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Preamp suggestions for Atma-Sphere Class D Monoblocks

As I impatiently await the arrival of my Atma-Sphere class-d monos, I am writing to solicit opinions from experienced members on this site. Balanced inputs and outputs as well as the ability to connect a subwoofer are important. Headphone amp would be nice but not critical. Ditto for built-in phono. These are some of the tube and solid state units I am considering (not necessarily exhaustive):

  1. Atma-Sphere MP-3 mk3.3
  2. Cary SLP-05 (ultimate edition, if I can find a pristine used pair at a good price)
  3. Modwright LS-100
  4. PrimaLuna EVO 400
  5. Supratek - Champagne or 6SN7 Cabernet - I have no idea what the difference between these two are and the website is not helpful at all
  6. Anthem STR
  7. Benchmark LA-4/HPA-4
  8. Bryston BR-20 (or one of their purely analog variants - BP-19?) - I am hesitant to bundle streaming and dac into a preamp
  9. NAD M66
  10. ?

I will initially use the Bel Canto DAC2.8 as a dac and preamp with an Auralic Aries G1.1 as the streamer. My speakers are Totem Acoustic Forest Signatures, sub is a REL s/510 that I seldom use. I am unsure whether I can use the speaker level connections with the A-S monos (my current Bel Canto Ref510S class d amp has a chassis grounding screw to which I connect the REL’s ground wire).

Philosophically speaking, I have owned a wide range of equipment over the years - everything from "measurements above all" type gear (a full Benchmark stack), a few tube pieces (PrimaLuna, Tavish Design, Rogue), Class A amplification (Pass Labs XA-30.8) and a completely active Genelec 8351b based system. I seem to be slowly but surely gravitating towards subjectively great sounding gear, regardless of how they measure - the Totems are a case in point. However, I don’t want to find that I have moved too far in any one direction. At the end of the day, I value realism and emotional connection more than the ability to deconstruct the music but I don’t want to listen to a sloppy system that homogenizes everything. I’m sure this is all clear as mud! It is however, a reflection of where I am at the end of 28 years of being on this hamster wheel. All thoughts and suggestions welcome. Thanks in advance.

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armstrod
613 posts
 

I have the Atma-Sphere Class Ds and run them with Ralph's MP-3 3.3, a great combo as you would expect. I bought mine without remote and Ralph was able to retrofit it with no problem.

I previously owned a Modwright LS-100 and ran it with a pair of Atma-Sphere M-60s, but sold it before the M-60s were replaced by the Class Ds. It's a terrific preamp and sounded great with a lot of amps, but I thought the MP-3 had better inner detail and benefitted from being fully balanced.

The preamp I've kept as my one spare is an LTA MZ2, which I believe is an incredible bargain. I can only imagine the LTA MicroZotl is even better, just as the Atma MP-1 is likely better than the MP-3. It all depends on how much money you want to spend.   :-)

rmdmoore
163 posts
 

As others have mentioned, you'd surely do well with a matching Atma-Sphere preamp. But as others have mentioned, there are other options also. I have a pair of MA-1s and use a ModWright LS100 and it sounds sublime. It's not fully balanced but does have xlr outputs. I've spoken with Dan at ModWright and he is willing to add a balanced transformer which I'll probably do at some point. The ls100 can usually be found on the used market for a song. I feel like the ModWright gear is under appreciated for sure and it pairs beautifully with Atma-Sphere 

osiris369
25 posts
 

As a general fan of the BluOS platform, I'd lean toward the NAD M66 (assuming streaming will be a routine). 

But I also say proceed with caution and do a lot of research before hand. NAD failed spectacularly with the initial release of the C658 streaming preamp. It has most of the same bells & whistles as the M66. But the integration of DIRAC did not go so well. I'm not sure if it was a software problem or hardware problem. Looking at recent reviews it still has not been 100% resolved. The annoying part is that NAD & Bluesound both blamed the other and took no responsibility to make things right with the customer.

 

So again - proceed with caution. Only purchase from a retailer that has stellar customer service, and doesn't hassle you if you want to make a return.  

 

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dhungana
36 posts
 

Audio Mirror Wave. Vlad is very easy to work with and he just added sub out. This may suit your needs.

https://www.stereotimes.com/post/audio-mirror-wave-tube-preamplifier-by-terry-london/

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/audio-mirror-wave-tube-based-line-stage-is-one-of-stereotimes-2023-most

sc53
720 posts
 

A bit off-topic but I thought it important to mention that running a single REL sub with monoblocks and, separately, class D amps takes special care. I could not successfully configure a single REL sub with my BAT monoblocks. Had to use 2 subs. I was using the Speakon connector. 

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