Atma-Sphere vs. Supratek

I've never understood the fascination with Supratek. Why import something from Australia when you can buy a better product on your doorstep?

I owned the Chardonnay a few years back and it was just OK. It was far from transparent, didn't really offer much 'bloom' or tube magic, and didn't really offer anything special other than a very nice aesthetic. When I sold it the internals came loose during shipping and I had to pay to have it repaired. I emailed Mick and requested schematics to be sent to the guy at the repair shop, but he refused to do so. In the end, the schematics weren't needed.

I haven't heard an Atma-Sphere preamp, they're on my bucket list.

Mick's : Lifetime warranty.. Has a stateside tech..

Ralph's : 3 year warranty - Will renew warranty upon reevaluation & will upgrade if you so choose.

Ralph's are twice the price of Micks,

More tube rolling fun with Micks for sure,

Both will answer questions and give attentive service. Though I bet Ralph is superior at this. Mick occasionally does not follow thru on commitments...

Even though I should be in this "Fight"... I don't have any experience with either, but I have read enough over the years of what others have said.... They are both good and you should audition both !!

Resale is great for both !! 

Mick has gone above and beyond helping me with some stuff ... can't thank him enough...

Both have had failures, everybody has problems occasionally...

I started with an A-S MP-3 and moved up to the MP-1. I was using an Audible Illusions preamp and was set on adding a Zesto phono stage. But after quite a few talks with Ralph and owning the great M-60s, I came to understand that the Atma preamps were unique in many ways. Significant ones that they are one of the very few that meet the true balanced standard. And, most important, they are designed from the ground up to play vinyl. My MP-1 has 14 tubes and 8 just for the built in phono stage. Being such an incredible “phono machine” . Not merely an add on phono stage or separate phono stage. You can sell your phono stage and the extra IC. I seriously doubt that the MP-3 or, especially, the MP-1 would not be way better than using your phono stage. Ultimately, I love not having to use an outboard phono stage. Keep it simple stupid-KISS.

The linestage in the Mp-1 i would say is excellent, very dynamic and transparent, one of the best that i have encountered in a preamp.  The built quality i wouldn’t say is top notch,  the chassis is cheaply made and the silk screen lettering are poorly put on, would fade after usages.  The phono section with 8 12at7 can be extremely noisy,  even at medium output say .5mv. still noisy As Hell,  finding tubes to match the phono can be a nightmare!!  Overall Linestage Excellent but the phonostage Is Junk! 

My Phono Stage in the MP-1 is dead quiet, if you use noisy tubes you’re gonna get more noise.

Nos Tubes dont work in the Phono Stage they are just too noisy. The Phono Stage runs fully balanced, i have balanced cable going into it. It is by far one of the best sounding phono stages i have owned. The Phono Stage alone has outclassed other standlone units that cost north of 20K so having both a Line Stage and Phono In one unit is a big plus.

If you’re encountering noise in the phono section try to use cheaper quieter tubes this has worked very well for me.

I agree on the Chassis its cheapy looking compared to others. However im paying for Sonics and Reliability not bling bling so it never bothers me much.

You can ask Ralph to build better Chassis for you thicker plates or what ever but be prepaired it will raise the cost much higher. Im more bothered about Chasis but i appreciate the Tech/Circuit Design and the SQ