I want to point out a fabulous pairing of audio components- right there with peanut butter and jelly. This $6500 combo is an impeccable duo to get the most out of your speakers!

A wonderful sounding music system needs a high performing amplifier at its heart. You want to drive your speakers with the equivalent of high water pressure to maintain taut control over the drivers.

One of the best performers and values out there is Atoll’s IN300 integrated amp, built in France with a 3 year warranty.

I also need a fabulous CD player in my system. While streaming is fun and convenient, it doesn’t sound as good as playing the silver discs on a fine player like an Atoll. Further, it drives me WILD when my internet is out or my streamer needs an update or is coughing up a storm.

Atoll’s DR200 is the perfect spinner to shake hands with IN300. DR200 is also made in France with a 3 year warranty.

Atoll IN300 Integrated Amp $4500 (150×2)

Atoll’s IN300 is an edge of the art integrated amp. It is so good, for such a reasonable price, that you would be well within bounds to ask, “Do I really need anything more?” For the vast majority of hi-fi buyers IN300 is an end game product.

First of all, IN300 has a smooth, fanny kicking amp on board. IN300’s speed and strength belie its wattage ratting. IN300 hits like a middle linebacker. It can start/stop your speakers on a dime and not get hot and bothered while doing it. IN300 is a Class AB amp with LINEAR power supplies, running about 15% in the Class A domain.

It has a PAIR of 440VA transformers, 86,400uF of filter capacitance and a dozen (6 per ch) MATCHED MOSFET output transistors. You can search forever and find NOTHING equivalent for anywhere near this price tag. You would be hard pressed to find any competitor for this money with a single 400VA transformer and 30,000uF! Almost everything else out there and certainly virtually everything from China, uses SMPS (switching) power supplies. That dooms them to a thinner, grainier sound.

IN300 comes with a built in DAC. This is no ordinary chip slapped into a flimsy box. Atoll runs Burr Brown DACs and doesn’t employ negative feedback in its architecture. The result is that you get a more mellow, less gritty sound when listening to the DAC within Atoll vs just about anyone else.

Atoll DR200 CD Transport $2000

I have to have a magnificent disc player. Like you, I have a very busy life and I am NOT willing to waste my TIME. There is only so much TIME that we have on the planet and I’m not about to whiz it away saving files to a server, much less typing in meta data that came out inaccurately. By the way, every server out there is going to puke some day and flush your files and the time you invested.

When I carve out an hour here or there to listen to music, that’s what I want to do. I don’t want to fiddle/fuss with what is essentially computer nonsense.

I’m OK with records if that’s the only way I can get specific music. But I’m not a vinyl fan because of the noise/rumble/distortion. Some people can listen through it- I CAN’T… pretend it isn’t there. It is. Further, the maintenance that comes with it… I’m finished with it. Life is too short.

Most of us have never heard an exquisite CD player run through a commensurate integrated amp. 95% of our customers have el cheapo Chinese CD players and wonder why their CDs sound thin and harsh. Well, if you play your LPs on a rickety turntable you’ll have the same experience. Most of us know to get a higher quality table & cartridge. It’s the same in the CD arena.

DR200 is a solidly built CD TRANSPORT. It doesn’t have a DAC on board. It shakes hands with IN300 through its digital output. DR200 has Coax, Optical and XLR.

DR200 uses a hefty 30VA transformer and 22,100uF of filter capacitance- comparable to what you would expect in a 100×2 power amp! Atoll uses Teac drives. They’re made to play CDs, not DVDs, blu-rays or anything else. They track like a champ and are very quick in their operation. Many a disc player responds to commands like a tortoise.

DR200 is built on a steel chassis and has a thick, sturdy, brushed aluminum face plate. It has low noise, linear power supplies. It has specific anti vibration treatment to deal with CD spinning mechanics. The board is optimized for jitter reduction.

Because the DAC within IN300 is so good, you can get delightful results running the DR200 transport. It’s a gorgeous combo that reaches to within a stone’s through of audiophile nervosa nether world.

Have a look inside these incredible values and then look at the pile of chips and spaghetti the other guys offer!