NAD M33 or NAIM UNITI NOVA?

I’ve heard the Naim at a local dealership, and I enjoyed it very much. I have not heard the M33, but I’ve listened carefully to another amp using the PuriFi modules, with a very positive reaction.

So, it seems to me you may have two good choices. Of course, the M33 has Dirac, if you have any interest in digital room correction, and I believe it also will manage one or two subs. It has more power, which could make a difference. Those all are nice features.

My suggestion at this point is, if you are thinking of buying new, try each one in your home and see what you think. How they work with your room and speakers (and ears) is probably going to be the key issue.

I have heard the Naim Nova and M33 at a dealer and have had a Hegel H160 in my home, but haven’t heard the H390.  The H160 had a ton of power, so I can only imagine what the H390 would be like. It’s most likely the most powerful and effortless sounding of the bunch.  If you have a big room and don’t like to feel limited I’d go that direction.  The Naim and NAD units will look nicer with their colorful displays but all three have excellent build quality. One big drawback on the Hegel is the lack of HDMI ARC which is a great feature if you are integrating with a TV.  As far as sound quality they are all excellent and in the same league as each other so it really comes down to two things - speaker synergy and features. I can’t comment on the former since none of the demos involved the 805s. I don’t think there is a wrong choice here for a flagship all in one streaming amp. 

Thank you very much for your answer, I think I am going to decide on Nad. With what speakers did you hear them at the dealer?

I don’t remember the brand, it was a 2 way tower which doesn’t really narrow it down much. I can say with confidence it wasn’t B&W or other distinct looking speaker makers.   I was shopping amps/streamers so wasn’t really paying attention. I told the guy that I had Dynaudio speakers, so he probably chose something with similar characteristics.