Back in 2017, Naim Audio released their second generation of streaming amplifiers with full-colour screens and substantial improvements in both performance and design. They became popular both in a single room hi-fi and as a multi-room solution. Its performance and design pay homage to Naim’s reference amplification, The Statement.
Headphone users were limited to a single 3.5mm headphone jack. In fact, the only Naim product that offered any balanced circuitry was The Statement. The Uniti Atom Headphone Edition is equipped with no less than three headphone connectors.
On the front there is a traditional 6.35mm (¼ inch) single-ended headphone output, along with a 4.4mm Pentaconn TRRS for balanced armature headphones and on the back, there is a balanced 4 pin XLR output.
As the Uniti Atom Headphone Edition is aimed at headphone users, the amplification has been entirely repurposed for headphones and therefore it cannot drive loudspeakers directly. However, it excels as a streaming preamp, with two new balanced XLR outputs, along with the pair of single-ended RCA outputs provided. Just add an external power amplifier and speakers, or a pair of active speakers, for a complete hi-fi system. A headphone button on the front toggles between using the analogue outputs and headphone outputs. With the Uniti Atom, streaming services such as Qobuz, Tidal and Spotify are built-in, along with Bluetooth, Airplay 2 and Chromecast for use of alternative services, as well as direct access to music servers that are on the same network.
So, how does it sound? We already have a small range of headphone amplifiers, but the signature Naim sound shines through from the very first note. There is a clear performance improvement on its predecessor, the DAC-V1, as well as greater functionality. There is no doubt that it stands as one of the most well-equipped headphone amplifiers we carry, and its performance with balanced headphones goes far beyond what we have experienced in the past, with the level of clarity and agility we expect from Naim achieved in our tests.
We are delighted to have the new Uniti Atom Headphone Edition, which costs £2,699, available for demonstration. You are more than welcome to contact us to arrange a demonstration and hear it for yourself. We suggest you bring your own headphones though! We also made a video unboxing it, which you can watch here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxMZLUL7opk.