I suppose I could have addressed the cable question - d'ya think? (f/x: head smacking). Assuming a true balanced preamp with balanced outputs, an inexpensive option is Mogami 2534 cabling with XLR connectors between pre and S-30. There are lot's of places on the Web that will make these for you in short order, might even find them premade on Amazon. Price for a pair should be less than $75.
Cable help for my AtmaSphere S-30 OTL Amp - Please
Hello fellow audiophiles,
I am in desperate search of good advice from fellow Audiophiles and I thought someone might be able to help me with cable suggestions.
I was using a 845 SE amp and recently switched to an AtmaSphere S30 OTL amp.
This amp has tons of detail but it sounds fatiquing compared to the warm lush sound of the 845 tube amp.
I tried a Shunyata power cord and it made the highs even worse and I went back to the stock .69 cent cord. When I try some of my other interconnects, they add more high-end detail and speed but no more sound-stage depth or width.
I called a couple of dealers and here is a big surprise.....they are suggesting power cords, interconnects and speaker cables that are each thousands of dollars!
I am now thinking a made a huge mistake.
This amp ws $3800 and it sounds like harsh transistor sound compared to my 845.
My other equipment: Quad ESL63 Speakers, Eastern Minimax II Tube DAC, Space-Tech Labs Balanced Tube Preamp (Definitely NOT bright sounding), Aural Symphonics Speaker Cables, Silnote Audio Poseidon silver usb cable, Silnote Audio Morpheus Ref II cardas rca 24k gold/silver (DAC to Preamp), Black mountain cable Pinnacle Cables 1m gold xlr (Preamp to Amp).
I even changed the 12AU7 tube in the DAC to a Mullard and the dynamics and tone are better but still not correct.
What interconnect will bring out the mid-range and not emphasize the highs?
I still want holographic sound-staging but I want the amp to sound musical and not analytic!
Can you help?
Thanks very much,
Mike
I am in desperate search of good advice from fellow Audiophiles and I thought someone might be able to help me with cable suggestions.
I was using a 845 SE amp and recently switched to an AtmaSphere S30 OTL amp.
This amp has tons of detail but it sounds fatiquing compared to the warm lush sound of the 845 tube amp.
I tried a Shunyata power cord and it made the highs even worse and I went back to the stock .69 cent cord. When I try some of my other interconnects, they add more high-end detail and speed but no more sound-stage depth or width.
I called a couple of dealers and here is a big surprise.....they are suggesting power cords, interconnects and speaker cables that are each thousands of dollars!
I am now thinking a made a huge mistake.
This amp ws $3800 and it sounds like harsh transistor sound compared to my 845.
My other equipment: Quad ESL63 Speakers, Eastern Minimax II Tube DAC, Space-Tech Labs Balanced Tube Preamp (Definitely NOT bright sounding), Aural Symphonics Speaker Cables, Silnote Audio Poseidon silver usb cable, Silnote Audio Morpheus Ref II cardas rca 24k gold/silver (DAC to Preamp), Black mountain cable Pinnacle Cables 1m gold xlr (Preamp to Amp).
I even changed the 12AU7 tube in the DAC to a Mullard and the dynamics and tone are better but still not correct.
What interconnect will bring out the mid-range and not emphasize the highs?
I still want holographic sound-staging but I want the amp to sound musical and not analytic!
Can you help?
Thanks very much,
Mike
Showing 2 responses by jtimothya
Rest assured that transistors are the last thing an Atma-Sphere amp will sound like. That said, they tend to be transparent to sources and reveal rather than mask the character of what is upstream. I don't intend any criticism, its just that assuming nominal operation from the S-30, that may be where to look. One consideration: your amp's stock Chinese 6SN7s are generally rugged and quiet however to some ears they can sound a wee bit edgy compared to alternatives. They're not bad, but there are, imo, better choices. On each amp there are one or two 6SN7 per channel that have the most sonic impact - the location varies w/ each A-S amp. Find out those locations for your S-30 - just shoot Ralph an e-mail. Decent NOS can make a real difference; welcome to the world of 6SN7s. Here is a good place to start. Ken-Rads, Sylvanias, and RCAs tend to yield happiness with A-S amps. You may also want to explore the OTL forum on the Asylum. It is a nice resource for Atma owners. Looking there you'll probably find that Atma-Sphere amps and ESLs tend to be synergistic. Don't despair, you'll get this resolved. |