Uniti Atom power

[Starling]

Hi
Hoping for some guidance on speaker choice for my Uniti Atom. I currently have LS50 Metas which are quite low sensitivity but the Atom seems to drive them fine, I rarely go above 35 on the volume. However, I’m interested in trying the Magnepan LRS+ and apparently they require a lot of power to get the best from them. Will the Atom be up to the job? I think they have the same sensitivity but are 4 Ohm so does that make a big difference? Or would I need to think about adding a power amp?
Any help appreciated!
Jim

[afgverhart]

I would just give it a try. I have been using my Atom to drive a pair of Dynaudio Contour S 3.4 LE back in the day and that worked excellent. The Atom is quite a powerful little amp, however I have heard that the LRS+ can be quite demanding. I did try out some power amplifiers behind the Atom - both Naim and other brands - and that worked quite well. So if the Atom has trouble driving them, you can always add a power amp quite easily.

BR,
Richard

[PeakMan]

There’s more to how hard a speaker is to drive than just sensitivity. For one, the impedance curve matters, particularly if it drops to a low value at some point. And simply being able to “drive” a pair of speakers doesn’t fully capture whether the result is musically satisfying. For example, the ability to create big dynamic swings is important to realistic musical reproduction.

If it’s at all possible, audition before purchase, particularly with speakers such as the one’s you’ve considering, which I’ve not heard but have a reputation for thriving on a lot of power.

Roger

[Starling]

Thanks both for the advice. I will definitely try to audition before committing.
I read on Megnepans own website that it’s more about quality of amplification than outright numbers. I think the Atoms is good as it nearly doubles the rated figure into 4ohms, but like you say there’s always the option of adding a separate power amp, if only Naim made a uniti power amp!