Naim Uniti Atom Review (Streamer & Amp)

[AudioSceptic]

You can build your own using a Raspberry Pi, but the Octavio looks like a great solution if you want something ready-to-use for sensible money. Another you might want to look at is the Volumio Primo, although it costs more <https://volumio.com/en/product/volumio-primo/>.

I'd also like to discuss this further in another thread.

Another contender: <https://argonaudio.com/products/solo> for €249. This is getting close to the cost of a DIY RPi + DAC.

 

[AudioSceptic]

I'm not in the target market for the product but it's interesting to see measurements, as always. People most likely buy them based on integration, UX/UI, aesthetics and haptics which are all rather good. For likely listening habits and speaker choices of the target demographic, the measured performance will have no negative audible consequences.

That is all well and good, but the performance simply doesn't justify the price. I don't think it's even worth ½ the money.

 

[mr.k]

I have both, big speakers in one room and multiple speakers in that room and most other rooms. There are 6 ceiling speakers in the main music room, designed for audio, and I'm listening to them now, in preference to a pair of Wilson floorstanders. I love the Wilsons (always have liked their sound) but the multiple speakers give a more immersive sound. For some music (Bach on strings today) it's more pleasurable and sounds more intimate, like a good chamber performance. Tonally they are really not that far off the Wilsons, even though all 6 cost about £2,000.

Would you mind sharing what kind of ceiling speakers are you using ?

I was always tempted by the idea of multiple speakers in one room, but this idea is quickly discarded as bad here and on similar forums.

Just to be clear, I'm not interested in surround sound, i just want my "stereo" (mono?) music to be omnipresent in my irregular shape living space area.
Sitting in a sweet spot, no matter how wide it is, simply does not work in family enviroment

 

[Doodski]

I'm not in the target market for the product but it's interesting to see measurements, as always. People most likely buy them based on integration, UX/UI, aesthetics and haptics which are all rather good. For likely listening habits and speaker choices of the target demographic, the measured performance will have no negative audible consequences.

That's a lot of assertions.

 

[SMc]

+ Denon CEOL (with CD) or Piccolo (without).

Nice discussion of the CEOL and Melody including how the designs differ: https://blog.son-video.com/en/2015/...n-ceol-and-marantz-melody-mini-hi-fi-systems/

Both way cheaper than the Naim, even if you managed to snag a discontinued model from accessories4less or elsewhere.

 

[ieatfishburritos]

I've been waiting for Amir to get his hands on one of these and really appreciate the measurements and his analysis. I have both a Denon X3700 (9 months old) and a Uniti Atom (14 months old) which we alternate using with Klipsch Cornwall IVs & two RSL speedwoofer subs. There has been a very strong opinion formed in the household over the last 8 months and preference for music via the Uniti Atom. It reached the point my wife has asked that we no longer play music via the denon. I don't dispute the measurements presented or such however in practice it seems our family prefers the poorer measuring Uniti Atom by a wide margin for music duties.

 

[Axo1989]

That is all well and good, but the performance simply doesn't justify the price. I don't think it's even worth ½ the money.

You are assuming that potential buyers of the product prioritise "performance" they can't hear over everything else. And that people won't pay for integration, UX/UI, aesthetics and haptics they can see and feel. You aren't being logical.

 

[Axo1989]

I've been waiting for Amir to get his hands on one of these and really appreciate the measurements and his analysis. I have both a Denon X3700 (9 months old) and a Uniti Atom (14 months old) which we alternate using with Klipsch Cornwall IVs & two RSL speedwoofer subs. There has been a very strong opinion formed in the household over the last 8 months and preference for music via the Uniti Atom. It reached the point my wife has asked that we no longer play music via the denon. I don't dispute the measurements presented or such however in practice it seems our family prefers the poorer measuring Uniti Atom by a wide margin for music duties.

Limitation of the Atom include the range of speakers it will drive—it would be underpowered for mine—for example. But the "less than optimal" audio performance is theoretical for anticipated use cases. That mostly concerns things you can see on graphs but won't hear with your ears. That someone enjoys the sound doesn't surprise me at all.

 

[Burki]

I'm not using the Unity Atom, but the Unity Atom HE.
I believe, that the Atom has enough power for a lot of speakers, but the point for buying such an item can be:
- really all-in-one system
- great display
- good haptic (the volume controll feels really fine)
- stable firmware, with one of the best roon integration, that I know.

 

[AudioSceptic]

You are assuming that potential buyers of the product prioritise "performance" they can't hear over everything else. And that people won't pay for integration, UX/UI, aesthetics and haptics they can see and feel. You aren't being logical.

That's not what I said. *IMO* it's not worth the money. I'm not disputing that others may have different priorities and different views. Given the high price, I'd expect good performance *and* all the features that the Atom's buyers value.

 

[Garrincha]

I'm not using the Unity Atom, but the Unity Atom HE.
I believe, that the Atom has enough power for a lot of speakers, but the point for buying such an item can be:
- really all-in-one system
- great display
- good haptic (the volume controll feels really fine)
- stable firmware, with one of the best roon integration, that I know.

So all the positive points you listed, plus a very weak amp that will struggle with quite sa lot of speakers, performance bad to average of not having 16 bit SNR, which should/could be audible and a very high asking price make this unit a very bad offer. Some, like you, may like it still, but there are also people who like poorly made but overpriced designer clothes that don´t endure more than a few month of wear.

 

[Axo1989]

That's not what I said. *IMO* it's not worth the money. I'm not disputing that others may have different priorities and different views. Given the high price, I'd expect good performance *and* all the features that the Atom's buyers value.

For the post I quoted, the ambiguity wasn't whether it was your opinion (you didn't cite anyone else) but whether you were referring to other people's values or your own. The former wasn't a logical argument at all, but the latter is fine.

I can certainly understand you valuing "performance"—after all I like my amps to flash a good 10 kHz square wave and run arc-welding current. No reason for a Uniti buyer to care about our obsessions at all. For the design use case, they won't hear it.

 

[ousi]

I had the Naim Mu-So Qb v2 a while ago. Found that sounds pretty strange and muddied. I know it's not the same product but they are from the same line (the newer all-in-one, digital products). It's likely they spent so much to the design and firmware and compromised on the circuit design for the form-factor. If you open it up, it resembles nothing like any of the true Naim products at all. What a shame.

 

[TotallyTangerine]

Three threads have been started then deleted on the Naim Forum about this review. It's almost as if it's being viewed unfavourably by whoever moderates the Naim Forum.

 

[DSJR]

I think I can say that Naimies and their dealers *today,* tend to live in a bubble, where good reviews make them feel better and bad reviews are mostly played down or ignored altogether. I've heard one of these briefly and it's fine by the early 1980's UK audiophile standards that the now ageing audio peeps over here remember. I liked the 'feel' of the round control on the top and for many owners of such a device, that's fine and they'll stump up the dough regardless (the supplying dealer always at hand to help sort out software issues and suggest cable and speaker upgrades too.....

It's taken most of my working life to even begin to get a handle on my Aspergic tendencies, let alone a handle on people's motivations to spend so much money on luxury goods like this (in my day it was B&O but that brand is now even more stratospheric in silly pricing and aspiration). The chap above with the Cornwalls and one of these plus a Denon - I wonder if ease of use of the Naim doesn't play a factor in his lady's preference (I KNOW how good a lady's hearing can be, believe me ).

I suspect there's a kind of smug arrogance going on back at the factory, but you never know, a review like this may well generate their engineers to try to 'sort it.' Price will increase further though.

 

[AudioSceptic]

I think I can say that Naimies and their dealers *today,* tend to live in a bubble, where good reviews make them feel better and bad reviews are mostly played down or ignored altogether. I've heard one of these briefly and it's fine by the early 1980's UK audiophile standards that the now ageing audio peeps over here remember. I liked the 'feel' of the round control on the top and for many owners of such a device, that's fine and they'll stump up the dough regardless (the supplying dealer always at hand to help sort out software issues and suggest cable and speaker upgrades too.....

It's taken most of my working life to even begin to get a handle on my Aspergic tendencies, let alone a handle on people's motivations to spend so much money on luxury goods like this (in my day it was B&O but that brand is now even more stratospheric in silly pricing and aspiration). The chap above with the Cornwalls and one of these plus a Denon - I wonder if ease of use of the Naim doesn't play a factor in his lady's preference (I KNOW how good a lady's hearing can be, believe me ).

I suspect there's a kind of smug arrogance going on back at the factory, but you never know, a review like this may well generate their engineers to try to 'sort it.' Price will increase further though.

Slightly OT, but I've just realised that Naim no longer makes speakers. Was this a consequence of the Focal merger, or had they already stopped making them before then?

 

[Orak]

Slightly OT, but I've just realised that Naim no longer makes speakers. Was this a consequence of the Focal merger, or had they already stopped making them before then?

No they stopped when Focal acquired them and they didnt really have the room at the factory for making Speakers.Regarding the power output of the Uniti Atom i keep seeing comments here from people saying its underpowered quite remarkable being able to access a product without ever owning one! Have used one and also have Hypex Encore and guess what it performed power-out-wise just as good ,it drove my Martin logan ESL with no problem and Magnepan QR 1.6 i had at the time.

 

[Haskil]

En ce qui concerne la puissance de sortie de l'Uniti Atom, je continue de voir des commentaires ici de personnes disant qu'il est assez remarquable de pouvoir accéder à un produit sans jamais le posséder. une! J'en ai utilisé un et j'ai également Hypex Encore et devinez ce qu'il a fait en termes de puissance tout aussi bien, il a conduit mon Martin logan ESL sans problème et Magnepan QR 1.6 que j'avais à l'époque.

Miracle !

 

[sspfr]

No they stopped when Focal acquired them and they didnt really have the room at the factory for making Speakers.Regarding the power output of the Uniti Atom i keep seeing comments here from people saying its underpowered quite remarkable being able to access a product without ever owning one! Have used one and also have Hypex Encore and guess what it performed power-out-wise just as good ,it drove my Martin logan ESL with no problem and Magnepan QR 1.6 i had at the time.

My sense is that the forum consists of two types of participants:
- Happy owners who cannot be trusted because they are clearly trying to justify their purchase, have bought it for all the wrong reasons and obviously cannot hear well and are not good with their money.
- Others, who have never seen or heard the device but are disgusted by the greed of the the manufacturer, poor engineering and measurements and feel sorry and sad for the first group.

Any arguments from the happy owners that actually they are quite happy with the product because they knew what they were buying and were using it with that purpose in mind is an additional proof of their naivety as the device clearly cannot make pancakes and is awfully underpowered to make a coffee cup when a £30 toaster they own does all of that and also fries eggs.

 

[Haskil]

You are assuming that potential buyers of the product prioritise "performance" they can't hear over everything else. And that people won't pay for integration, UX/UI, aesthetics and haptics they can see and feel. You aren't being logical.

I think Naim it's not logical... For the same price, it's possible to sold a product with better performances and much power... and "tout le monde" is happy...