Multitest integrated amplifiers – 2500 Euro – Which is the best (for you)?

Atoll IN300

Atoll has always appealed to us. Geoffrey in particular has a soft spot for this French brand. And we understand that very well. Atoll has established its own place in the market with amplifiers that have their own sound and signature. And focus on calmness, control and flow. And that is also reflected in the notes of the three gentlemen.

Martijn reports, “Clean sound. Bass a little less controlled and detached ‘hum’ from the rest. More detail in the voice though (more detail in midrange). Effects in imaging are less prominent. Voice comes up in the first part (which should be).” But there is also a little more unrest in the low end, according to Martijn. Bass is more prominent which makes the balance a little different.

Yung is not a fan of this Frenchman. But Geoffrey does feel the click:“punch, drive, start stop, balance nice, lots of balls, lots of detail, texture is nicely full and round, nothing disturbs, voices a bit more to the back, good timing though, quiet.”

Well… This becomes a case of “what does the audience think then? Well: the audience reaction is the same as with the Advance. There are some proponents and opponents we notice. And so the team is also somewhat divided. But we all agree that vocals and the ‘glow’ are nice.

Measurements Atoll IN300

Atoll tackles everything differently than the first two. The French opt for little feeback which allows more harmonics in the spectrum. This can be seen in the noise floor which shows more spikes – harmonics – than in the Advance and Arcam. That is a design choice. That distortion in the first watt is higher than in the Advance and Arcam, which may have been audible. So is the channel separation.

However, the response up to 5 watts is completely straight, indicating that there is quite a bit of reserve. Power supply noise is on the high side when compared to the other candidates. Although -55dBm is still low at 0.4mV.

Specifications Atoll IN300