There is no DIN output on an Atom.
And remember, that balanced output is first and foremost for headphones!
Plenty of XLR to DIN cables around…
Personally I think it is a smart design decision NOT to include DIN outputs on the Atom. Those who buy an Atom are very unlikely to add a NAP to it (like I had for some time). Those who want to go ‘hard core’ Naim, will probably shop in the classic series. Anyhow, I think it is great that the Uniti series (including Atom HE) have the possibiliy to add a separate power amp. I use a regular Atom as a streaming preamp and it works brilliantly. I can only imagine how good an Atom HE would serve that purpose.
Well, I would think you would need a 2 RCA to (Naim’s idiosyncratic stereo) XLR to run a 250 amp; the balanced outputs would be irrelevant. Anyway, if anyone knows of a source for a suitable cable, please let us know. Hard to find here in the US.
The missing point here is that, unlike the original Atom, you can’t use the HE with speakers at all without an amp! It seems like an indulgent luxury to buy one just for headphones. I happen to have a currently unused 250 in the house, and would like to try it out. In my opinion, it makes a lot more sense to add a Naim amp to the Atom HE than it does to a Nova, which at least has its own power amp.
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The Atom HE is pretty much the Naim version of what I just bought a few months back for the office: the Matrix Audio MIni-i Pro 3 (at 1/3rd the price). I run the Matrix into a NAP 110 and Ls50’s. It also has both 6.3 unbalanced and 4.4 balanced headphone connections, and the 4.4 sounds very good (better than the unbalanced 6.3 for sure). It sure would be good to get an HE in and compare to the Matrix, as well as my V1/opticalRendu/160BD in the living room (imo the headphone out on the V1 sounds very good with my Beyerdynamic Amirons).
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I’m sure Blue Jeans will be happy to make you up anything you need.
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Well i’ve taken the plunge and ordered the Atom HE, so all my questions will be answered.
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@Naim.Marketing Now that Apple has officially announced that Apple Music will be going lossless up to 24bit/192KHz, would there be any plans to fully integrate Apple Music on the Atom HE the same way Tidal and Qobuz are integrated?
I appreciate AirPlay 2 is built-in the Atom HE, but AirPlay is capped at 16bit/44.1KHz so the end-user wouldn’t be able to enjoy full Hi-Res lossless.
It doesn’t. What I said was that the absence of a matching power amp narrows choices.
That’s down to Apple. At the moment, they’re not that open to integration. Ditto AirPlay 2 - at the moment, its Apple that restrict it to 16/44 - we’re ready to offer more should they change.
Thanks, I have sent an email inquiry to Blue Jeans.
By the way, my opinion on the DIN output is shared by others. Here is a quote from the Signals website:
“As a streamer / pre-amp with analogue inputs, it’s ideal for use with third party power amplifiers and active loudspeakers. Curiously, there is no DIN output for Naim power amps but it’s easy enough to come up with a suitable lead, so we’ve tried it with a NAP 250 DR. Let’s say that it sounded encouraging. We compared it in this role to a ‘straight’ Atom and the HE is a considerably cleaner, more colourful, focused and dynamic proposition. Here, we have a headphone product that could hold at least as much appeal for non-headphone users!”
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Here’s hoping Apple announce something at WWDC in June in that case. 
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Of course, if we saw a range of Focal Powered by Naim active speakers that could be an interesting proposition.
Of course there is a matching Naim power amp (in terms of styling and balanced connection at least…) NAP S1 anyone? 
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I’m hoping now someone does that and puts the photos on the System Pictures thread.
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There’s a nice video advert here:
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And a great review here:
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Few very good reviews coming out now
It’s probably not for me as I have tinnitus in the right ear and find it difficult listening on headphones
But one can see the marketing here
Good for focal headphones and if you wish for speakers also, focal active speakers should one not want another box
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I don’t think its headphone driving credentials will fall short in this round of initial reviews and inevitably if Naim are doing their job properly they’ll be shipping out a box of Focal headphones with the HE for good measure and brand awareness purposes.
I’m hoping to see reviews that also consider the preamp capabilities as this is a feature many will be looking to exploit either with existing kit or new pairings.
There will be those who only ever use it with headphones and enjoy it as a complete package but for the market seeking a wider range of use cases where speaker listening plays an important part in the purchase decision, insight in to system matching plays a critical role. I would hope that Focal bundles will follow down the line either headphones, active speakers or both. I’m leaning towards a mix of PMC active and Sennheiser.
Endless opportunities but ultimately
“Focal powered by Naim”
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Nothing new/specific to HE though, Focal have an existing range of active nearfield monitors aimed at the professional studio/production market. The issue being a lot of these nearfield speakers don’t lean well towards domestic settings or general purpose listening duties. It might be nice to see a little clearer synergy between brands within the family, it’s more a case of “ohh, btw, did you know we make headphones and speakers too?” I’d still pick the PMC’s 