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Naim Atom or Yamaha R-N1000
- Thread starter Dinko
- Start date
Easy answer for me. Go with the Yamaha Yamaha R-N1000a. 
I assume you meant this Naim.>
www.naimaudio.com
I assume you meant this Naim.>
Uniti Atom - All-in-One Wireless Music Player | Naim Audio
The new Uniti Atom by Naim Audio is our compact, high end all-in-one player with outstanding sound quality & an array of exciting features. Learn more here.
www.naimaudio.com
radix
Major Contributor
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2021
- Messages
- 1,409
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- 1,349
They are different beasts. I would think the Atom is closer to a NAD M33 or M10 or Cambridge Evo or a Rotel or some other combo streamer/amp/display screen.
If you like the functionality of the Atom, i.e. the screen, the streamer interface, the Naim multiroom, it's not bad. But you'll get a lot more value from the Yamaha and I bet it sound just as good for half the price.
Naim products do a have a look to them, and maybe that's worth something to you? If so, that's ok.
I'd personally make a list of what I want, e.g. what streaming services, do I want multi-room, do I want room correction (the yamaha as YPO), what are the remotes like, is having a screen important, etc.
You should also think about how many watts you need for your size room. There is a BIG power difference between them. The Focal #2 are 91 dB/w sensitivity, which is pretty good (i.e. its measure of loudness per watt). you likely don't need a lot of power, depending how big the room is and how far away and loud you want it to be.
Personally for my room, I am about 3m from the speakers and want 95dB SPL w/ 10dB of headroom. With those speakers, I would need 225 wpc. That's pretty basting loud, but I want that for my top-end. My normal listening of 85 (or less) db SPL only needs 23 wpc with those speakers. That's me in my size room with your speakers, based on a calculator.
If you have an existing amp, you can download a free SPL (sound pressure level) meter for your phone and get a ballpark about how loud you want it to play. Just sit in your normal spot and crank it up and watch the meter.
The Naim is 40 wpc (8-ohm) vs the Yamaha at 100 ( 8-ohm). That's the big difference.
I'd not spend $3800 for 40-wpc.
If you like the functionality of the Atom, i.e. the screen, the streamer interface, the Naim multiroom, it's not bad. But you'll get a lot more value from the Yamaha and I bet it sound just as good for half the price.
Naim products do a have a look to them, and maybe that's worth something to you? If so, that's ok.
I'd personally make a list of what I want, e.g. what streaming services, do I want multi-room, do I want room correction (the yamaha as YPO), what are the remotes like, is having a screen important, etc.
You should also think about how many watts you need for your size room. There is a BIG power difference between them. The Focal #2 are 91 dB/w sensitivity, which is pretty good (i.e. its measure of loudness per watt). you likely don't need a lot of power, depending how big the room is and how far away and loud you want it to be.
Personally for my room, I am about 3m from the speakers and want 95dB SPL w/ 10dB of headroom. With those speakers, I would need 225 wpc. That's pretty basting loud, but I want that for my top-end. My normal listening of 85 (or less) db SPL only needs 23 wpc with those speakers. That's me in my size room with your speakers, based on a calculator.
If you have an existing amp, you can download a free SPL (sound pressure level) meter for your phone and get a ballpark about how loud you want it to play. Just sit in your normal spot and crank it up and watch the meter.
The Naim is 40 wpc (8-ohm) vs the Yamaha at 100 ( 8-ohm). That's the big difference.
I'd not spend $3800 for 40-wpc.
- Thread Starter
- #4
The price difference between the Yamaha and the Naim Uniti Atom is minimal because the Atom is 1 year old and the Yamaha is new. I'm not sure how Yamaha will play with Focal and I don't have a chance to listen to them. I'm afraid of too bright tones.
Assuming that these are competent amplifications, you will not notice any difference in tone, the urban legend of Yamahas sounding brighter is indeed an urban legend
What is that ? Could be one of five very different speakers: Aria Evo X, Theva, Vestia, Kanta, Sopra ?
Focal #2 is not a speaker.
Atom for aesthetics. Yamaha R-N1000 if you want a true amplifier. Measurements of each :
Naim Uniti Atom Review (Streamer & Amp)
This is a review and detailed measurements of the Naim Uniti Atom streamer, DAC and integrated amplifier. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $3,799. The overall industry design is attractive and has a high-end look to it. Alas, every part of the unit has an ultra sharp edge from...
www.audiosciencereview.com
Yamaha R-N1000A Network Receiver Bench Test Results
The Yamaha R-N1000A is a 2CH Network AV receiver rated at 100 watts/ch and has features most stereo receivers don’t. Our bench test report determines if it lives up to their prestigious Top-Art reputation.
There's no such thing if your amp is not load dependant.
restorer-john
Grand Contributor
Not an urban legend.
Yamaha amplifiers from the earliest "natural sound" ranges right through until the early nineties were somewhat lean and bright sounding. Frequency response plots on numerous examples over the decades have shown the same, as have many plots I've run of many vintage Yamahas.
They have a rolled off bottom end in many cases which is why they sounded like they did.
I don't doubt it could have been like this thirty years ago if your measurements say so.
However, all the new Yamaha electronics tested are perfectly flat in response, while this belief continues to be perpetrated as if a Yamaha a-s1200 sounded different from a cambridge audio cxa81 (which, as we know, sounds warm because it is English....)
There is no such thing.
There is a Yamaha R-N1000a
Yes, come on.... You could have achieved this with a little flexibility.....
I pointed it out early in the thread but this person insists on being sloppy with modelsYes, come on.... You could have achieved this with a little flexibility.....
@Dinko Welcome to ASR
BTW, i think NAIMs site has a badly photoshopped picture of a Chora 806 besides their device. The sizes don't match ;-)
It's like the pictures of running pads on Amazon with tiny men and women on them. ;-)
The walking pad is 1.2m long. That makes the girl 1.2m high ;-)
The NAIMs screen is nice and all, but consider that the screen might be 2 or 3 meters away, to me it would be a useless most of the time.
Better yet, if you prefer to listen to music at night sometimes, without waking anyone, but you still want a rich sound: they offer a variable loudness. It's a great feature if you like your sound to be rich and warm at the daytime too.
Anyway, i don't think it applies to this design. Measurements of the R-N803D (the predecessor) shows a neutral response, the specs on Yamahas website and the pictures of the guts indicate the analog parts to be the same.
All that said, maybe the NAIM has a software feature that is worth looking at it still? And what would you have to pay, maybe that should be considered as well.
I think i would pick the Yamaha, it has far more functionality and connections. Yamaha also has a more beefy power amp section, so you are basically free to use any speaker you want. 40W@8 sounds a bit limiting if you have a really low sensitivity speaker. Wich your Focals aren't, but you get what i want to say.
BTW, i think NAIMs site has a badly photoshopped picture of a Chora 806 besides their device. The sizes don't match ;-)
It's like the pictures of running pads on Amazon with tiny men and women on them. ;-)
The walking pad is 1.2m long. That makes the girl 1.2m high ;-)
The NAIMs screen is nice and all, but consider that the screen might be 2 or 3 meters away, to me it would be a useless most of the time.
Yamaha has a treble knob for fast adjustment.
Better yet, if you prefer to listen to music at night sometimes, without waking anyone, but you still want a rich sound: they offer a variable loudness. It's a great feature if you like your sound to be rich and warm at the daytime too.
I don't think so, i wouldn't say a 1dB drop at 15Hz or so leads to something sounding lean. I believe they sounded lean because they had, as competent transistor designs, less distortion than their valve peers. Also they came in a very bright silver color sometimes, and silver means it sounds less warm, as we all know.
Anyway, i don't think it applies to this design. Measurements of the R-N803D (the predecessor) shows a neutral response, the specs on Yamahas website and the pictures of the guts indicate the analog parts to be the same.
All that said, maybe the NAIM has a software feature that is worth looking at it still? And what would you have to pay, maybe that should be considered as well.
How about the Sonos AMP? It has a built in well supported streamer, and quite a bit of power. It looks good, and can even be put away in some cupboard for an even more discreet esthetics. It also has an hdmi pinput for your TV, and a subwoofer out. Don't buy it if more inputs including for analogue sources are important for you.
restorer-john
Grand Contributor
I don't imagine, I measure. And we aren't talking about comparisons to valve gear. Yamaha amplifiers had no less THD than other gear of the time. When other competing Japanese designs were ruler flat in comparison, Yamaha were not. Some people liked their sound. And they have always been a high dynamic power design with softer supplies than other Japanese manufacturers. That meant inadequate heatsinking and frequent overheating events. And running out of power in the lowest octaves. Very audible.
Kind of like their modern stuff (which I like for mums and dads playing normal level stuff). You know their diagnostics virtually spy on their owners? If you take your amp/receiver in for service, we can tell how many on/off cycles it has had, how many days, hours and minutes it has operated, how loud you had the volume, how many protection events etc.
It's getting out of hand. Soon, they will deny warranty service if you weren't listening to "approved" genres of music... LOL.
restorer-john
Grand Contributor
I've got a RN-603 here that has died. One of my best friends asked me to have a look at it.
Guess what? It's a write off after about 6 years. Destined to become another parts donor.
Absolutely stupid design decisions from Yamaha placing high density, small pitch SMDs including the main CPU on the digital board horizontally right under the grille perforations. Salt air, dirt and dust. At least put a thin sheet of clear polycarbonate sheeting over the board- it doesn't even get hot...
And guess what?
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I'm talking about it, as one of the sources of the urban legend that Yamaha stuff sounds bright. That, and their particular bright shade of silver.
Luxmans Champagner color sounds objectively warmer.
R-N 602? R-N 803D?
A shame.
But i think that's true for most other companies as well, their digital parts are short lived and the incentive to keep a stock of parts is pretty much non existent.
On the bright side, that chip allowed the manufacturer to cram features into the device not possible 30 years ago for ten times the price.
Tell your bud this: "Don't cry that it died. Be happy that you could listen to it!"