Atma-Sphere MA-1 amps

Good question about the Atma preamps. I know my MP-1 with M-60 combo
was dead quiet.

Ultimately though, since my gear is installed in a Salamander Synergy cabinet,
tube troubleshooting and rolling with the MP-1 was a real hassle. Had the
preamp been installed on top of an open rack, there would not have been a
big issue with tubes.

Also, in my system, the MP-1 had a bit of upper midrange "shout"
with both the M-60 and Pass Labs XA-60.5 amps.

I replaced the MP-1 with a Lamm L2 Reference, which has better tonal
balance, better bass control, and is much easier to maintain. IMO.

However, the L2 does not have the massive image size of the MP-1, nor the
slightly warm tonality of the MP-1 (which I was frankly unaware of until I
purchased the Lamm L2 and compared the two). There's always a trade-off.

I'd be curious to hear the Lamm L2 Reference with Atma-Sphere amps. On
paper, the impedance match looks good.

Hello Lewm,

Thanks for the research and posting a response. I'm sorry if you got the impression from this thread that I own the Atma's. To be clear, I do not. I came awfully close though!

However, I was fortunate enough to have spent time hearing the MA-2 with the speakers I own and speakers I previous owned in three different systems for a total of 5 lengthy listening sessions. Thankfully I was able to get over the things I thought they did so well and hear IMO what did not jive to my ears.

When I talked on the phone with Ralph he mentioned to me that there were many Eidolon-Eidolon Diamond/MA-2 users in the field. I don't know for certain, but I didn't get the impression from talking with him that any of them were using the Zeros. If this helps, the MA-2's amps were able to drive the Eidolon Diamond to extreme volume levels without signs that the amps were running out of gas. Also, it might be of help to know I heard the IMHO texture thinness and treble abbreviations at low or loud volumes. But from the little technical knowledge I have of OTL's, tonal abbreviation is independent of volume. In other words, if the speaker in question is not a good match for an OTL, tonal coloration will be apparent at all volume levels. Is this correct?

I would like to point out once again I think the Atma's are in certain ways .... "extraordinary" .... exceeding the competition. I also encourage others to audition them to hear the certain areas of cutting edge performance I feel Ralph has achieved with his design.

Having lived and learned over the years from owning five different sets of electrostatics from Acoustat, Quad, and Martin-Logan, these also in certain ways were ....extraordinary.... and in my view, above, exceeding that of the competition. But they also lacked in certain ways, and for me in the long run their faults took away the enjoyment, that magic, the escape, the thrill of being fooled if only for a second that this could be real. Through my experience and from the mistakes I felt I've made, I have learned a balanced approach of choosing all components is what has endured for me.

Best to all,
Tom

Hi Pubul57
My MP-1 Mk. III developed a problem due to shipping, which absolutely without Ralph's fault is not yet resolved. I had occasion to borrow a WAVAC which to my ears mated perfectly with my MA-2 Mk. IIIs driving my U-1PX Sound Labs. I was so enthralled with this combination that I later bought one used here on Audiogon, tube rolled the Ruskies for Mullards and am happy. Once my problem with the MP-1 is solved, I'll compare and sell one of the two preamps.

Hi Tom,
I've followed your advice digging out all sorts of jazzy software I could find on CD, LP and Steve Nugent's "SPOILER", a wonderful USB-DAC by the way, clobbers Zanden and the dcs-stack, and could -perhaps would(: not - hear what you did. As I noted above, at first I thought I had it pinpointed, but then it turned out it was an IC, starting to break in causing that anorexia in sound, which thanks to the Audio gods soon gained sufficient weight again to be out of danger...

Hi Detlof,

Glad to hear and that you are enjoying music!

Best,
Tom

Seeing how I got all these Atma owners in one place, what sort of power conditioning (if any) are people using with them? I've been considering Shunyata. I'm mainly concerned w/ lightning protection, and if I can get an improvememnt in sound, great, but don't want to degreade the sound in any way.