I just wanted to jump in and add a few thoughts, being a 20+ year Atma-sphere user (and now a dealer).
The OTL impedance matching issue with speakers is not as critical as one might think. I am currently using a 4 ohm speaker (with MA-1's) with the Speltz Zero autoformer to bring it up to 8 ohms. That being said, I am soon going to be trying a 16 ohm speaker, which I won't need the Zero with.
As far as heat, I believe I have heard it said that even class A solid state gets probably as hot as Atma amps. I can attest to the fact that the newest Atma designs run cooler than older ones, and one can always take out tubes and run with less power for summer time usage.
In my opinion, getting a great class A tube amp is the best way to get off the high end merry go round, at least as far as amplification is concerned.
And if that upgrade bug does eventually hit, rolling in NOS tubes are a great way to significantly increase the quality of sound for minimal cost.
The OTL impedance matching issue with speakers is not as critical as one might think. I am currently using a 4 ohm speaker (with MA-1's) with the Speltz Zero autoformer to bring it up to 8 ohms. That being said, I am soon going to be trying a 16 ohm speaker, which I won't need the Zero with.
As far as heat, I believe I have heard it said that even class A solid state gets probably as hot as Atma amps. I can attest to the fact that the newest Atma designs run cooler than older ones, and one can always take out tubes and run with less power for summer time usage.
In my opinion, getting a great class A tube amp is the best way to get off the high end merry go round, at least as far as amplification is concerned.
And if that upgrade bug does eventually hit, rolling in NOS tubes are a great way to significantly increase the quality of sound for minimal cost.