neweskimo Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 Item: Naim Atom or Naim Uniti Star Price Range: open to trade offers or buying outright Item Condition: New or Used Extra Info: NA I currently have a Simaudio i.3 integrated amplifier with a Simaudio 280 D DAC/streamer driving some Dynaudio Special 40s. This setup sounds fantastic (and I adore the Moons) but I am interested in exploring a single NAIM unit - in particular the Naim Atom or Uniti Star. Please don't forget to report your post as FOUND when possible. (You can now delete this text). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blybo Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 Have you tried the Moon Neo ACE? It sits between the 2 price wise. I demo'ed the Atom before the Star was available and really liked it but it was more upfront in your face than the Moon. The Moon to my ear is more natural and real sounding. I do really like the colour screen of the Naim's though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neweskimo Posted February 17, 2020 Author Share Posted February 17, 2020 Thanks for the message! I have't tried the Neo Ace yet, but that could also be an option. However, I'm also drawn to the Naim colour screens and would be open to trying something different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill125812 Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 I have the Star. Driving Spendor D’9. You won’t regret it if you get one 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neweskimo Posted July 20, 2020 Author Share Posted July 20, 2020 Still looking for a Star (or potentially an Atom) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s7e6e Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 (edited) The Atom wont drive the S40 well. Neither will the Star. I want to switch to S40 + Nova myself (need to downscale) but heard the S40 with my 250DR and a 300DR and they really shine with the 300DR. Naims are world class amps, renown for their prat and boogie factor but they are not particularly powerful for their price. Don't get me wrong, an 80W Naim power amp will wipe the floor with any 150+ W out there but for its money, there are 300+ W amps better suited for certain scenarios. Edited July 21, 2020 by s7e6e Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill125812 Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 8 hours ago, s7e6e said: The Atom wont drive the S40 well. Neither will the Star. I want to switch to S40 + Nova myself (need to downscale) but heard the S40 with my 250DR and a 300DR and they really shine with the 300DR. Naims are world class amps, renown for their prat and boogie factor but they are not particularly powerful for their price. Don't get me wrong, an 80W Naim power amp will wipe the floor with any 150+ W out there but for its money, there are 300+ W amps better suited for certain scenarios. Interesting. I drove Spendor D9’s with my Naim Star. Sublime sound. I can’t see why it wouldn’t drive special 40’s just as easily Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s7e6e Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 3 minutes ago, Bill125812 said: I can’t see why it wouldn’t drive special 40’s just as easily Different expectations I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neweskimo Posted July 22, 2020 Author Share Posted July 22, 2020 (edited) Thanks for the feedback back all. I am actually pretty happy with the Simaudio gear, but the Mind 1 app really bugs me on the 280D (I find it buggy, slow and not user friendly. Even the bluetooth cuts out if you more than a few meters away). I understand the streaming on the Star is much better with more options - I generally use Tidal and spotify. But I suppose I could keep the simaudio gear and just use an ipad mini with the camera kit cord (would this bypass the apple DAC)? 15 hours ago, Bill125812 said: Interesting. I drove Spendor D9’s with my Naim Star. Sublime sound. I can’t see why it wouldn’t drive special 40’s just as easily 15 hours ago, s7e6e said: Different expectations I suppose. Edited July 22, 2020 by neweskimo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blybo Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 31 minutes ago, neweskimo said: but the Mind 1 app really bugs me on the 280D Why not use it as a Roon endpoint and control via their app? I only ever touch my MiND app to listen to internet radio. Only downside is no Spotify natively but can always use bluetooth from the phone or tablet for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neweskimo Posted July 22, 2020 Author Share Posted July 22, 2020 6 minutes ago, blybo said: Why not use it as a Roon endpoint and control via their app? I only ever touch my MiND app to listen to internet radio. Only downside is no Spotify natively but can always use bluetooth from the phone or tablet for that. I think I would need to upgrade the 280D to Mind 2 (which is about $1500 firmware upgrade) to use Roon or so I've been led to believe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blybo Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 1 minute ago, neweskimo said: I think I would need to upgrade the 280D to Mind 2 (which is about $1500 firmware upgrade) to use Roon or so I've been led to believe? I did upgrade to mind 2 but pretty sure I was already using Roon before that. I got the update for $900 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackyrud Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 18 hours ago, Bill125812 said: Interesting. I drove Spendor D9’s with my Naim Star. Sublime sound. I can’t see why it wouldn’t drive special 40’s just as easily Spendor D9: 8 Ohms, 90db Sensitivity Special Forty: 6 Ohms, 86db Sensitivity Perhaps that's why? I've also heard the forty's need plenty of juice for them to sing. 1 hour ago, neweskimo said: I think I would need to upgrade the 280D to Mind 2 (which is about $1500 firmware upgrade) to use Roon or so I've been led to believe? I use Audirvana to stream local files and Tidal to my Lumin U1 Mini. Works a treat, and if you have an iPhone the App is solid - much better than the Lumin App. Worth a try (they offer a free trial for one month). Also does MQA Rendering, but i'm pretty sure the moon dear does all of that + the complete unfold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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