I have the S300 and I like it’s sound but I want a little more. The natural progression would be the M1200 monoblocks but I also have interest in the Class D monoblocks from Atmosphere. I am primarily interested in instrument separation and imaging. I have the GCD as a preamp, the S300 as the amp, a stellar DAC, Eversolo T8 transport feeding Dali Rubicon 2 speakers. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Perhaps take advantage of the 30 day trial of the newest Orchard Audio monoblocks.
I can’t comment on Atmosphere Class D amps. However…
I was pretty happy with my M700’s but recently got a good deal so I moved up to the M1200’s and they are significantly better in every way. Punchy, tight base and much better sound stage. They have great reviews by some folks on this forum. They won’t disappoint.
I ran a GCD through M1200s for a while. If you like what the S300 gives I’m sure you’ll like the M1200’s. I recall the sound stage and instrument separation to be well defined. Ultimately the sound just wasn’t for me as I felt as though I was sitting on the stage as opposed to several rows back.
I’ve had PS Audio M1200’s for several years in addition to Luxman M700, Modwright KW99 monos, and Decware Zen Tori amps. The M1200s are excellent amps but they have character that may or may not be the best fit for particular tastes, partnering equipment, and rooms. As reviews have mentioned, their high frequency reproduction can seem a bit prominent if things downstream aren’t simpatico, speakers are bright themselves, or the room has lots of hard surfaces. The ability to change inout tubes helps add some flexibility to the sound of the M1200s. I’ve preferred tubes like black plate Raytheons and CBS/Hytrons. I’ve only heard the Atmosphere amps in shows so it’s hard to make any conclusions about how similar the two amps sound but the reviews make it sound as if they have rather different presentations. Personally, I’d spend the few extra dollars to buy a pair from TMR Audio and have the option of returning them if they didn’t meet expectations. That’s not to cast shade on the amps as I’ve come to appreciate that return option in most cases of equipment purchases. Having two nice systems to listen to I’ve really come to realize how different a particular component can sound in different contexts.
Thanks for the input everyone.
I have never heard the M1200 amps in my system, but I replaced my M700 amps with the Atma-Sphere Class D GaNFET monoblocks – and I’m very happy I did. The A-S amps have a level of transparency and high-end openness that I never quite achieved with the M700s. However, this level of clarity is not accompanied by even a hint of harshness, hardness, or brightness in the A-S amps. These amps have expanded the soundstage I hear in my system, and each voice or instrument is surrounded by more air, and in a very natural way.
I’m using the A-S amps with the BHK preamp, and they have worked well together. However, I’m thinking about upgrading to the new PMG preamp based on the rave reviews for the PMG pre. I had thought that I needed tubes in my preamp to provide some smoothness and sweetness to offset any solid-state edge that might exist without using tubes in my amps. But now that I have the A-S amps, I’m thinking that I may be happy going all solid-state and eliminating the nuisance of tubes.
When I bought my A-S Class D monoblocks late last year, Ralph Karsten at Atma-Sphere told me that I could listen to the amps for 6 weeks and then return them if I didn’t like them in my system. Even though they need about 500 hours of break-in to sound their best, I knew within a few days that the A-S monos were special.
Thanks SDL. Really good insight from all–I really appreciate it.
A few months ago I replaced my M1200 amps with Atma Sphere Class D amps, and I prefer the Atma Sphere amps. You did not mention bass, but I preferred the Atma Sphere bass to the M1200s. And I agree with SDL’s comments re high end openness and transparency. I have not missed the huge power of the M1200s. Both amps were paired with my PSAudio FR10 speakers. In short the M1200s were very nice indeed, but to my ears the Atma Sphere amps are better. And no tubes to mess with!
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Thanks Softlight64–I bet the M1200’s sound great but I am leaning towards the Class D’s. Openness, transparency and a large soundstage are important to me and I bet both deliver but the Class D’s seem like a good fit.
Kindest Regards,
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