I have just today demo’d 1) the Atom; 2) the Nova; 3) SN3 + Lumin T2; 4) SN3 + ND5XS2; 5) SN3 + NDX2. All with Dynaudio Special Forty speakers, as this is what the dealer had. Streaming tracks through Tidal only.
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Atom. Love this little thing. So lively, so musical, just enough bass to enjoy, just enough depth. Glad I’ve got one in the dining room.
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Nova. Bigger, thicker sound, more grip. Very good match for the Special Fortys. Got one eye on getting the Nova to drive PMC 25.24s and I think it would be capable. Bass is good and everything is well controlled. Fair soundstage for the money, I’d say.
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SN3 + Lumin T2. I immediately missed the Naim sound, the Lumin was not for me with the SN3 at least. Distinct lack of good ole prat. Too thin, not musical enough.
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SN3 + ND5XS2. An improvement to my mind on the Lumin, which is amazing given there is a fair price difference. Started to see what the SN3 was really about. BUT, IMO not better or worse than the Nova, just different. Lighter on bass and less authority. More delicate touch. Between this and the Nova, I think I preferred the Nova but it was close.
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SN3 + NDX2. Superb. Would have bought it immediately if I had the funds. Quite easily the best combo but no surprises given the cost and spec. How much better than the Nova and the ND5XS2, quite a lot. This is a sound I could listen to for hours and hours. The soundstage was very good but not crazily out there. Way more depth than all of the others, particularly on vocals. Control of bass a class above.
Hope that helps… I’m faced now with the decision between a “budget” option in the Nova (second hand GBP3000) or waiting, saving and going for the incredible SN3 + NDX2 (if I can get NDX2 second hand, about GBP7500 together) to drive either the PMC 25.24s (which I loved following a previous demo) or Dynaudio Special Fortys.