I’m very excited about our new business partner, Atoll Electronique, from France. Atoll makes a fantastic, innovative line of gear that carries a 3 year warranty. And yes, the gear is MADE in France.
For openers, I’m happy to be able to offer affordable electronics that aren’t made in China. I am fed up with Asian job houses punching out IC laden, generic electronics (and speakers) with whatever the Hades name on it the customer will pay for. We can do better! Nobody does a better job than Atoll at making high performing, affordable electronics.
Atoll has a highly intelligent, formulaic design. Atoll delivers music with testosterone, as well as a rhythm and pace that makes the mass imports sound puny.
Integrated Amps
Atoll integrateds are AWESOME! They are my favorites in the biz, bar none. What they do, at such reasonable pricing, should become a model for our industry. The same can be said for Atoll CD players, separates and a nice array of other gear they make. This entry will make the point for integrated amps.
Atoll makes a handful of models on one metal chassis sled. All five models have a similar rear panel and jack arrangement. Three of the five have basically the same front panel. The higher end models have another.
Atoll spends your money where it matters- INSIDE the integrated amp. Atoll doesn’t waste money on gingerbread like fancy feet or heavy remote controls. Those cost real money and have nothing to do with sound quality.
With this QUALITY and efficient architectural platform, Atoll can give you much more hardware WITHIN, than if they made a myriad of shapes/sizes/knobs etc.
All of the Atolls are dual-mono designs. IN50 Sig & IN80 Sig, use a single transformer with separate channel windings. From IN100 Sig on up, there are two large toroidal transformers, hence they are pure dual monos. Atoll has its transformers built in Spain to spec. They use strong steel casings and absorbing resin to eliminate any proclivity to buzz.
Model IN300 Signature is priced with DAC included. All lower models are priced in line stage configuration. You can build your own pizza with Atoll. You can add boards to accommodate MM, MM/MC, DAC or DAC/USB/Bluetooth. You pay for the board options a la carte.
The price is downright CHEAP for additional boards because all you’re buying is the board you want. The performance is exceptional because the boards are going into integrateds that wield a massive power supply and infrastructure. Hence when you add a DAC or phono board, you’re not paying again for the large power supply, chassis, jacks and buttons that are necessary to give it superlative performance.
The Atoll DA100 DAC board runs $300 and competes with outboard DACs for $1500. The reason it’s only $300 is that the formidable infrastructure is already there. With an outboard DAC you’re paying for a power supply, chassis, face plate with knobs, and jacks on the rear. There is no DAC that runs a grand, more or less, that will outperform Atoll’s integrated amp/DAC performance.
Transformers
Atoll goes to the trouble to have specific transformers built for them. As mentioned above, they have sturdy steel casing and an absorbing resin to eliminate vibration.
Filter Caps
Atoll goes to the trouble to have specific filter caps made for them by Nipon in Japan (not China). The three least expensive integrateds use one level of cap. The two higher end models use lower ESR caps for faster, cleaner sound. The two higher end models also use shielded Mundorf caps on the PCB which help purvey higher resolution and more distinct imaging than their less powerful siblings.
Through Hole Construction
Atoll uses true through hole parts. Through hole design deflects heat dramatically better than surface mount components. Further, through hole construction is made for much easier and more reliable repairs. With Atoll’s attention to detail here, you get better sound, longevity and the ability to repair a piece many years down the road.
Matched MOSFET Transistors
Atoll takes the trouble to run MATCHED MOSFET transistors in its amplifiers. Why do they need to be matched? Transistors have behavior characteristics like tuning forks. If you run multiple transistors that are not tuned precisely together, you have distortion characteristics. This creates a harsh, or grainy sound. Atoll doesn’t just plug in a pile of transistors pulled from a parts box like virtually everyone else. They take the time and effort to hand match transistors so the amplifier YOU get, won’t have the grainy sound of the masses. Atoll has created its own measuring system to accomplish this. Very few companies, at any price, will take this time and trouble. For Atoll to do this with such fairly priced products, proves their commitment to TLC and gives you smoother sound.
Bluetooth
If you want built in Bluetooth, it’s on Atoll’s DA200 board below. DA200 features USB as well. If all you want is Bluetooth (sans DAC) to go with the line stage version of Atoll integrateds, and add a $25 adapter a la carte.
Models:
The IN50 Signature integrated amp uses a 170VA transformer, 17,874 caps.
The IN80 Signature integrated amp uses a 340VA transformer, 31,474 caps.
The IN100 Signature integrated amp uses a pair of 340VA transformers, 31,474 caps.
The IN200 Signature integrated amp uses a pair of 340VA transformers, 62,853 caps.
The IN300 Signature integrated amp uses a pair of 440VA transformers, 86,400 caps. This model comes with the DA200 board as bard of the price.
IN50 Signature $1200
We have run IN50 Sig on a wide array of speakers. It drives Maggies and Brystons shockingly well. You wouldn’t believe it, from a $1200 integrated. If you’re considering any amplifier that needs to be in this price range, this guy OWNS the price point. Everything else in this neighborhood is a pile of chips from China with no courage.
IN80 Signature $1700
This is the first model to use Atoll’s 340VA transformer and has double the supply caps of its little brother. You can hear a distinct step up as a consequence of the larger parts. Herein starts the beauty of Atoll. Each step up in the family buys you a big slug more or hardware which yields a significant sonic improvement.
IN100 Signature $2100
With dual transformers, this model is the first in the line with full dual/mono construction. It delivers a noticeably more powerful, dynamic sound that is coasting, compared to its lower brothers.
There can be a very strong argument for folks building a system, to get this beast and save the rest of your money for fancy speakers and associated gear. IN100 Sig is one of my favorite integrateds. It has kahunas like you simply can’t believe. For only 2k-ish you have the foundation of a very substantial audiophile system.
IN200 Signature $2800
Well, flat out, IN200 Sig is my choice for champagne taste on a beer budget. If you already have, or can afford to get, speakers that are highly revealing, then IN200 Sig is for you!
If you’re running Chinese towers, sorry, you need better speakers. If you’re on a short leash you should buy IN100 Sig to allow you to get better speakers.
But if you already have fine speakers, or can afford them, IN200 Sig pays benefits with improved heft, resolution and imaging. This guy has double the output transistors and caps of IN100 Sig, as well as shielded Mundorf caps. IN200 Sig can drive the best of speakers.
IN300 Signature $4500
At this reasonable price point, IN300 Sig is one of the best amplifier values in all of hi-fi. The price includes the DA-200 DAC on this unit. On it’s little brothers it is an option.
With IN300 Sig you get approximately 25% more hardware than IN200 Sig above. You get a pair of 440VA transformers, more filter caps and output transistors. Everything IN200 Sig does well, IN300 Sig does BIGGER. And the DAC comes standard on the 300.
The larger parts are beneficial in muscle and more precise resolution. You can run IN300 Sig into some of the finest speakers in our business and think you’re listening to separates for $20k. We’re talking true – point of diminishing returns here. You get so much with IN300 Sig, that we can make a legitimate argument for not needing to spend more on an amp! The 300 has a glowingly more robust and dynamic musical personality than any electronics I’ve heard short of double the price tag!
Boards:
DA-100 DAC Board: $300, excellent DAC with 2 coax & 2 OPT
DA-200 DAC/Bluetooth board: $500, DA-100 with USB and Bluetooth as well
P50: $130, MM phono board
P100: $190: MM/MC phono board. Spend $60 more for this! MCs have real upside.
Separates
If you already have a great preamp or amp you love, and have no interest in replacing it, Atoll makes a host of fabulous preamps and power amps. The typical scenario is, your old preamp still works fine, but your old power amp burned up.
Now, I would buy a new integrated amp so you’ll start fresh. But, I know people… and some folks just won’t do it. For you, we have separates to replace your old preamp or amp that has bitten the dust. I will let you in on a not so quiet secret. The Atoll power amps made today, with modern components, will outperform your old Hafler, Threshold. Krell, whatever- from yesteryear. Yep, even though these new amps aren’t even expensive in the course of our hobby, please face facts. Time has marched on. Given the improvements in parts over the years and Atoll’s quality layout and efficient build platform, we can improve your sound for not a lotta money. Equate it with the efficiency and reliability of the car you drive today vs one from the 70s or 80s.
CD Players
I really appreciate Atoll’s commitment to the CD format. Atoll makes streamers too. Yet CDs are still my favorite way to listen to music.
As a fan of classical piano music and female singers at the top of my list, I don’t care to listen through the noise of vinyl and pretend it isn’t there. If you want to, by all means, go nuts. Atoll supports analog with outstanding MM & MC phono sections as well. Yet for me, I want to play a CD with the artist’s program in mind, all the way through.
Like most of you, I’ve bought a zillion CDs over the years. I’m still buying them. Box sets in particular, are often available at embarrassingly low prices. In the past few years I’ve bought big boxes from Murray Perahia, Maurizio Pollini, Radu Lupu, Nelson Freire, Martha Argerich and others. To enjoy this music, you drop a disc in and hit play. You don’t have to worry about dropouts due to Internet problems. You don’t have to waste hours of your life saving them to a computer and typing in meta data that didn’t transfer properly. You don’t have to scrupulously clean LPs or your stylus. The sound of a well made CD through a great player, like an Atoll, is amazing. I’m not telling you not to stream. I’m not telling you to not play records. If these formats push your buttons, great. Go for it. But for me, CDs are the way to fly. I’m delighted that Atoll has embraced the CD format as I have.
Atoll CD mechanisms work very quickly and responsively. Many CD players are slowww to respond to your commands- annoyingly so. All Atoll CD players have multiple power supplies and are dead quiet. As you go up the line, as with the integrated amps, you get more and larger power supplies and components. You might be surprised that there is a nice sonic improvement getting a CD player with a good deal of filter capacitance, vs one with a flimsy supply. And… Atoll CD players are build solidly with a 3 year warranty. Most companies, even respectable ones like Denon and Audiolab, hedge their exposure with a one year warranty.
CD80 Signature, $1750, has 8 regulated power supplies and multiple transformers. It has almost 13,000uF filter caps which yields a warmer, richer flavor than cheap Chinese built players. It’s bigger brothers offer a bit more. Every little bit helps, a little bit. CD80 Sig is the law of diminishing returns for most of us.
Atoll, as always, is SMART. They offer the transport mechanism of CD80 as its own product. You can buy the Atoll DR100, $1200, which is a transport, and run coax or OPT out into the DAC of your choice. Since so many integrateds and preamps have nice DACs these days, your GREAT CD transport might be a mere $1200.
MD100, $900
This CD player is made in a mini size. Atoll wants to accommodate audiophiles who have a rack full of gear. This might be just the solution for you- a solid, affordable player with 3 power supplies in a small form factor.
CD80 Signature, $1750
CD80 Sig is a great player with 8 power supplies. It has filter caps of 12,892uF and delivers a warm sound, with outstanding definition. Virtually all of its competition is Chinese and sounds thinner in the bass, and more muddled. Atoll does make a CD50. But it’s only $100 less than the 80, and the 80s sounds a bit warmer.
CD100 Signature, $2200
This is a muscled up CD80 Sig. Larger transformers and more caps give a bit weightier sound quality.
CD200 Signature, $2950
CD200 Sig is a true reference level CD player. With an improved current-voltage conversion stage over its less expensive brothers, this boy belongs in the best of systems.
CD Transports
DR100, $1200
If you already have a DAC you like, just run the DR100 transport into it and save a few bucks. It has 14,141uF caps and is built solidly. Coax and OPT outs.
DR200, $2000
DR200 is heavier yet than DR100 above, and its styling matches Atoll’s 200/300 Series. With 22,100uF caps and a handful of details to dot the i’s and cross the t’s better, DR200 is a transport for the best of systems. XLR, Coax and OPT outs.
Streaming Integrated Amps
Atoll makes FABULOUS sounding STREAMING integrated amps! Atoll has its own app which I think you’ll like. I’m hardly Mr Tech and I figured it out to my satisfaction by fiddling around with it for a few minutes. These are basically the IN200 Sig and IN300 Sig integrated amps with Atoll’s streaming on board. If you’re after a one box solution, you’ll enjoy these options.
SDA200 Signature, $4300
Essentially, this is an IN200 Sig with onboard streamer. 120X2, Four matched MOSFETS per channel.
SDA300 Signature, $5500
Essentially, this is an IN300 Sig with onboard streamer. 150X2, Six matched MOSFETS per channel.