I had Chord make me a DIN to XLR cable so I could connect my Atom HE to a NAP 250 DR. It sounds great.
I was using my HE primarily for headphones but since I tried the Atom HE/250 combo, that’s all I listen to.
I’m so pleased with this two box system, I’m going to sell my 500 system.
I can vouch for the Atom HE as a streamer/DAC. It’s also a great headphone amp.
You could replace your SN3 with a 250 DR. You’ll have a better amp.
Im in a similar situation. Ive used Atom HE for headphones only so far. In the loft Focal Aria 906 K2 are run by Melco-Dac- SN3. I wonder if I should run the Arias with HE, poweramp instead, and sell SN3. That said, I find 250DR a bit over the top in my case and are looking for alternatives right now.
First of all, it’s far more user friendly than my big system. The digital volume control has more granularity, it’s safer because you can set max volume, I can control all of it from my iMac, the remote does everything and is backlit. It doesn’t require line-of-sight operation.
It’s far more forgiving than my big system. I can put together a huge playlist with Roon and with my big system I’m constantly skipping tracks or changing volume. With the Atom HE I just sit down and enjoy the music and almost never have to do anything. I find myself singing out loud and beating time with the music.
I have no idea how bass would perform on bigger speakers because I’m not into bass. The NAP 250 DR should be capable of good bass reproduction.
I have Harbeth 30.2’s in a small apartment. I never play very loud and I almost never listen to music recommended by Tidal.
I’ve tried fronting the Atom HE from my ND555 by connecting it with a pair of RCA’s. If there is any difference, it isn’t much. Of course it may be masked because the HE converts analog to digital and then back again.
I don’t believe in free lunches so in a different space, different speakers and with different music my 2-box system might be a big disappointment. For me in my space, with my speakers and at my age and tastes it is extremely satisfying to me.
I don’t need the money so I don’t need to sell the big system. It was just a matter of that expensive resource sitting there unused.
The cost of the HE, a used 250 DR and a Chord cable was less than $10K. The Ansuz D2 DIN/DIN cable I use to connect the ND555 to the NAC 552 cost more than I’ve spent on the 2-box system.
I am keeping some expensive Ansuz ethernet cables and an Ansuz Power Switch along with Ansuz power components. So others may not experience what I’ve experienced.
Not sure if my Naim HE just died. I was listening to music thru roon and it suddenly stopped. The Naim HE screen was black and the remote and front buttons didn’t respond. I tired unplugging for 2 minutes and nothing happens when plugged back in. Holding power button and play/ input do nothing. Naim app can’t find it either.
Any suggestions? Was going to leave it unplugged for a while. Nothing else in house had issues and tested outlet and still has power.
How do you open to change fuse? New power cord didn’t work.
In my search I saw you posted in the past to never change fuse yourself. Is that the policy of Naim. If fuse blows under warranty to send back to dealer? If it’s something I can do, I’d rather not send back and waist the time.
Never try to change for an “uprated” fuse. However, changing like for like is fine. Always ensure it is EXACTLY the same - same type, same rating. Even same make is a good idea for many items (XPS2).
The fuse holder is next to the IEC inlet on the back of the Atom.
Yeah I let them know I got it working and asked about spare fuses. I’m assuming they’re closed for the Holidays. Bought it thru Moon Audio and they seem to be a well known and reliable dealer in the US for a lot of brands. There are no local Naim dealers in San Diego. Closest ones are in LA.