to sell my HE. I prefer compact discs so i bought Rega Saturn mk3, it has dac inputs also for a streamer. And it sounds very, very musical.
So that was my life with Naim, it’s over now. HE was fantastic, too bad it had my needs lack of power and no fixed output.
The natural partner to the SN2 is the NDX2, which gives you the screen and remote. It’s still fully supported and can be found for a decent price. As an alternative you could sell the SN2 and get a power amp such as a 200 or 250. It partly depends on whether you need more inputs than the HE provides. You would also need to buy the appropriate interconnect cables.
Well I guess any digital product can become redundant so in that respect it would be best to procure a separate renderer and DAC. That said I have the NDX2 and if there’s a better player out there, well of course there no doubt is! But I’m yet to hear it!
I’m going to keep my eyes open for an NDX2, it’s just here in Spain you don’t get many opportunities so always looking abroad. It’s nothing like the UK market, demand is so much less that you can still buy new products like SN3 and NDX2 long after they’re discontinued but the prices remain at €4800 & €7000 respectively… An ex-dem NDX2 can be had for around €5300 currently. NAIT 50 is even still available but no hint of a price drop from €3k…
NAIT 50 with Atom HE did have me thinking though, as one of the things that put me off the 50 is the lack of remote. Being able to just set it and use the Atom HE remote to control volume is a way around that. Seems a cool combination of retro and modern in a small two box footprint, not sure if anyone has combined them to good effect though.
If you want better sound quality than the Atom HE, then an ND5 XS2 or NDX2 is what you should be aiming for. If a remote and a screen is really important to you then stay with the Atom HE and add a stereo amplifier to it. Just be aware that your source can never be upgraded until the Atom HE is replaced. That’s the problem with a product such as the Atom HE and 222. I’ve personally rarely used Naim remotes even when I have them and the screens on their streamers have been useless to me from across the room.
