2. amps-preamps
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CLASS D MONO AMPS buy ATMASPHERE MUSIC SYSTEMS

CLASS D AMPLIFIER TECHNOLOGY HAS FINALLY ARRIVED TO OUTPERFORM ALL OTHER TOPOLOGIES 

The Amplifier is the New Class D Mono Amps using GaN Fets in a unique Patented
Circlotronic output stage…Design by Ralph Karsten of ATMASPHERE MUSIC SYSTEMS 

Rated at 100 watts 8 ohms and 200 watts 4 ohms with low distortion across the full audio bandwidth with excellent noise characteristics 

I have been using ATMASPHERE MUSIC SYSTEMS MA-1 3.0 with all factory upgrades along with NOS 6NS7 Input Tubes for many years 

The New ATMASPHERE MUSIC SYSTEMS CLASS D has outperformed my MA-1 3.0 in all areas…the resolution and transparency are simply an Amazing Accomplishment

Also I sold my MP-3 mk 3.0 and purchased the New MP-3 mk3.3

In my Audio opinion I believe the ATMASPHERE MUSIC SYSTEMS CLASS D MONO AMPS used with the MP-3 mk3.3 will offer one of the most transparent sounding electronics combinations to date…only using the MP-1 mk3.3 will offer more performance 

I have used other High End Amplifiers in my system and the ATMASPHERE MUSIC SYSTEMS CLASS D MONO AMPS outperformed all of them as well

Music Lover…Audiophile…Retired Audio/Video Engineer over 45 years 

Thanks for Reading 

TubeGuy 45

tubeguy45
holmz's avatar
holmz
2,328 posts
 

@ricevs thans for the link - I did not find class-D yesterday.

@kuribo I don’t think he is competing with Purifi.
I was thinking that his amps are all current amps, but the specs suggest a voltage amp.
All of his other amps are low feedback design, but this one is 35dB of feedback gain.

I am not sure what Hypex and purifi are in terms of feedback gain.

audioquest4life
771 posts
 

I wonder how well this new product will work with 16 ohm speakers? Sure, it will work, but, how effectively. This is a surprise for folks who have cherished the OTL designs for use with 16 ohm speakers. 

jerryg123's avatar
jerryg123
3,429 posts
 

@ricevs you hit the nail on the head. The only similarity will be that they are D Class.

 

mapman's avatar
mapman
22,205 posts
 

The website lists power specs into 16 ohm. Ralph has clearly articulated all amps make less distortion into higher impedance loads so I would anticipate that is a driver still for his design. Will be interesting for someone to measure how these operate into different loads. Yes the M word….. I would expect these to work better with more speakers which would open up some new sales paths for Atmasphere.  Has potential to make me a customer which would not have been likely  with OTL tube amps given my speaker preferences. 

kuribo
524 posts
 

Don’t think so. His market is for people who REALLY listen and value how an amp SOUNDS and value his take on harmonic structure of the distortion versus super low standard measurements of distortion. All versions of Purifi and Hypex sound different from each other yet most measure the same. I have no doubt his amp will "sound better" than anyones Purifi....including my modded ones....of course, at a different price point. Some believe the measurements at ASR really mean something.....they do mean something....just not much in the way of how something sounds. Those guys do not listen so they have no idea if their measurements correlate to sound. Ralph has made state of the art tranformerless tube amps for years and his amps have been compared to other amps over and over....so he has a great reference for sound. ASR guys have no reference for sound....they just have some measuring tools. I am pretty sure Ralph won’t send his amps to ASR to be measured. Maybe in a few years someone will send them their own pair and then you can whine about the fact that it does not measure as good in some ways as something.else. Meanwhile, those that have the amps will be grinning because of the beautiful sounds it makes.

So he is adding distortion to please a certain group of people? And those who don’t prefer his particular distortion preference, not so much. Sad when marketing takes the place of producing an amplifier that does what an amplifier is by definition: something that outputs a larger version of the input, nothing more, nothing less.

Sure all hypex and purifi amps sounds different, but not because the amps are different, because people all have different tastes and preferences. No doubt there will be fans and detractors for each and every amp on the market.

I can see you are a big fan but have yet to hear these amps. Confirmation bias alert. No doubt the mods to take it to 11 are forthcoming.

I wish the designer the best of luck. Everyone has different tastes, and surely there will be those who like his flavor of ice cream. As a starting point, I and many others however chose to evaluate the performance of an amp based on objective criteria and without measured performance no doubt a large segment of the market will pass. It’s a very competitive market, especially in class d. The performance standard has been set via Hypex and Purifi and each has been very successful, no doubt because a large segment of the market likes state of the art design, excellent objective performance, as well as a neutral and transparent sound.

GaN is the flavor of the day though to date no one has actually implemented the devices in a way that actually exploits their advantages. One can’t help but wonder if these devices have been implemented in this design in such a way as to actually use them to their potential. Without additional info, we have no idea. For those who bite on all the snake oil fraud, I’m sure they don’t care. Others, who are a little more discerning, surely won't take the word of a snake oil salesman.

 

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