General Asylum: REVIEW: ATI AT1505 Amplifier (SS) by Neville

I drove to Phoenix and got a chance to listen to this model by accident. I also reviewed the Sherbourn 5/1500 today (see review) and the two don't even compare. I would buy the ATI over the Sherbourn any day of the week. The set up was as follows

Setup
ARCAM Alpha 7 CD
Rotel pre amp
Audioquest ruby interconnects
B&W 603 speakers.

I first put in some Rush, "Xandu" specifically and the depth was there. Very open soundstage, nice mid range, detailed highs. I did notice that the low ends seemed a little sloppy, not sure if it was characteristic of the B&W's or not. I don't think so though, because I also auditioned the Nakamichi PA-5 in the same set up and the lows seemed to tighten up slightly. This amp appears to be of very good build quality. When I looked at the back there is plenty of space to get to the interconnect and binding posts. The Nakamichi, really fell down in this area. It was very difficult to hook up , just from the stand point of getting to the RCA inputs.
I also listened to some Zachary Richard, a song called "Big River". It has a lot of piano and some violin in it, very airy song. This amp performed very well here. When you turned the amp down for soft listening it did not miss a beat, While the music was not as loud, the depth and imaging were still present. The Sherbourn I listened too earlier in the day could not meet the mustard when listened to at low volumes.
I also put in some Tom Petty "Wildflowers". The amp had very detailed highs and a much more forward soundstage with this genre.

All in all I would have to say this is a very good amp. Between this and the Nakamichi, it would be a toss up. I think musical preference will play a big part of the selection between the two.

REVIEW: ATI AT1505 Amplifier (SS) Review by Neville at Audio Asylum