[abomwell]

Years ago I had the M60 monoblocks on a pair of Coincident floorstanders and it was fantastic. Only sold them because in the summer they heated my NYC apt to uncomfortable levels.   

Lol, I live in Tucson and it gets pretty hot here too. But I had a First Watt J2 class A amp that also ran hot and I survived so I don't expect the S30 will fry me out too much.  Worst case scenario is I'd use the Crown amp June-Sept... or get a swamp cooler for the listening room 😁

[sunnydaze]

Lol, I live in Tucson and it gets pretty hot here too. But I had a First Watt J2 class A amp that also ran hot and I survived so I don't expect the S30 will fry me out too much.  Worst case scenario is I'd use the Crown amp June-Sept... or get a swamp cooler for the listening room 😁

If you have a decent AC system -- especially central air -- you will be fine.  My AC was a window unit that sucked.

I live in sweltering SC now with good central AC, and use all kinds of tube amps with no issues at all.   

[abomwell]

Thanks! I was kidding of course. We couldn't survive here in AZ without central air. It makes me wonder how folks lived before AC. AC, to my mind, was one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century. Without it the population in the south would still be sparse.
 

[Daryl Zero]

Tucson used to be a grassy valley and has heated up significantly due to overgrazing and now asphalt and concrete everywhere. Of course, abomwell, you are not exactly in Tucson.

I have a two story house but use mini-splits for my upstairs and for my garage/office/mancave music room and they do a great job. I have a class A SET amp which I never feel any effect from unless I get close to it.

[abomwell]

Thanks, that's good to know. We're north of Tucson with a Tucson mailing address at 3500 feet. The temperatures are cooler than Tucson which will help a lot.

[Daryl Zero]

Waiting for a report on your Atma-Sphere S30 and the X5s.

[abomwell]

Unfortunately the Atma-Sphere S30 I received had one or more defective output tubes causing the treble to sound edgy. At my request Clayton graciously took it back and ordered a Benchmark AHB2 to replace it which should be arriving soon. Cloud sent me an update on the S30 explaining the problem. They had it repaired and he said is now sounding as smooth as butter. I've owned an AHB2 before and loved it so I'm satisfied with the switch. The Benchmark is as quiet and distortion free as any amp on the planet. Meanwhile I've been using one of my Crown XLS-1502 amps to drive my X5's which is doing a very respectable job. The X5's are over the 1000 hour mark now and sound simply beautiful!

[rich121]

Unfortunately unknown to me the Atma-Sphere S30 I received had one or more defective output tubes causing the treble sounded edgy to me. At my request Clayton graciously took it back and ordered a Benchmark AHB2 to replace it which should be arriving soon. Cloud sent me an update on the S30 explaining the problem. They had it repaired and he said is now sounding as smooth as butter. I've owned an AHB2 before and loved it so I'm satisfied with the switch. The Benchmark is as quiet and distortion free as any amp on the planet. Meanwhile I've been using one of my Crown XLS-1502 amps to drive my X5's which is doing a very respectable job. The X5's are over the 1000 hour mark now and sound simply beautiful!

Not a permanent switch I hope... the Atma-sphere S30 is one very nice piece of gear!

[abomwell]

We'll see. You need to play the ball where it lies, as they say

[Mr. Big]

This guy does video after video putting the high-end audio gear down. Says $99.00 DAC spec as good as $5,000 ones, well specs are one thing, the size of the power supplies are another. He also of the camp that expensive cables matter little and A/B we could not hear the difference, basically says we are fools. I beg to differ. I can hear one power cord change, one AC outlet change, even a wall plate change to a pure copper one. Do I feel you need to spend crazy money on overpriced jewelry for cables no, but more expensive cables power cords make an impact, PS Audio Regenorators make a positive impact one that anyone with hearing could hear? But he feeds the high-end audio is a rip-off crowd. He can come to my house and I show him and specs are not needed just your 2 ears....smile! I guess he says all our amps and preamps sound the same because they spec similar we all know that is not true right? So take his videos as a grain of sale, as for the Carver tube amp, Bob marches to his own drum, his designs are unique always. Want to balance what this guy says call Bob and get an education on his design. I know that amp does not weigh much so his transformers are different to be sure, but if they work in his design and sound good that is all that matters.

[Daryl Zero]

Mr. Big, I'm not sure what you are responding to or referencing. Your post seems a bit out of the blue in this thread.

[Mr. Big]

Mr. Big, I'm not sure what you are responding to or referencing. Your post seems a bit out of the blue in this thread.

I was responding to this guy who runs his own youtube site which was mentioned on this thread and this video was on the Carver amp. 

See: Funny... I just read that review a couple of days ago.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/carver-crimson-275-review-tube-amp.29971/

[jnschneyer]

I recently had a chance to hear a pair of fully broken-in X5s driven by the Atma-Sphere S30 and the Atma-Sphere MP3 preamp.  The sound was phenomenal, and I use that word literally, not as a general intensifier; I mean the sound was literally a phenomenon to me, something I had not experienced before.  And, as I suppose something can be phenomenally bad, let me be absolutely clear: I mean phenomenally good.  At this point, I find myself slave to all the generic and woefully inadequate metaphors typically used to describe the sonic experience: the highs were clear, extended, and detailed, yet never fatiguing; The mids were rich and sonorous without any sense of bloom or over-saturation; the bass was deep (duh) as you (or at least I) could wish, extended (I use this word with no confidence as to what it actually means in reference to sound - let's say the sound that reached me was powerful, visceral, and full of subtle harmonics), and, compared to the unbroken-in X5s I'd heard before, seamlessly integrated with the other drivers, with no sense of the mids and highs simply riding on top of the bass.  The sound was, in a word, gorgeous.  I realize that words like gorgeous, lush, rich, etc, can be and have been used pejoratively in describing tube sound.  All I'll say is, in no way did I experience the S30 or now mean any these words in the negative.  The music was gorgeous, lush, rich, deep, but also clear, detailed, revealing, and, most of all, moving.  While the soundstage was broad and distinct, with the instruments located in their proper places, the sound was not, strictly speaking, located anywhere.  It was the sonic equivalent of being in a planetarium.  If I had to use one word to describe it, and I can't believe I'm going to say this, it was atmospheric.  Finally, this wordy panegyric aside, listening one time to this combination of speakers and amp caused me to order a pair of X5s and, once I have the means, to order the S30 as well.  And, really, when it comes to praise, putting your money where your mouth is is what it's all about.