Uniti atom and power amp

Good evening, I know this topic has already been spoken about but I still need a bit of help if possible. I love my music it’s why I got the uniti atom, great make and a fantastic streamer.

My speakers are monitor audio 200s an although they sound good, they don’t blow me away.

So a bit of googling and I find people talking about power amps. I can see that my 200s need to be run at 60w+ and of course atom is 45, so is that my problem?

If I get a power amp will the fact that I’m driving the speaker correctly give me a better sound?

I know that Naim do the 100 and 200 power amp but people’s views are conflicting on that. I guess I want to know what will a power amp do for me.

My room size is 8 x 14 I have to speakers as far apart as I can probably about 7 feet. I get good separation and they sound ok but I want them sounding better

Tall order ?

Thanks

Neil

Pleased with Nap 100 i got a few weeks ago partnering a Unitid Q 2

Hey hi thanks for your response. What did you notice from adding it

Which speakers are we taking about here; the £400 Monitor 200 or the Silver 200? If it’s the former then you probably want better speakers.

Hi, the speakers I have are the silver
Cheers.
Welcome your thoughts

Most on hear will likely say upgrade to the Nova instead or go the separates route and say the Atom is the weak link. I for one say try adding one and see what you think as this is all that’s important. Any dealer should allow you to trail one at least or buy online and have the option to return it.

Perhaps you could try to describe exactly what you are not happy with about the sound.

What immediately strikes me is that if your room is only 8’ wide and your speakers are 7’ apart, they are pretty much hard against the side walls. That could well give the effect of being in a tube. Is the bass boomy too?

Depending on how you describe the sound I would be inclined to try some really good small speakers that are designed to sit against the wall - maybe the ProAc Tablette 10 or the new Neat Minstra. I’ve not heard either of these myself, so don’t take it as a firm recommendation.

If you add a power amp or get a Nova you will simply get a slightly better version of what you have now, which is why I’d be looking at the speakers.

I had Proac Tab 10s with Atom and they are great combination. Not loads of bass but what you get is very good quality plus you do not want bass heavy speakers in a small room. I have since upgraded to Nova and Proacs easily show the upgrade

Hey hi,

Thanks for the reply,
ok so what dont i like about the sound....hmmm its not defined enough, when i auditioned the speakers i heard them on a cambridge audio amp that was in richer sounds, i didnt make a note of the amp as i had my hart set on naim as i knew at the time it was the best streamer out there.

There is a particual track by an artist called ulrich schnauass who i use to gauge music fidelity, one track in particular called a forgotten birthday. This track has what i descibe as a rolling timpani drum in it that pan`s one speaker to the other.

When listening to the silvers in the cambridge the timpani sound not only panned but it also had tremendous depth and definition, but its not bass. I can`t quite get the same sound with my uniti, the seperation is there, oh and just to clarify, my speakers are approx 2 feet from rear wall and about 10 inches from the side walls. My thoughts are that i am not driving my speakers correctly 45w per channel seems a little low, so then perhaps driving the speakers better would make a difference.

I don`t want to change my speakers, nor do i want to get rid of the uniti so that was why i was looking at a power amp. i have now also changed speaker positions, they did used to be toed in but, ive got back to standard position and they do sound a lot better, a much better soundstage.

I dont pretend to know alot about sound, i know what i like and obviously its all subjective but, would powering the speakers in line with the spec help me out? I don`t want more bass, its not boomy, but its not massively defined if that makes sense. what would a poer amp do for me?

Many questions there sorry, but appreciate your thoughts

Cheers

Neil

Hi Neil,

I think I understand exactly where you come from. I paired my Atom with Dynaudio Contour loudspeakers and it sounded great, but not fantastic. I liked the flow of the music and it was to my taste, but ‘something’ was still missing. I bought a pre-loved NAP200 for a very nice price (actually a ‘no risk price’, so I could sell it off if it did not bring much improvement). I choose the NAP200 because I figured the NAP100 would bring little to nothing, the NAP250(DR) would be overkill and the NAP200 got raving reviews and second hand can be had for a nice price (< 1000 Euro).

It required an RCA-DIN cable from flashbacksales and the improvement was enormous. The sound is much more detailed and solid, although the overal sound characteristics have not changed. I leave my NAP200 on 24/7, which improves sound as well. Both the Atom and the NAP200 are on vibrapods (rubber isolators) and I use the stock Naim power cables. The result is really good. Having had so many systems over the years, including many high-end brands, I think the Atom is hugely underestimated as a streamer/pre-amp. At least for me the combination with the NAP200 works very well.

This is one of the most enjoyable systems I ever owned and at the same time the investment was relatively low, compared to the high-end stuff I had before (a.o. Classé, Esoteric, AVM).

So, I would try to get hold of an NAP200 and give it a try. If you get it at a fair price, you should be able to sell it off without much loss if the experiment fails.

BR,
Richard

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Hi Richard,

Thank you ever so much for your reply. I only wish it had come earlier, lol , I’ve just agreed on a NAP 100, I can return though so it’s not a problem.

But I think your response tells me everything I need to know. A lot more money to shell out that’s the problem.

Hmmmm, aghhhhhh don’t know what to do now :grinning:

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Hi Richard,

Just been trying to find a nap 200. Lots on eBay, but not sure about that. They all seem to be different years as well

Don’t really know what I’m looking for
Can you advise ?

Thanks

Buying second hand you need to be lucky anyhow. Mine was a 2013 NAP200 which I bought from the original buyer for 750 euro little over a year ago. That was a good deal I thought as the going price around that time was 900-1000 euro here in The Netherlands.

I would try to find one newer than 2010 (you can check by serial number on the Naim site). But maybe play with the NAP100 first and see how it works out for you.

So if I manage to find one. What is the name of the cable I need to link the 2 bits of kit together?

Sorry for all the questions

Appreciate your help

No problem! I have achieved very good results with this Flashback sales cable: 2 X PHONO/RCA PLUGS - NAIM STYLE 4 PIN DIN PREMIERE CABLE

Very affordable and well made cable to connect the RCA output from the Atom to the DIN input of the NAP200.

Just bought a 2015 one off eBay in immaculate condition. Nap 200.

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For what it’s worth (considering you’ve now bought a 200), I found the sound of the Atom muddier with the 200. I preferred the sound of the Atom on its own, and since it’s a one-box system I think thats the way Naim ‘intended’ it’s use.

I came to the conclusion that if separates are being added to the Atom, the original purpose was then redundant, so I bought a used 202, paired that with the 200 and a ND5 and found SQ increased in every area. OK, there’s a cost (and space) issue, but it’s not too much more when you factor in a good, used 202.

As usual, I’d add the caveat that SQ is very much subjective, but I can honestly say the sound of the above 3 was in a different class, and I started with an Atom.

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What speakers were you using with the Atom?

With the atom on its own? I tried 3 pairs - Dali Oberon 5’s, Neat Iota Xplorer and my old Triangle Celius 202’s. I then tried out various combinations with the Atom/200 over a couple of weeks, as well as just the Atom.

That’s very interesting. It might indeed be a matter of taste or the rest of the system setup matters much as well. I have my equipment on a dedicated audio power group. I use a Music Line Naim power strip (netzleiste) with Naim stock cables to the Atom and the NAP. My source is a Mac Mini with Roon, connected via a TP Link switch using blue jeans cat 6a cables. Speaker cables are Atlas 3.5 and my speakers are Dynaudio Contour S 3.4 LE on IsoAcoustics Gaia II isolators.

I am part of a small hifi community with friends owning high-end equipment. We listen to music at each other’s places often (well not now, during the lockdown) and my system can easily compete with their systems in terms of musicality, sound width, sound depth, dynamics and sheer fun. The other systems include Chord/First Watt/Klipschhorn and Classé CP800mkII/CA2300/Dynaudio Confidence with Audioquest Niagara 5000 power conditioning. My system is among the best.

So I am curious to hear what OPs experience will be after adding the NAP200 to his Atom.