Thanks for the prompt reply. Totally understand. The Naim app appears inherently more stable than Roon and was hopeful of using it as a substitute as well as negating having to use a network transport solution as above.
Lifetime Roon subscriber. And hopefully Naim don’t ever charge a subscription for its excellent app,
I believe roon only recommends wired due to possible dropouts, not sound quality. I have my roon core wired but the Uniti HE is wireless and haven’t had a single dropout with roon no matter if hires 24/192 files are playing. With my previous streamer, I would get dropouts with hires unless wired in. I feel leaving it wireless removes any possible RFI noise from the router.
And as far as differences between roon and the Naim app with Qobuz, it’s the soundstage and slight tone that’s different. When I tried that mono Benny Goodman Live at Carnegie, roon was a little more spread out while Naim had it all very narrow focused. Which was right, I’m not sure but preferred roon in this case. But it’s all very subtle and roon app is just so much easier to use. I’m listening with Focal Utopia with Danacable Lazuli Reference, which is very revealing of its source.
I dunno the exact reason behind Roon’s recommendation. All I can comment on is what I experienced. I had a digital interference like noise in the silence between tracks. It was very audible. I posted the issue on the Roon forum. As part of tests I was doing in communication with a Roon agent I tried wiring the Core in. The noise went away. The agent commented to say that Ethernet is always recommended for Roon.
Based on the noise I was hearing, if this was always present in the music but drowned out in the presence of sound in the stream it could very well have caused a sound quality degradation.
So far from me saying this is a silver bullet solution to everything, all I would suggest to anyone having Roon SQ questions on the Atom HE (or any device for that matter) is to wire the Core in for a test. Patch cables are extremely cheap and relocating the Core and doing a test usually takes a few minutes depending on location and accessibility of devices. It should then be instantly clear if it is a solution or snake oil for that particular problem.
So just saying the core be wired but the HE can stay wireless?
I’ve always had the core wired since I’d have to go into the settings somewhere on the Intel Nuc just to figure how to enable it wirelessly. But I’m actually using a wireless extender and that has ethernet connections.
I actually don’t have a proper opinion on that one yet as I have not run the streamers wireless enought to really know. I had my HE wireless the other day and it sounded as good as wired. But standard mode of operation is a two satellite NetGear Orbi mesh system. Star and Roon Core wired into the satellite below and HE wired into the satellite upstairs.
Just for clarity I had the noise issue on my Star last year when I first trialed Roon.
Yeah I’ve heard talk that depending on the streamer, wireless could degrade the sound. But then if using ethernet connection, noise could travel thru the ethernet cable. And you see people spending all kinds of money on cables and switches. I bought the HE for simplicity and since wireless works without a hitch, that’s how I’ll keep using it.
In my experience that’s perfectly fine. It’s only the core they strongly recommend to be wired and for good reason. I have many wireless endpoints they work fine and don’t drop a beat. Running a server application thats pulling data and serving it out via wireless to then other wireless devices is going to have issues in a lot of scenarios. It’s not data rates it’s airtime and latency that’s the issue. For most users they will be in an area with saturated WiFi and this leads to everyone fighting for airtime. Well thought out systems can get through this but 99% of users won’t have clue and will just have a very poor experience.
That makes perfect sense. I’m glad that Ethernet thru mesh extender works perfect and that you don’t actually have to hardwire it. But I suppose I could also just put my core next to the router and plug right in. The core does have a fan but hardly kicks in so never bothered to move it.
This may not be the best time to hire extra people to work in a fixed space factory unless you’re thinking of running 24-7. 
You will likely find it a bit more responsive if hardwired fully rather than mesh connected. Wireless in any form is not immune to airtime issues or latency.
Think you’re right. It does seem more responsive in the few moments I’ve tried it with core directly connected. See if the occasional long wait time for search still happens.
You still might get that with or without, Roons not without its foibles in this regard depending on how busy their servers are. But overall it’s generally snappier. The Atom would be even better on wired for the Naim app. I used to use wireless on mine and it was always a little laggy until I went hardwired.
Thanks for all the advice.
I plan to either continue with roon or switch to Spotify hifi when it comes out or maybe Apple Music if lossless gets fixed. I’d go back to roon if they come out with a mobile solution. Just saw a thread from 2015 where developer was saying probably coming out in the next year. They seem to have dropped the ball.
I was really lucky to see a device in stock at a dealer on Monday … bought it immediately and received it yesterday 
Apart from that, the HE is really waiting for you, I’m really curious whether it will meet my expectations … or exceed them?
I was astounded by the difference when I compared my venerable NAHA/HiCAP with my DAC-V1; the NAHA was so much better!
How does the Unity Atom HE compare to those?
Is it a huge upgrade?
MArco 
Yes, it is. I went from a NAHA/HiCap to a Violectric V281 to an Atom HE. Don’t be fooled by the HE’s size and price. I just slotted it on my home network using an Ansuz D2 Ethernet cable off my ND555. Each time I used a better LAN cable, the HE responded. It wasn’t overmatched even with the top of the line D2.
I’m leaving the D2 on the Atom HE and getting another D2 for my ND555.
Hi @leatherneck
Are you using the HE just for streaming to headphones and then the ND555 for speakers?
I love my NDS/V281 but an HE and freeing up some funds is tempting.
Yes, I’m just using the HE as a headphone amp. It’s replacing the V281. I have ND555/NAC552/300DR for my main system.
The HE provides more flexibility in location. I can even use it as a wireless device.
Thanks.
How does it compare to ND555/V281?
Well, the ND555 is a world class Streamer/DAC and the V281 is probably one of the top 5 HP amps. Of course the Atom HE is neither. But it can be operated wirelessly, only requires one remote, isn’t dependent on another device and sounds really good with most music sources.
With the ND555/HE combo, I needed a minimum of 2 remotes, 3 if using A/V out of the NAC552.
I was tied to my big system. I can put the HE anywhere in my apartment.
My music source is Tidal and I can’t think of an MQA track I’d care about.
I was using A/V out of my NAC 552 to drive my V281. That required obtaining a special DIN OUT cable from Israel. There are other options but not very many. Using RCA out of the ND555 means that both DIN and RCA were active at the same time. I found that DIN to the 552 sounded best if I wasn’t also using RCA out.
What’s amazing is that I went from using a Chord C-Stream, to Heimdall 2, to Ansuz A2 to Ansuz D2 LAN cable and the improvements were obvious. In other words, the HE was good enough to show the differences in these Ethernet cables.
It even showed up the differences when I recently replaced a 6 year old Apple router with a new Asus router. It was as if I’d changed an Ethernet cable.