Atom

Reviewer: Srajan Ebaen
Financial interests: click here
Main system: Sources: Retina 5K 27" iMac (i5, 256GB SSD, 40GB RAM, Sonoma 14), 4TB external SSD with Thunderbolt 3, Audirvana Studio, Qobuz Sublime, Singxer SU-6 USB bridge, LHY Audio SW-8 & SW-6 switch, Sonnet Pasithea, Laiv Audio Harmony; Active filter: Lifesaver Audio Gradient Box 2; Power amplifiers: Vinshine Audio x Kinki Studio Dazzle & Gold Note PA-10 Evo in mono on subwoofer; Headamp: Enleum AMP-23R; Phones: Raal 1995 Immanis; Loudspeakers: Qualio IQ [on loan] Cables: Exact Express Flame, Furutech; Power delivery: 2 x Kinki/Vinshine Tai Hang on amps and source stack, Furutech DPS-4.1 between wall and conditioners; Equipment rack: Artesanía Audio Exoteryc double-wide 3-tier with optional glass shelves, Exoteryc amp stands; Sundry accessories: Acoustic System resonators, AudioQuest FogLifters; Room: 6 x 8m with open door behind listening seat; Room treatment: 2 x PSI Audio AVAA C214 active bass traps
2nd system: Source: FiiO R7 into Soundaware D300Ref SD transport to Cen.Grand DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe with POW; Preamp/filter: Lifesaver Audio Gradient Box 2; Amplifier: Kinki Studio EX-B7 monos; Loudspeakers: Virtual Hifi Cobra [on loan]; Subwoofer: Zu Method; Cable loom: Exact Express Earth; Power delivery: Vibex Granada/Alhambra, Akiko Audio Corelli Corundum & Castello Solo; Equipment rack: Hifistay Mythology Transform X-Frame [on extended loan]; Sundry accessories: Furutech cable lifts, Furutech NFC Clear Lines; Room: ~3.5 x 8m
2nd headfi system: DAC: Cen.Grand DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe with POW; Headamp: Cen.Grand Silver Fox; Headphones: Raal 1995 Magna, HifiMan Susvara
Desktop system: Source: HP Z2 work station Win11/64; USB bridge: Singxer SU-2; DAC/preamp: COS Engineering D1; Headphone amp: Kinki Studio THR-1; Speaker amps: Topping B200 monos; Loudspeakers: Virtual Hifi Viper; Headphones: Final D-8000, aune SR7000, FiiO FT7
Upstairs headfi system: FiiO R7; Headphones: Meze 109 Pro, Fiio FT3
2nd upstairs speaker system: Source: FiiO R7; Integrated amplifier: Simon Audio Lab i5; Loudspeakers: ModalAkustik Musikboxx with Dynaudio S18 subwoofer
2-channel video system: Source: Oppo BDP-105; All-in-One: Gold Note IS-1000 Deluxe; Loudspeakers: Zu Soul VI; Subwoofer: Zu Submission; Power delivery: Furutech eTP-8, Room: ~6x4m
Review component retail: ~£13K/pr for monitor, ~£1.7K/pr stand, ~£18K/pr floorstander

A split seam could be a harmless wardrobe malfunction that makes gleeful social-media rounds should it involve a celebrity. A split atom is something else altogether. Whilst Node Audio's new Atom doesn't suggest anything as foreboding as the end of humanity, it does seem quite the split from the brand's radical maiden project, the spheroid 3D-printed Hylixa monitor with integral stand which I reviewed and awarded six round moons ago. Prior to Atom's full reveal, a few partial images deliberately dark which I lightened up made the rounds counting down to a September 27th Ascot show launch. "Give us another month to organize samples. What we'll preview next week will be pre-production. We're finalizing production details after the show."

The Cambridge-based team of David Evans and Ashley May with very firm footing in industrial design had clearly gone floorstander with a d'Appolito style MTM array in a boat-hull enclosure finished in textured fabric. Small cone size might propose additional bass artillery hidden inside the cabinet? Guesswork aside, that was as far as this atom split by September 18th. Nuclear fusion remained reserved for later when full specs and photos would drop after the show. That gave us all a small window to speculate unperturbed by actuality. On the subject of which, what do you make of Atom's driver suspensions? They don't look like classic surrounds. Of course Node's acoustic consultant Christien Ellis behind Hylixa was no stranger to unconventional drive units, having worked with flat-membrane balanced-mode radiators. Nor does he mind unconventional loading schemes like Hylixa's circular transmission line or the scoop port of sound|kaos. For what Atom would do, guesswork ran wild whilst the jury was still out.

When the jury returned, the verdict read pure in-house development without Mr. Ellis consultancy; and two models, the Atom 525 monitor with optional stand; and the Atom 650 floorstander. "Both employ our proprietary patented Helical Transmission Line system, extending bass response far beyond expectation for their size. HTL directs the output of the long-throw woofer into a central chamber, driving a helical passageway that reinforces and projects low frequencies with authority and control. Atom also introduces our patented MonoCell damping made possible by additive manufacturing. This rigid lattice structure replaces traditional fibrous damping, doubling as infinite bracing to create an ultra-stiff monocoque enclosure. The result is a dramatic reduction in cabinet-borne coloration and a purer more transparent presentation. Every element of these enclosures is engineered for acoustic integrity. The sculpted cabinets eliminate sharp edges and flat surfaces that compromise stereo imaging whilst the close alignment of tweeter and dual midrange drivers preserves soundstage coherence in both the horizontal and vertical planes. Ultra-lightweight midrange drivers without a traditional spider show improved clarity through mechanical freedom. The cabinets are wrapped in bespoke multi-layer acoustic fabric for superior vibration control while structural components are precision-machined from billet aluminium and polished to an immaculate decorative standard."

The 525 monitor measures 45 x 28.5 x 36cm HxWxD and is a 4-driver 3-way transmission-line design with a 5¼" internal woofer whilst the 650 floorstander scales to 97 x 28.5 x 38cm HxWxD to lengthen the internal line and increase the woofer to 6½". As the cutaway shows, this transmission line for the woofer's rear wave winds upward in a spiral then exists through the horizontal slot beneath the skull cap. This reimagines the Hylixa concept in a different form factor and turns the central helix axis from horizontal to vertical. As far as speaker design goes, it does rather split the atom of cleverness, wouldn't you say?