Atom or Neo

kev g

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Hi, over the past 2 years I have not been using the cd player. I buy second hand cd`s, burn them to a hard disk to play through the Uniti 2 I am thinking of changing to the Uniti Atom for an attic bedroom 2.5m x 5m. I listen to a wide range of music. I do like the Atom design & the front screen looks fantastic – but then I`m thinking all the album art would appear on the tablet, controlling app In terms of sound quality would the Atom equal/better the Uniti 2 or maybe save up & go for the Moon Neo Ace ? I do listen to the radio & recently picked up an ex-display Rotel RT11 tuner to partner. Speakers – looking further ahead maybe consider the Spendor A4 or go for a bookshelf model.At the Bristol show I heard a pair of Amphion bookselfs (partnered with Hegel) which sounded excellent. Getting to audition all the options together is going to be difficult. I have bought blind in the past, relying on magazine reviews & have never been let down.
 
All control apps will show album artwork and other associated info, so there's no real need for all that to be shown on a front panel as well, unless you mostly use the player hands on rather than via a control app.

Power ratings aside, the amplification in the Atom is based on that of the Nait, which is adequate, but it depends on the sort of speakers you're wanting to use - ideally, you'll want to stick to something pretty efficient to make the most of its power. I know your room isn't huge, but the amplification will still need to be good enough to telling the speakers what to do, and be controlling them properly in order to ensure you end up with a fast, punchy sound.

The Neo Ace is really more on par with the SuperNait, so that might give you some idea of what to expect between the Atom and Neo Ace. With the amplification being a little more capable, you'll have a wider choice of speakers you can use.

At Bristol, the Hegel Rost was used with the Amphion Argon 0 model, which is in some ways on par with the Neo Ace, but it doesn't offer TIDAL, Bluetooth, phono stage, or a dedicated control app like the NEO Ace, although it does have AirPlay, and with a third party control app, will allow streaming from any network stored music. The Hegel and Amphion combination is an excellent one - I was present in that room for the weekend, helping out the distributor for the brands.

I personally prefer the Neo Ace with Ophidian or KEF speakers, although it does also work well with Amphion too.
 
I think the atom will be more of a downgrade coming from a uniti 2..don't you think?...the next logical step would be a used superuniti or a uniti nova if staying with the naim line of all in ones.....haven't managed to hear a neo ace yet...but I think they're round about 50 wpc compared to your current 70 wpc uniti 2...I'm not sure the outlay would be worth the difference in sound quality....but you must try and have a listen for yourself before you part with the uniti 2 I would think.
 

kev g

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Mark Rose-Smith said:
I think the atom will be more of a downgrade coming from a uniti 2..don't you think?...the next logical step would be a used superuniti or a uniti nova if staying with the naim line of all in ones.....haven't managed to hear a neo ace yet...but I think they're round about 50 wpc compared to your current 70 wpc uniti 2...I'm not sure the outlay would be worth the difference in sound quality....but you must try and have a listen for yourself before you part with the uniti 2 I would think.

Thanks Mark

Yes, I guess the atom would be a downgrade - it`s compact looks are very tempting though.

I heard the Nova with Focal Kanta speakers at The Bristol Show & was blown away by the glorious sound they produced. The SuperUniti is one to consider & will have listen to all options.
 

kev g

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davidf said:
All control apps will show album artwork and other associated info, so there's no real need for all that to be shown on a front panel as well, unless you mostly use the player hands on rather than via a control app.

Power ratings aside, the amplification in the Atom is based on that of the Nait, which is adequate, but it depends on the sort of speakers you're wanting to use - ideally, you'll want to stick to something pretty efficient to make the most of its power. I know your room isn't huge, but the amplification will still need to be good enough to telling the speakers what to do, and be controlling them properly in order to ensure you end up with a fast, punchy sound.

The Neo Ace is really more on par with the SuperNait, so that might give you some idea of what to expect between the Atom and Neo Ace. With the amplification being a little more capable, you'll have a wider choice of speakers you can use.

At Bristol, the Hegel Rost was used with the Amphion Argon 0 model, which is in some ways on par with the Neo Ace, but it doesn't offer TIDAL, Bluetooth, phono stage, or a dedicated control app like the NEO Ace, although it does have AirPlay, and with a third party control app, will allow streaming from any network stored music. The Hegel and Amphion combination is an excellent one - I was present in that room for the weekend, helping out the distributor for the brands.

I personally prefer the Neo Ace with Ophidian or KEF speakers, although it does also work well with Amphion too.

Many thanks for the reply.

The Neo Ace is on par with a Supernait - that would certainly be a major upgrade & I have thought of using Tidal.

I searched the Moon site today for nearest dealers & found the same link !

The Hegel/Amphion combo is certainly one to look into.

I will start saving.
regular_smile.png
 

rainsoothe

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If the Ace is at Supernait level, you should check it out. Same goes for the Hegel and Leema offerings. Also, if you like Naim, there's few brands that will satisfy. The Superuniti is a different beast from the Uniti2, and you should be able to get one for a very good price, considering it's being replaced. Atom will no doubt be a downgrade, but might be enough for your new space if partnered with the right speakers. So try to audition different combinations before deciding, preferably in your room, and let your ears chose.
 

kev g

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Thanks MUSICRAFT.

I found a review of the Leema Quasar today. Said it was better than the Moon Neo, but it is the most expensive option from what has been mentioned here so far.

The Leema is 7kg lighter than the Moon which is a hefty 24kg !

Hope to listen to some of these very soon.
 

kev g

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rainsoothe said:
If the Ace is at Supernait level, you should check it out. Same goes for the Hegel and Leema offerings. Also, if you like Naim, there's few brands that will satisfy. The Superuniti is a different beast from the Uniti2, and you should be able to get one for a very good price, considering it's being replaced. Atom will no doubt be a downgrade, but might be enough for your new space if partnered with the right speakers. So try to audition different combinations before deciding, preferably in your room, and let your ears chose.

Yes, that`s what I like about the Atom - it`s compact size

I have a good list of options here now so auditions here we come.

Cheers
 

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