Looking for thoughts on ATI amps

[AcuDefTechGuy]

O No all the ATI fan boys are going to be UpSet

Well, good thing @Gmoney and I are Yamaha fanboys.

 

[M Code]

Interesting. I was under the impression that their toroidal transformers were designed and manufactured in-house in California.

Don't know exactly...
But I think for the high powered amplifiers that's sell in smaller qtys, they still wind the toroidal transformers
in-house.. The off-shore wound transformers are used in a higher selling qty products such as the Monolith amplifiers...
The MonoLith amplifiers have been a major success for MonoPrice...
Trying to maintain a reasonable, workable BOM is very challenging today as many of the crucial, internal components are only available from off-shore, which have also been impacted by the Trump sanctions..

Just my $0.02...

 

[Irvrobinson]

O No all the ATI fan boys are going to be UpSet

No fan boy here. I'm not attached to any product I own; they're all expendable if something significantly better comes along.

 

[Gmoney]

Well, good thing @Gmoney and I are Yamaha fanboys.

I gotta you Andrew!! Don't mess with Thor!!
Just Buy Yamaha!!

 

[Irvrobinson]

Don't know exactly...
But I think for the high powered amplifiers that's sell in smaller qtys, they still wind the toroidal transformers in-house.. The off-shore wound transformers are used in a higher selling qty products such as the Monolith amplifiers...
The MonoLith amplifiers have been a major success for MonoPrice...

I suspected this might be the case.

Trying to maintain a reasonable, workable BOM is very challenging today as many of the crucial, internal components are only available from off-shore, which have also been impacted by the Trump sanctions..

You mean tariffs.

 

[M Code]

Well, good thing @Gmoney and I are Yamaha fanboys.

Nice U guys stick with ur expensive Yamaha amplifiers....
And I will continue to use my 8KW Pyle amplifier available for <$299..

J/K...

 

[Gmoney]

Regarding ATi amplifiers, note they build for many OE brands. But now due to certain cost factors, they are sourcing toroidal transformers and amplifier modules from off-shore with final unit assembly in the USA.
But..
IMHO..
They are still a good choice for value, performance and reliability...

Just my $0.02...

Outlaws 5 channel 5000 still the best value just saying.

 

[Gmoney]

ATI goes down another notch on my ledger.

Oohh!!
Thor gonna hit ya with the,

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Nice U guys stick with ur expensive Yamaha amplifiers....
And I will continue to use my 8KW Pyle amplifier available for <$299..

View attachment 39815


J/K...

That Pyle amp goes great with Bose speakers.

 

[mazersteven]

That Pyle amp goes great with Bose speakers.

Could have saved himself some money and got this.

"SMSL SA-98E TDA7498E Stereo Amplifier 2 x 160W" from www.parts-express.com!

SMSL SA-98E TDA7498E Stereo Amplifier 2 x 160W

www.parts-express.com

 

[PENG]

Well, good thing @Gmoney and I are Yamaha fanboys.

I am a nothing fanboy, but I do like the Yamaha 5000. For $3,000 less, the MC302 seems like a better value, definitely better specs and a lot more powerful.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I am a nothing fanboy, but I do like the Yamaha 5000. For $3,000 less, the MC302 seems like a better value, definitely better specs and a lot more powerful.

View attachment 39819View attachment 39820

I'm not a fanboy of any amp/preamp/AVP/AVR that's over $2K street price. Okay, maybe $3K if you're twisting my arms.

 

[M Code]

That Pyle amp goes great with Bose speakers.

Until U have heard the Pyle 8KW drive my 901s...
They will outperform any system under $50K..

Just my $0.02...

 

[Irvrobinson]

Until U have heard the Pyle 8KW drive my 901s...
They will outperform any system under $50K..

Just my $0.02...

I've heard 901 systems. This can't be alcohol talking... LSD?

 

[70sMac]

Just spoke to a fellow in Chicago who told me that Krell is in "another class altogether" relative to McIntosh. Most adult humans have the ability to speak, so I thought that I'd run this by the present [fill in the blank with a brand name] crew on this thread...

 

[mazersteven]

I would consider Krell as very high-end audio gear some really nice stuff

 

[lovinthehd]

Just makes me wonder just who assembles amps in the US still besides Mc, ATI, Krell, Benchmark....maybe Schiit?

 

[Irvrobinson]

I would consider Krell as very high-end audio gear some really nice stuff

I dunno, in amps, the subject of this thread, I'm less than impressed. Yeah, their top of the line monoblocks are powerful, if you need over 600 watts per channel, but measurements-wise I'm not so impressed. Stereophile's measurements didn't reveal SOTA performance for 2020:

krell-solo-575-monoblock-power-amplifier-measurements

A 1-watt A-weighted SNR of -89db is not outstanding anymore. Output impedance is excellent, but distortion at 300 watts is less than 80db below the 50Hz fundamental. That's good performance, but a pair will set you back $22K at list price. I suspect a lot of this is due to the all-discrete circuitry. For low-voltage stages ICs really are better, IMO.

Krell's technical claim to fame, dynamically variable bias voltage for the output transistors, think of it like instantaneous Class A configuration based on input signal level, sounds cool, but the results don't seem to the justify the complexity, as they do with the feed-forward error correction of the Benchmark ABH2.

I'm thinking all of these old-line high-end companies are fighting yesterday's battles.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Just makes me wonder just who assembles amps in the US still besides Mc, ATI, Krell....maybe Schiit?

Levinson, Rowland, Pass Labs, Benchmark, Boulder, Audio Research, to name some off the top of my head. Of these only Benchmark is still on my maybe-someday list.

 

[lovinthehd]

Levinson, Rowland, Pass Labs, Benchmark, Boulder, Audio Research, to name some off the top of my head. Of these only Benchmark is still on my maybe-someday list.

I added Benchmark just after I saw your previous post as I'd meant to include it. Emotiva also comes to mind.