Let’s start this great music system with $3k per box.
For MY music system, I want to build around a fabulous source, and run into a commensurately incredible integrated amp.
A resolving music system needs to pay attention to the BAR GRAPH. If your source is a 10, and your integrated amp is a 10, your speakers will be guaranteed to perform well.
We see too many visitors starting with a low level source like a clunky turntable or cheesy Chinese streamer or CD player. Since a system built like this starts with a source that’s a one or a two, your system is already doomed with mediocrity or worse.
Atoll CD200, $2950
I’m going to start my system with the incredible Atoll CD200. As you would infer, CD200 is a fabulous red book CD player. It has a fast acting transport to spin the disc. It has Burr Brown DACs run without negative feedback to provide fine detail with a burnished musical flavor.
CDs are my favorite source for listening to music. Drop the disc in and hit play. It works every time. There’s no fighting with a streamer, wi-fi, computer or anything else.
Vinyl can be fun but there’s the inevitable hassle of mechanics and cleaning. I’m fine with playing the odd LP but life is too short for me to do the vinyl dance on a regular basis. Most importantly, I’m too far along in this hobby to ignore the endemic clicks, pops and rumble of almost every LP. If you choose to pretend they’re not there, you have a talent I do not.
CD200 has a secret weapon. You can access its marvelous DAC with other digital sources! Hence it is wise planning to buy a Bluesound Node Streamer- and run digital out into the CD200. NOW you’ll have the sound of CD200’s refined electronics producing your music, instead of the rudimentary package within the modest streamer itself.
With CD200 you have CD and Streaming quality that’s a ten.
Atoll IN200 Integrated Amp, $2800 (120×2)
Atoll’s IN200 is nothing short of a magnificent integrated amp! It is truly one of the best amp values in the audio market.
It’s $2800 in line stage configuration. You can add MM phono for $130 more. The integrated of our system ends up being just under $3k, like CD200 above.
IN200 is an affordable battleship! Permit me a moment to discuss power.
Wattage doesn’t help you make much sense of sound these days. Many companies use creative designs, like Class D, to deliver good test results. These tricks of the trade yield a clean, too lean sound, compared to running a classic design of blood and guts. THAT would be Atoll.
IN200 starts with A PAIR of very large transformers that Atoll has designed, and contracts to their friends in Spain. These are upper crust, low loss TOROIDAL transformers with expensive construction to control hum and noise. These transformers are so large that they won’t even fit in virtually any of the Chinese alternatives you’ll see prolifically advertised.
IN200 runs similarly unique power supply caps that Atoll designed, and has built for them in Japan. The very heart of IN200 is a cut above ANY competitor that is remotely similar in price.
Atoll’s circuit boards are made in house, in France. The workmanship is a work of art with through hole parts, instead of noisy surface mount parts. Through hole parts sound better and last much longer than surface mount parts. Atoll runs discrete componentry instead of a pile of chips to do its work. Atoll even goes to the trouble to house its Mundorf caps in mumetal boxes to eliminate RFI. You simply don’t see this from the other guys.
Atoll spends significant time and effort to run MATCHED MOSFET output transistors. Virtually everyone else in this price strata buys buckets of transistors and installs them all haphazardly. Atoll MATCHES transistors for smoothness.
Suppose you have a tuning fork that is supposed to play at middle C. Now add another. Play them simultaneously. If they’re not identical, you’ll hear distortion artifacts of the DIFFERENCES. This is what occurs when your run output transistors that aren’t matched. The more power you have, the more transistors you need. The more transistors you have, the more distortion and grain you’ll hear in your sound.
These distortion artifacts are not an issue with Atoll. With literally everyone else they are. This is why virtually all Chinese gear puts a distinctly harsh or fuzzy slant on your music. By running Atoll IN200 your integrated amp is a ten.
Bryston A3, or Magnepan MG 1.7i Speakers, $3000 Per Pair
Now that you have Atoll’s CD200 and IN200 at the front of your system, you’re all set
to add some commensurately fabulous speakers!
If you want prodigious bass with a speaker that’s easy to place, look no further than Bryston’s dynamic A3. They’re mid sized towers that will play louder and deeper than you could possibly believe, given their modest footprint. The guts of A3, with cast frame drivers and a heavily matrixed (internal braces) cabinet, take you well beyond their Chinese counterparts. They’re made at Bryston’s own house in Canada with a 20 year warranty.
If you have a good sized listening room and lean to singer songwriters at moderate volume levels, you might consider Magnepan MG 1.7i’s. The Maggies present the tallest, most spacious image you can buy at this competitive price point. Listening to Maggies gives you headphone level articulation and spaciousness.