Nova vs Atom - It's a knock out

But why are you trying to compare an Atom (£1750), a Nova (£4100) to a 272/250DR (£8000) ???

Why not, it's a new Naim hifi platform for the future, where does it sit amongst its peers? Preferences and maybe prejudices aside, it will find its place alongside the classic Naim of 272/250 and others. They only have a power amp upgrade option which takes them to similar price points.

Nice Impressions, but I would be even more interested in a comparison between the Nova and the Uniti 2 or the Superuniti. Is the Nova a step forward soundwise besides the obvious technical upgrade of the streaming platform?

I agree - over the last few years Naim appear to have been upping their game - so now it is very relevant to make these tests.  I wouldn't be surprised if next year will bring some upgrades to the classic line -  a new streamer maybe? but will the green displays stay - or will there be an NDX 2 with a colour display and discrete white lighting  .. .. 

dave-mac posted:

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

Thanks Simon. Would you say the difference would have been as noticeable if you'd have taken a couple of hours in-between testing each model? I'm deciding between the two, but doubt I'd be able to side-by-side them. I don't mind paying extra for the nova, but not if it's only marginally 'better' than the atom. I'd want night and day difference at over twice the price!

Yes, absolutely... it wasn't really very subtle... the balance, clarity, dynamics, emotion and realism  took a big step forward.. very noticeable on voices and large mixes...and the Nova was more like what I am used to  from my audio replay systems.

Josipo posted:

I'm usually reading other people posts, but this time I would like to share my experience on this comparison as I had an interesting demo today at my dealer.

 

i have initially brought my 272/250 DR to compare it to atom/nova which would be used In the second system. Speakers are Harbeth (various) and listening was done on Atome alone, Nova alone, Nova as preamp/streamer with 250 DR and 272/250 DR.

let me Jump to the conclusion immediately.  The best sounding, meaning the best dynamics, separation, clear and stable stereo image with Boogie factor had Nova/250 DR followed by Atom (only In case more efficient speakers Were used - Harbeth 7ES In our case), then 272/250 DR then Nova. 

However, Nova was not burned In as other components Were, but it's preamp/streamer section is exceptional. When the 250 DR was added to Nova, it brought fulness to the sound, control of lower register and boogie factor that seems to be missing before.

 

i will repeat this demo In a few weeks time to check if the Nova coming last In this demo was just a burn In thing, but usually one can get the feel of the sound character by the first use of  a component

Can u please also listen atom with 250 dr ? It wud be interesting to know how does that compare with nova + 250 dr.

Regards,

Sourav

I think the SU and Unit Qute comparison is a very good one, but also I would say the old olive range, which I always rated as true Naim and disliked when the new range came out so took time out.

It's hard to recall after 20 years but I always have a number of test/demo tracks and whatever I listen on even headphones I compare.

Anyway for me I prefer my current meagre Nova setup far superior to what I recall was at the time close to the top of the range system, bar 135 and DBLs.

Does clearly seem Naim are going super Nova and Atom with performance, sadly very little technical comparisons make everything hearsay or subjective.

With regards to the topic title: it should be a knock-out, pricewise ... don't you think so?

It would be worrying if it wasn't. It's like saying that a 250 is better than a 100. Surprise, surprise. 

The nova should and must be much better than the atom. There is no contest there for he price 

the key question is value for money...

if i had the cash, nova or star for the extra headroom but the atom is coming out (like his predecessor) as a box of wonder 

Klout10 posted:

With regards to the topic title: it should be a knock-out, pricewise ... don't you think so?

Im now biased as i dont care, but for prospective buyers or upgraders, No.

Maybe if there was a list of what as opposed to just layout or wattage, the later works clearly for power amps.

Most here are of the suspicion (me also prior) that the main hardware is identical, so aside from smart layout, 40 more watts, that's it - kinda an anti climax when calling a product reference, was expecting a better DAC/ Preamp - from a specification sheet perspective.

But pure listening wise I would say it is a reference and special vs the Atom.

The dac is probably very similar to that in the Muso, but it's the way it's implemented, software, circuit layout etc which at a Muso price point has limitations. The same is probably true for the Nova vs Atom. If people got hung up on the box contents the 40 year old Nap 250 would have died long ago, it has not because it still delivers the sound quality.

Gazza posted:

The dac is probably very similar to that in the Muso, but it's the way it's implemented, software, circuit layout etc which at a Muso price point has limitations. The same is probably true for the Nova vs Atom. If people got hung up on the box contents the 40 year old Nap 250 would have died long ago, it has not because it still delivers the sound quality.

I think the question is now has Naim upped the gave so much with the Uniti - that it' superior in terms of listening or tech advancemnts ...

My wife (the in supporting audiophile type) thinks there was nothing wrong with the Atom, so why £4100 for another box : /

My son loves it and wants to boogie more than he did with the Atom : )

Sorry to tease but the Nova just gets better and better, peeling so many layers back with effortless ease, BUT it's a dangerous upgrade as yes it's peeled back so much more and elements it hasn't but has uncovered them a little ... to tease you for more.

Update, wife saw my post and said, she can tell the difference, bass lovely and vocals sweet.

So there it is if it can please her in doors it has to be special.

Enough teasing we are having a family toe tapping, head nodding, listening sesssion.

Swapped to my favourite genre hardcore trance (had been listening to classical in DSD, Latin, jazz, pop), why i actually got into Naim i could never find a system that could keep up with this genre of music, so many layers, building, complex baselines, the classic Naim olive systems used that trademark vice like grip with such precison, but more importantly with such euphoric ease made great music even better.

Listening to a few tracks but always loved, Nothing 93 remix - John 00 Fleming (and the rest of the album), recalling my old active olive system, the Nova excels and utterly destroys, yes destroys what I recall, amazing. In every respect the Nova is excelling, in particular dynamics, speed, control.

Every track for an album I know inside out and one of a variety of genre test albums I used to use.

Sadly the household don't live trance music ; )

Josipo posted:

Let me Jump to the conclusion immediately.  The best sounding, meaning the best dynamics, separation, clear and stable stereo image with Boogie factor had Nova/250 DR followed by Atom (only In case more efficient speakers Were used - Harbeth 7ES In our case), then 272/250 DR then Nova.

So Nova better than 272 at precisely what the 272 does. Meaning that the power amp section of the Nova is effectively free, from a VFM point of view.

And Atom is better than 272/250, so long as really quite good speakers more sensitive than 86dB are used (which isn't all that sensitive). Nova judgement still pending while the Nova settles down properly.

Can't help but think that others may not agree - it's fair enough as an opinion of course, but if it emerges as a consensus view it comprehensively buggers up Naim's product range until the inevitable new streaming products are rolled out.

Dave, I think you summed it up correctly. I was also surprised at the outcome of this demo, so decided to repeat it.

however, I have taken following conclusion from the demo:

- Atom is exceptioanl piece of kit and VFM and as such a clear upgrade on all accounts compared to its already good predecessor (which I also owned)

- 250 DR is a world class power amp.

- uniti core which was used In demo via BNC output with Naim DC1 is also world class source (I know some high end Gryphon users that use core as source)

- new uniti platform is a technological upgrade with clear sonical benefits, however its integration with power amp section still bugs me , so retesting is essential

if I can compare the results of this demo with the previous Uniti series, I have to say that I never felt at home with superuniti. Yes, it had best bass and separation but it felt a bit lifeless to me compared to Uniti 2 and Unitiqute 2. Like it was missing excitment. I had the same experience with the most expensive Uniti again. It is really good HIFI but not as exciting to me as Atom

my dealer agrees with my conclusion completely, so he will test with different speakers just to be sure this is not a synergy issue

I figured out an interesting info from the naim uniti page. 

For Atom and Star for the dac section it says that the software used is naims intelligent software. Where as for Nova it says that it uses Naim's buffer (first used in Naim nDac and NDS) and does 16 times over sampling.

Now being an owner of Naim DAC the technology used thete is really awesome in terms of result.

But the point is it is not explicit that Atom does not use the same tech (but some other 'intelligent Naim software').

Regards,

Sourav

I spent a happy few hours at my dealer today, listening to a range of music. (Ones I noted down were Al Stewart year of the cat, Perahia's Goldbergs (1&2), Led Zep Rock and Roll, Gergiev's Stravinsky Rite of Spring Sacrificial dance, Miles Davis So What, Mahler Resurrection Symphony mit aufschwung Aber nicht  eilen, Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbot What Have We Become, Fairport Convention Come All Ye.)

1st system was an Atom into Neat SX1s. Very enjoyable, the Atom swung, reproduced notes well, didn't seem to struggle driving the Neats. The rock numbers induced quite a bit of foot tapping, overall it was a system I could enjoy music on. The more complex music, Mahler, Miles was enjoyable, but it was noticeable that the Atom was struggling slightly to control and separate the music., perhaps most on the Rite of Spring

Atom was replaced by a Nova, which had been running in for 3 days, I was the first serious listener to it. It was a noticeable step up, on the Rite of Spring I noted that the string sound was fuller, there was greater control which made the threads of the music clearer, overall the orchestra sounded more menacing. Perahia's piano on the Goldbergs sounded good on both, on the Nova it sounded fuller and more like a real piano. On the Zeppelin, the drive was similar on both system, but the sound of the band was fuller on the Nova. On the Paul Heaton, Jacqui's voice was significantly better on the Nova, and there was a better feeling of space and clarity. Similarly on the Fairport, Sandy's voice was more lovely on the Nova.

Generally, I felt the Atom was excellent and incredible for its size and price. The Nova was a major step up, as it should be for the money, it handled female voices brilliantly, and for complex music handled the timing and the multiple threads much better than the Atom.

I then tried a couple of different speakers, PMC 25.23, Kudos X2 on the Nova. For my taste the PMC was an improvement, dynamics were excellent, both the orchestral works and rock swung. Tonally perhaps a bit more restrained than the Neats, female vocals were also improved. The Kudos followed the PMCs, for me they lacked a bit of drive and slam compared to the others, leaving me not appreciating the rhythm of the orchestral and rock pieces as much. 

Generally in the speakers I think it was as much difference of presentation as quality, so different people might enjoy different speakers more. 

I've ordered the Nova and PMCs, I think it'll be a stunning system in my upstairs lounge. I listened to a few of the pieces when I got home on my NDX 82/Hicap/2*135 B&W804s system, the older system seems to me to have fuller tone, better control of complex music, more realistic vocals, better drive and bass, but I certainly won't feel I'm not getting musical enjoyment when I'm upstairs rather than downstairs (and the views over the Calder caller are much better upstairs).

A very similar outcome to my demo, though I had Russell k 120 and 150 instead of the Neats, you tried. Interesting I was wanting to really like the Kudos speakers, but I too found they lacked that drive and slam.They seemed to take forever to wake up.........and then did not match the PMC. I ended up buying the dealers fairly new 25.26, just waiting for Nova now.

Enjoy your new system.

Gazza posted:

[SNIP]

Enjoy your new system.

Thanks Gazza, and you.

My dealer installed my Nova late yesterday with NACA5 and a pair of piano black PMC 25.26. The latter were only a couple of weeks old, ex demo from my dealer, so nice little bargain. My dealer linked my Virgin box through optical to my Nova in conjunction to my old Pioneer Kuro 5090, sound was impressive. Hooked up to my Uniti core immediately the Nova sounded really musical and had deep tight bass. After a few hours the system stemmed to relax a little and was easier to listen to. Needs a few weeks to burn amp and cables in, will report back next month. Excellent service from Signals, my dealer, nothing too much trouble.

Gazza

Finally got my speaker stands last week, spiked and filled, the Nova just keeps getting better, even more lower level detail coming through.

Just been listening but hard to resist simple tweaks the squeeze more and more resolution out of the Nova.