ATI Audio AT1502 Amplifiers

ATI Audio AT1502 Amplifiers 

DESCRIPTION

2 x 150wpc@8ohms, 1x450wpc@8ohms, 225/800@4ohms 42 lbs.

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 22  
[Feb 19, 2012]
SKMP123
Audio Enthusiast

Please can you help me with the user manual ATI amplifier 1502.
my email gabrielamartinez2004@hotmail.com
thank you very much samyr kaleb

por favor me pueden ayudar con el manual de usuario de ATI amplificador 1502
my email gabrielamartinez2004@hotmail.com
muchas gracias samyr kaleb

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Mar 30, 2010]
samyr perez
Audio Enthusiast

Please if somebody can help me with the manual of user of ATI 1505 thank you very much samyr. my hotmail
gabrielamartinez2004@hotmail.com
por favor si alguien me puede ayudar con el manual de usuario ATI 1502 muchas gracias samyr. mi hotmail
gabrielamartinez2004@hotmail.com

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Apr 23, 2007]
John
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

everything.

Weakness:

none I can tell, not "high end" looking I guess?

I bought this little beauty to replace a Parasound 100 WPC that simply did not have juice enough to run my EFE DIY speakers. I took the advice of Ed Frias who designed the speakers and is a big fan of ATI and bought myself a slightly used 1502. I have been around and into high end and studio audio all my life... I have never heard as much improvement from a sub 2000 component in my whole life. Wow! so much juice, way more like 200WPC... more detail than the parasound or pretty much anything in this price range, and although not "laid back" at all... its also a very non-fatigueing sound (somewhere between tube and ss). I am SO happy I got this cause it is discontinued and the other ATI's I have heard dont sound like this one. I am a very happy customer... I would recomend this amp to anyone... regardless of price range. The 1502 is really more like a 1500-2500 piece of equipment. Oh and good cables definitely help alot! cant say enough good things about the sound it makes...

Customer Service

havent neede any.

Similar Products Used:

Bryston, Parasound, nakamichi, denon, nikko, ampzilla, cary audio, mac, vintage tube stuff, & more.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Mar 30, 2005]
elrhee
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Bass power and control, especially in bridged mode. Driving my 4 ohm load with no issues.

Weakness:

I want another one so I can run both bridged.

I was using an ATI1505 for my woofer panels on my main speakers, as well as for my center channel and my surrounds. Overall, I was pleased, but I wanted to get some separate amps (ideally monoblocks) for my woofer panels. I decided to plunk down some cash for one ATI1502. I wanted to compare it bridged to on channel of the ATI1505. At first, there wasn't a whole lot of difference, but once it started to break in, the difference was very noticeable. I got a lot more bass. More bass than I had ever heard from my woofer panels. They are a 4 ohm load, and I was nervous about whether the amp would handle it. Ed Frias was a great help. He seemed confident the ATI would handle the load, and he was right. The amp does not even feel warm to the touch. I don't plan to run it on a fullrange speaker, so my comments are restricted to how it works in a bi-amp situation. For woofers, this thing is an outstanding buy.

Similar Products Used:

Audio Refinement Multi5, Harmon Kardon Citation 16, Krell KSA-50, ATI1505, Classe DR-8, Classe DR-9, Levinson ML-11

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 31, 2005]
20to20K
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Clarity, power to drive 4 ohm speakers, soundstage(compared to AVR), price, 7 year warrantee, heavy duty power cord Built like a tank Attractive (in an ugly kind of way...)

Weakness:

Ground loop hum(easily fixed) Awkward to maneuver around (heavy but shallow) Gadgety flashing green lights (what's the point?) Yes, the binding posts are a little loose for banana plugs, but my went in and stayed in so what more can I ask?

I have 4 ohm Polk LSi15's that require alot of juice to sound their best. My Denon 3805 (120x7) does a decent job of driving them, but with a 4ohm center (LSIC) and two surrounds I was concerned about overtaxing the Denon. Originally I bought a vintage Denon POA-2400 off ebay for about $375. This was my first ever purchase of a seperate. I notice an improvement in sound quality and definetely in power but it was not the overwhelming experience I've heard others claim with this amp. I just assumed it was some combination of hyperbole and hysteria. My Denon recently had to go for repairs and I got tired of waiting for it so I began shopping for another amp. To avoid getting something else unreliable I shopped for something new. Finding something new that gave me at least 200watts RMS into 4 ohms for less than $500 was not easy. I lucked out and found this ATI on sale at One Call for $399 down from $799. I read the reviews on this sight and took the plunge. After I hooked it up I instantly got the dreaded ground loop hum. Before I got too depressed I ran out to Rat Shack to get a cheater plug hoping this quick fix would solve the problem. It did! I was then ready for my listening evaluation. I came in with the preconception that because this amp was rated at 150RMS(8 Ohms) and my Denon was 200 I wouldn't be able to drive my Polks as well with them. Boy was I wrong. One of my favorite evaluation disks is Herb Alberts "Rise". It one of the first ever digital recordings...done on a 3M 32 track recorder and mastered by Bernie Grundman in '79. Both the title cut and "Rotation" offer great material for evaluating speaker performance for this type of music (jazz fusion). Rotation is great for highs, soundstage, and channel seperation. There's tons of percussion, hidden instrumention, and channel sweeping sound effects. Many of which I heard for the first time on the ATI. The clarity and detail was so sharp...it was like listening to the recording for the first time. Rise has thumping bass and lots of cool effects as well. I actually heard a triangle playing in the fadeout that had gone unnotice before. I could get the 3805 to clip during the second bass break at about -8 or so on the volume level. Not so with the ATI. No matter how much I cranked it the sound remained clear, clean, and detailed. For acoustic music I listened to cuts from Joni Mitchell's Hijera and Keith Jarretts Trio live CD "Still Live". Both excellent recordings. Dave Grusin's Mountain Dance sounds sharper than I've ever heard it. I have new found respect for my LSi 15's. If you ever audition these speakers make sure you do so with a decent power amp. An AVR will not do them justice. I noticed all these dramatic improvements straight out of the box. I do not know if the alleged "break-in" period for amps really does exist. All I know is this thing sounds great now and if it gets any better I may feel the need to send them some more money! We'll...at least a thank you note! (Now who's dishin' the hyperbole!)

Similar Products Used:

Denon POA-2400 Denon 3805, 2803 Various 2 channel receivers

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Apr 13, 2001]
Brian
Audio Enthusiast

Weakness:

Not the most pretty amp.

For the money this amp cant be beat. I have it hooked up to a pair of klipsh klf 20 speakers and the sound is really great. Sometimes a little bright but I have no complaints. Dollar for dollar this amp cant be beat.

Similar Products Used:

adcom marantz

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Jun 05, 2001]
PaulM
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Firm, amazing bass; smooth liquid midrange; extended highs

Weakness:

slightly thin on highs

Right out of the box, I did not care for the sound of the ATI-1502. I hoped that it wasn’t the illusory, ‘break-in’ period, but after several hours of playing, the amp reached a steady state and I could begin my evaluation.

Since I purchased the amp with the intention of A/Bing it with the other competitor in this price range, the Monarchy SM-70 pro, I often switched the same music back and forth on one system. I also listened to a variety of configurations of cable, source and speakers.

My observations:

Build quality of the amp is legendary. It looks as though it dropped off an alien spacecraft and served some purpose in interstellar navigation.

I thought that this amp would have the harsh sound of a transistor amp. Instead, it has an ‘in between’ sound. I would switch to the Nikko to determine what a normal transistor amp would sound and to the Berning for the tube. On some passages, it was a little brighter than the tube, owing to the extended dynamic range.

I’m not going to go into all of the adjectives that audiophiles use to describe the sound of a piece of equipment. Suffice it say that I tried many combinations of systems and the ATI 1502 was outstanding at all of them. The Monarchy, on the other hand, is very chameleon-like and has many subtle personalities.

The bass, as to be expected, is much firmer and fuller on the ATI, but the highs are a little more detailed with the Monarchy. The highs on the ATI extended to the point where I had to wash my records with a dilute Ivory soap solution to get rid of the dust ‘pops’, because they were so annoying.

The only shortcoming that I could find was that I could not reproduce the precise sound of cathedral organ music, which I’ve been able to do with the Monarchy and the Berning, but that may have more to do with the break-in period and the configuration.

The ATI was much less ‘cable sensitive’ as was previously noted.

My the preference for my home amps is now:

Monarchy SM-70 > ATI 1503 > Berning EA-2100 >> any other that I’ve owned.

All in all, this is a very remarkable piece of fine audio equipment that can be used in any system, home theater or quality stereo. I highly recommend it. This piece of equipment earns my ‘Take Pride in American Made’ award.




Equipment used:


Monarchy 33 DAC/PA
Monarchy SM-70s
Kimber TC-8 speaker cable
DH Labs Silver Sonic speaker cable
Theta Data Basic
XLO ref digital cable
Kimber Silver Streak, Kimber PBJ
Kimber KCAG
Technics 1350 TT
Shure V-15 type 4 cart
AKAI RS1000 tapedeck
Berning EA2100 in triode mode
Nikko Alpha 230
Von Schweikert VR-4s
Rogers LS3-5As

Similar Products Used:

Monarchy SM-70, Berning EA2100

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 02, 1999]
TBone
Audiophile

Strength:

Power, lack of distortion, refinement.

Weakness:

The internal modular approach of this amp compromises internal connections. I re-wired mine with Kimber cable and the results was better sound. NOT RECOMMENDED UNLESS YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOUR DOING AND THE WARRANTY IS VOID!

I compared this amp to many within it's price range (from Bryston, Nad, Parasound, Rotel etc.) and decided to purchase the ATI. All the other amps were fine, and in some terms as good or better then the ATI, but overall the ATI was best in my system. This amp sings, plays toons, translates the pace of music very well. In all I would rank it a better "rock amp" then with alternative types of music but it never fails to please on any material.

Like any good product, the ATI must fit into a balanced system. I believe it requires an extra ordinary good pre-amp and source to shine. (Classe DR6) (Modified Rega Planet) (The Source TT/Rega RB300/Benz Glider). This amp benefits from better interconnects (shielded) and power cord.

For the money the ATI is wonderfull, I rate this a 5 for value, and a 4 for performance, only because amps that do cost considerable more do indeed sound more refined. If your system is already smooth and lacks distortion at high frequencies, and your budget is tight, buy this amp and enjoy.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jun 08, 2001]
Jack
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Everything

Weakness:

Absolutley none....

I am now running two of this wonderful amps in a bi-amp configuration..Simply unbelieveable...My friend Paul, who wrote the review below, is so much better versed in the English language than I, and he also has a tremendous ear...his review says it all.

Similar Products Used:

See below

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jun 20, 2001]
PaulM
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Great detail, depth of soundstage; bass response

Weakness:

Nada de eso

Epilogue:

Recently, I reviewed the 1502s and found only one shortcoming, the inability to reproduce organ music precisely. To see if I could remedy this problem, I researched other reviews on this site to see if I could come up with some ideas about cabling.

Lo and behold, there exists a consensus among disparate reviewers that the XLO Sig and Ref, the Kimber KCAG interconnects and the Goertz speaker cables are 'hot'. Understand that these cables do not sound good when mated to Monarchy SM-70s.

I tried both the KCAG and the XLO Sigs with the ATI-1502s and found a match made in heaven. Either of these couplings is something special. The soundstage is simply awesome. The only aspect that is slightly strange is that I auditioned them with my Von Schweikert speakers, which are 'inverse microphonic' designs. The net effect is to bring the listener on stage with the musicians. Thus, when I played James Taylor, I felt that I was about two feet from him with the drums behind and to my right. The guitar was slightly too close to the mike. On the whole, it was pretty holographic... Just wish the recording were mixed a little differently... Ah, well nothing is perfect.

The cathedral organ music was perfect also.

Similar Products Used:

Monarchy SM-70s, McIntosh 752, etc

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-10 of 22  

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