2. amps-preamps
  3. 1270037845

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 sounded plastic/fake and after reading a review about the AS S30 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.



128x128glory
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,511 posts
 

It's all about system synergy. I replaced several highly regarded tube amps with SS amps and boy I can't believe what I had been missing:-) Really!

Now, I had the same thing happen in reverse with different speakers. It is all about the speaker/amp synergy folks. This is not a tube/SS thing IMHO.

I do love tube amps however and will always keep my tube preamp no matter what amp/speaker combo I have.
clio09
3,360 posts
 
Paul, I think I am light loading the RM-10 MkII. My speakers are 12 ohm nominal (no lower than 8 ohm dip) and I'm using the 8 ohm tap. Wouldn't this be the equivalent of using the 4 ohm tap on 8 ohm speakers?

Right now I'm leaning towards selling the VACs as they will fetch a lot more. Problem is you rarely see the 70 watt Auricle Musicblocs for sale and the cost to buy back in to VAC is quite high with their newer products. Can't justify keeping all three. I need to clean the garage this weekend.
glory's avatar
glory OP
1,614 posts
 
09,

Good luck finding a used S30 on the 'Gon. Some M60 amps have come and gone but living in FL. with M60 amps would drive me out of the house in the summer.

Map,

Take Eva Cassidy's Blues Alley. I've listen to it hundreds of times but never heard it sound live like I did today. No grunge/gradu in the way of the music. I don't want to go to work during the day. I never put in 12 straight hrs. of listening time without a break.
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
Anthony, you are light loading, you might want to discuss with Roger, but I suspect if you us the 4ohm tap you will get even less distortion, more current, and tubes will run much cooler and last even more than the expected 10,000 hours. I also suspect that the slight reduction in power would not be noticeable with your speakers. And best of all, those amps are really designed to by run with a passive preamp:) I know what you mean about the VACs, but if you stay on your high efficiency kick, you may never need more than those 30 watts!
clio09
3,360 posts
 
Glory, I plan on buying the S-30 new.

Paul, I will try the 4 ohm tap. I've been trying to reach Roger with no luck. When I lived in Santa Barbara he was more accessible. I'm going back for a visit in a couple of weeks and if I don't hear from him before then I'm going to drive to his house and knock on his door.

The Clio 9 passive volume attenuator and RM-10 MkII are getting along just fine.
More to discover