Uniti Nova with 4 ohm Speakers?

I just purchased a Naim Uniti Atom, which is paired with Totem Signature One bookshelf speakers. The sound quality is so amazing and musical that I now know why the Atom (and Naim generally) have such a great reputation. I’ve owned and demoed several other high-end pieces, but that little Atom is just amazing.

I’ve become really interested in purchasing a Nova to power a set of Totem Tribe III (on-wall towers). The Tribe III are 4 ohms and 89 db sensitivity, with recommend power of 30W - 200W. I temporarily connected the Atom to the Tribes and the Atom had no problem driving the Tribes with their Torrent drivers. I’m looking at the Nova because of the increase in power and think it may be a better match with the Tribe IIIs.

But, I only see the Uniti amps rated with 8 ohm speakers. Will the Nova work with 4 ohm Tribe IIIs (at normal listening volumes, nothing crazy) or is there a risk that it will result in the Nova going into self-protect mode from overloading.

Thanks in advance for any insight…

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Welcome. I can’t answer but I started with a Mu-so Qb for a condo, then bought a house and the Atom with Focal Chora 816s. Yeah. The Atom is quite a beast isn’t it? My screen had problems so it was going back and as it was I took the opportunity to swap up to the Nova. Phew. Dramatic difference. But buy the Powerline. People have lots of opinions. My opinion is why would someone spend that money and then get cheap on the cord? Crazy. You want that thing humming as Naim intends. And the same for NACA5 cables. The Atom isn’t finicky. But the Nova is. I have spoken of that countless times here…So, again welcome and you’ll have an answer soon.

@Mike_S has two Totem, and run them before with a Nova. He should say.

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Welcome to the Forum. I have Totem Hawks on my Nova, the Hawks are 6ohm 88dB and it’s a great combination. I’ve heard the Tribes floorstanders on a Nova as well and they were very good. I haven’t heard the wall mounted ones, but I’m sure they would be fine with the Nova.

My Nova does get very warm if driven hard, and in summer, but it’s never gone into thermal cut-off.

Enjoy the journey.

I have had Sky’s with a Nova and auditioned the tribes. I would say no, not if you want them to come to life like they are supposed to. Those torrent drivers love loads of current.
Ideally a nap 250 or even better a 300 if you really want the music to open up and detach it’s self from the speakers.

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Are you thinking of the Nova and Tribe as another system or as a replacement? The Model 1 was quite a handful and if the Signature is similar it’s likely to be too much for the Atom. If you are looking for real improvement you should maybe look at a Nova or NDX2 and Supernait 3 with your Signatures and forget better speakers. You very likely haven’t heard what your current ones can do when properly driven.

Hi JazzLover. I haven’t heard the Totems so cannot answer the question of how well they’ll match a Nova but don’t believe the fact that they’re 4 ohms will be the major issue. I run my Atom with Neat Iota wall speakers which are 6 ohm and only 84dB sensitivity. It sounds particularly good in my small office but can fill the house with music.

If at all possible, audition first, but I wouldn’t rule out the Totems simply because they’re 4ohms.

Roger

Thank you everyone for the thoughtful replies. I currently own both sets of Totems (Sig 1s and Tribe III). The Atom handles my Sig 1s wonderfully and the sound quality is amazing. So now its a matter of finding a great amplifier (to replace an NAD M10) to drive the Tribe IIIs. Thanks again for the warm welcome to the Naim community and any further thoughts on paring a Nova (or perhaps another Naim product) with my Tribe IIIs would much appreciated.

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