Previewed at High End 2022 in Munich, the brand’s all-in-one Atoll SDA300 Signature simply combines in a single device an integrated amplifier similar to the IN300 and a network player-converter based on the ST200 & ST300 Signature. Identical to the SDA200 Signature in terms of the front panel and rear panel connections, the newcomer really evolves on the inside, mainly in the amplifier section, with the aim of rediscovering the sound characteristics and vigour of the 300 series!
Buoyed by the success of its SDA200 Signature all-in-one and the appetite of audiophiles to downsize their audio boxes, Atoll Electronique is extending its range to include the SDA300 Signature, ideal like the first to save both space and budget. For example, an IN200 integrated amplifier costs €1,750 and an ST200 Signature network player/converter €2,100, while combining the two brings the SDA200 Signature down to €3,100, for a gross saving of €650, to which must be added the saving on a pair of modulation cables and a mains cable, both of which should cost at least €300 to supply serious equipment in this range, for a final net saving of over €1,200.
The calculation is the same for the SDA300 Signature, with a catalogue price of €4,000, while the separate components cost €2,100 (ST200 Signature) or €2,900 (ST300 Signature) and €2,650 (IN300, priced at €3,000 with DAC, but available without for €350 less at the request of Guillaume from CTA), i.e. a gross saving of €750 to €1,550. In exchange, you’ll just have to do without a few analogue inputs, particularly the balanced XLR one, to make everything else more user-friendly, even the preamplifier, which is easier to manage with a front-panel screen.
Once this financial overview has been swept under the carpet, the new device demonstrates all the know-how of a very dynamic French brand, always attentive to the needs of users, as well as the best technologies to develop the most beautiful musicality there is, while preserving price levels that are still reasonable despite the current price rises due to raw material inflation.
In the amplifier section, we find the double mono stages with two 440 VA toroidal transformers already familiar from the 300 range, for a total power supply announced at 892.2 VA, with not 12 ESR capacitors of 6,800uF as on the AM300 and IN300, but only eight, still made to Atoll’s specifications, and already quite sufficient to boost the unit, with a total capacitive rating of 65,800uF once the other capacitors dedicated to this section are added. Mosfet transistors on each channel combine with discrete component stages biased in pure class A, with the engineers’ work on the AM300 Signature power amplifier giving the SDA300 Signature 20W per channel at 4 ohms more than the IN300. At 2 x 280 W into 4 ohms, the amplification remains at a comfortable 150 W per channel into 8 ohms, while the output stages benefit from a remarkable treatment of feedback effects, going as far as very flattering custom-made terminal blocks, sufficient in themselves to demonstrate the quality of finish now achieved by the brand.
The preamplifier section of the Atoll SDA300 Signature is more limited than that of the IN300 Signature, but also less useful since its main use is obviously the playback of digital audio files. It still offers two analogue RCA inputs and a Pre-out output, while the digital inputs are positioned slightly higher than on the rear panel of the SDA200 Signature, due to the fact that the internal card takes up more space. There are two outputs – one optical and the other coaxial – if you wish to deploy the network part alone to another system, as well as two optical and two coaxial inputs for direct integration of the DAC, still subject as on the ST200 Signature to a Burr-Brown PCM1792 conversion chip, capable of handling formats up to 192 kHz/24-bit on the as yet unmentioned USB-A, RJ45 and Wi-Fi inputs, as well as DSD64 and DSD128. Once again, the engineers were able to take advantage of recent developments, this time on the ST300, to adopt the ClarityCap ESA47uH250Vdc link capacitors, which are superior to those used on the ST200, for the benefit of the sound.
A second USB-A input is located on the front panel, making it easier to integrate without having to go back to the back of the device, for example if you are temporarily integrating a USB key or hard drive. For the rest, the presentation remains strictly identical to that of the SDA200 Signature, apart from the height and the name of the device, which is discreetly engraved in the anodised aluminium in the bottom right-hand corner. In the centre is a handsome 5’ (8 x 4.8 cm) TFT LED colour screen, which is non-touchable by choice of the designers, who prefer, for reasons of cleanliness and interference from magnetic fields, to continue to leave its management to two imposing, easy-to-use thumbwheels, combined with a handy little back button, in addition to having further improved the interface of the Atoll Signature application available on iOS and Android, with recent major additions concerning web radios. A 6.5 mm headphone jack and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth antennae complete the picture of a true Swiss Army knife of French high-fidelity.
The set up
While the SDA200 Signature weighs just 12 kg, the SDA300 Signature is already showing its superiority through its mass, which is substantial at 18.9 kg, and impressive in a steel case with a conventional format of 440 x 320 x 96 mm (10.4 mm with rubber feet), 6 mm higher than its smaller brother. Used with its own network-player section as the main source, the SDA300 Signature was integrated into our two Solidsteel and Norstone hi-fi cabinets and connected to the mains, the Internet and the speakers, before being re-tested on its network, DAC and amplifier sections independently.
In possession of an ST300 Signature, we were able to make a detailed comparison of this source part, bearing in mind that the latter has the advantage of a completely dual-mono structure with one conversion chip per channel, whereas the SDA300, like the ST200 Signature, inherits a single chip.
To develop the tests of its amplifier part, we associated it with the compact Fyne Audio F500SP, Atohm GT1 and Jern 15H, while we then redeveloped the listening in our other studio, on Centaure furniture, then connected to the largest T&T Nel Extrême columns.
Once plugged in and switched on using the 0-1 switch on the back – it’s then possible to switch the unit off using a long press on the right-hand knob, with the advantage of leaving some circuits warming up – we used the Atoll application to find music from our library as well as numerous streaming platforms, bearing in mind that the SDA300 Signature is also Roon compatible. In the end, our use of a number of playback programs once again led us to choose Audirvana Studio, which is definitely superior for providing the greatest purity, and therefore musicality, of audio files transferred to the new Atoll.
The sound of the ATOLL SDA300 Signature
Like all current Atoll products, the SDA300 Signature maintains the brand’s sound identity, particularly musical on the 300 range, whose conversion chips are all different between the IN300’s internal DAC (Asahi Kasaï AK4490),
the DAC300 (Sabre ESS9038 Pro) and the ST200/300 (TI Burr-Brown 1792), the latter found on the top-of-the-range all-in-one, powered by powerful amplification derived from the IN300.
Never in difficulty, the SDA300 Signature is particularly well matched to flexible loudspeakers such as Fyne Audio and Atohm, resulting in splendid balance and delicate respect for timbre across the entire spectrum. Slightly less ductile and dynamic than when connected to the ST300 Signature network player via one of its RCA inputs, the SDA300 Signature nonetheless offers a source that is already very realistic in terms of image and colours, resulting in warm instruments and vocals with a beautiful presence, whose immediately recognisable grain displays that softness particular to Burr-Brown chips, which are far from being as obsolete as some would like to believe.
In terms of definition and detail, the SDA300 Signature surpasses many of its rivals in its range, and takes a particular advantage over them as soon as we come back to its amplification, with results that are still surprising on the already energy-hungry Jern 15H, and especially when faced with larger floorstanding speakers such as the T&T Nel Extrême.
The ergonomic interface includes a plethora of Internet radio and streaming services, including Tidal, Deezer and Spotify, and also controls UPnP playback from other software, including Audirvana. Certain music parameters can also be modified if required, although we know that for the average person (including listeners), the interface and ease of use remain the priorities, which is why the Atoll application is one of the easiest to manage at the moment. Navigating through the tracks becomes child’s play, with the pleasure of moving seamlessly from a Beethoven symphony to Eve’s danceable R&B or Dr Dre’s edgy R&B, drifting into Manu Chao’s ‘Je ne t’aime plus’, and then reassuring yourself with ‘Plus Fort que nous’ under Melody Gardot’s marvellous delicacy. Delivered over a wide frequency range, all these styles will quickly add their share of detail and roundness to an endlessly musical listening experience.
Our conclusion
By combining an IN300 and an ST200 Signature, both of which have been improved, the new Atoll SDA300 Signature once again has all the qualities and sound characteristics that Atoll is renowned for, while setting itself apart from certain competitors who simply add a DAC and network card to their amplifier, without being able to achieve the same source quality or offer the same ease of use as with a colour screen on the front panel. Having already awarded an Essentiel VUmètre to the IN300, ST300 Signature and AM300 Signature, we wondered whether it might be redundant to award this prize again to this new high-fidelity all-in-one. But not for long! Since it’s a combination of the aforementioned elements, with the advantage of requiring less space and a smaller budget, it would make no sense not to judge this product as essential once again. Duly noted.
Author: Vincent Guillemin
Technical sheet: ATOLL SDA300 Signature
- Origin: France
- Price : €4,000
- Dimensions : 440 x 96 x 320 mm
- Weight : 18.9 kg
- Power rating:
- 2 x 150 W at 8 ohms
- 2 x 280 W at 4 ohms
- Harmonic distortion (THD+N) : 0.05%; 1 kHz
- Frequency response: 5 Hz to 150 kHz
- Signal-to-noise ratio (S/N ): 112 dB
- Input impedance : 220 kilo-ohms
- Digital inputs : Ethernet (RJ45); 2 x Toslink; 2 x coax SPDIF; 2 x RCA; 2 x USB type A; Wi-Fi antenna; Bluetooth antenna
- Digital & analogue outputs : RCA pre-out; Toslink; Coax SPDIF; 6.5 mm jack
- Audio formats : AAC (24-96 kHz 16 bits); FLAC (44.1-96 kHz/16-24 bits; 192 kHz/1-24 bits); MP3 (8-48 kHz A6bits); WAV (22-96 kHz/1-24 bits); AIFF & ALAC; DSD 64 & 128; MQA
