Uniti Nova or Atom + NAP 250 (Non-DR)?

Posted by: Rsure on 04 December 2017

Hi, newbie to the forum and never owned any NAIM, YET!

I recently had the opportunity to listen to the Uniti Atom connected to a pair of Focal Kantas and was very impressed by the overall sound and was surprised the Atom could drive these large floorstanders so well.  I was also impressed with the Focal Kantas as they sounded awesome connected to a Devialet 130 Pro as well.  I am very keen on the speakers but given their price I will have to put it off for now.   I have however got the opportunity to consider a used Atom along with a 2012 NAP 250 (non-DR version) for a price lower than a new Uniti Nova and was hoping for some feedback on this.  Owing to a heavy travel schedule I unfortunately do not have the opportunity to audition the Novas and need to decide on the Atom+NAP 250 combo asap.  I couldn't gather the differences between the Nova and Atom besides the additional power, more inputs and the FM tuner on the Nova.  Also saw on another thread feedback from someone in Naim that the Nova had an improved DAC and Amp section and was a completely different/improved design.  The Nova would of course also be a simpler one box option at least eliminating the cable requirement between the Atom and NAP 250 but would there be a significant difference in the sound between the two?  My music is a bit of almost everything (Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, Sting, Eric Clapton, Santana, Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, Norah Jones, Adele, Audioslave, Metallica, some EDM, some Jazz/blues, some instrumental mainly string instruments - guitar/sitar etc.).  I am trying to decide if the Nova will sound better than the Atom+NAP 250 combo and worth the additional $ as well?

Appreciate any feedback, thanks! 

 

Posted on: 09 December 2017 by Rsure

[@mention:36201736949470193] and [@mention:71539985729025468] - thank you very much for your feedback, really do appreciate your taking the time to help me out with these decisions.  It's great to hear that my NAP250 can be upgraded to the DR version but I think that's for a few years down the line.  Also not going to tinker with the ethernet cable or power cord for now.  I will however go to my local Naim dealer and check out the A5 cables.  The last time I met him I do believe he recommended Vertere cables for the Uniti range (didn't specifically discuss the NAP then) but again I'm not sure if I'd be better off just sticking with the A5?  

Thanks again for all the advice!

Posted on: 09 December 2017 by Gazza

Naim are using A5 to demo the Nova, Atom etc. In a very large room at Audio Show East they had the Nova with the new Focal Kantra, sounded great, cables were Naim Naca5.

Posted on: 10 December 2017 by Alley Cat
ChrisSU posted:
Alley Cat posted:

One think I think it's a shame the new Uniti series don't offer is the option for external PSUs which I felt were one of the best ways of significantly improving the sound quality of my older separates components.

unity
ˈjuːnɪti
noun
the state of being united or joined as a whole.
the state of forming a complete and harmonious whole, especially in an artistic context.
The clue is in the name!

Strange as it may seem I've never even given the name 'Uniti' a second thought but that makes sense.

It's perhaps a bit down to my own wants/expectations - a Uniti styled high quality pre-amp alone with option for external PSUs and power amps would be nice - appreciate there are other products that could plug that gap, suspect a few time might be in line for an update....

( I cannot believe the horrendous typos above in my post !  Ughhhh! )

Posted on: 10 December 2017 by ChrisSU

I wouldn’t say that NACA5 was essential, just that it is the cable that Naim designed to ensure that their amps work optimally, particularly in terms of having the right inductance and capacitance. So it gives you a sort of benchmark against which to compare alternatives. There are some popular alternatives out there which will still be suitable, including Tellurium Q, Vertere, Chord etc.