The Joy Of Music! The Naim Uniti Atom Music Player Revisited

Now this blog is not so much a review but a revisit and a quick look at how we are doing so far with this brilliant little Uniti Atom from Naim.

Where do we start?

Since taking delivery of our Naim Uniti Atom in late in July we have been nothing but totally blown away by what this little power house is capable of. 

Built to the usual high standards of one of our favourite Hi-Fi manufacturers, Naim Audio, the Atom is just a beautifully made piece of Hi-Fi. Taking design cues from their flagship Statement amplifier, the Uniti range including the Uniti Star, Uniti Nova and Uniti Core all look absolutely gorgeous and the Atom looks even sweeter because of its diminutive size.

Whats Up Doc?
40 watts per channel, “that's nothing” we hear you say, it's not enough, is it a valve amp!?
Calm down audiophiles, it's an integrated, and a good one at that. Atom out competes the competition with similar power, with drive, rhythm and timing. And to just emphasise that, we recently had a Naim event at Audio T Manchester and the Atom happily played
great music through a pair of £8000 Dynaudio Contour 60's. 

The Naim Uniti Atom uses the Naim App to help you control your music. With options for streaming from Tidal, Spotify and even Google Chromecast. The ability to play almost all Hi-Res files stored on your own music server is the icing on the cake.

Beam me up Scot.......ahem. Sorry to interrupt Chromey but that's from Star Trek. If it's the tractor beam you're after that'll be on the death star. Merry Christmas.

As demonstrated by Chromey below, you can play direct from a USB too.

Naim also use what we like to call "silent running" technology. Because all streamers use a mini or micro computer to control the app and Uniti, this naturally generates heat. And as we know things that get too hot don't quite run as smoothly as when kept cool or within operating temperature. Naim don't use fans in the Atom to dissipate the heat but heat sinks, and the heat sinks on the case work  just add to the overall look and style the unit. 

Brutalist architecture Chromey!!! No no... it's just the lovely naim case work..  

Come and hear this fantastic amplifier, streamer, music system sing. It really is musical, fun and a joy to listen to.

Naim Hi-Fi products are available from all branches of Audio T.

Naim Uniti Atom and Bowers & Wilkins 707 Combine For Sublime Sound

We have partnered two of the most respected brands in Hi-Fi together to create a fantastic sounding Hi-Fi system for under £3,000. We have paired the extremely well reviewed Naim Uniti Atom £1,999 all in one music streamer with the new released compact B&W 707 speakers £799.

B&W 707 in Rosenut

The Naim Uniti Atom is a compact, stylish, music streaming system in a single box. Amongst its features are UPNP streaming, Internet Radio, Spotify, Tidal and Chromecast, combined with a high quality amplifier, make it a remarkable sounding and versatile piece of hi-fi. 

Naim Uniti Atom

The B&W 707 standmount speakers are the smallest speakers in Bowers & Wilkins new 700 series range that recently replaced the popular CM range. The new 700 series employs trickle down technology from their flagship 800 series. They come in 3 attractive finishes, real wood rosenut veneer, gloss black and satin white. The range counts down to the biggest 702 model (£3299) which along with the 705 (£1799) have the distinctive tweeter on top, separated from the main cabinet.

B&W 702 in gloss black

When paired together the two make a very compact and capable music system, with a big presence. The combination offers plenty of insight into the music and a surprising amount of bass weight, and should work very well in a small or medium sized room.

Naim Atom and B&W 707 system

We have this set up on demonstration at Audio T Portsmouth, so why not pop in for a warm beverage and have a listen in our comfortable demonstration room.

Thanks for reading, Nick, Joe and James and we hope to see you in store soon.

Bowers & Wilkins Hi-Fi products are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Enfield, Manchester, Oxford, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon

Naim Hi-Fi products are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Enfield, Manchester, Oxford, Portsmouth, 
Preston, Reading, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon

Come And Hear The Naim Uniti Atom, Star And Nova In Store On Wednesday 15th November

Experience The New Naim Uniti Atom, Star & Nova music players on Wednesday 15th November at Audio T Preston.

Join Ian, Gavin, Andy and a representative from Naim on Wednesday 15TH of November from 1pm AT Audio T Preston to hear the new Uniti Atom, Star and Nova music players. 

Attendees can enter a FREE PRIZE DRAW* To wIn one of 3 Mu-So Qb'S worth £649 each.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR PLACE

Snacks and refreshments will be provided.  We look forward to seeing you.

Join us in Uniti on Thursday 9th of November at Jurys Inn Brighton

On Thursday 9th of November we will be showing the new Uniti range from Naim Audio, at the Jurys Inn located at Brighton Station

We will be joined by representatives from Naim Audio, who will not only demonstrate the products but answer any questions you may have about them.

It all begins with the Uniti Core

NAIM UNITI CORE

From there you are able to add your network player of choice, starting with the Uniti Atom.

Naim Uniti Atom

If you have a larger room or even a larger room and bigger speakers it could be the Uniti Nova that would suit you best.

NAIM UNITI NOVA

If you are one of those people who like to still play CDs and also have the ability to rip them to some local storage such as an SD card or USB drive then the Uniti Star would be just the job for you.

Naim Uniti Star

We will be demonstrating these through a pair of ProAc Response D20R loudspeakers and the ProAc representative will also be there if you have any questions regarding their speakers.

ProAc D20R Loudspeakers

So please don't be shy, come along and experience an evening of great products and great tunes, tickets can be booked here, if that isn't enough all attendees can enter our FREE prize draw* to win one of 3 Mu-So QB's worth £649 each.

*T&Cs apply. Mu-So Qb prizes are for the entire roadshow not per event. One entry per person. Prize draw will take place after the final roadshow event on the 9th November and the lucky winners notified by phone or email and published in the Audio T eClub newsletter.

Julian, Paul & John look forward to seeing you on the night.

Naim Uniti products are stocked at all branches of Audio T.

ProAc loudspeakers are stocked in Brighton and Preston.

Good Things Come In Small Packages – Naim Uniti Atom All In One Music Player

With the introduction of the new Uniti series (Atom, Star and Nova) all in one music players and streamers, Naim have created a lifestyle product and a premium Hi-Fi in a single box.

Naim has gone to exceptional lengths to truly enhance the sound quality from such a tight, solid and compact all-in-one music system.

Naim Uniti Atom Front Panel

The Naim Uniti Atom boasts precise handmade engineered analogue and digital circuitry - built by and developed by music lovers - and contains a substantial transformer, which ensures that the power supply is continuous, significant and stable and means that it can drive a wide variety of loudspeakers with relative ease.

The full colour LCD display with proximity sensor, that wakes up on approach, is just one of the winning finishing touches Naim have come up with. The compact styling similar to that of the Mu-So range is sleek with a luxurious finish, making it perfect for different living areas or as a high-a stand alone main system which makes it very versatile. Adding to that you have the ability to upgrade by adding a Naim power amp.

This is not just an amplifier with a streamer bolted on, the Atom brings everlasting choice to your music, combining the popular wireless options with reliable premium Hi-Fi. You will only need to look at the list of supported sources and options for connectivity to truly understand its versatility and the new and improved Naim app for both iOS and Android simply brings this all together:

• Google Cast for Audio

• AirPlay

• TIDAL

• Spotify® Connect

• Bluetooth (aptX HD)

• Internet Radio™

• UPnP™ (Universal Plug ‘n’ Play)

• Digital Input (S/PDIF)

• Analogue Output

• Headphones

• Storage

• HDMI ARC (optional)

• Multiroom

• File Formats

• Wireless Updates

Uniti System
The Uniti range is the talk of the town and we couldn't have been more eager to get our hands on the Atom. So as audiophiles do, we have tried, and tried again, with a variety of speaker options to find what works best.

And with our listening test concluded, we challenge anyone to find a better sounding system with the same functionality for under £2500.

This system comprises of:

Naim Uniti Atom → Dynaudio Emit M10 → REL T-Zero

With the above set up, you get an extremely interesting, well balanced, stylish, dynamic and vibrant system that has a wide frequency range, perfect for a small to medium size room. Playing '2Pac – Do For Love' reveals a tuneful, tight bass that underpins the track and makes it really motor along. The snap of the snare, the punch of the kick and the rhythmical percussion are brought to life through this system.  We can not fault it for the money.

Why not come and have a listen and play a few of your favourite tunes and put the Atom through its paces... or come along to our Naim Unit Event on 10th October. You can reserve your place here.

Naim Unit Atom Rear Panel

The Technical Specifications

Dimensions:

• 95mm X 245mm X 265mm (H X W X D)

• 7KG

  Audio Inputs:

• 2 X Optical TOSLink (up to 24bit/96kHz)

• 1 X Coaxial RCA (up to 24bit/192kHz, DoP 64Fs)

• 1 X HDMI ARC (Optional)

• 1 X RCA

• 2 X USB Type A socket (front and rear)

Audio Outputs:

• 1 X Stereo power amplifier

• 1 X RCA sub/pre output

• 1 X 3.5mm headphone jack

Naim Hi-Fi products are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Enfield, Manchester, Oxford, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon

The New Naim Uniti Atom Is Here And The Mighty Atom Packs A Punch

The first of the new Naim Uniti All-In-One Wireless Music Player range is in store and on demonstration, and very fine it is too.

We have had to be patient for this complete rework of the Uniti range, with a new streaming platform and much improved performance and functionality, and it has been worth the wait. The Uniti Atom is a seriously solid 7 kg lump that punches way above its weight. Very impressive in so many ways. Beautiful and clever and very technologically advanced. 

With control via the improved Naim iOS or Android app. or the 2 way remote using it is a joy. This modern high quality compact hi-fi system does so much more then ever before.

All you need to do is add speakers. With the quality of sound from Uniti Atom the choice of speakers opens up to a surprisingly wide degree. Come and have a listen and experience Naim Uniti Atom for yourself.

Julian, Paul and John at Audio T Brighton 01273 609431

Naim Products are available in the following branches of Audio T: 
Brentwood, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Enfield, 
Manchester, Oxford, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, 
Southampton, Swansea, Swindon   

Acoustic Energy Brings Back Some Old Friends

Many years ago there were two best selling speakers from Acoustic Energy the AE109 and the AE100.

Now the company has resurrected those model numbers and having heard them, for very good reason, these two new models promise to be every bit the giant killers that their ancestors were.

The AE100 is a very compact stand mount speaker with a big heart. Like its bigger brother the AE109 they employ trickle down technology from some of the manufacturers more upmarket speakers, most notably the wide dispersion tweeter and rear facing slot mounted port.

The cabinets come in two finishes a rich walnut, or for a small premium in satin black. Coupled with their curved edges, sleek lines and compact dimensions this makes the AE109 and AE100 very room friendly.

Now to the good bit, the sound quality! As the eagle eyed among you may have spotted we've just received our Uniti Atom the wonderful small single box streaming system from Naim. Well what better device to try out some small but perfectly formed speakers with, than a small but perfectly formed system?

The sound from both speakers is surprisingly large and spacious with a richness and scale which completely belies their size. This has been very apparent on our new fave recording Kraftwerk's 3D the catalogue. This recording has subterranean bass notes and crystal clear highs, a perfect test of any speaker/system combo and the little Acoustic Energy speakers acquit themselves masterfully.

Needless to say we're quite excited by both of these products, why not come in and see why?

Paul, Francis, Jason, and Boswell - Audio T Brentwood.

Acoustic Energy loudspeakers are also available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Bristol, Cheltenham, Online, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, Swindon

The Naim Uniti Atom Music Player - A Huge Hit In a Small Box!

Naim always had their work cut out following up the highly successful Uniti range. In this months blog we take a look at the all new Uniti Atom which is the replacement to the highly successful Unitiqute. So how have they done? In short…they’ve knocked it out of the park! Welcome to the reign of the new Naim Uniti Atom....

‘All in one’ box music systems are popular these days in the world of Hi-Fi with multiple manufacturers offering up their creations in a myriad of forms, generally throwing some form of streaming and possibly radio in with an amplifier so you only have to add speakers.  There are a lot of very good ones too, so it takes something quite special to stand out amongst them and the Uniti Atom does just that…and then some. With two even bigger and more powerful Uniti units the Star and Nova on the way soon as well, it’s a very exciting time! But before we get carried away let’s have a look at what the Atom is and what it does.

Let’s start off with the aesthetics, the word ‘beautiful’ is not a term that you would generally ascribe to amplifiers but Naim have certainly bucked the trend here, especially compared to their more conservative ‘classic’ range. The first thing that hits you is the large 5” LCD glass display which brightly shows off the album artwork of the music you are currently playing as well as the very cleanly laid out and very easily navigable menu system. The screen even wakes up to show you the metadata of the track you are listening to as you approach it due to proximity sensors. This sits in a stunning brushed aluminium case with finned aluminium heat sinks on either side. The Naim logo is proudly lit up on the base and four lit up buttons on the front allow for some basic control when you don’t have the remote or your mobile device on you. The design of the Atom is perfectly finished off with Naim’s signature volume control, which will be very familiar to anyone who has played with a Naim Mu-so or Mu-so QB and adds yet another touch of class to proceedings.

So, what does it do? The answer to that is…a lot!  There are many ways to play your music through the Atom. Firstly you can wirelessly play your own music collection from a NAS drive, Naim Uniti core, or other UPnP device, it has both Spotify and Tidal streaming services integrated as well as ways of playing other services such as Qobuz via the in-built Chromecast Audio. Internet radio and Bluetooth are included of course, as well as Airplay for Apple users. As far as physical inputs go you will find one analogue phono input, ready for an external CD player or turntable via a phono stage. Digital inputs consisting of two optical, one coax and a USB also feature. There is then of course an Ethernet input and owners have the option of having a HDMI input included to connect a TV too. Finally a pre-amplifier analogue output is also if you wish to upgrade the Atom with an external power amplifier.

The Atoms amplifier is a brand new 40 watt A/B class affair, with technology taken from the Naim’s Nait series of amplifiers. They have included the biggest power supply they possibly could to give the amplifier its best chance as well as top of the range circuitry and premium Burr Brown DAC's. The streaming and Wi-Fi hardware is also brand new to ensure the best possible connectivity and sound quality. You have three options on how to control the Atom; a few buttons on the front give you basic control while the included bi-directional smart remote is a lovely touch. Finally the most convenient way to control the system is by Naim’s newly updated app, which is one of the most user friendly and stable control apps around.

We’ve tried the Atom through all sorts of loudspeakers that we have here in the store, from entry level stand mounts like the Dali Zensor 1’s right up to big floorstanders. The results were surprising, especially when we as an experiment linked the Atom up to a pair of Bowers and Wilkins 804 D3 which by all rights should be out of its league, yet the Atom drove them beautifully even in a big room, defying its size and power!

One combination that we all love is with the Spendor A4 small floorstanders which we set up in our demonstration room. Over a few days we threw all sorts of music at it from electronic to rock to classical and we all struggled to leave the room! The Atom may look small but it certainly doesn’t sound it. It surprises with its incredible depth of sound, it has this ability to seemingly fill the room with music and gets you feeling involved with your favourite tracks in brand new ways. This combined with the warmth and musicality of the Spendor A4 makes for a gorgeous listening experience. This is we think the Atoms greatest asset, as well as being amazing in its looks and functionality its sound quality will give a lot of normal stereo amps a run for their money never mind other all in one boxes.

This really is one of the most cutting edge products around and it really needs to be experienced in person to see why we are so excited to have it in our store. Please get in touch to organise a demonstration, just be warned when you see and hear the Atom we guarantee you will love it!

Naim Products are available in the following stores: Brentwood, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Enfield, Manchester, Oxford, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon

New Naim Uniti Atom, Chord Electronics Hugo 2 & Russell K RED 120 Arriving Soon

After quite an extended period of having little new product to blog about; just like the proverbial bus, three come along at the same time... well nearly.

After numerous delays Naim has finally given a likely manufacturing date for the first of the superb Uniti products, the entry level Atom which will commence shipping by the end of this month, we can't wait. I first heard it at the official launch back in November partnered with a pair of Focal Sopra 1s. What seemed like a most unlikely pairing turnout to be a revelation and breaking most system building rules. This promises to be a top seller.

Naim Atom

Not wishing to rest on the laurels of their success, Chord Electronics have launched Hugo2. The original Hugo set the standard for portable a Dac/Headphone amp but they have been beavering away to produce what on paper promises to be a true bar-raiser...again; such is the genius of their designers and Bob Watts in particular. Due this month though we understand the first shipment is already completely sold out but we will have a permanent demo unit so don't delay.

Chord Hugo2 in silver and black

Missing from the line-up in the Russell K loudspeaker range is a slim, affordable floor stander which is by far the most popular speaker type at present. Well, the wait is over. Due to arrive in 2-3 weeks, the all new Red 120. A 2.5 way compact floor stander with a massive heart. We heard these a month back and were taken by them immediately. The competition better look out because these are seriously good!

Russell K Red 120 Shown here in walnut, other finishes available. 

Naturally I will be blogging about these three exciting additions and any others as soon as they arrive so watch this space as they say.

Simon & Marc - Audio T Reading