Atmasphere Novacron MA1.5 amp with Merlin VSMSE


I am currently using an AA Capitole MKI with a pair of Quad II to my VSM. However, yesterday I come across to see an Atmasphere Novacron (MA1.5) for sale at one of the local second hand shop for a fairly good deal. I am just wonder did anyone have experience with this amp, and should go ahead for an upgrade or not??

Thanks for you guys input in advance.
michaelytt
Gorgeous amps. Best if you have space in between your speakers for amps to be displayed. If you can get these near 3k or less it would be a no-brainer. Check Atma-sphere web site for more info. I think they have a owners group discussion board.
hi m, the atmas are fantastic and are one of my very favorites!
not sure whether you know it or not but i also have two pairs of quad IIs which i have done work on myself. also a great amp but not quite as tonally neutral as the ma. i would suggest using a good tube pre with the either though. are you using a bam? if so, it should be buffered by the tube output section of a tube pre. it also has a capacitive input which is another reason to use it prior to the tube line output stage of a pre. you should also consider upgrading the speakers to the mme or mxe. that in itself would create a bigger and more important change than the amp upgrade would, imho.
regards,
bobby at merlin
Thanks for everyone's input.

Yes, Bobby I am using an older version of the AC non-battery bam. And of course I would love an upgrade of the speaker into mme or mmx, and I will talk to you again if I am ready to do the upgrade.

Talk about the pre-amp. should I look for a quad pre or any other recommendation?

thanks,
Michael
Atma-Sphere makes preamps, too, which happen to be especially good with their amps.

Sue Kraft's Novacrons differ from anything that came from the factory, but yes, she likes them. It was interesting to read her comments in a review she did of another brand of OTL amplifier several months ago.