I have purchased Naim Atom Headphone edition in this month, and waiting for my Utopia to be arrived in January. Very excited…
I want to buy a great headphone cable to match with Utopia.
I did some research, Lazuli Reference , Transparent Audio headphone cable both seems good with utopia, but I don’t have a chance to demo any of them.
Please share from your experience and the matching cable you use.
Thank you
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I’m sticking with the stock XLR
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I use a balanced Lazuli Reference cable made by Danacable with my Focal Utopia headphones. The cable is more transparent than the stock cable. It delivers a bigger soundstage with more detail. The Danacable and the Utopia headphone are a good match.
To get the most out of the Utopia headphone, I recommend using a balanced cable rather than an unbalanced one.
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Lazuli Reference cable is a balanced cable right? I don’t need to choose balanced or unbalanced with this?
which Connector did you chose
You definitely want to go balanced.
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No commercial links in the HiFi Corner please. Thanks.
I chose the 4-pin XLR (balanced) connector.
The Uniti Atom Headphone Edition has a Balanced Headphone output on the rear panel.
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For some extra money you can also get the furutech balanced plug. I thinks just supposed to be better quality. Some say their plugs sound better too. I decided to go with it since I was already spending so much for the cable anyway.
And just to note, default drop down is for 1/4” single ended plug. I originally got 1/4” furutech plug when I had the Chord Dave. I had it swapped out for 4 pin balanced furutech plug when I get Focal Arche. I now use balanced on the Naim HE.
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I have the exactly the same setup. If you use the balanced input on the HE you can switch between headphone output and RCA to drive an amplifier into speakers. I’m using a Naim NAP 250 DR and the little HE is surprisingly good. So good in fact I’m going to sell my Naim 500 system.
I also bought an XLR to XLR extension and an XLR to RCA extension.
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thanks for sharing
what’s the plug look like ?
thanks for sharing
I live in Canada as well, did you order your cable from Danacables official website ?
I see you own Focal Utopia and Hifiman Susvara, 2 of the best headphone on the market, do you love both of them ?
how do you compare them ? or they have obvious different sound signature ?
The Lazuli Reference cable 4-pin XLR from Danacable is already a balance cable right ?
I just want to make sure there’s no balance or unbalance option for this cable ( Lazuli Reference cable 4-pin XLR ) , just in case I won’t order the wrong one.
Wow… are you going to sell the 500 series because the Atom HE is that good ?
compare to your ND555 and NAC552 ?
I thought the 500 series is way more better then Atom ?
Yes, that’s the right one. The cable itself is the same, it’s how it’s wired up at the end that makes it balance. I think with single ended, the left and right share a common ground and balanced is totally separate. You can email Danacable about any questions. They are really nice and quick to respond. When I had the connector switched out, they did it on same day they received it and had it shipped back out the same day. I was only without cable for less than a week.
The Atom HE also has a 4.4m balanced connection on the front. This is much smaller than the 4 pin option but is not available for the Reference cable since it’s probably too small. They offer the 4.4m for their UltaLite cable, which they claim is for portable solutions. I’m going to assume it doesn’t sound quite as good.
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It is but I found myself hardly using the big system. In my space, with my speakers and with the kind of music I listen to, I found the HE a joy to use and now I don’t worry about sound quality, I just immerse myself in the music.
Where I was listening mostly to headphones and my Gen 2 Mu-So, I now listen to the HE most of the time.
I’ve gone from 7 boxes to 2 and have the opportunity to recoup some of my investment in expensive unused assets.
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thank you for the details 
I think I will call them today and make my order soon.
what type of speakers are you using? and what type of musics do you usually listen to ?
I have the NDX2 and ND555 as well. but I don’t have other naim separate boxes, and Sonus faber speakers.
this is the most important part, if you can enjoy your music as much as your bigger system, that awesome. That’t all you need.
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I have a small apartment with Harbeth 30.2 speakers. I like Classical, Big Band, POP, Jazz, Classic Country. Broadway music, and generally, music that brings back memories.
-When I was in the Marines in the 50’s I was stationed on Treasure Island and my buddies and I would take the train into Oakland to the USO Club where I danced (cheek to cheek) with an English girl. Afterward, we’d go to an all night diner where we listened to Perry Como sing Wanted. I listen to a lot of Perry Como.
When I was stationed in San Diego I was at a battle between two great drummers, Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa. I have a 1938 recording of Benny Goodman at Carnegie Hall where Krupa’s kick drum provided the beat for the band. At the end of the set, Krupa explodes and the crowd goes crazy. I’m old enough to remember when they announced the bombing of Pearl Harbor on the radio. I grew up listening to big bands and music from the 30’s and 40’s.
I’ve seen Oklahoma, Les Miserable, South Pacific and other musicals. It brings back memories of when I listened to that music.
None of the music is Hi Res. Most of it sounds better on my 2 box system than on my 7 box system. I find with the Atom HE that I am singing along and keeping the beat of the music. With the 500 system I’m more focused on sound quality than the emotion I get from the music.
I’m interested in bass to the point that it contributes to the music. Krupa’s bass drum for example.
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Just to clarify: A 4-pin XLR plug is balanced and the 1/4" plug is unbalanced. I prefer the 4-pin XLR balanced plug.
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