NAD Masters M10
There comes an age where it’s no longer a compliment to be told you look older than you are. Generally, it’s not all that long after you’re legally old enough to buy a pint. We doubt very much Naim will be overly disgruntled when we say this about its previous line of all-in-one streaming systems – the Uniti Qute 2, for example. But that’s only because when we sit one next to the Uniti Atom, it looks more than one generation behind.
And, truth be told, that’s the case with just about anything you place alongside it – the Atom is a little like that annoyingly good-looking friend who commands all the attention.
Designed for life
This unit is truly a triumph of design. From the coffee-coaster volume dial on the roof – the pleasure of playing with it is almost enough in itself to justify buying this system – to its full-colour LCD front panel display exhibiting album art as it plays, Naim has nailed the crossover between lifestyle product and premium hi-fi.
Naim claims 40W per channel from the A/B Class amplifier into 8 ohms. If that means little to you, then suffice to say it powers our ATC SCM50 reference speakers with headroom to spare. So with a more likely pairing (something around £600, say) – it proves ample.
Around the back, Naim has placed its digital inputs – two optical and one coaxial – above two analogue connections, one of which is an input, with three selectable sensitivities (1v, 2.5v and 6v), and another an output to a dedicated power amplifier. An ethernet connection and USB input complete the rear-panel line-up, although, for an extra £100, you can also have an HDMI input. On the front there’s a USB port and headphone output.
As well as being able to play Usbstored music and pick up media elsewhere on your network, the Uniti Atom benefits from having Google Chromecast, Tidal, Spotify Connect and Internet radio built in, with further wireless connection available via Airplay and Bluetooth aptx HD.
The remote control is a smart dresser. From the glossy plastic used for all but the back and very tip – which, be warned, carries smears and fingerprints like lipstick on a dress shirt – to the backlit buttons and volume indicator on the navigation wheel, it’s a suitable complement to the Uniti Atom’s aesthetic.
Mostly, though, we expect people to use Naim’s intuitive control app, through which you can connect to your streaming accounts and root around your music collection held on other devices. You can configure the Uniti Atom as part of a multi-room system using the app, too.
See it on the big screen
The new colour screen is around twice the size of that of its predecessors, making the menus easier to navigate.
After only a couple of minutes spent setting up, we begin playing The Streets’ A Grand Don’t Come For Free, and discover that the most immediately noticeable upgrade from the Unitiqute 2 is the level of clarity and insight on offer.
The Unitiqute 2 is still an exceptional product, but the Atom is like opening a door and now listening to the music from inside the room.
From the opening brass parps of It Was Supposed To Be So Easy to the hazy tremolo synthesizer hook of Blinded By The Lights, via percussive snaps and Mike Skinner’s iconic conversational vocal, you can almost feel the textures through your fingers. Okay, so kicks don’t thump you in the chest as they might in a club, but the balance is spot-on and there’s more than enough low-end presence to interrupt your neighbours’ viewing of Coronation Street.
We make an attempt to wrong-foot the Uniti Atom with a grander arrangement, via Tidal, using Sergei Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No1, but have about as much luck as a camel at a swimming gala. The Naim is entirely unfazed by the scale of the recording, the speed or intensity at which the pianist’s fingers are working, or with organising an orchestra around him.
There probably aren’t two much more disparate pieces of music we could use for testing, but the Uniti Atom treats both with the same level of insight, regimental timing and contouring dynamics.
The only input that shows any true difference in character is the analogue one, where clarity is marginally less sharp.
It would be easy to understate just how great a performer the Uniti Atom is, insofar as it’s kind of what we have come to expect from Naim. But if you end up hearing one and fail to be excited at the prospect of ownership then, quite frankly, there’s little hope left for you.