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Anthem STR or Naim Uniti Nova for Paradigm Persona 3F?

Hi all, 

I'm planning AV for new construction with my family and the centerpiece will be the stereo system. I auditioned the Paradigm Persona 3F, powered by an Anthem STR integrated amp, and fell in love. So, now that I've got my speakers picked, I need to find an amp that sounds great but also fits the following criteria:
  • Simplicity is going to be key for this system. While I don't mind messing with multiple pieces of equipment to play a CD or stream music, my family does not have the same patience. 
  • The fewer boxes, the better for the same reasoning as above. If an amp has a built in network streamer or CD player, that's not a negative for me. 
  • Most of the music being played will be digital, so the amp has to have a great DAC. I'm open to a separate DAC but I don't feel it'd fit my budget easily. 
  • Budget for the amp is ideally around 6k, but I am able to go higher if the amp incorporates another component, such as a network streamer. 
  • Home Theater Bypass is ideal, as I will be incorporating the system into a small HT setup. That said, 2ch music is the priority and what will the system will be used for the most. 
My current plan was this: I would use my Blu-ray player, either a Sony UBP-X1000ES or Panasonic DP-UB9000, as a CD transport. I am open to a separate transport if people feel that it would be better, but again, less boxes is better. That leaves only network streamer as the other digital source, which could be separate or could be incorporated into the amp. Currently, I am between the Anthem STR integrated and the Naim Uniti Nova. Here are my thoughts on both:

The Anthem STR sounded great on the Personas, although it's the only amp I auditioned them on. When I go back, I will try more. The included ARC room correction might be very useful to me, as these speakers will be in a large, long room with no ability for treatments other than a rug or two. Maybe the room correction will help in such a room more than a nicer amp... The cheaper price and higher power was nice, and integration into Control4 plus HT Bypass is ideal. 

I have not yet heard the Naim Uniti Nova, but it's reputation is great. I particularly like having the network streamer built in, but I worry that the power output may be too low. I will not likely be able to audition these on the Personas, so if anyone has heard this duo, or any of the Uniti line with them, I'd be grateful to hear your thoughts. Control4 integration is available but no HT Bypass... 

My dealer also has a Moon 340i that I heard with some B&Ws that sounded wonderful. He praised the DAC in it and I'd be open to this as well, but since it does not incorporate a CD player or network streamer and is near the top of my theoretical price range, I'm less inclined. That said, since I can audition it with the Personas, I likely will. 

Anyway, I'd be very grateful if people could weigh in on the STR vs the Nova (and 340i, if inclined), but I'm open to any thoughts on these speakers and powering them in general! Thanks in advance. 

bpryan
bpryan OP
5 posts
 
@shahram thanks for that on the Naim, I think you'd be right and it makes me feel a bit more assured.

@mike_in_nc thanks for the clarification, I got what you're saying now.

And to all who've mentioned the upcoming NAD Masters M33... I finally dug into it and it looks perfect. I will definitely be looking out for it in August. Even if I weren't to do the M33, I could easily pair the amp I go with with the NAD M50.2 and fulfill my CD transport/network streamer needs. I'm especially grateful to how easy NAD seems to try and make it to integrate their electronics into a variety of audio and automation platforms.

What's the NAD house sound described as? Every single person I talk to recommends a warmer sounding amp for the Personas, and I've never actually heard a NAD amp in action, so I'm curious. 
yyzsantabarbara
5,037 posts
 
https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisa3gdj-krell-k-300i-solid-state

The lower end NAD I heard warm a little warm not tubey warm. The details were a bit lacking but it was a lower end model.


romney80
150 posts
 
@bpryan 
Sorry for the late response. I used the Nova with Aerial Acoustics 7T. Never had to juice up the volume. They are very musical. Naim makes all their products to sound magically musical, I have become their fan. I can't imagine how well they did on all aspects. It is a real "all in one" super-integrated amp. I think, now you can get them for < 4500 mint used.

I got Naim uniti atom for small room listening with B/W 702/S2 and they drive them with ease too. Naim`s watts rating even in their high end amps are very conservative. 

Now I am going to get their streamer/DAC (likely NDX2) to pair with my class A amp (luxman 590axii). 

Others in this category you should consider are NAD M33 (latest) and also Krell K-300i. Good luck with your search.
anotherbob's avatar
anotherbob
344 posts
 
I’ve had the NAD M10 since shortly after it came out, currently used with a brand new pair of Wharfdale EVO 4.2 3-way standmounts. The speakers are not nearly broken in, maybe 10 hours or so, so not really fair to judge them with the M-10 but I will say the words that come to mind are balanced, neutral, and MAYBE a very little bit toward the bright side.  Good bass and expected to get better.  They are in a relatively small, but well treated (acoustically!) room.  I’ve had Revel Performa 3 M106 and Zu Dirty Weekends with the M-10, the Revels were very nice, got the Zu’s for a great price but were too big for the room.  Still both performed in a balanced way with the M-10, the Zu’s a bit on the bright side, but that’s what they are.  I’ve got no complaints with the M-10’s SQ, and zero problems with connectivity, BUT the M33 looks tempting.  I’ll have to see some reviews but on paper it’s very enticing...
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