Anyone familiar with Air Tight ATM-1S?


I’m looking at an ATM-1S power amp, but haven’t owned an EL34 based amp before. Right now I’ve got an Elekit TU8600S with WE300B’s pushing some Volti Razz. I’m digging it, but I’ve been curious about Aor Tight gear for a very long time. 

If anyone had experience with Air Tight ATM-1S or el34 vs 300B would be much appreciated 
yomaha

Showing 2 responses by sbank

I've previously owned the ATM1, not the -S.  It was a lovely sounding amp when paired with speakers that didn't need a ton of power. Build quality and parts(transformers especially) were top notch. 
EL34s in general are one of your more balanced options for power tubes, performing pretty well in most regards. Oversimplifying, it's commonly held that they're strong at bass and driving rhythm...a real rock 'n roll tube. 300Bs are all about midrange magic...maybe the best in this regard, but vs. many other types, are a tad rolled off on top and bottom. Goosebumps with small band acoustic jazz/folk etc. There's always trade-offs! 
FWIW, I moved off my Air Tight because I wanted a balanced design and a pet peeve of separate left and right volume controls vs. volume & balance. Some don't care, but I found it a nuisance setting equal volume for both channels. Cheers,
Spencer
@yomaha Yes, I agree that the ATM-1S would be plenty powerful w/98db speakers. I recall carrying it into a dealer to demo speakers bigger and lower sensitivity than my own and it outperformed a 75 or 100w amp they used as their normal demo pairing.
I'd guess the ATM1-S would sort of split the middle between what you get from the Elekit and the Pass(my fav SS amps in general). Cheers,
Spencer