The Atom HE is a fantastic unit. I loved mine except the loud hum from the trafo.
No hum at all in my case, luckily, but I use an Audioquest Niagara 1200 in front of it. I don’t recall having a hum before adding the Niagara though.
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FWIW – I was speaking with a friend yesterday who traded in his Uniti Atom HE for a NSC222 and he stated that the headphone section was an upgrade as well as the PreAmp.
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The main reason for adding the Classé is that it crossed my path. A dear friend owned it, but he passed away some time ago. I sold off his equipment for his wife and decided to try the Classé preamp in my setup. That worked out very well. The main difference with the Atom HE is that the Classé is able to convey energy even better and the increased clarity which makes music instruments like piano sound more natural.
I could have perfectly continue to live with the HE and still do using it as a streamer and headphone amp. The Classé improved the sound of my setup playing through the speakers and it is great to own a device that was so much loved by its previous owner.
The Classé in its original environment;
And in her in its current habitat;
BR,
Richard
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As far as I know it’s the exact same headphone section. So it’s going to be the changes to the dac and power supply that make the difference. I’d still be curious of the comparison of the balanced out headphone of the HE to the single end of the 222. I have no doubt comparing single ended to single would be a win for the 222. As I said before, I don’t have the money but it would have been more compelling if they at least added the 4.4mm connection but maybe in the end, it doesn’t matter and 222 is just superior in every way. And one would hope so at that price difference.
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Thanks Richard for your explications. It’s very helpful and I can relate to that.Very beautiful photos. Thank you and enjoy.
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The headphone socket on the new 222 is better than on the atom HE according to Naim.
Had a listen to the 222 this evening - nice product and a glimpse into what we can expect as they work their way through the new range.
Gary
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That can also be household related.
Some transformers react to certain frequencies in the circuit.
Mine had also a loud hum and my dealer gave me another unit, dead quiet.
If it’s annoying I’d talk to your dealer.
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Except…the HDMI ARC port on all Uniti products doesn’t work with any modern TV’s except for Samsung since software update 1.3, so there’s that little bit of info that might be important in considering.
I have replaced it with a NDX 2 which is completely silent, uses the same power outlet. Also have a Nova which is dead quiet.
I meant that the transformer winding can react differently to different household circuits.
In your case the HE transformer “reacts”. As others don’t I would talk to the dealer.
I have had many naim units and just my 555ps is humming from time to time but very resonable compared to the HE that I had and immediately returned. With the HE it is especially annoying as some are having it close to their listening position.
I also returned my Atom HE. At the moment I have an XPS DR that supplies the NDX 2 with power. It also dead quiet. Unfortunately it seems to be a lottery whether the Naim transformers hum or not.
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In fact, to my ears they were very, very, very similar. I’ve posted my own impressions, also overall between the two in the “To 222 or not 222?” thread.
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Thanks. I did catch your impressions in the other thread. Thanks for chiming in here.
And for me, the ZMF Caldera with ZMF Verite Silver cable just sounds so wonderful out of the Naim. HE. It’s just an emotional experience. This is my end game system.
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Big decision. Because I rarely listen via speakers I have moved to Atom HE and Focal Stellia’s. Fantastic straight out of the box(es) and they’ve not run in yet!
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Question to the round. What would generally be considered a better match for an open back? Utopia 20 or 22 / ZMF Caldera / ZMF Verite open / Meze Elite? Curious about the consensus as I am looking to replace my Empyrean
Question to the Atom HE users: can you switch to headphone listening and back from the remote? I can’t find it. For sure there is no dedicated button on the remote to do so, but maybe it is available as a hidden feature. e.g. holding a button longer or alternatively from the app…
Thanks!
Richard
Believe the answer is no. Have to use the button on front of the unit or unplug headphones from the front.
Thanks. Forgot to mention I use the balanced output on the back.
So the only difference using the back is it won’t change setting automatically if unplugged. But nonetheless, you’ll need to use the button in the front. I don’t see anything in the remote or within the app to change headphones to preamp without getting up and pressing the button.
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