Double Upgrade Path into Streaming

Audio Gear Talk
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Hi Everyone. First post. Im a 64 year old retired guy just emerging into the streaming world and would like some advice as I plan for 2 systems. I have just ordered a used Naim Uniti Atom as my primary, daily streaming option, initially using Q Acoustics 3030i ( currently being played through a cheap Chinese streaming dac and Naim 5i amp ). I may leave this the Uniti and 3030s for a while and see how I get on. Secondly I am planning a more reference system, based around streaming and my vinyl collection and a pair of ATC SCM19s, which i heard and fell in love with several years ago. Amps would be either Hegel, Lingdorf or similar. Deck is a Planar3.

Questions : 1. What would people advise me to check for in the 2nd hand Uniti arriving Tuesday. I have 1 week in which i cn return it if dissatisfied. 2. Regarding the second system, just for initial considerations, what level amp would be required to drive the SCMs, entry level hegel or Lingdorf, or more substantial units. Music; roots, americana, world obviously made more rich by the presence of Roon.

Many thanks for any feedback you can provide.

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Hi Geoffrey, welcome to the forums! Those ATCs are great speakers and, although not that hard to drive, will definitely benefit from a bit of grunt behind them. I’d highly recommend the Hegel H390 - has tons of power, and is a genuine bargain - it’s most of the way to H590 for half the cost. I recently upgraded to a H390 from a H190, and my speakers didn’t know what hit them - brought them very nicely into line. I heard Lingdorf when I was auditioning my H190 and it didn’t do it for me.

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If you can, wrt amps, I’d start by trying to find out what was driving them when you fell in love with them and use that as a baseline - I spent ages trying to recreate a sound/experience I once had, before realising that the best solution was just to replicate it!