Hello everybody, brand new Naim user here joining the club! So far, even without any burn in, the unit sounds fantastic with he HPs I’ve thrown at it. Playing songs from Tidal either using the ethernet connection, Bluetooth or an external DAC yields excellent results. However I’ve ran to this problem where I get massive amounts of unwanted noise (hiss and rattle) when connecting the unit straight to my PC using a SPDIF cable. The unwanted noise is at least twice as loud than any other audio that is played. Connecting the PC to another DAC using the same SPDIF cable and then connecting that DAC to the atom HE gets rid of the unwanted noise. Anyone here got any experience with something like this? Might there be some fault with the unit?
Hi, congratulations on your purchase of the Atom HE. I have one as well and I love it! It’s a pity you run into this problem, which I do not recognise. But I only use a CD drive connected to this input which works flawlessly. Are you sure the cable you use is okay? Although with a grounding issue you would expect a hum and not a distorted signal. That sounds more like a surround signal is sent from the PC rather than a stereo signal. Have you also checked the sample rate of the signal to be 44.1, 48 or 96Khz?
Thanks for suggesting checking the sample rates. It’s something that had completely flew over my head and apparently ended up being the culprit of the noise “issue”. The sample rate for the digital output of my PC was set at 192 kHz, lowering it eliminated all the unwanted noise. Thanks again! What a relief
I would advise to set your PC output to 44.1Khz assuming that most of your files are standard cd format. Having your pc upsample the output to say 96Khz will likely degrade the sound quality.
I recently got a Uniti HE and I found the transformer hum when it was on really annoying, to the point I couldn’t live with it. My dealer thankfully was ok to swap it out with another new one he had in stock and that is silent when on. So it does seem to be a lottery whether you have this issue or not. Also tried a DC blocker on the first one, which made no difference at all.
Hi everyone,
First post from me…
I’ve had my unity atom HE for about 12 months and also bought the Focal clear mgs at the same time. So, excellent combination that I’ve been really happy with. I’ve managed to also collect a few different balanced cables.
Recently curiosity got the better of me regarding planar magnetic headphones and I bought the Audeze LCD3F and have been burning them in for about 100 hours now. There was considerable improvement in bass response after about 24 hours however it hasn’t really improved much since. I was expecting deep, textured bass as per the multiple reviews I read before going ahead. Comparing them with the Clear Mgs at my best estimate of same volume is that the bass response is a bit disappointing with the LCD3Fs.
I know they are double the impedance and slightly lower in sensitivity but I’m starting to think the Atom HE is lacking enough gain to bring out their best.
Does anyone else have experience with these two HPs and the Atom HE?
I don’t have experience with that planar but the bass response is excellent with the ZMF Caldera. And on harder to drive Expanse, it also had good impact. Actually powered the Expanse better than a lot of other solid state amps.
Could it possible be the Focal just has better bass? Some planars have excellent bass control but lack impact compared with Focal.
I think you’re probably right, Since my post I’ve compared both using one of my portable daps, the AK Cube using the three gain levels. Both HPs bass increases significantly with increased gain, however the Focals consistently provide better base response at each level using appropriately the same volume level for comparison.
I’m a little disappointed with the Audeze about this, however they do have a very nice sound right across the frequency range and well worth hanging onto in my mind.
I read the entire thread and it seems that general conclusion is that Atom HE is not as good as 272, however is it better than preamp of XS3, Supernait 3 or Nova?
Hi everyone, I have a Michi x3 with a B&W 805 d2, I listen to music on Qobuz and I did it through bluesound, now I upgraded to a Unit atom hd and I’m delighted with the improvement.
I have it connected to the Michi x3 rotel through transparent XLR.
What do you think about the combination ?
Thank you so much
It doesn’t make sense to compare the HE as a preamp. It’s a streamer/dac/preamp and once you compare one of these features it will often be ‘worse’ than the thing it is compared to. I bet that if you compare the HE to the 272 streaming Qobuz, the HE is all the way better. If you compare the HE to the 272 using an analogue source, I bet the 272 is better.
I like the HE, I like the xs3, I like the SuperNait.
I don’t know the Rotel, but I like your loudspeakers - they are in my list to try at some time in my house. I would be tempted to try a nap 250 dr for not too much money. The 805 like juice.
The HE has a different preamp design which may improve its sound quality compared to the regular Atom, but I haven’t compared them. The streaming board and digital inputs are the same.
First of all i really enjoy reading all of your posts. It is informative to see how different people see the hifi way! I sold my system, Cambridge audio Azur 840w, 851n, Focal jmlab cobalt, to move to a smaller bookshelf system the Naim Uniti Atom HE. I have done the ‘‘break in’’ for almost 2 weeks, letting it play all day. I have also powered it with Bis Audio AC-20 power cable. I have all my hires music files on a Samsung SSD drive connected on the back USB. I am using the Naim app ‘‘Server’’ to browse through my albums. I also listen to Spotify waiting for them to offer hires content for 2023 hopefuly. I use my studio Audio Technica ATH-M50 headphones for now, but i am planning on Focal headphones really soon. I have listen to the Clear MG (2000can$) at my HIFI store, and i am still wondering about the Stellia wich are 4000can$. I find myself rediscovering all my albums. This Naim Uniti Atom HE is above my expectation. It is simply awesome. I dont know if i will add a power amp and bookshelf speaker to it yet or powered speakers. Reading you guys makes me wonder how good it would be !!!
Whilst the Stellia are a fantastic headphone (and recently cleared out at bargain basement prices in Australia by the ex-distributor) they’re probably not the best pairing to the Uniti Atom.
They’re easy to drive. They’re closed back. The soundstage is somewhat claustrophobic. And as the Naim HE isn’t an airy, fairy DAC/AMP the synergy may not be there. The Stelia whilst it scales also doesn’t need a desktop amp to show its best. Yes, the Stelia is a step up from the Clear Mg but be careful going to a closed back headphone. It is not for everybody.
I put the Stelia back down. And they were being cleared at $1150US.
I also recommend auditioning the Clear and the Clear Mg to see which you prefer.
So far, even without any burn in, the unit sounds fantastic with he HPs I’ve thrown at it. Playing songs from Tidal either using the ethernet connection, Bluetooth or an external DAC yields excellent results. However I’ve ran to this problem where I get massive amounts of unwanted noise (hiss and rattle) when connecting the unit straight to my PC using a SPDIF cable. The unwanted noise is at least twice as loud than any other audio that is played. Connecting the PC to another DAC using the same SPDIF cable and then connecting that DAC to the atom HE gets rid of the unwanted noise. Anyone here got any experience with something like this? Might there be some fault with the unit? 
What a relief 
