Home Amp/Preamp Asylum

Looking for a new Amp or Preamp? If you're after tubes, post over here.

RE: I'm a generation behind on ARC amps

The period when I was listening to these amps in known rooms on an almost daily basis is now ten to twelve years in the past so the vagaries of memory are in play.

The short version is that I thought the sound of the VT-100II and VT-200II was too close the sound of good solid state amps to justify the heat and cost of maintenance they involved. The sound was an extremely good reproduction but that sense of palpability or the suspension of disbelief was missing. The Atma-Sphere amps could deliver that without the euphonic distortions of many tube amps. If anything the Atma-Sphere amps in question (M-60 II.2 & MA-1 II.2) were slightly lean from the mid-bass down, they didn't embroider the very pretty but ultimately false sound that many tube amps produce.

The speakers used were primarily Magnepans, SF Amati Homage, Spendor SP-1/2 and more briefly the Vandersteen 5, Green Mountain Continuum 1.5i, the original Wilson Sophia and the Watt/Puppy 6.0.

I've never heard the big Manleys so I can't draw a comparison to them.

The Atma-Sphere M-60s are somewhat limited in what speakers they are truly happy driving. They are not so limited as most SETs but you still want at least a medium efficiency speaker whose impedance doesn't drop below 6 ohms and is typically at or above 8 ohms. The MA-1s, in my experience, are much more flexible although higher impedance loads are still preferred and they don't pair well with speakers that drop much below 4 ohms unless you use the Speltz autoformers. The Atma-Sphere amps are IMO the best tube amps I've heard, and perhaps the best amps period, that I could reasonably hope to afford but I haven't heard the ARC REF150 and several other relatively new possible contenders.
"There are political consequences to remembering things that never happened and forgetting things that did." Ariel Levy


This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
  Signature Sound   [ Signature Sound Lounge ]


Follow Ups Full Thread
Follow Ups

FAQ

Post a Message!

Forgot Password?
Moniker (Username):
Password (Optional):
  Remember my Moniker & Password  (What's this?)    Eat Me
E-Mail (Optional):
Subject:
Message:   (Posts are subject to Content Rules)
Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Upload Image:
E-mail Replies:  Automagically notify you when someone responds.