Sub to Atom or Star?

Hi Guys

am lurking with intent to get a new atom or perhaps a preloved Star but would appreciate if anyone knows about hooking up a sub to either. I’m limited due to WAF to some (pretty good) B&W ceiling speakers, which are less than ideal but was wondering if this could be helped by hooking up my old focal sub? Who knows - focal and Naim might be a good pairing :wink:
It seems to have High level input and LFE, and a crossover.

Any know-how appreciated.

with thanks
Ameet

Hi, your sub is really intended for use in an AV system but it should still work with the Atom.
If you use the low level connection from the Atom pre out it will go to the LFE input which is only one channel, so not ideal. The high level connection would be best. With a Naim amp it’s usual to connect from the loudspeaker input sockets which requires a properly made split cable.

High-level from speakers to sub will be interesting, when it’s about ceiling speakers and WAF is an important part of the equation.
(At least, all the cables will have to be well hidden.)

Well yes, that could be a challenge, although there are ways to use the amp output terminals too if that’s a problem.

Thanks for the work arounds both, it’s a good community here and looking forward to being part of it.

Silly question- The sub appears to have high level input (above the low level )? What kind of sub would one use with the atom?

( I know the ultimate solution is ditch the sub and get a proper set of speakers :rofl:)

Subs have high level inputs (ie at speaker volume, which you connect either to the speakers, or to the speaker sockets on the amp, though Naim advise against this), or low level inputs, which you connect to the preamp. The Unitis have a pre out/sub out which is perfect for this purpose. Then there is LFE, or low frequency effect, which is really for AV.

So in your case you need to connect to the high level input, ideally from the speakers. Or you could get a different sub with stereo low level inputs, which would connect to the Uniti sub out.

Totally get it now , thanks for the clear explanation hungryhalibut.

So I’m gonna ditch the sub, and spend whatever I get on the system and see how good it sounds without a sub.

I was thinking at one point on forgetting the atom or star and going for a nd5 xs2 and an xs2 , but that would have been ridiculous with the speakers I have in place!

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