Atma-sphere S-30 with Reference 3A?

FWIW, we always get really good feedback from Ref3A owners. This has been true for the last 15 years or so. Customer input agrees with Duke's initial assessments above.

Although the S-30 was really designed for more efficient speakers (it was intended to go after the same market/speaker combos as SETs), it *does* make 30 watts into 8 ohms, which is a lot of power in the SET world. So it gets used on a lot of lower (91-93db) efficiency speakers.

A number of those speakers have less than 'ideal' impedances for the amp, but work great anyway: Merlins and Spendors for example, and the Ref3As. You can always use a set of ZEROs, but another little trick is to run the amp input single-ended and not use the jumpers in the XLRs. This more than doubles the feedback (which reduces the gain) and lets you work with tricker loads.

Atma,

Funny you should mention the Merlins. I also used my S-30 with the old VSM SE and had an almost identical experience as with the deCapo - the inherent lean quality of the speaker was emphasized. OTOH, I sorta wish I would have waited on the sale of the S-30 until I had my VSMs upgraded (unfortunately the S-30 was gone by then. ) The new VSMs have a significantly richer balance through the mid-bass and I'd love to hear the current VSM/S-30 combo.

Atma, I'd also note that the deCapo/S-30 actually worked well in that the speaker didn't tax the amp beyond its capabilities until somewhat higher spls were required. My observation on the leaness of the deCapo remaining quite evident via the S-30 was more a response to Duke's post implying that the match might mask the issue - in my application it did not.

FWIW, I'm not surprised that you got some great feedback from your customers who used the deCapo/S-30 combo: As I noted it kinda reminded me of Quads and there are many who'd take that as pretty high praise, indeed. Just not my personal cup of tea.

BTW, I expect that most folks who use the amp for its original intended application -SET world -will find few faults. I just walked away guessing that higher output amps -perhaps your 60w monos - would be a better match for the deCapos.

Marty

Hi Marty, a lot depends on how old the S-30 was too. The newer amps (or updated older amps) have better power supply stability which makes a big difference in the bass delivery.

I believe that mine was among the very first you guys shipped. If I recall correctly, it was supposed to be the first disply/demo for your dealer in Venice, Ca. I happened to be in the shop when it arrived and -after a brief look & listen - the unit left with me.

Marty,

FWIW, I've found the tonal balance great when pairing my MA1s with my VSM-MXs. Not exactly what you're trying to do, but perhaps a relevant data point...Cheers,

Spencer