2. amps-preamps
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Just purchased a pair of Atma Sphere M-60 Mk 3's upgraded to 3.3's

Hello all, I feel I’m a novice when it comes to audiophile setups. Been spending the past 10 plus years buying and selling trying to get to the top in regards to hearing what I want to hear, you know, what sounds just right!

I feel like I’m satisfied in regards to the turntable setup, got me a Thorens TD 124 Mk I that I’m in the middle of high end mods.

My current amp and pre are the McCormack DNA 1 Gold upgraded and ALD 1 with a Micro line drive phono pre. I’ve had many variable speakers flying in and out of here that I can’t remember them all. The set I’m planning on keeping will be the Klipsch La Scala’s that have the preferred type AA crossovers and vintage K55V mid horns and K77 tweeters, both metal horn variety. I’m also in the process of making new custom cabinets, something exotic.

I also have a Crown 724 R2R for my tapes and an Oppo 193 modded DVD player for CD’s.

As great as the McCormack is, I happen to come across an opportunity to pickup a set of Atma Sphere M-60’s. Having a quick demo at the persons house I was blown away by the smooth soul pouring out of her speakers. They were her late husband’s and she wanted something simple to use and was moving these onto someone who would appreciate them.

Long story short I grabbed them but now I need to ask, will the McCormack ALD 1 do the system justice or should I get a Tube Pre to match the M-60’s and if so what? My budget right now can’t afford a MA-3 like I hope for, something in the $1K range until I can move the other stuff out.

Your suggestions are much appreciated and thank you for taking the time to read all of this!
kjack48230

Showing 4 responses by brownsfan

brownsfan
1,508 posts
 
Congratulations.  My advice is to proceed slowly in making system changes.  The M60s 3.3s are very revealing.  They are not forgiving of sub par source material, especially bad digital.  Put your new amps in and live with them for 2or 3 weeks then let us know what you hear.
brownsfan
1,508 posts
 
@clio09  From the M-60 MK3.3 manual.

"Install the tubes in their sockets. The middle four sockets take the 6SN7GT driver tube (if using NOS 6SN7s, the front location should have either a -GTA or -GTB suffix)."

I currently am using an NOS GE GTA tube in this position.  It is pretty good there in my opinion.  I also really liked a current production  ElectroHarmonix GTB in that spot, but Ralph warned that they have a rather short lifespan in his amps so he doesn't recommend them.  The Raytheons have a great reputation, but I have not tried them yet.  The back 3 positions offer the best opportunity to dial in the sound to suit the room and ancillary equipment.  As for me, I just could not get rid of the glare until I got all of the Chinese tubes out of the amps. 

brownsfan
1,508 posts
 
kjack48230,  While you are waiting, I thought I'd offer a few additional comments since they may be relevant to layout of your listening room when you have the M-60's.  If you have talked to Ralph, you probably already know most of this. First of all, I found 6SN7 tube selection to be quite important.  I found the stock Chinese new production tubes that come with the amps to be unacceptable.  Way too much glare.  You can do so much better with some relatively inexpensive NOS RCAs or Sylvannias from the 60's.  You can get these for $25/tube, and they make all the difference.  The isolated 6SN7 towards the front of the amp has the least impact on sonics, in my opinion.  That tube must be a GTA or GTB.   But again, listen before you buy,    Ralph advised me to keep the speaker cables as short as possible.  I placed the amps right next to the speakers, which allowed me to keep the cable length at 16."  This arrangement usually necessitates longer leads from the preamp.  It is advantageous to use balanced cables, and select a preamp that is truly capable of driving long lengths of balanced cable.  If I were you, I'd consider one of the Atma-sphere preamps as a long term goal.  These amps are very special, but they can be brutally honest in revealing upstream issues.  They do not paint the music with euphonics, as a 300B might.  For me, it has taken some work to get things dialed in.  
brownsfan
1,508 posts
 
@gdnrbob, My speakers are Coincident Super Victory II and my pre is a Coincident CSL. The source is a ModWright Sony HAPZ1. The room is well treated, and I would say it is not overly bright.  It is important for the OP to just insert the amps into his system and go from there.  He may not find the stock tubes to be a problem in his system and room.  If he isn't entirely satisfied with what he hears, the 6SN7s may be a logical place to start since he indicated that the amps would come with a bunch of tubes.
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