Hello, good morning,
I have at home Naim Uniti Atom HDMI.
These have 40W / 8 Ohm.
I have connected it with speakers Sonus faber Lumina 3.
Speakers need 50W-250W / 4 Ohm.
It playing, but I don’t know … can I destroy something? (max. Loudness 40-60%)
Can you help me please? Need I some additionally amplifer? Or is it all right?
Thank you very much.
Have a nice day
Jaroslav
Welcome, likely english your first language. Please tell us where you are located?
It is unclear what exactly you are asking.
The Atom is an excellent all in one unit. However while an amplifier can be added, it won’t necessarily answer your issue.
Is this a new system and did you try the combination before purchase?
While I know the Atom, I don’t know your speakers, but they may be more demanding than the Atom can match. Always worth audition of components, rather than relying on specifications!
Atom is great but it’s not loaded with power.
I run an Atom with ATC11’s and it kind of falls apart over 40 on the volume.
If you want louder listening you may need something with a tad more power.
I think he is asking 2 questions.
Firstly, can you run an 8 Ohm Atom into 4 Ohm speakers without causing any damage?
I have 4 Ohm JMR small floorstanders and the Atom runs them no problem with plenty of power. What I don’t understand is this 8 Ohm/4 Ohm thingy - would appreciate any clarification from anyone on the forum.
Secondly, is the Atom powerful enough for the OP’s speakers? I can’t answer that one unfortunately.
4 ohm speakers draw twice as much current as 8 ohm speakers. This can lead to problems where an amplifier isn’t very powerful. 8 ohm speakers are generally easier to match.
Thanks so much HH for clarifying that. The Atom seems to be able to run quite a few speakers, it’s a great little box.
Hi Jaroslav and welcome to the forum.
There are two issues with speaker matching here: the 4 ohm impedance and the recommended amplifier power. The Atom can safely drive some 4 ohm speakers. The quoted 4 ohm impedance of your speakers is a nominal value and what matters more is how low it goes at different frequencies. It seems your SFs don’t drop below 3 ohm and are mostly over 4, so I doubt that will be an issue for the Atom. Is it powerful enough? The Atom should deliver over 50w into 4 ohms and that minimum requirement is only a recommendation from SF. All in all I think you’ll be fine with your proposed setup provided you don’t go for party level volume in a large space. But to be on the safe side, I’d recommend that you check it out with Naim first.
Roger
I used my Atom into 4 ohm Dynaudios with mixed results. At low volumes it sounded excellent, anything above ~35 it began to clip.
Switched to a Nova and much happier
Which ones? I first heard Atom playing into Dynaudio Emit M20s which are 4 ohm and not particularly sensitive. Sounded really good in a small to medium sized room. It clearly depends on the particular model hence the suggestion to contact Naim.
Roger
Excite X44s. Fairly large, but relatively (89db) sensitive. Room is medium-ish (288sqft I think)
For a smaller room and less crazy speakers, I’m sure it would have been fine.
Welcome to the madhouse!
I do not have to add more than what has been mentioned above, in my opinion the most important thing is to keep on using your ears … if you play louder than usual and the music strts to distort, then take back volume to avoid any damage.
@Jaroslav, please have a look at this link. Unfortuneatly I cam going to have to shut down my window to this site as it will not let me scroll. I think the minimum impedance is too low from what I can read so far. I think you will require a better amp that can deliver more current. I even think you may have to look at separates.
Warm regards,
Mitch in Oz.
Hi Mitch, can I ask what is your source for the Atom being unable to handle brief drops to 3 ohms? The new Nait 50 is, on paper, less powerful than the Atom (25w vs 40w) but has apparently been tested and can cope with 1 ohm for short periods.
Roger
Dear Roger,
The linked article describes how the SFL3 speakers drop down to one ohm. My source is NAIM, which states that its separates are designed to handle loads of 2 ohms for extended periods of time.
Also, it is a gut feel from personal experience. The OP states that the SFL3 speakers require an amplifier of greater power, and the OP says that his amp is running out of steam—my words.
I possibly miss read the OPs original statement, now that I have a retake.
Just my thoughts and opinion.
Warm regards,
Mitch.