Atoll of France makes my favorite affordable integrated amps and CD players. They make them in France, not China, with a three year warranty!
This entry is to highlight what I think is the best integrated amp at anywhere near a grand, along with a GREAT companion silver disc player.
IN50 Integrated Amp, $1200 (50×2)
A thousand bucks in an integrated amp invariably buys you a pile of of chips in a box from China or Viet Nam. They are made by job houses who will put any brand name on the face plate for whomever is wiring them money.
This… is why “all” the integrateds out there in this range are literally interchangeable. They use the same streaming boards as well as cheap phono, DAC and D module chips. The various options out there are constructed of an array of bargain basement computer chips.
This… is NOT Atoll.
IN50, like all Atoll amps, uses a dual mono power supply. To hit this price point IN50 runs a single 170 VA low loss transformer with separate windings for each channel. This is a conspicuously large transformer for the price point. Have a look under the hood and compare it to some of the other guys.
IN50 uses power supply caps that they have custom made in Japan. IN50 runs 17,874uF of filter capacitance to provide a stiff, muscular sound. If you look inside Atoll’s competitors you can hardly find the transformer and power supply caps because they’re so small.
IN50 uses a precision tracking ALPS volume control. It’s clean, smooth and has a nice heavy feel to it. Mostly, it’s been selected for its precise channel to channel tracing ability.
IN50 runs MATCHED MOSFET output transistors. The matching of transistors insures Atoll will have a warm, rather than grainy sound. Nobody else is going to this effort at anywhere near this price range. Atoll runs their amps in an AB configuration, operating about 15% class A. This is a welcome alternative to all the frail D amps out there. The D designs simply can’t produce the robust bass and warmth of Atoll.
Atoll circuit boards are a work of art. The board is cleanly laid out with no rat’s nest of spaghetti. Check out the other guys and you’ll see wire running over, under and around a plethora of electronic components where they’re guaranteed to pick up hiss and hum. Atoll is dead quiet in background noise.
IN50 has two sets of preamp outs! You have tremendous flexibility going forward. You can add a powered sub, or two, and maybe a larger power amp some day.
When you realize how Atoll is built, you can begin to infer why 50 watts of Atoll sounds much richer and stronger than double that from a Chinese amp with tiny power supply. Atoll’s creations are classic, instead of trickery.
IN50 is priced in line stage config. You can add MM phono for $130. You can add a marvelous DAC for $320. Build your own pizza.
CD50 Compact Disc Player, $1650
I want a great CD player in my system for numerous reasons. The main reason of course, is to play my thousands of CDs without clicks, pops, hiss or dealing with the hassle of everything that goes with a needle in the groove.
CDs sound better than streaming the same music. CDs sound more precise on transient attack and deliver more gripping, impactful bass response. I’m fine with the artist making a buck on their content and I love playing the album all the through- as the artist intended.
This is a magnificent time to be a CD shopper. The number of fabulous box sets on the market today is a treasure trove. You’ll get better sound with the discs than playing the same music streaming. Further, I enjoy having disc in hand and not having to battle with the internet or wi-fi.
Most of our customers have run featherweight Chinese CD players into their systems over the years. That’s a mistake. If your disc player is a 1 and your amp is a 10, your amp can’t perform like a 10.
The same is true if you run a rickety plastic turntable into an otherwise strong system. The rumble of a cheap table makes your woofers wobble. You don’t have a fighting chance of hearing fine detail in the music.
CD50 is built on the same metal chassis as other Atoll components. The mechanical structure of the CD player is vital to giving it clear sound. CD50 runs multiple, regulated linear power supplies. Taming line ripple and having beefy caps (8192 uF) give your CDs a more hearty sound. If you appreciate a deep cello groan or heavy drum kit, think Atoll.
Atoll employs very responsive, great tracking transport mechanisms by Teac. These are CD transports, not DVD transports. Most players use DVD transports which are noisy and “revvy” as they play. You can hear them across the room.
Atoll likes Burr Brown DACs for its CD players. Atoll runs BB DACs without negative feedback which assures that your musical timbre will be more smooth and rich, than thin or edgy. Many competitors run latest greatest DAC chips with oodles of processing and require negative feedback to TAME their electronic bite.
They’d like you to think that the latest-greatest chip with more processing is better. But in fact, this choice delivers a more tinny sound. Imagine a TV picture that has cranked up contrast but is less warm and natural in color. Atoll goes for the more warm/musical presentation, rather than a more dry/stark performance.
We’re seeing more companies catch on to this DAC implementation. Super high end companies like Weiss of Switzerland will use high processing DACs, but only use a portion of their functionality. They’ve learned that the sound is too glassy if they rely on the chipset to do all the important work.
CD50 has a surprise up its sleeve. You can access the BB DAC with other sources, most likely a streamer. CD50 has inputs of OPT, Coax and USB-B. If you’re running a nice streamer like a Bluesound, you can improve its sound by running digital OUT into one of the CD50’s DAC INPUTS.
Now you’ll be listening to the TLC of Atoll’s DAC and line stage resolution, vs what’s endemic to a highly processing chipset.
The Stack
We’ve created a GREAT $2850 STACK of Atoll here! We have this exact stack configured in our shop. It’s a magnificent bundle of power & features at a price where everything else is a bucket of Chinese bolts.
You can’t do better than starting your music system with Atoll in front of some great speakers- which we also have in house!
