Sacds and red book discs play on an ayre c5xe universal player. In 1989, the first mp1 introduced balanced line technology to the world of high end audio. Weve been using the vcap as an option for about the last year or year and a half. It was 7 years in design, with 15 different chassis and 12 different circuit concept explorations. We are known for our unique approach to circuit design, resulting in multiple patents and the creation of the first, truly reliable output transformerless otl amplifiers. Ralph karsten of atmasphere music systems needs no introduction, but ill try to sum up very quickly. First, they are otl, which translates into a significant improvement in transparency and speed slew rate over transformer. The tube complement changed fewer 6sn7gts and one more 12at7 per channel, and the phono section has on the order of 6 db more gain.
Atma sphere mp1 or mp3 above vac and ayre for sure and once set up properly i doubt you would ever want to sell it either. For this writer, the companys innerdirected philosophy is by turns inspiring and slightly. If you are trying to operate the output of the preamp with single ended equipment, buzz may occur if the conversion from balanced to singleended is not handled properly. Atmasphere ma2 amplifier whats best audio and video. Wiring secondaries by the book a to prevent core vibration, bandwidth was limite. Good otl amps are just expensive to make complexity from the power supply to the number of tubes requires drives up cost, but ralph karsten at atma sphere has put together a great sounding handwired 30wch otl that cut no corners in a category where such otl amps cost much more. I am the second owner of this otl amp and brought it to ralph atma sphere in july to have every upgrade possible, which includes. If youre looking for a written duplication of the movie, this is not gonna work for you. Jumper plugs for high efficiency speakers replaces tube in the voltage amplifier section of atma sphere power amplifiers, thus reducing gain for high efficiency speakers. That clash o words is an entirely accurate representation of the atma sphere voodoo because us audiophiles. Atma sphere otl amplifiers and preamps are legendary and justly so.
Dec 12, 2019 the atma spheres offered tremendous speed a otl trademark while the musics flagrant dynamics were delivered with ease. The first setup was the atma sphere amp with the atma sphere mp1 tube pre and a sony sacd player through vandersteen 3as. Ralph karsten mentioned to me in an email that new amps were now being fitted with choke smoothing. The latter has been the subject of considerable praise. Although atma sphere amps have unbalanced rca inputs in addition to balanced xlrs, the former are only there for audiophiles like me who dont own a balanced preamp.
It was the first balanced, fullydifferential preamp ever made, with innovations that were breakthroughs at. First place the hot red speaker wire on the test post. If its audio related and you want to buy it, sell it, or look for it, then we are your onestop, comprehensive resource. A fully kitted out mp3 will get you close enough performance to an mp1. I knew him as a mutual member of the new jersey audio society. That is to say, the s30 now has the driver of the m60, while the m60 now has the driver. Upgrades and updates with warranty reactivation are available for legacy atma sphere amps m50, novacron and preamps mls1 and p2 as well. The ma2 continues to make an aesthetic statement, and it has grown on me, the abundant heat from all those tubes 52 in total notwithstanding. Atma sphere also offers an optional tube cover that extends the appearance to the back of the amp. They didnt cover up the old recordings sketchy treble but allowed the atma sphere ma1 mkii. Atmasphere honcho ralph karsten has very clear convictions on the right way to make audio gear, and year after year he adheres unwaveringly to his approach, unswayed by technical and market trends you know, far out stuff like remote volume control. New listing atma sphere m60mkii, revision 2 tube mono amps excellent condition.
For years now the m60 in its various forms has been the subject of the soundstagecom hall of fame award, the absolute sound golden ear award and editors choice, with numerous accolades in the press and on the web. Morgan jones in his book valve amplifiers summarizes his test results of 529 dual triodes and concludes that the reputation of the 6sn7 family. Atmasphere does have a couple of distributors over here, but it was not really practical. Atmasphere music systems ultraviolet preamplifier let the. Through most of the 1980s they found it difficult to gain acceptance in the mainstream audio community. Atmasphere ultraviolet uv1 preamplifier the absolute. Atmasphere, ralph karsten audiogon discussion forum.
Cables balanced interconnects balanced phono cables 1 meter, din to xlr or rca with ground post to xlr. Of course, i dont expect atma sphere to ship the uv1 with anything but newproduction 6sn7s. We are known for our unique approach to circuit design, resulting in multiple patents and the creation of the first, truly. The vandys were well out in the room over 6 feet from the front and 4 feet from the sides, approx 6 feet apart. The atma sphere mp3 extracts more ambient information with greater image specificity, bass definition and dynamic range than any singleended preamplifier, owing to its patented directcoupled output. Atmasphere audio equipment models on audiogon, the highend audio community. Retube your atma sphere mp3 preamp with our specially selected vacuum tube sets. Atmasphere amplifiers are less tolerant of lowimpedance loads, so they will not work with all speakers. It was the first alltube preamplifier to offer an all. High end audio will never feel the same again when you experience the technology of hand. But if your speakers and environment are up to it, the atma sphere amps offer genuine world class performance. Today, audio engineers observed an invisible sonic wave emanating from atma sphere in st. February 18, 2021 everything good and bad you need to know about atmasphere music systems st.
But atma sphere has indeed, introduced a new preamp named the uv1 that does, in fact, have. Iii amplifier setup and operation instructions installation. They excel at inner harmonic detail and richness along with exceptional transient speed. In their recent book control design and simulation, jack golten and andy verwer. Joule electras jud barber, david berning, and atmaspheres ralph karsten are a trio of designers carrying various implementations of the technology into our listening rooms these days, and from my own experience with otls, i can honestly say that they really do sound different. Atma sphere is more of a destination gear, than the journey whilst i consider the others more of an experience only.
Atmasphere site had enough info on the amp schematic and aftermarket mods and. Here is a guy who has been refining the same circuitfor almost 30 years atmaspheres patented balanced differential design. The fluoropolymer part is one of the best coupling caps out there with no reservations. If you like bloat and coloration, you probably wont like the atma sphere. The mp1 preamplifier is among them and has captured attention since the upgrades are substantial. Our tube replacement kits are designed for your amp and come in different option levels. Amps of triode design were not gaining acceptance at the time, and from the very start atma sphere s amps have been triode otls. Do atmasphere and bat have similar sound because they both use low or zero feedback tube. The result is a sense of ease that draws you deeply into the music. Atmasphere mp1 mk ii owners manual pdf download manualslib. Classic audio loudspeakers, purist audio design, atma sphere, tri planar, capital audiofest. Atmasphere ultraviolet uv1 preamplifier the absolute sound. We made the first balancedline products in the world of highend audio, including the mp1, which was the worlds first balancedline preamp. Please visit and for the best high performance product videos and forums on the internet.
Classic audio loudspeakers, purist audio design, atma sphere, tri. Its been about two years since i owned the m60 atmasphere amp, but it is one of the easiest amps to bias. Likewise the mp1 preamplifier is a worldclass unit, and the mp3 with the regulated. It began in the latter part of the 70s, with the absolute sound and stereophile under gordon holt discussing the sound quality of various amplifiers. Being mostly new to tubes and completely new to atmasphere, otl ive had a ton of questions.
This atma sphere sound this seethrough singularity imbues and pervades all. The engineer who first discovered this new ultraviolet wavelengthnicknamed big tonehas officially christened it uv1 and that is a baldfaced lie. They produce massive sitdownandrestaspell images that are rocksolid yet liquid and entirely engaging. If you dont like what you hear with this cap its because it is revealing a weakness. A fast tight bass, warm fluid mids, super smooth highs. Atma sphere has been making otl amps for a little over 34 years. The book is a literary exercise in human conflict that stretches the readers credulity. Quality and power are watchwords for atma sphere otl amplifiers. Nov 07, 2012 otl amps are something of a hidden art.
Atma sphere shipped a heftylooking cord with the mp3 mk iii, which i used for my testing, but the manual encourages the use of any aftermarket cord you favor. Vcap comments by ralph karsten of atmasphere music systems. Atmasphere ma1the worlds best tube amplifier new 60 amp rectifier circuit with superfast, soft recovery diodes, each individually bypassed, replace. Atmasphere ma1 mk ii silver edition output transformerless. Our atma sphere mp3 preamp tube replacement kits are designed for your amplifier and come in different option levels ranging from oem to premium to ultimate. Paul because we are located at the address 1742 selby ave. Atma sphere, ralph karsten, hornfrabrik, feickert, triplanar. There have been only three patents issued to otl manufacturers since the 1950s. We were the first to introduce balanced line products to home audio.
Atmasphere phantom audio united kingdom about phantom audio. And i dont care what anybody says about power and its particulars as to set or solidstate 140 watts of class a power is heaven in my book. Atmasphere hifilogic for years now the m60 in its various forms has been the subject of the soundstagecom hall of fame award, the absolute sound golden ear award and editors choice, with numerous accolades in the press and on the web. Moving to the right, we see two xlr jacks that comprise the preamps single pair of output jacks. Playing bryan ferry on sound lab a3 speakers with atma sphere ma1 and atma sphere mp3. Atma sphere immediately sent me two replacement transformers, although one of these was damaged in transit. Like most of his other work, sphere is an example of what might be called pop scifi. Weve been supplying tubes for atma sphere mp3 preamp amps for over 20 years.
I find this surprising, as it is very similar in circuitry apart from power and the fact that it is on a stereo chassis to its older monoblock brother, the m60. Connect the preamp cable to the appropriate input connector on the rear of the amp. The 6sn7s are nos 70s soviet tubes which sound great and havent even been broken in yet. The first mp1 was built in 1989 and introduced balanced line technology to the world of high end audio.
The atmasphere ultraviolet uv1 preamplifier positive feedback. Audio purists have craved the design features of this amplifier since the beginning of hifi. Update your shipping location 7 s 0 p o n s o a r p a 7 e e d11 u j1 0 f j11. I have a chance to pick up a very nice pair of atmasphere m60 mono. The atmasphere ultraviolet uv1 preamplifier positive. My conclusion at this point was that the amplifier really deserved better power supplies. Classic audio loudspeakers, atma sphere, purist audio, tri. Here is a guy who has been refining the same circuit for almost 30 years atma sphere s patented balanced differential design. Atma sphere honcho ralph karsten has very clear convictions on the right way to make audio gear, and year after year he adheres unwaveringly to his approach, unswayed by technical and market trends you know, far out stuff like remote volume control. Jun 28, 2015 atma sphere uv1 pre with low ourput mc photo section. I have the book from bruce rosenblit with the t8 amp. Dragging highend audio kicking and screaming into the future for over 29 years. Initially i was convinced that audio power amplifiers had to include certain.
Save atma sphere to get email alerts and updates on your ebay feed. The atma sphere amps are much more powerful than the ml1. This was easy to substitute until the part showed up, posted by atma sphere within hours of receiving my email. Since audio is all about aesthetic pleasure, i am not ashamed t. Buy and sell highend audio equipment or music on audiogon. You must pay the initial shipping charges, but atma sphere music systems will pay the return charges, if the repairs are covered by the warranty. The 6as7 power tubes are original and are in good order.
Klausmobile mammoth i an atmasphere r inspired otl amplifier. And let me say this the crew at atmasphere has spent a lot of time with me through explanations, and a few issues that came up. The atma sphere is a very different animal than the joule electra otl. The serious audiophile should and likely would contemplate rolling in vintage alternativesthat is, after all, an integral part of. Soundlab a3 with atma sphere ma1 and atma sphere mp3. Novacron in 1991, not only was the amplifier on the cutting edge of highfidelity sound reproduction, it was an outstanding example of aesthetic industrial design. Retube your atma sphere amps with our preselected audio tube kits. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact your dealer or atma sphere. Atma sphere chose the celebrated 6sn7, a medium gain, dualtriode, 8pin octal, for the linestage, and opted for the 12at7, a 9pin dual triode also with a medium gain, in the phono. Ralph karsten founded atma sphere music systems in 1978 and soon introduced the first reliable otl amps. Im not as familiar with the 12at7, but the 6sn7 has been a longtime favorite, and one that i have used in several amps ive owned. Please visit for the best high performance product videos on the internet. Furthermore, mp3 preamplifier perfectly complements the balanced design of our amplifiers or any balanced power amplifier.
Minnesota 55104 and we are listed in the category and you can contact us via email or phone at. Atma sphere s ultraviolet preamplifier you can bet whatever atma sphere builds and karsten designs it will be handmade and the circuit rendered in its purest form utilizing an all triode tube design similar to the otl amplifier circuit. The futterman amps had a tendency to belch and blow up, taking down power tubes and speaker drivers and with them, your audio humility. Recommended when efficiency of speaker is over 100.
There has been essentially nothing written about the atma sphere s30 since its introduction in 1999. In that time it set the bar for quality that has yet to be surpassed. It was 1989 when atma sphere introduced the first music preamplifier 1 mp1, and 18 years later a new version of this fullfunction preamp, the mk iii, was introduced. From the book build your own audio valve amplifier by. We are the premier destination for high end audio equip. A mainstay of the audiophile world since the late 90s, audiogon is the largest, most respected highend audio community in the industry. Atma sphere offers a variety of interconnect cables for this purpose. Introduced in 1990, the ma2 was the largest production triode amplifier and the largest production otl in the world for nearly 12 years. Ever ingenious, karsten found a way around this problem and produced his first m60 otl amplifiers in. But if his 1987 first contact novel, sphere, had been the best he could manage, perhaps he wouldve decided otherwise.
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