Atom and Iota Alpha

Will dealer give you home demo?

No, he need to order it for me! By the way the Star will cost me almost the double.

Heard the atom with IOTA and it was very good.

Does he have a NAP100 or 250DR he can lend you?

[@mention:15504822857272703] not sure. I just realised that i’m In doubt with the Star and not with the Nova, too expensive for me

ps do you know how to change the post heading?

I’m using an Atom with the Xplorers and it works great so I would think it’s fine

Had a Star for 3 months now and we'll pleased.

Since you don’t need the cd I’d say there’s even less reason to go for the star. No direct experience but I’d think the atom should be fine unless you have a huge room and play loud, in which case the iota alphas probably aren’t the best speakers anyway.

If you allready have a cd player and need more power its the Nova, SN2, XS or separates (if you wish to stay in Naim camp)

Let the dealer get you some home loan of options, buying Atom as many did, wondering about upgrades from day one is beyond me.

Are you using the streaming capability of the Atom?

If not then the NAIT XS 2 combined with your CD player should meet your needs.

.....and the last consideration, is what does your wife think?

Fueller posted:

Since you don’t need the cd I’d say there’s even less reason to go for the star. No direct experience but I’d think the atom should be fine unless you have a huge room and play loud, in which case the iota alphas probably aren’t the best speakers anyway.

I live in an apartment so I can’t go very loud and I love the atom for the compactness and the streaming capabilities but I wonder if the star can drive  a substantial improvement 

Edward Hattersley posted:

I’m using an Atom with the Xplorers and it works great so I would think it’s fine

Well I assume the xplorers are even more difficult to drive..

Perol posted:

If you allready have a cd player and need more power its the Nova, SN2, XS or separates (if you wish to stay in Naim camp)

Let the dealer get you some home loan of options, buying Atom as many did, wondering about upgrades from day one is beyond me.

In reality we love the Atom (including my wife) but since it’s a big investment I want to be sure it’s the right things since I can’t demo the Star

caolino70 posted:

Perol posted:

If you allready have a cd player and need more power its the Nova, SN2, XS or separates (if you wish to stay in Naim camp)

Let the dealer get you some home loan of options, buying Atom as many did, wondering about upgrades from day one is beyond me.

In reality we love the Atom (including my wife) but since it’s a big investment I want to be sure it’s the right things since I can’t demo the Star

Why buy Atom if your not sure its the right thing ?

Personally I would get my money back and go to a dealer which can demo a Star.

Why the compromise ?

The Explorer looks very interesting but I bet that isobarik woofer needs power unless you just have a small room.    Did you see the review in the new HiFi Critic?  "Recommended,"   We heard the Iota Alpha and it got my attention, but I wanted to hear the isobarik.       

caolino70 posted:

Well I assume the xplorers are even more difficult to drive..

Skip posted:

The Explorer looks very interesting but I bet that isobarik woofer needs power unless you just have a small room.  

Interesting speculation. The Iota Alpha is a 4-ohm speaker rated at 86 dB sensitivity. The Xplorer is 6-ohm at 88 dB. On paper at least, I'd reckon the Xplorer is more efficient, requiring less power to drive them. True, with isobaric design you have two drivers, but these work sympatrically and are therefore more efficient than a single driver. The isobaric design also reduces need for effective cabinet volume, so despite their larger size, no reason the Atom shouldn't drive the Xplorer.  In the end though, speaker fit is all room and listener dependent.

Edward Hattersley posted:

I’m using an Atom with the Xplorers and it works great so I would think it’s fine

There's some direct testimony.

Skip posted:

The Explorer looks very interesting but I bet that isobarik woofer needs power unless you just have a small room.    Did you see the review in the new HiFi Critic?  "Recommended,"   We heard the Iota Alpha and it got my attention, but I wanted to hear the isobarik.       

The review it’s exciting and while I don’t know the reputation of the magazine I feel I have my answer. Because of wife and space constraints I cannot afford explorer, actually I’m selling my Motive 2 to go to Iota Alpha.

thanks

joerand posted:

caolino70 posted:

Well I assume the xplorers are even more difficult to drive..

Skip posted:

The Explorer looks very interesting but I bet that isobarik woofer needs power unless you just have a small room.  

Interesting speculation. The Iota Alpha is a 4-ohm speaker rated at 86 dB sensitivity. The Xplorer is 6-ohm at 88 dB. On paper at least, I'd reckon the Xplorer is more efficient, requiring less power to drive them. True, with isobaric design you have two drivers, but these work sympatrically and are therefore more efficient than a single driver. The isobaric design also reduces need for effective cabinet volume, so despite their larger size, no reason the Atom shouldn't drive the Xplorer.  In the end though, speaker fit is all room and listener dependent.

Sorry for my ignorance,what is the isobaric design?

I saw this in their Facebook page and dropped them a quick line (via FB) asking if the Nait was happy driving driving the Xplorers, and they confirmed that it had no issues whatsoever as they are much more efficient than the smaller boxes in this range, even at high volumes there was no clipping apparently (newly serviced Nait2 btw). I wish I'd gone to to the show now!

I've heard the Atom with Neat Iota Xplorer speakers.
I'd be more than happy with that combination if I couldn't go further up the Naim ladder.
I'd think the Iota's will also provide much pleasure with the Atom.

Alba1320 posted:

joerand posted:

caolino70 posted:

Well I assume the xplorers are even more difficult to drive..

Skip posted:

The Explorer looks very interesting but I bet that isobarik woofer needs power unless you just have a small room.  

Interesting speculation. The Iota Alpha is a 4-ohm speaker rated at 86 dB sensitivity. The Xplorer is 6-ohm at 88 dB. On paper at least, I'd reckon the Xplorer is more efficient, requiring less power to drive them. True, with isobaric design you have two drivers, but these work sympatrically and are therefore more efficient than a single driver. The isobaric design also reduces need for effective cabinet volume, so despite their larger size, no reason the Atom shouldn't drive the Xplorer.  In the end though, speaker fit is all room and listener dependent.

At the recent 'North West Audio Show', it seems that Neat used a Nait 2 for the Xplorer dem.

 

(Credit to Neat for the pic.)

Kudos if the Explorers can work that close to rear wall as it looks on picture

Great little amp btw

Good as my UQ are a Nait is something entirely different, better.

Is this a Chord dac below Rega psu ?

My Xplorers are 8 inches from the wall.  I wasn’t actually looking for new speakers but my local Naim dealer, I’m in Chicago but from the UK, had a trade in pair that I picked up half price !