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Atoll v McIntosh v Musical Fidelity v Rega

I am a newbie and the more I read and the more I look, the more indecisive I become. I am looking for an integrated for a primarily two channel system but will be part of a HT system as well. I will be using a Marantz HT receive to power the rears and center. I will be mainly listening to vinyl and some CD. I have or soon to have a Clearaudio Emotion TT and Kirksaeter Prisma 210 for speakers (fronts and rears). I would rather buy new but am not against used as long as it is in excellent shape. I want to stay around $3k. I leaning toward the MF, but the McIntosh MA-6300 looks like a great option as well. Then a friend mentioned looking at the Rega Elicit (not much power though). And yet another mentioned the Atoll. Reading about the Atoll really has me interested. It is hand made in France and has gained some great reviews. It looks good and has plenty of power. But I am more confused as I keep looking.

Please those with experience, offer your suggestions, recommendations, and input.

If anyone has heard the Atoll or really any of the above please offer up your opinions.
sebraasch
8 responses Add your response
hasmarto's avatar
hasmarto
200 posts
 
Atoll IN200 is a great amp. Very easy on the ears, yet very detailed. Also it's reliable and has excellent built quality. Dealers usually give a few hundreds bucks of discount. With the Mac you'll pay more for the name than for the sound. Personally I won't buy MF unless it's hugely discounted, and also keep in mind, that they produce new gear almost every year, so whatever you buy from them will become obsolete very soon. I have no experience with the Rega. If you can expand your budget, then Luxman L-505u is a way to go. Terrific value and great sound. Good luck.
ryder
1,690 posts
 
Of all the amps listed above I have only listened to the Rega Elicit. This is certainly a very musical amp with excellent PRAT and macrodynamics. Timbre, tonality and harmonics are pretty spot-on. The unit is quite substantially built and comes with HT bypass and a set of preouts that facilitate connection to an external power amp. You are correct the unit isn't that powerful rated at 82W but you would be surprised. It can punch way above its weight and doesn't lose control even when pushed hard. I have listened to the Mcintosh 275 and personally think you won't go wrong with this brand either, and yes you do pay quite a bit for the name. No experience with Atoll and MF.
coffeey's avatar
coffeey
363 posts
 
Never heard Mac or Rega,but i biased to Atoll,had a pre amp at one time and was more then happy,right now have a cd player sounds and works fine,plus looks like they now have a range of phono pre amps to pick from.There was a in. amp up for sale a bit ago,for a giveaway price.Dont know if its still here for sale or not.
coffeey's avatar
coffeey
363 posts
 
also a review in 6 Moons awhile back on a Atoll int. amp and cd player,very through review.just go through archives and you can find it.
sebraasch OP
17 posts
 
I read the review in 6moons which is what turned me onto Atoll. My perception of the review is that it outperformed the MF. I really think I am going with the Atoll. With its features, price, and performance I think it is the right choice.
hasmarto's avatar
hasmarto
200 posts
 
Sebraasch, you won't regret your decision. I don't know what MF amp you have in mind (personally I think they are sterile), in any case Atoll 200 is a terrific peace, and it is very unfair that folks know about it so little. I was auditioning that peace with my friend (for him) and I was blown away by its musicality. After my friend bought it, I got for myself AM200 and PR300 separates :). But, I must say, it requires long break-in time, and it is cable-sensitive.
sebraasch OP
17 posts
 
Hasmarto, Finally someone with experience with the brand. The MF was the 5.5 but I was nervous about the Tiawan build. I also understand Atoll is better if it is isolated. Is that your experience? What cables did you use? Did you change the Power Control?

Thank you so much for taking the time to post.
hasmarto's avatar
hasmarto
200 posts
 
Sebraasch, please keep in mind, whatever I say is just my subjective opinion. The last MF amp I had was A5 integreted, and I hated it. I auditioned at the time Audio Aero, Plinius 9200, Unison Unico Se, and bought the latter. But that's another story. I use Ecosse Myth/Pro silver IC (used). It's expensive, but worth every penny. Try as many silver cables as you can find. My speaker cables are Kimber 8tc biwired, but I'm looking for new ones. Regarding the PC, yes I replaced the stock ones (to be honest they're pretty crappy), and bought Italian HiDimond White Extremo. I didn't play with other PCs. If you have time and options experiment with them, but I don't think it's the matter of importance at this stage.
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