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Kr Audio Kronzilla vs Atma-sphere MA1?

Has anyone ever compared any of the Kronzilla amps (stereo or mono blocks) against the Atma-spheres?

They both look like all out designs.

Just a few of my thoughts on each:

Pro's of the Kronzilla: Build quality of the tubes. It seems like this could contribute very heavily to excellent sonics.

Cons: solid state input section. Maybe it helps sonics, maybe it makes it sound more similar to a SS amp?

Atma-sphere: Pros: OTL - which if compatible with your speakers

can remove several layers of veiling (and Zero box can be used if necessary)

Atma is a very known and respected company in the US , good resale value, updates available etc.

Weight: The Atma's dont weigh alot since they have no transformer. MAybe not an issue for some, but to me it is.

Balanced in as well as single ended-

Cons: Heat - the Atma's use alot of tubes - and I would imagine generate more heat than the 2 tube Kronzilla's????

(though you can remove tubes from the Atma's for warm weather use and get less heat and power - a big plus as well)

Comments from anyone who has compared these 2 excellent amps?
emailists
r_f_sayles's avatar
r_f_sayles
872 posts
 
Emailists, I can't speak for the Kronzilla, but have owned MA1 MkIII Silver Editions for several years now and find them to be fantastic. IMHO the Atma’s are the end of the road and my search. Sylvania 6SN7 GT's are well worth adding, balanced is definitely the way to run them, and less than an 8 ohm load from speakers could cause trouble, Otherwise the Atma-Spheres are dream amps. As said ahead of me, the balance is neutral, very fast, a lot of low-end punch, outstanding low level detail and air. Consider your power needs because the M60’s sound equally good in the proper application and create about half the heat and half the power consumption. And should you need, Ralph Karsten is one of this hobbies most friendly and helpful, a consummate gentlemen.

Curious, what speakers do you plan to drive with them?

Happy Listening!
gastonone
5 posts
 
Hello,

I have made a choise between the Kronzilla DM and VAC PHI 300.1, which both are great amps. Only the VAC has a lot of valves, that need changing every one or two years, which costs about 800 euro's and the Kronzilla have very expensive valves, but need changing once in 10 years (all depending on how often you play). This may be something to take into accaunt as well?
Gaston
trelja
3,224 posts
 
I would like to add one facet to your list of pros/cons - the companies themselves. After all, when you buy a product, you are buying the company. Oftentimes, down the road you will need to interact with the distributor and/or manufacturer for repairs, service, upgrades, or even just for information or recommendations.

To me, there is a monumental gap between the two companies. On the one hand, Ralph Karsten has spent nearly 30 years building an impressive track record of customer service, and being there for his owners after the sale regardless of whether they purchased the component new or used. There has also always been a definable and affordable upgrade path available to owners as the circuit evolves and improves.

I don't want to say too much about KR Audio in this particular post, but the erratic/eccentric reputation of Dr. (Mrs) Kron precedes her, and if you put some research into it, their US distribution will also raise a lot of questions in your mind.
outlier's avatar
outlier
381 posts
 
I echo Trelja's thoughs and warnings, having owned a pair of KR 6000 monoblocks. I went through several of their VHD842 tubes which I bough new and they turned out to be faulty after about 100 to 200 hours of play. If you do go the KR route, and if you get new tubes, make sure you send in the warranty card immediately, or they will never want to know you if you run into trouble later. Also, I recommend biasing the amp(s) lower than recommended - they will last much longer. don't kid yuorself into believing the tubes will last 10k hours - I think it's nonesense and a loose rumour/promise. If the stars align, the KR amps sound great (I miss them in many ways), but I cannot recommend them, alas.
phantom_av's avatar
phantom_av
326 posts
 
Atma-Sphere For sure.
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