Atma-Sphere Class D… Amazing


Today I picked up my Atma-Sphere Class D Amps. These aren’t broken in yet. And they are simply amazing. I’ve listen to a lot of High End Class D. Some that cost many times what Atma-Sphere Class D costs. I wasn’t a fan of any of them. But these amps are amazing. I really expected to hate them. So my expectations were low. The Details are of what I’ve never heard from any other amps. They are extremely neutral. To say the realism is is extremely good is a gross understatement. They are so transparent it’s scary. These amps just grab you and suck you into the music. After I live with them some and get them broken in. And do some comparisons to some other high end Amps Solid State, Tubes and Class D’s, also in other systems I’ll do a more comprehensive review. But for now, these are simply amazing amps.. Congrats to Ralph and his team. You guys nailed on these.

 

 

128x128pstores

@ricevs 

+1 on your comment about which Peachtree amp

My own extensive experience with my Voyager GaN 350 (said to be the same as the Peachtree) is that is chameleon-like: a change of vibration control devices (the OEMS suck the life out of the leading edge, overall softening the sound), changing power cords or interconnects, or anything in the chain is readily heard. Another huge factor is whether the music is being played at the PROPER volume 

My own extensive experience with my Voyager GaN 350 (said to be the same as the Peachtree) is that is chameleon-like

lol, yeah, with a load dependent frequency response, I would expect quite the ride....

"Class D amplifiers have a low pass filter that can interact with the load if not designed well and that is what we have here. The impact falls clearly in audible band. This would be OK for a budget amplifier in $100 range but not in this class. Depending on what speaker you hook up to this amplifier, the highs may be exaggerated or filtered."

 

Just heard back from the guy that had brought it over last month. Yes it was the GaN 400….. One I heard last year was the Nova 500.  Neither were as good as the Atma-Sphere Class D.  Will for the fun of it put them side by side in both systems. 

No one said the Peachtree was Better than the ATMA......But the $3500 bundle with the Gan 400 and the Pre/DAC by Peachtree is one heck of a value for us folks that can't afford the ATMA....the ease of play and subtle details that come out of the music is eye opening....I'm hearing info on songs I've been playing for years with my Tube amps that I didn't hear before. Very detailed and very musical.....For the money...it's supurb. Maybe someday I'll get the ATMA....but for now, I'm a very happy camper....gotta' go listen to MUSIC.

Hmm, Class D amps.  In the old days, I was just a Class A amp sort of guy; I went from an Pass Aleph 5, to an Aleph 2, then to the Aleph 1.2, which are big bruiser amps that when they reach their stride in terms of operating temperature, it can turn my listening room into a sauna - not a good feel, hah!  I've been toying with a second system where I enjoy swapping components in and out, and I bought a very nice pair of Audio Research DS450M monoblock amps, which are Class D.  For an amp that is not the current Class D design, I like it, as long as it is connected to a good tube preamp.  It stays cool to the touch during extended play time, and it is fast and dynamic; at 650 wpc in to 4 ohms, and it has something like 180,000 uF of capacitance in each mono which aids in that fast overall presentation.  That ARC amp really gets my Utopia and VSA VR-4 SR Mk IIIs singing good.  I like it, but like all things, some will hear and feel different about it.  In any case, congrats on the new amps!