Posted by Albertporter on September 19, 2002 at 17:14:56:
In Reply to: Re: Time to upgrade amps....to what????? posted by David M. on September 17, 2002 at 20:28:19:
I have not auditioned Atmasphere since my old MA 2, so I cannot relate to the very newest versions performance wise. However, the circuitry is essentially the same, with various modifications that improve the sound.
That being said, my Wolcott Presence Mono blocks are superior in every way to my (previous) Atmasphere.
Wolcotts performance should not be judged except after an extensive break in period and most ( or all ) of the tubes replaced. Even with the best tubes, this is a much less expensive investment than Atmasphere, as it produces over 220 watts into my U-1 Soundlabs.
The Wolcotts power capability is more in line with the $27, 000.00 Atmasphere , ( the MA 2 MkII .3 ). The Wolcott produces about 270 watts before clipping, into the latest Soundlab back plates. ( These have the parts that address impedance problems some OTL designs had ).
The Wolcott Presence mono blocks retail for less than $10,000.00 including the wide band transformer. The $17,000.00 difference would allow the purchase of any (applicable) tube ever manufactured with thousands of dollars left over.