| Atma-Sphere | 
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Music Systems |
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[MA-1 Mk.3.1]:...they look very good and sound great. I've been busy so have only played them for a few hours so far but the clarity, natural richness of sound and dynamics are amazing. They drive my Jamo R909's dual 15 inch woofers with lots of authority. That impedance dip between 60 and 30hz of 3 ohms does not seem to be any problem at all. The bass is tighter, bigger and deeper than with my solid state Blue Circle BC8's.
Based on the performance of these amps, I'll definitely be considering
one of your pre-amps soon when I get my cash reserves back up.
Nice customer mention on audiogon.com [M-60 Mk3.1]Beautiful. Rod M, NM [MP-1 Mk. III] You have a brilliant preamp, but the real world out there is caught up with glitz, price, and "the latest review":. Deaf ears, large egos and less than high resolution systems keeps your preamp "a best kept secret":.
I appreciate it. It is a work of art.
[From the Audiogon.com website:] Atma Sphere S30 amp: I got my S30 amp yesterday and got in 12 hrs. of listening time with it. Having started off on this audio journey with tubes I got lost somewhere down the road with SS amps. A friend of mine sent me a demo AA PX25 to try out with my Zu speakers and I was in shock on how organic sounding this little 6W amp sounded and I soon realized (in 5 min.) I screwed up big time. My amps [SS]sounded plastic/fake and after reading a review about the AS S-30 being a better all around amp than the PX25 and with more power I bought the amp new. Even with stock 6sn7 tubes this amp is a keeper for me. I could have had listening to a OTL all this time and feel I wasted alot of $$$ and time on my SS amps. You never know until you buy and try. This amp is not for everyone but for Zu owners I would encourage you to try this guy out. Thanks to all you OTL owners who have posted here in the forms and for Pubul57 whose knowledge of these amps made my purchase an easy decision.
Hiphiphorray I am back with tubes and loving it.
Hi Ralph, Apologies for not responding sooner. I wanted to thank you for the excellent customer service in upgrading my M-60's [originally Mk II.2] to Mk3.1. The improvement was immediately audible in my system - just as you described - increases in resolution and smoothness.
Thanks again for such a superb amplifier. I've already sold at least two of them for you via my
raves to fellow audiophiles. Please continue your pursuit of further improvements!
(MP-1 Mk. 3.1) This thing is incredible. The dynamics and bass are out of this world and worth the price of admission alone. I thought it was a little forward at first but it's settling in perfectly. I really couldn't be happier and I hope the audio world catches on soon enough and you sell a boatload. -Rusty M., Arizona (update MA-2 MkIII to Mk 3.1 and MP-1 MkIII to Mk3.1): Wow! This thing sounds fantastic. It's hard for me to tell what is doing what given that I upgraded the preamp and switched the amps a the same time, but the obvious things are that the whole thing is smoother, more relaxed, quieter, more detailed, more dynamic, deeper bass (much deeper actually but without being overpowering - go figure), and generally just really nice to listen to.
Thank you again for a great upgrade.
Hi Ralph Set-up - Balanced line from Bluenote Stibbert Tube CDP right through to M-60's - Atma-Sphere cables except Zu Geddes between CDP and MP-3. Top end Zu power lines into all. No isolation as yet under the MP-3, but will probably cannibalise one of the SRA platforms from a device of similar weight. Top Telefunkens in the Bluenote, all Atma-Sphere tubes so far remain stock. Initial reactions: MP-3 not as ugly as expected. Not heavy in weight at all. Counter-intuitive to have good amplification of relatively light weight. Nice feel to the controls. Stepped volume could be a problem - no it isn't - infinite variation actually available with channel gain variations. Must be something wrong - it is lit up but silent - can't be working - no it actually is that quiet - hope my expensive tubes are as quiet as the stock offering... Ten minutes in and the good oil is starting to flow. The day disappears. Good stuff: soundstage - amazing, gobsmackingly good. Detailed comments would be pointless, because of loudspeaker effects, but space and solidity are just "planted". Dynamics - very very good indeed, the best I have heard and certainly better than anything I have produced through my own equipment. Low end is likewise. Top also very good.... Negatives: miss my remote. M-60's are too tall to go in my Atacama equipment rack so I shall just HAVE to buy a better one. Heat in summer. Shall have to throw away or sell all my expensive SRA isolating platforms. Everything is coloured black. No fashionable blue pea lights. My expensive interconnects are now wasted, thanks to a conspiracy of various tube equipment creators, yourself included. The top end SE interconnects actually sound worse - veiled, masked, lacking image etc - between the CDP and pre, and do in fact sound worse at ANY position in the line. Also it is now very difficult to get away from the listening area - an unbreakable alien force field now prevents my leaving the area unless for a pee. Ralph - thanks and I hope you have a good holiday. I'd appreciate any recommendations you can offer for the MP-3 tube complement. A truly magical device. I doubt that any of the foregoing will be news to you.
Best wishes,
Dave
Ralph, As a follow up to our conversation and e-mails, I wanted to let you know that I purchased the MA-1 SE [Silver Edition- this set was updated to MkIII] amps and installed them in my system. They replaced a set of MFA M120B amps that I consider to be very good. I was not prepared for the result. The sound stage was 50% wider, bass was deeper, and the detail was significantly greater. But the most impressive change was the way the music came through. I now have an entirely new music collection to explore. I don't know how you can improve upon this, but I will be sending them in shortly for the upgrade from Mk. 3 to 3.1. Thanks for indulging me in my questions and obsessions. Best regards, Mike (M-60 MkIII) Keep refining this circuit- in my view you're still pulling away from the crowd. Jordan B, IN It's just about ten months since I bought my Atma-Sphere MP-1 MkIII. It's everything I hoped it would be, even though I could not imagine a pre-amp making this much positive improvement to the rest of my system. My system was now more open and reveling to such dimension, that friends who heard it prior to the MP-1 being added thought that I had done a total upgrade. The same music I was listening to before I got the MP-1, that had no life, suddenly were alive - voices are life-like, especially female voices, it's almost as if they are singing to you personally and instruments are more solid and full-bodied. There are details I didn't know were missing: The soundstage is deeper, wider and the background blacker-- while the mids and highs are sweeter. I'm happy I took all that time auditioning those countless other manufacturer's equipment and reading all the reviews I could find from Stereophile, TAS, Hi-Fi News and on-line publications. The payoff in musical enjoyment listening to my system with the MP-1 is priceless.
Ralph, thank you very much for this wonderful pre-amp!
Living with the M-60 monoblock amplifiers as an exhibitor at the 2008 Rocky Mountain Audiofest, I discovered what might be one of the best kept secrets in audio - Atma-Sphere electronics. The obvious question is "what took me so long to audition them?". By the end of the show, I signed up as an Atma-Sphere dealer. My business model as turntable manufacturer is a hybrid one, with Galibier being both a manufacturer as well as a retail seller. I continually search for products designed with priorities in alignment with mine - components designed with an eye toward honoring the musical intent of and conveying the expressiveness of the performer. At the end of the day, if a hi-fi system doesn't provide insight into the performance, then it's all about sound effects and not about music. When a designer succeeds at facilitating this insight, many of these hi-fi "effects" naturally occur (dimensionality, soundstaging, pace, etc.). All too frequently however, designers get it backward and design to optimize these "sound effects" first and music last. This approach is doomed to failure. A successful designer is both technically adept and musically aware. Sadly, this convergence of talents and sensibilities is all too rare in the world of hi-fi components. I was smitten by both the MP-1 preamp and the M-60's during the show, but it was only when I plugged in the M-60's in at home that I realized just how faithful to the music these electronics are - hearing them in a familiar system. Needless to say, there's an MP-1 in my immediate future. My initial listen was with a CD player as I couldn't wait to set up my analog rig in order to give them a listen. The first CD I plugged in found me in slack-jawed amazement - Jorma Kaukonen's "Thorns in My Crown" - a collection mainly of American spiritual music primarily from the country blues tradition (Reverend Gary Davis, et. al.) as only Jorma can play them. What grabbed me most (apart from bandwidth, tonal accuracy, and stone-cold silence that I've only heard in Jim Hagerman's work) was the musical timing. The pacing, ebb and flow of Jorma's guitar work was like every live performance of his I've been to, and I've seen him some six times in the past few years. Jorma is a national treasure, and I've never heard his guitar mastery conveyed in a hi-fi system with such insight into his masterful technique. Those of you who treasure this value system above everything else, owe it to yourselves to listen to Atma-Sphere electronics in a system assembled by someone with musical (and not) hi-fi values.
Cheers, [The S-30] transforms the sound of the ZU speakers. This is the first time orchestral bass has sounded correct. Robert W., Marlborough, CT. [M-60 MkIII] Wonderful sounding, exceeds my expectations- quite right for my system and taste. Christer B., Stockholm, Sweden [regarding a presentation concerning the Power Paradigm at an Audio Society meeting] I was in attendance at the ASM meeting last night, and I wanted to express my appreciation for your presentation, as I undoubtedly learned more in your one-hour presentation than I learned about audio in the previous 10 years. "Of course!" often seemed the obvious response as you presented the reasons behind your designs. My wife (who I believe was the only woman in attendance) was likewise impressed, and we both came away from the meeting wanting to learn more about the subject in general, and your designs in particular. I also thought it unique how you managed to slip a few lessons about life in general into your presentation. Kudos on that one as well.
I don't know if or when I'll ever be in a position to be able to purchase one of your products,
but if that day comes I can guarantee you'll be on my short list.
Well we had one helluva session yesterday, and when we hooked up the MP-1 [MkIII] to the M-60 [MkIII] our expectations were high and our hopes too. Congrats on getting 42 tubes in the chain and achieve dead silence! Amazing. The mantra has been spoken years and years: it's in the match, it's all in the match. Well it surely is one superb match. They really lock onto the music when partnered. It likes and craves fully balanced, I do not suggest it will not mate with any other true balanced amp. Boy o boy what a blast. You know what Ralph? The M-60 is totally convincing even with the Lohengrin at 80,000 USD retail. How about that for a statement? the bass ! Wow. Clean. Articulate. Stop & go. It's a blizz. Yes it may use some tube rolling, it may use some tweaking with soundboards, ebony, whatever. Make my day. And it wants superb cables too. Don't fool with them. I was off the Atma wagon for some time, wandering around, lost... It's great to be back again! Cheers to all the team, Ron P, Denmark PS. I can't hook up those Lammies yet again. Ralph, I've had the amps now for a week and all I can say is that after many years of listening to many amps, many highly regarded, and as a bit of an old coot jaded by the hobby, your amplifiers are a real revelation. I have never heard my system or any system as capable of communicating the musical message and performance. It feels as if these were the amps I've been waiting to own and it took my long path to appreciate how wonderful they are. Obviously the result of some great design work and thinking about how to make an amp that works to keep the musical message with minimal damage. A great job. My pre arrives next week, we'll see... Paul R, MD This is to let you know that I had a chance to buy a new MP-3, this time with all the most recent upgrades installed, including regulation, caps, etc. I traded in my old MP-3, plugged in the new one and... WOW, the difference is huge. Sonics have dramatically changed: tighter, faster response, more highs... I guess this is exactly what was to be expected from the updates. As you can see, Atma-Sphere has captivated me to the point where I have to buy the same gear twice. Thanks for your support. Stefano T, Italy Dear Ralph: The upgrade [from early Mk.II] to Mark III to my M60s was great! I can't believe the difference--more detail, more power to lower frequencies, more gain across the board--I couldn't be more pleased. Thanks and kudos to you and your staff for a job very well done! Jamie B, NY I bought an MP1 MkIII and it made a transformational change in my system. My system (BAT VK51SE, Atma MA1 MkII.3, RidgeStreet Audio Sason) was VERY good sounding before...how the hell can your Pre make such a massive difference in this system?? I loved what your amps did for my system (even before with the Maggie 3.6r's), but I think the MP1 brings an even more significant change! This was noticeable on the first note!! It sounds like I've doubled my power output in an underpowered system (the MA1's are not underpowered...just making a point). I know what head-room is now...it's alarming when you first hear it. No compression, no "hardening" of sound when turned up higher...just louder with dynamic range preserved, not capped. Transparency...the 2nd thing I noticed...by about the 5th note! Veils? How about lifting a curtain! Low-level detail and micro dynamics the third thing I noticed...by about the 10th note. So my expensive BAT pre was keeping all of this from happening? Amazing! I don't even miss the remote either...without the compression/hardening of sound if the volume is just a little too high for a given track, I'm not jumping to turn it down "a notch" like I did before...it doesn't "hurt" or "alarm" me of impending destruction! I'm so much more aware of the "tonal colors" of an instrument with both MP-1 and MA-1 in the system...the "tonal density" is greater than anything I've experienced before by a long shot. I interpret it as just so much more information, not "colorful artifact"...it definitely makes instruments sound more real. Jordan [M-60 Mk.III]I'm in awe. How to describe the sound? A.R.C. with soul? Shindo without the added "liquidness"? At the end of the day comparisons fail, what's left is my drug of choice. By far. Terrence R., AZ I was just writing to tell you how much pleasure it has been doing business with you. As a customer of yours for 10+ years, I can confirm all the glowing reviews that your equipment has received. This is not why I write. Many companies can make equipment that generates glowing reviews; the harder feat is customer service, and you have excelled in this regard. I recently upgraded my M-60s. After that I realized that there was some noise in my older MP-3 phono section. It was a low level 60 cycle hum mixed in with the noise floor. I explained it to you and you insisted that I send it in for a check up. Even though it was out of warranty you spent the time rooting out the cause, but best of all, you fixed the problem with significant work and parts and didn't charge me a cent for the service-even for return shipping. I love how quiet my system is now. I knew it was amazing when I was listening to an old Bollywood 45 and I could hear the 50 cycle hum from the amps used to make the recording oh so many years ago. Thank you, AG, California [On the MA-1 MkIII] It is spectacular! I've played acoustic guitar for 30 years and and used to be married to a classical pianist (with a B-model Steinway); your amps come as close as anything I have heard to making the system disappear. - Jack L., CA [on a new M-60 MkIII/MP-3 set] I listened to the M-60/MP3 off and on today for 5 hours. Wow. I know they need a ton more breaking in, but I have to tell you, I'm liking what I am hearing. The soundstage is incredibaly wide. The seperation of instruments and vocals is probably the best I have heard, and I have heard very very expensive systems. Had I known that I was going to be this enthralled, I would have ordered the MA-1 without a doubt. :) You have something really good here. Later, Mike added these comments: Whatever I told you earlier on, please totally disregard that. It has gotten exponentially better. To be totally honest with you, my favorite amp before this was the $10000 (name_witheld) amp. The M-60 with the V-CAP and Power Supply boost upgrades I purchased are extremely better! These amps were a steal at the retail price. I just want you to know how smitten I am with these amps. No grain whatsoever. That is gone, and they are STILL breaking in. And I haven't even rolled any tubes yet! So transparent, yet rich. Very very musical. I can't think this can be bettered, really. - Mike V., MA Just received my new (used) MP-3. What a fantastic difference it made in my system.. Great dynamics, great bass, wonderful soundstaging, delectable midrange, super highs. and most important, truth of tone. I couldn't be more satisfied-and I haven't even retubed it yet. It really compliments my M60 Mk 2.2s. Thanks for designing and building such a wonderful preamp! P.S. I always appreciate your being so available to answer my often ignorant but earnest questions. - Jamie B., NH I picked up one of your S-30 amps on the internet last week. I wanted to compliment you on the quality, looks and above all- the sound. Absolutely astounding. I have a degree in music from Berklee in Boston- I played for years In Jazz and R&B groups. I actually know what live instruments and voices sound like. So when I tell you that your amp is a major breakthrough in Hi-Fidelity - I mean it. I have been working with relatively high class equipment for probably 40 years - your product wins - hands down. I am saving up my pennies to buy one of your pre-amps...Thanks for a terrific instrument. - Rick P., Maine [on the MP-3 and M-60 MkIII] This product is the most beautiful sounding that I have ever heard. It is like being in Heaven and having the angels play the music for you. I congratulate you on such a wonderful product. - Antonio F, NY [on the MP-3] The equipment is sounding better every time I listen. The MP-3 is really a great sounding preamp. It is a lot more dynamic than my friend's $13,000 VAC preamp. Just plain outstanding air, dynamics, soundstage; just state of the art. Note the noise floor- there is none on my speakers anyway- well done! [on the MA-1] In my opinion, the finest sounding 140 watts around. - Wally H, NY Ralph, these things are simply amazing. The amount of low level detail...well, you know, but I got to tell you, I am hearing notes that were previously obscured. Little things, like the ringing on guitar strings, the harmonics in cymbals....just great. I had a good friend (professional drummer) over this weekend, and we put on Stravinsky Firebird, last movement. When the bass drum went off, we could hear the head resonate, the air come off the drum....his comment was that it was the first time he ever heard that instrument reproduced correctly. Like you say, these things make music, not sine waves. - Ron L, NJ To say I'm impressed I think would be one of the biggest understatements of my life! Thank you and the crew for a job so well done. I am delighted and can't thank you guys enough. - John F, CA Every thing is sounding great. I am extremely happy with the level of performance the MP-1 and the M-60 have displayed driving the Avantgarde horn systems. They seem to light a fire under the speakers, with a clarity and dynamics unheard in other amplifiers and preamplifiers at twice their cost... -Trevor M., West Indies.
I listen to these M-60s and I just grin-that is, until I think of all the
time I wasted with solid state. Of course, I don't mean to slight the
MP-3. It's absolutely the best preamp I've ever heard.
Ralph, I have had some of the best audio equipment that Audio Research makes in my system and your "entry level" equipment blows it
away. (I used to have an Audio Research Ref II Mark II modified by Great Northern Sound and a VT 200). There is no comparison.
Your S-30 and MP3 provides some of the sweetest and most satisfying music that I have heard in my house. Thanks so much!
Dear Ralph,
Hi, Ralph,
If the way you treated me, someone who had not purchased anything except a small upgrade from you, is an example of the way that you treat your real "paying customers," no wonder you have stayed in business so long with such success and such loyalty. Bravo. All the best, M. K.. -SM, San Diego Lucas S. -Greece Duncan E. -Princeton, OR Trevor M. -Trinidad Ralph J. -WV -And later Thomas followed up with 'some lines': ..... but I knew there is something out there, in MN, USA, a tube amp, really unique, which is definetly able to bring together the best of both worlds from excellent transistor amps and the best of tube amp reproduction. The so-called Output Transformer Less amplifieres ( OTL ), the Kings of Speed. I got one of those from Atma-Sphere, the M-60 Mk II.2 These are a revelation. Their reproduction of dynamics, high frequencies, timbre, timing, bass [and] control is amazing. These are easily the most fluid, grain-free tube amps I [have] ever heard. Super fast, clean and clear, natural and balanced for the whole spectrum; they are superb. I believe I had a mesmerized look in my face when I first listened to them. There is everything I hear from my Pass amps AND MORE. They give me every detail with lots of air, combined with brutal power in the bottom (without euphonic coloration), linked with stunning speed and transparency. In any case, the sound these amps produce is almost frighteningly real - clean, open, "air", wide soundstage, unbelievable detail - it's all there and then some. And: there are NO tube-related anomalies - just clean, accurate musical amplification. The real thrill is listening rock music with them, AC/DC, Deep Purple ....., these amps make you gonna dance. " Am I touched by Music ? " , " YES, I am ". With these I am in the driver's seat and I think I will never want to give it up.. Again, my respect. Best Regards Thomas H. -Germany Thanks for the reasonably priced superb sounding amps." - Jim R. - CO Your staff is "5 stars" in every area! The only thing that exceeds the excellence of your service is the product itself!!! Oh my!!! What a glorious sounding amp! I have owned Levinson, Krell, McCormack, Counterpoint and Conrad Johnson. Your M-60 Mk. II beats them all!!!! I am so thankful that you are designing such beautiful sounding gear!" - Jack W. - AZ What struck me first is how tuneful it is, in other words it leaves the full timbre of musical instruments intact. The overall sound is crisp and firm and there is an extraordinary sense of being able to pinpoint the location and true size of any instrument. There is absolutely no artificial bloom added to the sound. It is a highly sober and natural sound. From one narrow point of view one is reminded of solid state because of this sober way of playing, only it is without all the deficiencies that haunt each and every solid state design I have heard, such as smearing of details, flattening of the overall soundstage and lack of proper integration of the whole overtone spectrum. The MP-3 is called a 'music preamplifier', but it could just as well have been called a 'musical preamplifier', because that is what it is. -K.L.- Denmark One's life is wasted if one never had the opportunity to experience this OTL triode aroma . . . What can be worse than a megawatt megabucks system that is lacking the refinement and that is unable to capture the soul of music? You have my admiration for being able to hold on to the concept and not give up during the megawatt race of the 80's. Anyone who sticks it out through thick and thin for 2 decades is indeed deserving the respect. I do not believe that one can do that without having deep love for music. Thank you for this great gift. Best regards Patrik P.S. you may freely quote me - I stand behind every word written. - Mark Gilmore - CA - William K. -Houston, TX - Karsten L. - Denmark - Fritz D.- Denmark - Jerry S. - CO - Mike H. - NJ - John H. - France |
"Dragging high end audio (kicking and screaming) into the future!"