2. amps-preamps
  3. 190562-2906

Preamp suggestions for Atma-Sphere Class D Monoblocks

As I impatiently await the arrival of my Atma-Sphere class-d monos, I am writing to solicit opinions from experienced members on this site. Balanced inputs and outputs as well as the ability to connect a subwoofer are important. Headphone amp would be nice but not critical. Ditto for built-in phono. These are some of the tube and solid state units I am considering (not necessarily exhaustive):

  1. Atma-Sphere MP-3 mk3.3
  2. Cary SLP-05 (ultimate edition, if I can find a pristine used pair at a good price)
  3. Modwright LS-100
  4. PrimaLuna EVO 400
  5. Supratek - Champagne or 6SN7 Cabernet - I have no idea what the difference between these two are and the website is not helpful at all
  6. Anthem STR
  7. Benchmark LA-4/HPA-4
  8. Bryston BR-20 (or one of their purely analog variants - BP-19?) - I am hesitant to bundle streaming and dac into a preamp
  9. NAD M66
  10. ?

I will initially use the Bel Canto DAC2.8 as a dac and preamp with an Auralic Aries G1.1 as the streamer. My speakers are Totem Acoustic Forest Signatures, sub is a REL s/510 that I seldom use. I am unsure whether I can use the speaker level connections with the A-S monos (my current Bel Canto Ref510S class d amp has a chassis grounding screw to which I connect the REL’s ground wire).

Philosophically speaking, I have owned a wide range of equipment over the years - everything from "measurements above all" type gear (a full Benchmark stack), a few tube pieces (PrimaLuna, Tavish Design, Rogue), Class A amplification (Pass Labs XA-30.8) and a completely active Genelec 8351b based system. I seem to be slowly but surely gravitating towards subjectively great sounding gear, regardless of how they measure - the Totems are a case in point. However, I don’t want to find that I have moved too far in any one direction. At the end of the day, I value realism and emotional connection more than the ability to deconstruct the music but I don’t want to listen to a sloppy system that homogenizes everything. I’m sure this is all clear as mud! It is however, a reflection of where I am at the end of 28 years of being on this hamster wheel. All thoughts and suggestions welcome. Thanks in advance.

srama

Showing 5 responses by soix

soix
10,015 posts
 

As I wait for the Atma-Sphere MP-3, I am using a Bel Canto Dac2.8 as a preamp and the sound is nothing short of spectacular - without a doubt the best my system has ever sounded.

Funny you say that.  I demoed a DAC3.5VB in my system (great DAC BTW), and when I used it as a preamp not expecting much I couldn’t tell the difference between it and my Bryston BP6 preamp and was pretty damn shocked by that.  Still, I bet the MP3 is gonna take you to another level entirely and look forward to your thoughts. 

soix
10,015 posts
 

Congrats and enjoy!

soix
10,015 posts
 

I wish I knew how it compares to the MP-3. There is a lot to be said for system energy and surely @atmasphere Ralph would have designed the Class D so they work brilliantly as a pair.

Yeah, synergy was a biggie why I recommended it along with it just being a great preamp, plus it obviously also adheres to the AES balanced standard that can pay dividends in allowing for cheaper interconnects — not sure which if any of the others I recommended follow the standard.  I’m almost positive the MP-3 has a remote option and would be shocked if it didn’t. 

soix
10,015 posts
 

Here’s a thread where Don Sachs and Lynn Olson, who designed the Raven preamp, go into detail about some of the development and technical design aspects of the preamp.  Need to weed through it to find the various responses but interesting if you’re curious to know more.  I have to say that given all the cumulative wisdom/effort and that went into it, $5495 seems like quite a relative bargain to me.  

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/spatial-audio-raven-preamp

soix
10,015 posts
 

Given what you’re looking for my top choices (in no particular order) would be the MP-3, Spatial Audio Raven, Aric Audio Motherload XL, and Backert Rhumba Extreme and don’t think you could possibly go wrong with any of them and believe several offer trial periods, which is super helpful. Incidentally, I think both phono preamps and headphone amps (if you’re at all serious about headphones) are important enough that they should be separate and should not influence which preamp you buy — the preamp is just too critical so especially at this level sound quality/characteristics should be your ultimate and final arbiter. Best of luck.

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