Glory agreed re: Atma-Sphere amps. Ive owned the MA1 MkII.2 ~8 years ago and liked them for what they did. I upgraded to the MA1 MkIIIs (after a brief run with high power SS, Parasound JC1s) and loved the added finesse and a touch of sweetness on top the MkIII brought. With the M60 MkIII.1s and Cu-foil Teflon Vcaps, driving a relatively easy load in the Def 1.9 and now Def4, there is much to love about their sonic merits. Comments from you and others regarding the ASR are intriguing. In time, I hope to be able to hear them to determine for myself whether they possess the combination of unique attributes that float my boat.
213Cobra your comments are interesting re: Audion/Sophia amps. What I noticed with the Sophias in reference to the M60s is that they were a little sweeter, had a little more density to the midrange tone, and a little more sense of coherency or cut from the same cloth sound (at least from upper bass to treble); however, the latter seemed, upon further listening, to be a coloration imparted on all music and ultimately became a bit of a distraction. There was also something going on in the upper midrange / lower treble that showed up on some tracks. Wished the mfg would have been more supportive of a tube roll to see if it addressed this issue, but he was not and I had limited time to evaluate them. The Atma M60s had significantly more drive, a larger soundstage, more air on top & weight on bottom, though none of the aforementioned was perceived as lacking while listening to the Sophias. I have heard that the Sophias have a lower noise floor than the Audions? Although noise didnt significantly factor into my evaluation of the Sophia, I wouldnt want it to be too much higher. Can this be a distraction with the Audions?
Agear thanks for your explanation of how you came to your current views regarding amplifiers. I always find the path one has charted in this hobby (as well as the associated knowledge and relationships) to be illuminating. It seems some sections of the path are almost universally crossed, yet depending on too many variables to list, each of us, at any given time, find ourselves at a unique point on our own path. And as such, each of us are differently inclined at any given moment to move in one direction or another. Enough philosophizing. I am curious about the NCore from Hypex read one of their white papers and, although over my head technically, was interesting nonetheless. There seems to be enthusiasm, if not true potential, in the class D approach. Consider me a casually interested bystander at the moment though.
SpiritofMusic dude, you are going to be stoked with your new Def IVs!! I listened/watched several concerts last night with my wife. Sound quality from digital out of the Oppo Blue Ray to the LIO-8 has never been as good as firewire from MBP to LIO-8, yet the sound quality improvement with the Def IVs was dramatic. My wife is generally skeptical and not terribly interested in sound quality, yet she was visibly excited about what she was hearing and how smooth it is and voices are so much clearer and I can hear the other instruments better and I hear what that bass guy is playing now and I could listen all night at this volume it doesnt hurt after awhile like before Its definitely a winner in our household and to echo what others have said it is a SIGNIFICANT upgrade from the 1.9.
213Cobra your comments are interesting re: Audion/Sophia amps. What I noticed with the Sophias in reference to the M60s is that they were a little sweeter, had a little more density to the midrange tone, and a little more sense of coherency or cut from the same cloth sound (at least from upper bass to treble); however, the latter seemed, upon further listening, to be a coloration imparted on all music and ultimately became a bit of a distraction. There was also something going on in the upper midrange / lower treble that showed up on some tracks. Wished the mfg would have been more supportive of a tube roll to see if it addressed this issue, but he was not and I had limited time to evaluate them. The Atma M60s had significantly more drive, a larger soundstage, more air on top & weight on bottom, though none of the aforementioned was perceived as lacking while listening to the Sophias. I have heard that the Sophias have a lower noise floor than the Audions? Although noise didnt significantly factor into my evaluation of the Sophia, I wouldnt want it to be too much higher. Can this be a distraction with the Audions?
Agear thanks for your explanation of how you came to your current views regarding amplifiers. I always find the path one has charted in this hobby (as well as the associated knowledge and relationships) to be illuminating. It seems some sections of the path are almost universally crossed, yet depending on too many variables to list, each of us, at any given time, find ourselves at a unique point on our own path. And as such, each of us are differently inclined at any given moment to move in one direction or another. Enough philosophizing. I am curious about the NCore from Hypex read one of their white papers and, although over my head technically, was interesting nonetheless. There seems to be enthusiasm, if not true potential, in the class D approach. Consider me a casually interested bystander at the moment though.
SpiritofMusic dude, you are going to be stoked with your new Def IVs!! I listened/watched several concerts last night with my wife. Sound quality from digital out of the Oppo Blue Ray to the LIO-8 has never been as good as firewire from MBP to LIO-8, yet the sound quality improvement with the Def IVs was dramatic. My wife is generally skeptical and not terribly interested in sound quality, yet she was visibly excited about what she was hearing and how smooth it is and voices are so much clearer and I can hear the other instruments better and I hear what that bass guy is playing now and I could listen all night at this volume it doesnt hurt after awhile like before Its definitely a winner in our household and to echo what others have said it is a SIGNIFICANT upgrade from the 1.9.