Atoll IN100, $2100,

100×2, Built in France, 3 year warranty

Musical Fidelity A1, $1779,

25×2, Built in China, 2 year warranty

A customer just stopped in shopping for an integrated amp. He has been reading about a Musical Fidelity he said is getting good press. The mags thinks it’s good because it’s class A. The customer wondered if we have anything as good. He said his budget is about $2k.

I’ve read all about the A1.

Yep, we have something even better at about the same price.

We carry Atoll of France. Atoll is actually made in France, under Atoll’s roof with a 3 year warranty. The Musical Fidelity integrateds are made in China- in the same factory where Project and other brands are punched out. The Musical Fidelity has a two year warranty.

The Atoll IN100 is built like a brick outhouse. It has two 340VA toroidal transformers. The transformers are made in Spain per Atoll’s specifications. Atoll’s power supply caps are built for them by Nipon in Japan, also to Atoll’s design parameters.

The Musical Fidelity is … built in China (have I mentioned that yet?) and runs hot as Hades. Stereophile measured the top plate temp of 140 degrees which is dangerously hot to touch. Musical Fidelity uses a single toroidal transformer that looks smaller than ONE of the Atoll transformers. A1 has about the same capacitance rating as Atoll. But the Musical Fidelity transformers and caps are purchased from Chinese vendors. The parts are not apples to apples with Atoll.

Atoll takes the time to MATCH MOSFET output transistors. Output transistors can very in performance like tuning forks. If unmatched transistors are used, distortion artifacts create a grainy, harsh sound. Atoll takes the time/money to MATCH transistors. You don’t have to ask if the Chinese do this.

Why do I have a big bugaboo about MADE IN CHINA? First of all, the gear isn’t as good, because minimizing cost is more important than building with quality. Atoll gives you larger, superior parts that control your speakers with stronger, rather than weaker water pressure.

As you analyze the photos of what’s in these pieces at the bottom of this page, Atoll wins easily.

Take a look at the size of the DUAL transformers of IN100. Those two transformers alone wouldn’t even fit in the A1 box. Atoll has legit heat sinks for its transistors. A1 relies on its top plate for heat sinking. That’s downright frightening. The Stereophile reviewer had a very old version of the A1, built in the UK in the 80s. He chuckled that the plastic banana binding posts on the back MELTED over the years. That’s funny? This new version is also made with plastic binding posts. Atoll uses metal.

The Chinese work at rates that are barely this side of slave labor. The typical hourly wage is $2.40-$3.70. OF COURSE products coming from China are cheaper.

The Atoll is a few bucks more than the Musical Fidelity. SO WHAT! The IN100 is a better integrated and you’re supporting Euro construction and labor vs the Chinese. Further, it upsets me that they steal our intel and hack our computers.

The Atoll pumps out 100×2 in a Class AB design, running about 15% class A.

The Musical Fidelity is rated at 25×2. They call it Class A. But it slides to class B where it CLIPS (1% THD) at 25 w/ch. It is a class AB design, not pure A as implied. Stereophile measured 3% THD, at 31 w/ch. This low level of power, high levels of distortion and enormous heat is a perilous combination.

The Atoll is very reliable and unfussy.

When Stereophile tested the A1, the reviewer pushed the spring loaded operations switch (right out of the 70s) to Direct, the L channel DROPPED OUT. When he pushed it back to Normal, the R channel dropped to a very low, DISTORTED volume. Given his experience, he knew to exercise the control about a dozen times and this problem cleared up. That’s a fugacious fix we all did in the 70s when we had LOUSY switches. Today is 2025. His fix won’t hold. Atoll does its switching electronically. There are no old school switches that will lock up.

The Atoll offers phono as an option. The MM board runs $130.

The Musical Fidelity comes with MM/MC built in. But the MC boost is achieved with transistor gain, which means the noise floor will absolutely, positively, be high, making the MC option not viable. Adding hiss/hum to vinyl, which already has a hefty noise floor, is unacceptable. I refuse to listen through hiss and pretend it isn’t there. Because it IS.

The Atoll has classic audio aesthetics. I love ‘em! Atoll makes matching CD players, DACs and streamers. The remote that comes with Atoll integrateds operates its CD players. Smart.

The Musical Fidelity remote is more flimsy than you could ever imagine. Your space heater or cooling fan has a more substantial remote.

The Musical Fidelity is an attractive, short / skinny guy with fun blue graphics. But…take a look inside. Where are the heat sinks? Well… the heat sink for this hot little sucker is the TOP PLATE! They have to be joking! That’s… why the top plate runs hot enough to cook an egg. The rest of the chassis dissipates heat as well, which is why the binding posts melt.

The odds are very much in your favor that the Atoll will perform properly for its 3 year warranty and many years more. Again, it is made by a family run company, in France, with TLC.

The Musical Fidelity is very likely NOT to survive its warranty, much less longer. It has the endemic problems we find from products mass produced in China as Stereophile reported. Further, they’re exacerbated by the massive heat it produces.

The Atoll IN100 is a HEAVY HITTER. It produces powerful bass on full range speakers like Bryston towers. IN100 is a GREAT match, allowing the customer to go heavy on speakers and spend less on electronics. We’ve been delighted hearing IN100 control quite hungry speakers like Magnepans, old B&Ws and Vandersteens. IN100 has the muscle to wake these boys up!

I haven’t heard the Musical Fidelity. I’m sure it is WARM sounding. But there’s no way it can produce the muscle or control of Atoll, much less with challenging speakers. With Atoll, you can just run the speakers you like. IN100 will drive any speakers and control them well. If you run the Musical Fidelity with speakers of low efficiency or a complex load, it can’t sound gutsy and your risk its life.