Atoll Electronique ...

[neveronfriday]

I'm thinking of getting a CD-player/amp combo to oust my current Marantz setup (CD-drive has started making too much noise, amp is still fine but can be used elsewhere in the house).

Anyone here that has any experience with these (I'm highly distrustful of the glowing reviews that have never had any of the reviewed equipment running for longer than a few days).

What I'm especially interested in is to find out if Atoll products are as solid and robust as most reviewers claim.

Secondly, if anyone has any one of their CD players, old or new, I'd like to have real-life feedback on error correction, besides sound quality the number one feature on my list.

Thanks for looking.

P.S.: http://www.atoll-electronique.com/

[BeBop]

I've no direct experience, but I recall seeing a bunch of Atoll electronics on sale at North Country Audio, the Cadence affiliate. If you get seriously interested, you might check in with Vladimir.

[neveronfriday]

Thanks for the feedback, BeBop!

I'm all set up with a fine shop here in my area which will lead to substantial savings if I jump on this duo by January.

[BeBop]

Thanks for the feedback, BeBop!

I'm all set up with a fine shop here in my area which will lead to substantial savings if I jump on this duo by January.

Cool. Always best to be buying from the locals!

Though, as I say, I don't have any direct experience with the product, the fact that Vladimir at North Country carries Atoll is a pretty good endorsement; I think he's generaly considered reliable and a decent judge of products.

[neveronfriday]

Thanks for the feedback, BeBop!

I'm all set up with a fine shop here in my area which will lead to substantial savings if I jump on this duo by January.

Cool. Always best to be buying from the locals!

Though, as I say, I don't have any direct experience with the product, the fact that Vladimir at North Country carries Atoll is a pretty good endorsement; I think he's generaly considered reliable and a decent judge of products.

Yes, actually all the reviews have been good to stellar, depending on the way you read them. If I hit some forums though that cater to us audiophile geeks, I get a whiff of subdued criticism. One of the major ones seems to be (very few people have voiced this concern ... and in a rather veiled manner) that the amps (recent models) seem to run hot in very few situations because cooling seems to be somewhat inefficient. Others usually swipe that opinion off the table by the standard "then turn the volume down" reply.

I've gotten a bit careful with endorsements by just about anyone when I found out that two Cambridge models (I'm talking about British Cambridge Audio, not Cambridge Soundworks) I was interested in and which had been unanimously praised in the various media actually turned out to be faulty. Service from Cambridge was top-notch, but somehow the reviews and endorsements didn't seem to jell with real-life experiences users had with the units over an extended period of time.

Edited December 1, 2009 by neveronfriday

[jazzbo]

Let me throw out another possibility. I have been using two cd players as sources, and can't decide which one I like best, but I do know which is the most versatile: the Sony ES Series SCD-XA5400ES player. It is built like a tank, weighing 23 well-designed and assembled pounds. It has the best SACD sound I've heard and incredible cd playback. I'm just amazed at the sound of this machine, detailed but still warm and not at all harsh. Took a few hundred hours to really bloom but when it did it really seduced me.

I paid 1200 for mine, and I think that it's of a build quality and a sonic quality that you don't usually find unless you spend two or three times that much. I can really recommend it. I was really surprised as Sony cd players haven't generally appealed to me without modification. This one I wouldn't be surprised to find is underpriced compared to what it costs to build.

At Crutchfield: http://signature.crutchfield.com/s_158XA54...0ES.html?tp=197

At Sony: http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores...552921665537319

Long thread at AVS forum: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread....055&page=26

[neveronfriday]

Let me throw out another possibility. I have been using two cd players as sources, and can't decide which one I like best, but I do know which is the most versatile: the Sony ES Series SCD-XA5400ES player. It is built like a tank, weighing 23 well-designed and assembled pounds. It has the best SACD sound I've heard and incredible cd playback. I'm just amazed at the sound of this machine, detailed but still warm and not at all harsh. Took a few hundred hours to really bloom but when it did it really seduced me.

I paid 1200 for mine, and I think that it's of a build quality and a sonic quality that you don't usually find unless you spend two or three times that much. I can really recommend it. I was really surprised as Sony cd players haven't generally appealed to me without modification. This one I wouldn't be surprised to find is underpriced compared to what it costs to build. [...]

Thanks for that recommendation. I will certainly have a close look at it ... now.

[vodka]

I have the PR300/AM200 preamp-amp combo in my second system, and I'm satisfied. Very enjoyable, smooth sound, nice build quality. hand-made in France.

What models do you have in mind? In any case, try to buy demo or open-box units if you're in the US, because they're all grossly overpriced here, while they're quite a bargain in Europe.

[neveronfriday]

I have the PR300/AM200 preamp-amp combo in my second system, and I'm satisfied. Very enjoyable, smooth sound, nice build quality. hand-made in France.

What models do you have in mind? In any case, try to buy demo or open-box units if you're in the US, because they're all grossly overpriced here, while they're quite a bargain in Europe.

I'm thinking of the IN 80 se amp and the CD 100 (maybe 200), depending on a) how both sound on my Dynaudio 1.8 MKII and b) what kind of offer I'm made at my local dealer (I'm trying to stay below 1000 Euro for both).

I'm in Germany and good deals on these items are more the rule than the exception, especially if you buy locally and have been a regular customer (as I have).

I have a Marantz PM78 Class-A amp (and a 67OSE CD-player) but both I'm not satisfied with anymore.

I'm going to try to audition several Atoll units/combos at home to see if I get the sound I'm hoping for. People who know my current system or the kind of setup I have tell me that Atoll might be the "next logical step" without breaking out too far from the sound I'm accustomed to.

And ... thanks for commenting (and your recommendation).

@jazzbo

The Sony is indeed a very fine player.

I had the chance to check it out yesterday.

It's just out completely out of my price range.

Edited December 4, 2009 by neveronfriday

[jazzbo]

Glad you got to hear it. It's rather reasonably priced here, I got mine for 1200 US, you can get it directly from Sony for 1500. Sorry if that's over your price range (I totally understand).

[vodka]

Of course it's your business, but should you decide to go the Atoll route, I strongly recommend you buy the better amp, in your case at least IN100, because your speakers are power-demanding, and CD80 will do just fine in that combination. There is no night and day difference soundwise between CD80 and CD100, but the amp will make all the difference.

[neveronfriday]

Of course it's your business, but should you decide to go the Atoll route, I strongly recommend you buy the better amp, in your case at least IN100, because your speakers are power-demanding, and CD80 will do just fine in that combination. There is no night and day difference soundwise between CD80 and CD100, but the amp will make all the difference.

Thanks a lot for the informed tips!

I was thinking of basically taking one of each "size" (amp and Cd player) home anyway to give them a weekend spin.

I'll get back here once I've tried everything ... will be a few weeks (probably shortly after New Year's) because right now work doesn't leave me any room to breathe ... at all.

[Jay]

FWIW, I have not heard these units but I did want to echo BeBop's general thoughts about North Country. I do own a Decware integrated amp (thanks for the tip many years ago Lon plus another old BNBB member) but the rest of my gear is from Vlad. If it meets his standards, I would say that you should seriously consider Atoll (and I have spoken with Vladimir many times about Atoll too). I think the French hi fi products get a bad rap for some bizarre reason in the US but the ones that I have heard are absolutely on par with those that get much more internet and glossy mag press.

Edited December 6, 2009 by Jay