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Naim Uniti Atom: a one-stop shop for all your hi-fi needs
Get the joys of a live music concert in the comfort of your own home.
Naim’s Uniti Atom is more sci-fi than hi-fi. It’s a beautiful black box that acts as a one-stop solution that will satisfy pretty much all of your musical desires. All you need to add is a pair of speakers – I chose a pair of Q Acoustics 3050i floorstanders, introduced one to the other with a set of QED Reference XT40 cables, stood back and listened…
The sound that emerged from the Q’s precision drivers left me speechless. If you’re looking for a set-up that has the “wow” factor, look no further. “A compact multi-source music player that will seduce you with its amazing quality and outstanding feature set,” is how Naim puts it. Rob Boffard on themasterswitch.com calls it a “wonder box” that “far surpasses streamers that cost more. Nothing can match the dynamism and electricity of the Uniti Atom.” I concur.
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What Hi-Fi gave it a five-star review, praising its class-leading sound clarity. The Atom has a coaster-sized volume control on top and a full-colour LCD front panel that displays the album artwork as it plays. Even the remote is unhappy to accept a mere bit part: it has a proximity-sensitive control and springs to life as your hand approaches the controls. “The Atom is a little like that annoyingly good-looking friend who commands all the attention,” says What Hi-Fi.
Naim Uniti Atom: 95mm x 245mm x 265mm; Airplay, Spotify and Tidal in-built; 40w RMS. Price: £2,249 sevenoakssoundandvision.co.uk
Q Acoustics 3050i speakers: punching above their weight
Q Acoustics’ 3050i speakers are not the shy and retiring type. They have a commanding presence, and a sense of depth and dynamics that is as good as any you can get this side of a live concert. “The music instantly sprang to life,” says Mark Sparrow on forbes.com. “These speakers punch way above their weight and should be auditioned alongside speakers costing twice the price.”
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“They never get flustered,” says Jay Garrett on stereonet.co.uk, keeping dynamic signatures in check and “shepherding overlapping instruments into a spacious soundstage”. Visually, they play nicely with your furniture, being available in arctic white, carbon black, graphite grey and English walnut.
This set-up makes for an aural marriage made in musical heaven and it may be the only system you will ever need.
Q Acoustics 3050i2-way speakers, accept stereo amplifier input 25-100w; frequency 30-44kHz. Price:£645 See hifix.co.uk
This article was originally published in MoneyWeek
