When you put it like that it would be strange if there wasn’t a Naim cable offering to allow connection to their power amps.
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Agree, I only asked because Steve said he had done it. Or had it done for him. For me the interesting thing is that the Atom HE is 2x XLR balanced out and the 250DR is, I think, unbalanced single XLR, hence my curiosity.
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It is callled Headphone Edition, it has a pre functionality as well, it is not a 272 but rather a product like violectric 281, SPL phonitor, DCS Bartok……
headphone focus first, I am getting it from the name and brands commitment to headphones
I am curious if it has some special Eq for various Focal headphones etc
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I don’t know if it has been said before but i feel that people may use this as a desktop / tabletop device when used primarly as a headphone amp/streamer. Therefore most interaction would be done on the device itself. I understand that a touch screen would be best but you could easily navigate the menu with the buttons and volume wheel on the unit. The problem is that the functionality of the uniti screens are very limited and i hope that a software update is in the pipeline to allow more useful interaction with the device. Naim should really take advantage of their rather nice screen and implement more useful features and reinforce the tactile pleasure of using this unit.
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If as is suggested the xlr output is industry standard balanced, using this to feed the unbalanced input of a Nap would not be ideal as the output voltage and impedance would be higher than the unbalanced output which the Nap is designed to accept.
It would be easy to make up the correct cables, and no doubt it would work, but whether this is the optimum connection is debatable.
Using the balanced xlr output into the balanced input of a suitable power amplifier or active speakers is an excellent option to have, love it.
Naim looking to a future product from Focal perhaps?
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The Atom HE has an unbalanced RCA preamp output too, so you don’t have to use the balanced output into an unbalanced input on an amplifier like NAP 250.
Best
David
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Indeed that’s what I would use, I was just puzzled by the inferred use of balanced outputs into a NAP.
They are stunners , much admired .
alan33 used the word ‘’ minimalist’’ around his Nova system and that applies equally about yours I think, but “minimalist” in box count does not mean “minimalist” in sound
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Yes, it may be in an Atom box but I think there is a helluva lot of trickle down technology from other products in this.
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There’s the NAP250 Pro with balanced inputs.
I guess if you’re designing a Headphone amp to drive headphones in balanced mode and you’re also going to provide a pre-out, it makes sense to also provide a balanced pre-out too.
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So if we focus on the " driving headphones", how is this done? 6.25mm TRS, 4 pin din or what?
You have a 4.4mm Pentaconn (balanced), 4 pin XLR (balanced), 6.35mm (¼ inch) jack (unbalanced) for the headphones.
This looks like a winner, headphones as far as I can make out are probably the only part of the hifi market actually growing in the past few years (pre-Covid) and places like head-fi are hives of activity.
The response from the more traditional listeners among you show the hunger there is for new products- a good sign for Naim.
It’s also nice to see Naim supplying the more affordable end of the market.
All good.
.sjb
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It does look good. If I didn’t already have a decent headphone setup then I’d be very tempted.
Thanks Richard - I found nps’s thread from last year. True bespoke option! I had no idea such a thing once existed. Steve must have one… 
Thanks Roog - Richard may have offered the interesting solution above. Unbalanced for me I guess…
Usually I don’t read streaming forum (even I have a SU & UQ) but a merged thread from hifi corner lead me to this.
I’m confused, is this Atom HE the successor to N272,? which later will come in as a Nova HE.
I am not asking Naim staff as I think I know their answer, but others may comment thanks.
I think it’s a good move, I use my Atom as a streamer/headphone amp only, it’s in our lounge room and runs into my AV setup. This makes much more sense than the ND5XS2 that I was thinking of replacing it with. Someone’s already mentioned it but I look at it as a V1 replacement which also happened to be pretty handy pre amp.
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They say not, I think the N272 was £3k+ this is the same price point as the Atom /ND5XS2
Given the delays caused by CV19 , I think this (if anything) is a replacement for the DACV1, the Headline which were canned in 2019
So I think the 272 replacement yet to arrive.
It’s a nice product, quite tempting as a headphone system and being wireless, can be set up anywhere in your home for headphone listening provided you can get power to it. It would be a good lifestyle system with active speakers and a great headphone amp for those already in the Naim eco-system. So, all round a winner I think.
I also think it reinforces my earlier prediction that the 272 replacement will be a Nova without the power amp and a matching range of Naim powered active Focal speakers.
Box reduction lifestyle products built around the streaming platform is Naim focus I think, with the classics for the audiophiles staying much as they are.
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