For many years I have been aware of the OTL (Output-TransformerLess) vacuum tube amplifiers designed by of Ralph Karsten of Atmasphere, a small St. Paul, Minnesota company. Ralph's contributions to discussions here at ASR under the handle "atmasphere" have been intelligent, courteous and enlightening. (And no, I do not own an Atmasphere amplifier, nor have I ever owned one.)
So, this afternoon, I decided to take a look at the current offerings of Atmasphere, and was greeted at the website by an absolutely superb video showing an M60 Atmasphere amplifier being manufactured. This excellent time-lapse video was posted in 2014, and I am surprised that I had not stumbled across it sooner. Many of you know that I like art, and that I enjoy and appreciate good design and craftsmanship when it is displayed in the design of audio components. This video shows the results of an incredible level of skill and training that is required to do a meticulously laid out wiring scheme. Wiring like this is the antithesis of the "rat's nest" of point-to-point wiring found in many vacuum tube products and components. The hands doing that detailed and excellent wiring appear to be those of a woman, whom I assume is one of Ralph's employees - but who trained her?
Independent of his design skills and philosophy, Ralph's attention to details that are hidden inside the chassis of an amplifier tells me that he cares about all aspects of his products.
Can any of you link to other small and boutique audio companies that pay such attention to all details - from mechanical assembly to the audio performance of their products - in the same manner?
So, this afternoon, I decided to take a look at the current offerings of Atmasphere, and was greeted at the website by an absolutely superb video showing an M60 Atmasphere amplifier being manufactured. This excellent time-lapse video was posted in 2014, and I am surprised that I had not stumbled across it sooner. Many of you know that I like art, and that I enjoy and appreciate good design and craftsmanship when it is displayed in the design of audio components. This video shows the results of an incredible level of skill and training that is required to do a meticulously laid out wiring scheme. Wiring like this is the antithesis of the "rat's nest" of point-to-point wiring found in many vacuum tube products and components. The hands doing that detailed and excellent wiring appear to be those of a woman, whom I assume is one of Ralph's employees - but who trained her?
Independent of his design skills and philosophy, Ralph's attention to details that are hidden inside the chassis of an amplifier tells me that he cares about all aspects of his products.
Can any of you link to other small and boutique audio companies that pay such attention to all details - from mechanical assembly to the audio performance of their products - in the same manner?
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