New System Purchase

[dmd]

With regards to careful matching well you should be OK with the the CXN and The CXA yes? Ive looked on internet about matching speakers and the cambridge gear dont seem any worse than any other types. so new speakers can come later me thinks.

Agreed there should be no problem with matching between the CXN and CXA, however, it is the speakers I am concerned about.

I have now taken the Naim Uniti Atom off my list for two reasons: one, the price increase and the other the sound with my speakers. I would not have paid £1,750 for the Atom paired with my Tannoy Sensys DC1 speakers, let alone the new price of £2,000. I have also listened to the Atom with B&W 685 speakers and the Atom sounded much better with the change of speaker.

 

[dmd]

Why not a used Naim Unitiqute 2? Great sound, great remote, great connectivity, does spotify, tidal etc, matches any speaker.

Thank you for the suggestion. Given I did not like the combination of my Tannoy Sensys DC1 speakers and the Atom, I am not going to consider Naim equipment.

 

[rainsoothe]

Why not a used Naim Unitiqute 2? Great sound, great remote, great connectivity, does spotify, tidal etc, matches any speaker.

Thank you for the suggestion. Given I did not like the combination of my Tannoy Sensys DC1 speakers and the Atom, I am not going to consider Naim equipment.

What was wrong with the Atom partnering? And what changed with the switch to B&W speakers? Just curious, but know that Naim amps don't sound the same, and certainly the UQ2 is one of the "friendly" sounding pieces of Naim gear - it's pretty forgiving, and I haven't heard the Atom, but from reading around I gather it has somewhat of a lean/more aggressive presentation.

 

[dmd]

There was zero involvement with the Tannoy's. The sound was clear, detailed, precise, etc. but not once did I feel involved in the music. I played a variety of tracks by Barbra Streisand, Dixie Chicks, Rush, Slade, Spikedrivers and Stevie Ray Vaughan, all with the same result: zero involvement.

When I switched speakers I felt involved with the music and the difference was apparent within seconds of each track. I am not saying the B & W's are the best speakers to partner the Atom but that they were a lot better than Tannoy's.

 

[Nelis87]

No problems with usb speed here, but I have only used cd-rips as far as quality is a concern. Don't know about FLAC etc..

 

[rainsoothe]

There was zero involvement with the Tannoy's. The sound was clear, detailed, precise, etc. but not once did I feel involved in the music. I played a variety of tracks by Barbra Streisand, Dixie Chicks, Rush, Slade, Spikedrivers and Stevie Ray Vaughan, all with the same result: zero involvement.

When I switched speakers I felt involved with the music and the difference was apparent within seconds of each track. I am not saying the B & W's are the best speakers to partner the Atom but that they were a lot better than Tannoy's.

 

Thanks for the clarification. I still think the UQ2 is a good idea, as it is pretty smooth sounding. I think that Atom going for 2k is weird, as you can get 172xs + nap 200 for close to that sum.

For your speakers, I think that CXN is also a great option, but CXA60 not so much. Arcam A19 or A29 instead, or Musical Fidelity stuff - m3i. You shouldn't worry about DSD imo.

 

[davedotco]

Must be quite popular, though the pricing for the Linn and Naim offerings are outrageous.

The CXN is rather nice but the lack of a matching power amp is perverse, adding a CXA duplicates dacs and pre-amp facilities very poor value. The CXN with it's choice of balanced and unbalanced outputs is an obvious match for active speakers be they hi-fi types such as Acoustic Energy or AVI or pro models such as Adam or Dynavector.

 

[dmd]

Thanks for the clarification. I still think the UQ2 is a good idea, as it is pretty smooth sounding. I think that Atom going for 2k is weird, as you can get 172xs + nap 200 for close to that sum.

For your speakers, I think that CXN is also a great option, but CXA60 not so much. Arcam A19 or A29 instead, or Musical Fidelity stuff - m3i. You shouldn't worry about DSD imo.

I was looking at the Atom when it was £1,750 and had found a 0% deal (which is still avaialble). I most definitely would not pay £2,000 for an Atom.

Thank you for the amplifier advice. The Musical Fidelity is still on my "possibles" list and I will look into the Arcam options.

I am beginning to agree with your conclusion about DSD. Originally, I wanted DSD because some albums are only available in that format and I now have Stevie Ray Vaughan's Texas Flood in DSD.

 

[rainsoothe]

Thanks for the clarification. I still think the UQ2 is a good idea, as it is pretty smooth sounding. I think that Atom going for 2k is weird, as you can get 172xs + nap 200 for close to that sum.

For your speakers, I think that CXN is also a great option, but CXA60 not so much. Arcam A19 or A29 instead, or Musical Fidelity stuff - m3i. You shouldn't worry about DSD imo.

I was looking at the Atom when it was £1,750 and had found a 0% deal (which is still avaialble). I most definitely would not pay £2,000 for an Atom.

Thank you for the amplifier advice. The Musical Fidelity is still on my "possibles" list and I will look into the Arcam options.

I am beginning to agree with your conclusion about DSD. Originally, I wanted DSD because some albums are only available in that format and I now have Stevie Ray Vaughan's Texas Flood in DSD.

Well don't get me wrong, if you find DSD capable stuff in your budget, go for it, as long as it matches your system and tastes. For me, this is the most important thing, along with minimal feature requirements. The rest is just bonuses.