Fantastic and underrated speakers
Very nice Chris - great shot too
A thick new handmade rug for in front of the speakers. Not āgearā as such, but room acoustics play such an important part in fidelity, and ours is a touch lively presently.
G
Just powered up the 552 DR and playing a CD I know well (Soft Machine - Hidden Details). Where to start - sounds like a completely new system from the off. Much more treble and bass range than the 252. Way more detail, more precision. Far superior soundstage. Not bad for initial power on - and more to come. A more āexcitingā and involving sound too. Very happy camper !
Based on what I am hearing from my CD555 the 252 will have been masking some of the detail, making it an even more phenomenal player than I thought.
IMHO, Naim amps like the 252 donāt serve a CD555 (or an ND555) well, as the CD555 and other higher-level sources really need a better pre-amp/amp set-up to show what they are capable of ā especially with 2 x 555PSs.
And, Iām sure you know, a 552 takes a while to warm up from cold, anything up to 1 month for a P/L unit IME.
My 252 also only takes about a minute to warm up.
I posted earlier about moving from an 11yr old SU to NSC222/NC250.
The SU while working fine had a screen that had failed years ago. It was connected by ethernet but without a screen I couldnāt move it anywhere and run it wirelessly.
A new screen was going to be around 350euros.
I said to my dealer I was interested in the Uniti Atom HE and he offered me 50% as a tradein for the SU.
Couldnāt say yes, fast enough!
Its been here for less than a month and now Iām looking into some decent headphones.
After some very quiet years its been a summer of changes.
It was this review that made up my mind!
āHere ends the quest for the best source for headphone listening.
Letās imagine something together.
You are a very successful person. You want ā no, you deserve ā the finest things life has to offer. The sunniest days, the best experiences, the most elegant solutions. Money is no object, of course. You value the simplest and most beautiful path to nirvana.
You also happen to love music. Listening to music on headphones, to be precise. So, you are going to need a digital audio source, a DAC, an amplifier, and headphones. Most mere mortals piece together a messy chain consisting of a computer connected via a USB cable to a DAC, which is connected in turn by analog cables (either RCA or XLR) to an amplifier.
But not you. Oh no. Thatās not an elegant enough solution for you.
Enter the Naim Uniti Atom Headphone Edition. A beautifully simple and refined all-in-one source device combining all those separate components into a black-boxed, British-born, behemoth. The Atom HE combines a fully-featured streamer, screen, preamplifier, and Class A headphone amplifier. Insert your headphones of choice and you are on your way to sonic perfection.
Of course, this all comes at quite a cost. But money is no object, remember?
Not only does it remove the clutter and mess of connected separate components, but it also eliminates any sort of concern regarding device synergy.
However, compromise is often a real thing with combination devices. Sound quality, build quality, features? Spoiler alert, the Atom HE does sacrifice affordability to deliver on all the other elements. The question becomes āis the compromise worth it?ā Is the Atom HE the ultimate single device to take care of all your listening needs?
Ease into your Eames listening chair, chill the champagne, and press play. Enjoy your new life; your worth it :).ā
Naim should hire this guy!
Chord Epic rca interconnects
On the way. 30 days trial. Letās see what happens. Will hook it up after my EE8+Farad3 then going into my NDS.
Thank you to all who commented on my picture of one of my Allaes in the early morning sun, and who liked it.
To be brief, Iām huge admirer of Naimās SBL and have twice owned a pair. Good as they were, Iāve never had the kit to really get them going. So I have turned to a later Roy George design, the Allae. IMO these offer much of what the SBLs do but are a far more forgiving of rooms and systems. My NAP155XS seems quite untaxed by them. Allaes seem to be Naimās most accommodating speaker, happy in an XS system like mine, or with a Nait 2 or a NAP500.
Thanks again.
C.
Today, with just a 1 week wait my NSC222 and cable pack arrived!
Cables all nicely boxed, these for connection to 555PS DR and NAP250 DR.
These are two burndies that are needed to connect the 555 to the 222. Thankfully I guessed what went where, or at least I didnāt blow anything up so must be right!
And you put them in the right direction?
Absolutely 30 plus years a naimee here Iāll have you know!
HiCap DR 2022 in like new condition, fair deal also. Fantastic upgrade sound wise, wasnāt expecting such a clear and evident improvement to my 152XS/200DR combination.
One day in and its settling down really nicely. One major difference noted is that when you crank the 552 up a bit it stays completely in control and ātogetherā.
That RCom gizmo is good fun too. If you as so much as hint at picking it up it obligingly lights up like Blackpool Illuminations !
The new journey can begin now.
Happy birthday and never say never, you only think itās over.