Comparing Atom with Nova : My personal experience/opinion

Posted by: Sourav on 07 September 2017

Had a chance to compare Atom and Nova in my system with and without an external pre amp/amp.

The verdict is Nova is surely steps ahead of Atom both while using its internal amplification as well as with external amplifier/pre-amp.

The key observations while using with external preamp/amp are -

1. Much detailed sound with richness around mid to mid-lowfrequencies.

2. Better bass - well defined, taut

3. Smoother high frequency - so less fatiguing over pro longed listening

The key observations while using with internal amp (direct to speaker) -

1. As Nova is 80 watts compared to 40 watts of Atom, obviously the sound is little more powerful and controlled. However surely it will vary from speaker to speaker

2. Nova is better in richness of sound but sound stage wise I found Atom better if directly used with Speaker.

3. Better bass in Nova - though not as defined when tried with external amp

4. High end is much better again - very smooth. I believe here Nova excels Atom in every respect. To me more analogue like sound.

In overall I found Nova is really outstanding with respect to both sound and convenience given its price point.

Atom is also a huge value for money if u can pair it with right speaker or/and separate amp to suit your sound preference.

However, audition is must. My sincere thanks to my dealer Basil Audio (Jeremy) in California who allowed me to have this demo with my systems. Also thanks to Phil for encouraging me to do the same. I finally purchased Nova after this demo.

The systems I tried Nova and Atom with are - 2xMC275 Tube Amps in Monoblock and C2300 Tube Pre Amp, Sonos fabre Cremona Speaker (4 ohm, 90dB/2.83V/m Sensitivity), Unito Core over Ethernet, Tidal. Room size 10x12x12.

Regards,

Sourav

Posted on: 07 September 2017 by Gazza

Enjoy your new kit, pretty much how I would describe the differences between Atom and Nova, all really good at their price point.

Posted on: 08 September 2017 by Halloween Man

Hi Sourav, thanks for posting your thoughts. Did you prefer the Nova with an external power amp or prefer using its own internal 80w power amp? Were any differences marginal or not? Thanks.

Posted on: 08 September 2017 by Sourav

I prefer Nova with external amp than its internal amp. More clarity and head room. Also better sound stage. However the milage u get will surely depend on what external amp u r using and also on ur room size snd acquistic.

However Nova with its internal amp also pretty interesting. Compared to that I did not find Atom to be that good with its internsl amp but that is pretty probably because of my speaker.

Regards,

Sourav