Naim Audio is one of the UK’s most venerable high-end audio-electronics manufacturers. With a history of nearly 50 years, the company continues to offer many of the finest amplifiers, streamers, CD players, and digital-to-analog converters on the market today.
The Naim Uniti Atom Headphone Edition (HE) is the latest member of the company’s Uniti family of products. These all-in-one streamers provide access to a wide variety of audio sources, including online high-res audio-streaming services such as Tidal and Qobuz. The Uniti Atom HE is virtually identical to the older Uniti Atom, except you get an amplifier for your headphones instead of a power amplifier for your loudspeakers. After spending some time with it, I found its sound spectacular, although it does have a few quirks.
FEATURE SET
The Uniti Atom HE is a seriously hefty piece of gear, packing 15.4 pounds into a box measuring just 3.7x9.6x10.4 inches (HxWxD). The build quality is obviously of the highest order, with a black, brushed-aluminum casing that includes integrated heat sinks on the sides.
Inside, a new amplifier was designed especially for the Atom HE. Drawing on a range of technologies, including elements of the company’s flagship Statement amplifier, the new design is said to deliver outstanding amplification for headphones as well as exceptional performance as a line-level preamp that can drive an external power amp or active speakers.
Interestingly, the headphone amp behaves in Class A mode up to a point, at which it seamlessly switches to Class AB. It remains in Class A mode when
