Naim Uniti Atom HE power amp suggestion + Apple Music

[Gaborm1]

I decided to buy the Naim Uniti Atom HE with a Focal Clear MG headphone. Since 90% of my listening will be on the headphones, I want to connect the Atom HE to an amplifier and speakers. Currently, I have a Yamaha R-N602. However, I can only use the RCA connection, not the balance XLR. Which power amp with balanced XLR would you suggest? The NAIM NAP 250 is around £6200 and would require to replace my Dali Zensor 3 (I guess). This would mean at least a £8k investment, which I want to avoid.

My other question is that even though I have Quboz, I want to listen to Apple Music on the Naim Uniti Atom HE, what is the best way to connect an iPhone/iPad to the unit?

 

[staticV3]

Which power amp with balanced XLR would you suggest?

Take a look at Nord's offerings: https://nordacoustics.co.uk/products/

what is the best way to connect an iPhone/iPad to the unit?

AirPlay for convenience

Lightning to Coax adapter for lossless transmission (e.g. Lightning to USB-C OTG cable + TC100-COA/TC100S)

 

[Willem]

I decided to buy the Naim Uniti Atom HE with a Focal Clear MG headphone. Since 90% of my listening will be on the headphones, I want to connect the Atom HE to an amplifier and speakers. Currently, I have a Yamaha R-N602. However, I can only use the RCA connection, not the balance XLR. Which power amp with balanced XLR would you suggest? The NAIM NAP 250 is around £6200 and would require to replace my Dali Zensor 3 (I guess). This would mean at least a £8k investment, which I want to avoid.

My other question is that even though I have Quboz, I want to listen to Apple Music on the Naim Uniti Atom HE, what is the best way to connect an iPhone/iPad to the unit?

The RME ADI-2 would be a far better preamp/headphone amp, and would save you a lot of money. As for power amp, I would suggest a Purifi or Hypex based one if you want the best of what money can buy - there is plenty of choice of those, and again for not that much money compared to the figures you are quoting. All this will save you a fair bit of cash to spend on speakers.

 

[Gaborm1]

Take a look at Nord's offerings: https://nordacoustics.co.uk/products/


AirPlay for convenience

Lightning to Coax adapter for lossless transmission (e.g. Lightning to USB-C OTG cable + TC100-COA/TC100S)

Thanks, will check the amplifiers.

I want a lossless transition. Do you have any particular brand you suggest?

The RME ADI-2 would be a far better preamp/headphone amp, and would save you a lot of money. As for power amp, I would suggest a Purifi or Hypex based one if you want the best of what money can buy - there is plenty of choice of those, and again for not that much money compared to the figures you are quoting. All this will save you a fair bit of cash to spend on speakers.

The RME ADI-2 would be a far better preamp/headphone amp, and would save you a lot of money. As for power amp, I would suggest a Purifi or Hypex based one if you want the best of what money can buy - there is plenty of choice of those, and again for not that much money compared to the figures you are quoting. All this will save you a fair bit of cash to spend on speakers.

Thanks for your input. Although I have not tested RME (I read many very positive reviews!), I was amazed at the Atom HE sound quality. On top, I like Atom's design, and if I want to add a CDT later, I would prefer to be part of one ecosystem. I checked the RME ADI-2 availability in the UK, and many sites are showing as not available/orderable at the moment.

 

[staticV3]

I want a lossless transition. Do you have any particular brand you suggest?

Not really.
There are a bunch of products which will all give you equally well lossless transmission of audio.

Here are a few:

Hifime S2 Digi -Optical SPDIF input and output to USB

The Hifime S2 Digi is an optical in/out device. It has an optical SPDIF input and also an output which can both be used at the same time.

hifimediy.com

Hifime USB to Optical converter

The UT23 connects to your computer via USB and sends out an optical SPDIF signal. There is no DAC involved, just the USB to optical feature.

hifimediy.com

PO100 Pro

Foshan ShuangMuSanLin electronics Co., LTD. founded in 2009 which located in Shenzhen, China. And our branch company VMV Technology(HK) Company Limited registered in HK in 2013. Our company is specialized in the audio DAC, stereo headphone amplifier, power amplifier, and with own R&D...

www.smsl-audio.com

USB C to SPDIF Optical Audio Converter

HIGHLIGHT [Instantly Connect your USB C Devices to S/PDIF Sound System] – Cubilux USB C to S/PDIF Optical Audio Converter lets you easily connect your USB C smartphone, laptop or computer to Soundbar, Home audio system, external DAC, Amplifier, Preamp or Speaker to enjoy lossless surround sound...

www.cubilux.com

USB A to SPDIF Optical Audio Converter-Black

HIGHLIGHT [Instantly Connect your USB A Devices to S/PDIF Sound System] – Cubilux USB A to S/PDIF Optical Audio Converter lets you easily connect your USB Type A laptop, computer or gaming console with sound bar, home audio system, external DAC, amplifier, preamp or speaker to enjoy lossless...

www.cubilux.com

DD ddHiFi TC100S Portable Digital Interface & RC100C RCA OCC Coaxial Cable (Detachable Version of TC100-COA)

Buy DD ddHiFi TC100S Portable Digital Interface & RC100C RCA OCC Coaxial Cable (Detachable Version of TC100-COA) on HiFiGo, and you can enjoy a year warranty and the best after-sales service.

hifigo.com

DD ddHiFi TC100-COA USB-C Female to Digital RCA Coaxial Converter Audio Cable

Buy DD ddHiFi TC100-COA USB-C Female to Digital RCA Coaxial Converter Audio Cable on HiFiGo, and you can enjoy a year warranty and the best after-sales service.

hifigo.com

Douk Audio U2 XMOS XU208 USB to Coaxial/Optical Converter Digital Interface Audio Adapter DSD

U2 is a USB to Toslink optical and coaxial converter, suitable for PC computer, notebook, android phone(OTG), set-top box, rock 64, raspberry pi and so on, it can bring better listening experience than PC own sound card. Features Adopting the digital interface of XMOS XU208 chip solution, with...

doukaudio.com

Douk Audio U2 PRO XMOS XU208 USB to COAX/OPT/HDMI Converter Digital Interface DSD256

Features With USB input and TOSLINK optical / coaxial /HDMI 12S output(can output at the same time), can work well with DAC, preamp, amplifier or speaker. Adopting XMOS XU208 chip solution, with 1000MIPS random access memory much higher than U8 (500MIPS), and more stable than Italian Amanero...

doukaudio.com

One differentiating factor is that some converters will lock your iPhone's volume at 100%, while others will still allow you to control volume via your phone's volume rocker.

All of these can be connected to you iPhone/iPad.
How you connect them depends on which converter you choose and whether your iPhone/iPad uses Lightning or USB-C.

 

[Gaborm1]

Not really.
There are a bunch of products which will all give you equally well lossless transmission of audio.

Here are a few:

Hifime S2 Digi -Optical SPDIF input and output to USB

The Hifime S2 Digi is an optical in/out device. It has an optical SPDIF input and also an output which can both be used at the same time.

hifimediy.com

Hifime USB to Optical converter

The UT23 connects to your computer via USB and sends out an optical SPDIF signal. There is no DAC involved, just the USB to optical feature.

hifimediy.com

PO100 Pro

Foshan ShuangMuSanLin electronics Co., LTD. founded in 2009 which located in Shenzhen, China. And our branch company VMV Technology(HK) Company Limited registered in HK in 2013. Our company is specialized in the audio DAC, stereo headphone amplifier, power amplifier, and with own R&D...

www.smsl-audio.com

USB C to SPDIF Optical Audio Converter

HIGHLIGHT [Instantly Connect your USB C Devices to S/PDIF Sound System] – Cubilux USB C to S/PDIF Optical Audio Converter lets you easily connect your USB C smartphone, laptop or computer to Soundbar, Home audio system, external DAC, Amplifier, Preamp or Speaker to enjoy lossless surround sound...

www.cubilux.com

USB A to SPDIF Optical Audio Converter-Black

HIGHLIGHT [Instantly Connect your USB A Devices to S/PDIF Sound System] – Cubilux USB A to S/PDIF Optical Audio Converter lets you easily connect your USB Type A laptop, computer or gaming console with sound bar, home audio system, external DAC, amplifier, preamp or speaker to enjoy lossless...

www.cubilux.com

DD ddHiFi TC100S Portable Digital Interface & RC100C RCA OCC Coaxial Cable (Detachable Version of TC100-COA)

Buy DD ddHiFi TC100S Portable Digital Interface & RC100C RCA OCC Coaxial Cable (Detachable Version of TC100-COA) on HiFiGo, and you can enjoy a year warranty and the best after-sales service.

hifigo.com

DD ddHiFi TC100-COA USB-C Female to Digital RCA Coaxial Converter Audio Cable

Buy DD ddHiFi TC100-COA USB-C Female to Digital RCA Coaxial Converter Audio Cable on HiFiGo, and you can enjoy a year warranty and the best after-sales service.

hifigo.com

Douk Audio U2 XMOS XU208 USB to Coaxial/Optical Converter Digital Interface Audio Adapter DSD

U2 is a USB to Toslink optical and coaxial converter, suitable for PC computer, notebook, android phone(OTG), set-top box, rock 64, raspberry pi and so on, it can bring better listening experience than PC own sound card. Features Adopting the digital interface of XMOS XU208 chip solution, with...

doukaudio.com

Douk Audio U2 PRO XMOS XU208 USB to COAX/OPT/HDMI Converter Digital Interface DSD256

Features With USB input and TOSLINK optical / coaxial /HDMI 12S output(can output at the same time), can work well with DAC, preamp, amplifier or speaker. Adopting XMOS XU208 chip solution, with 1000MIPS random access memory much higher than U8 (500MIPS), and more stable than Italian Amanero...

doukaudio.com

One differentiating factor is that some converters will lock your iPhone's volume at 100%, while others will still allow you to control volume via your phone's volume rocker.

All of these can be connected to you iPhone/iPad.
How you connect them depends on which converter you choose and whether your iPhone/iPad uses Lightning or USB-C.

Thanks this is very helpful!

 

[Willem]

Thanks, will check the amplifiers.

I want a lossless transition. Do you have any particular brand you suggest?


Thanks for your input. Although I have not tested RME (I read many very positive reviews!), I was amazed at the Atom HE sound quality. On top, I like Atom's design, and if I want to add a CDT later, I would prefer to be part of one ecosystem. I checked the RME ADI-2 availability in the UK, and many sites are showing as not available/orderable at the moment.

Good amplifiers do not have any sound quality - they are completely transparent. The Naim may well have a sound of its own - I don't know - , and that would be a bad sign. Many Naim units have not measured very well. In short, I think Naim is marketing story without much technical merit, and that at ridiculously elevated prices.
Conversely, the RME ADI-2 is viewed by many as the ultimate DAC/preamp/headphone amp because it measures extremely well, and much better than you could possibly hear (so don't even bother with a listening test), but also has numerous useful features such as adjustable tone controls, balance control, dynamic loudness, auto reference level, programmable filters, and more. All these things are extremely useful in real life. It is also very well made, and enjoys exceptional support, even after many years. Mind you, RME are primarily a pro audio company - your music may well have been recorded using some of their products. Add a power amplifier with auto on/off such as the BOXEM ones, and you only need to have the ADI-2 in sight.