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atmasphere

Responses from atmasphere

Solid State Amps for Quad ESL 57?
Bass is hard to get with transistors and Quads. The problem is that the speaker does not run according to the rules that a lot of box speakers use- it seems to work best with amplifiers that can make constant power regardless of load- which is usu... 
How will XLR cables vs RCA effect a phono pre
Using a phono cartridge as a balanced source is something that was first done by Atma-Sphere, in 1989 with the MP-1 preamplifier, which also has a fully differential phono section. You do *not* get more gain with the cable- you get less noise, and... 
Electronics for JM Lab Grade Utopia Be
Our customers report that our MA-2s are a good match for that speaker- it seems well suited for tube amplifiers in general, but seems to like having some power. 200 watts seems to be a good amount of power for a room that size. 
Hi Wilson W/P8 owners, best amp ever to drive WP8?
FWIW, the Wilsons are designed to favor tubes. If you really want to get everything out of them that they have to offer, you will have to take the plunge into the world of tubes. 
Supex SDX-1100B mc cartridge
If you decide to get it, I have a Supex stepup transformer that you can have. Just contact me and we can sort it out. 
Surface Noice, yubes and solid state
Larryi, Stax are some of the best headphones made. Although they are very extended, I would not describe them as bright! 
Surface Noice, yubes and solid state
Tubes generally run less negative feedback, and those that run zero feedback will exhibit less surface noise than a typical transistor preamp that uses loop feedback. The reason has to do with high frequency oscillation, a ringing effect caused by... 
Record mats for vintage tts
Hi Lew, we use the Oracle mat for the model 208. Its a hellava lot better than the stock mat. The best mats were made by Warren Gehl of ARC some 20 years ago. They were pricy and hard to make, but they worked beautifully. Once you've heard one, yo... 
Best SS amp for Zu Druid Mk IV speakers
Sorry for my slow reply- I'm on the road to CES. First, Warrenh, the output level will be the same, but it will be easier for a tube amp to make more power into the high impedance than into a low impedance, and the amp will sound better too.Wirele... 
Tube Life: 6SN7, 6DJ8, 12AT7 et al.
Heat shortens the life of any tube. So cooling is important, and in the case of power tubes, especially if they are in a class AB amplifier, the more power you ask of them, the hotter they get. If you don't deal with the heat effectively (some of ... 
Record mats for vintage tts
platter pads are tricky. Rubber isn't right- that's for sure. The pad has to control resonance in the LP, while at the same time not depressing under the weight of the needle, and, if possible, contribute to dampening the platter. Rubber simply is... 
Best SS amp for Zu Druid Mk IV speakers
The Definition is rewired by putting the drivers in series rather than parallel. It should not be all that expensive. Your Bel Canto will have an easier time with the high impedance- it should sound better with more extension- low impedances are n... 
Am I understaning the effect of imped. matching?
You got some of it right. There are 2 design approaches, and your ideas are combining both of them which is not a good idea (costs lots of $$$ down the drain). Take a look at http://www.atma-sphere.com/papers/paradigm_paper2.htmlAnytime that devic... 
Best SS amp for Zu Druid Mk IV speakers
Warrenh, FWIW, ZU has made a 30 ohm version of the Definition (and your set can be easily modified). It works great with our S-30 and the power is nearly unlimited as the S-30 will make nearly 50 watts into that impedance. ZU knows this- they buil... 
Class A Power Amp Degredation
Its easy enough to find a tube amp that is class A and 30 watts. Most speakers of such efficiency are designed for amplifiers that have a high output impedance (one of the few exceptions is the Avantgarde Trio which is intended for transistor ampl...