Some things just take a little while don't they?
Having got off to a good start in 2020 the Atlantic power amp has spent most of 2021 nestled in its flight case.
It is now back in the system and sounding better than ever, hence this update.
Just to recap: the Tron Atlantic 300B SET amp first joined the Tannoy Ardens in June 2020 with very good results indeed. It was paired with a Townshend Allegri+ Preamplifier and Metrum Onyx DAC.
There were two areas that fell just slightly short:
In presentation terms I felt the system just lacked a little bit of attack, of bite.
In mechanical terms the more obvious issue was the degree of mechanical buzz from the mains transformer. No hum at all through the speakers but the sound coming from the amp itself meant finding a place for it a bit further away from the seating position than I originally had it was necessary. These things can be rather site specific but having talked it through with
@G T Audio he endeavored to come up with a fix.
In October 2020 an Aqua La Voce DAC arrived ( thank you
@RogerJW ) and that certainly added a bit more vigor when it replaced the Metrum.
Also around this time GT thought a fix for the transformer was available but it meant getting the amp back to him. This ran into the combination of lockdowns, not wanting to trust the amp to a courier, and living close enough to Tron HQ that it can be personally delivered but not so close as to be straightforward.
And then just at the turn of 2021, one of the original pair of Electro Harmonix 300Bs failed. I use this system for fairly long hours so although it had only been 6 months the valves had done about 1000 hours. Not great, but not too bad I guess.
As the amp was due to go back anyway, we decided to leave it till Graham could check it over before replacing the valves, and that is when it got packed away.
That left an amp shaped gap on the shelf which was soon filled with a pair of Tron Convergence 50 watt mono amplifiers and Seven pre from another system. I hadn't previously had the opportunity to try either with the Ardens, but it was a match that I ended up really liking.
Meanwhile, the Atlantic did eventually get back to GT and the transformer fix was implemented. That still left a new pair of 300Bs to source. After deliberation, inquiries and general looking about, Emission Labs were the chosen candidate, another item which added to the list of things that just took a bit longer than hoped for.
And so it was, just over a week ago now, I met Graham just outside Bristol to collect the Atlantic. And how we get to the set-up today.
Compared to when first delivered, the Atlantic has a revised mains transformer installation, a new pair of EML 300Bs and a replacement pair of capacitors. In front of it there is the Tron Seven line stage and Aqua DAC. So in fairness it is only the Tannoy Ardens that have stayed put. Or mostly, they have moved to cross over in front of the listening position, then behind, then in front and now back to being aimed just behind my head. I do in general, prefer this slightly more diffuse presentation, particularly as I'm not always sat in the same place.
And yes, sounding better than ever. The transformer is now completely silent. There is no mechanical noise from the unit or electrical noise from the speakers, excellent result on both counts. The valves have about 30 hours on them from my listening and a similar amount from Graham's testing and setup process (setting the filament voltage just so). They still seem to be changing gradually, having started out with an almost crystalline clarity to the top end they have now started to fill out into a broader, more balanced sound.
