How you like the Air Tight products ?

Paul said:
I'm very interested in these products below but no experience. I would appreciate any input on these gears.

Airtight ATC-2

Airtight ATM -211 monos
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My first encounter with airtight was around '90 when the first US reviews hit, samples were going around to different dealers. I tried the full-function preamp and PP el34 power amp. At the time, I recall preferring the ARC gear I owned. internally the amps are a combination of hardwiring and small PCBs. I remember thinking they were well made but the chassis, connectors and overall feel was a little chintzy, like '60s era heathkit. Airtight's claim to fame has been their xfmrs.

currently, one of my buddies drives Tannoy Churchill wide-bands with his ATM 211s and the marriage is sublime, I tried them with Harbeth HL5 and they were very good. the 211s are probably ideal with less demanding acoustic, singer/songwriter type twaddle. with HL5s playing symphonic works the dynamics in fff range were flat. by comparison a very pedestrian PP tube amp I had on hand worked better.
 
Rob I owned the SHL5 as well. Didn't you think it was causing by SHL5 ? By the review the 211 had some balls to worked on 89db speakers with no issue.

Thanks for your post and it helps :)
 
imo, the HL5 is not 89db (mfr claim is optimistic) In practice they're more like 85-86db. The port tuning on the HL5 is warmish to start with, an amp with little to no damping will not give the tightest bass when the music calls for it. that said, they rock on the Tannoys
 
puroagave said:
imo, the HL5 is not 89db (mfr claim is optimistic) In practice they're more like 85-86db. The port tuning on the HL5 is warmish to start with, an amp with little to no damping will not give the tightest bass when the music calls for it. that said, they rock on the Tannoys
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Sorry I should more clear about my comment. I meant the 89db Khama speakers the reviewer was using. Anyway I agree with you on your post about the SHL5:)
 
All Air Tight electronics are designed without printed circuit boards and are hand wired point to point. I think the combination of a simple and pure signal path (no PCBs), excellent incorporation of tubes, and incredible hand wound transformers are what make my ears like Air Tight. Also the design takes into account removal of any interferences (copper plated chassis and bottom plate, vibration control, etc).
 
Nascimento-Brasil said:
Taking the dust off the topic!I am thinking of buying a pair of Airtght ATM 211, someone has heard this model at home, can you give an opinion?
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Welcome,

What speakers are you using with them? I owned a pair and used them with Focal #2 and Tannoy GRF90 with great results. Air Tight has a very clean detailed yet sweet sound. The only limiter if you like that SET sound is wattage.
 
I have a pair of Tannoy Westminster Royal, currently playing for two Mcintosh MC 275.Good to know that with Tannoy, you liked it!I'm sorry, my English is very limited!
 
I owned the Air tight ATM-2 as well. Honestly I preferred the KT88 based amp with my Tannoy's . With my Uno XD's prefer the 211's.
 
A friend has Tannoy Westminster with Ongaku English, the sound is wonderful, I have read that Airtight, for a fraction of the value, delivers 80%, if this is so, this is good for me!
 
Maybe I should not comment. Maybe I got a bad piece, but it was a used unit from an authorized dealer. I had a preamp, AC3 with the Alps. It was ok. My First Sound creamed it when they were head to head in my living room. The First Sound was much more clear with deeper and more powerful bass. First Sound just stood out all around for somewhat the same price. I actually got the best performance by running the Airtight with the volume wide open and had a passive attenuator either before or after it running the volume. That surprised me but it was a lot better. As far as the preamp, it was hard to find good tubes for it 12ax7 if I remember. Went through a few different ones with Brent Jesse. I hear they eat power tubes. At least a very knowledgeable person in the know said the ATM-2 is run hard and eats power tubes. He told me to get the Altecs I have. I could not be more happy. Well, sometimes I dream of a SS amp. Not sure why.

I heard the monoblocks at a store last summer. The store had issues with the room. They did little for the Wilson Sasha. The Audio Research I heard pushing the Sasha were wonderful. Also a better room. Under the right circumstances maybe the Air Tight sing but not for me so far. I could have got a lemon, hence the return and once again, the room I heard the Monos in was pretty compromised. The VAC I had at my house and heard in stores were always more solid a performer. Voiced somewhat similar IMO.
 
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