The very best audiophile gear is, like most of today's luxury products, substantially sized, glamorous, and breathtakingly expensive. Lucky me, I live with steady parade of the stuff, but maybe I need a breather, just as some restaurant critics enjoy the pleasures afforded by a simple meal prepared with just a few well-chosen ingredients. Enter Atoll Electronique. It is French, reasonably priced, and has definite audiophile street cred, so Atoll might be just the "palate cleanser" I am looking for. Calls are made, and Atoll's importer obligingly sends three of the brand's top-of-the-range designs: the CD200 CD player, the PR300 stereo preamplifier, and the AM200 stereo power amplifier.

 

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The CD200 is simple, but sweet, with just a stereo analog audio output and a coaxial digital audio output on the back. (Click image to enlarge)

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Atoll was founded in 1997 by two brothers, Stéphane and Emmanuel Dubreuil, with the goal of making affordable high-end electronics. The best way to keep the lid on prices is to move production offshore; the brothers not only bucked the trend and based the company in Normandy, but also sourced most of the parts they do not manufacture in-house from French suppliers. The one cost-cutting concession is that all Atoll components—CD players, tuners, amplifiers, etc—use the same basic chassis, which measures a compact 3.75 inches high, 17.5 inches wide, and 12 inches deep. So all three of Atoll's stereo preamplifiers, ranging in price from $1,000 to $2,000, look alike, but the higher-priced models' internal designs are more sophisticated. The good stuff is on the inside.

 

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Atoll's gear—CD player, preamp, radio tuner—can all be controlled from a single remote. Since this review appeared in print, Atoll has replaced the rather 1980s-looking remote our reviewer got with this more modern unit. (Click image to enlarge)

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Rather than settle for off-the-shelf electronics or rely on inexpensive chipsets, Atoll crafts its unique audio circuits from individual resistors, capacitors, and transistors. All of the parts are hand-inserted into circuit boards, which are then hand-soldered and individually tested. Daily production is small enough that Stéphane still has time to listen to every Atoll before it leaves his factory. That's commitment.

The almost spartan presentation and simple ergonomics of the Atoll CD player, stereo preamplifier, and power amplifier make the owner's manuals practically unnecessary—there is nothing about the designs that requires explanation. Atoll components are as close to plug-and-play as high-end audio ever gets. The review samples' faceplates are beautifully finished natural aluminum, and black is also available.

The PR300 stereo preamplifier is the control center for the system. It has volume up/down buttons as well as left/right balance controls, and source buttons for each source, CD, tuner, etc. A cat's eye-shaped display offers visual conformation of the unit's status. The remote not only operates all of the preamplifier's controls, it doubles as a remote for Atoll's CD players and FM tuner.

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The AM200 amplifier puts out 120 watts per channel in stereo mode, 240 watts per channel in bridged mono mode. (Click image to enlarge)

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Connectivity is adequate for modest stereo systems. The PR300 accepts four inputs, including an optional phono input for use with turntables, plus provisions for a CD or tape recorder. Kudos go out to Atoll for including something rarely included on high-end stereo preamplifiers: a headphone jack. The CD200 CD player's back panel has just a set of stereo outputs and a coaxial digital output. The AM200 stereo power amplifier is similarly utilitarian, with two sets of stereo inputs and nicely finished gold-plated speaker wire connectors.

The 120-watt-per-channel AM200 stereo amplifier is the most powerful single-chassis Atoll amp, but it never gets much warmer than room temperature, even after many hours of use. The amplifier can be bridged to double its output to 240 watts (in which case a second AM200 would be required for stereo operation). My three-piece review system retails for a modest-by-high-end-standards price of just $6,000, but you can assemble a complete Atoll system with the CD50 CD player and IN50 integrated stereo amplifier for just $2,000. In addition to Atoll's extensive stereo component line, a surround processor, the $2,500 PR5.1, and a five-channel amplifier, the $1,500 AV100 are offered for audiophile-oriented home theater fans.

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The PR300 is more modern in design than many high-end preamps, with fully electronic controls instead of the volume potentiometer and source selector found on many competing products. (Click image to enlarge)

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Since Atoll is not interested in chasing the latest design fads or competing with features-oriented marketing campaigns, it does not need to revamp the line every year. It is worth noting that all of Atoll's original models are still in production and enjoy healthy sales year after year. Rest assured, the Atoll you buy this year will not be "obsolete" next year.

The Atolls' sound is so relaxing I listen for hours on end without noticing the passage of time. That said, I don't want to give the impression the sound is in any way lacking in the clarity or detail that makes high-end audio so compelling. In fact, the Atolls instantly reveal my poorly mastered Jefferson Airplane CDs from the mid-1980s to be the murky-sounding atrocities they are. Ah, but spin a gorgeous-sounding CD like Lyle Lovett's Joshua Judges Ruth, and the Atolls' contributions seem to melt away, so I can focus on the music. It is just that the Atoll components reveal the good, bad, and ugly about the sound embedded in the discs' zeros and ones. Acoustic guitars sound, well, beguilingly acoustic; voices seem more naturally human, and all of the recordings' sounds are in balance. Lovett's gospel-infused tune "Church" is rousing enough to make an Atoll believer out of me. Electric guitars sound fat, with rich harmonics I find irresistible. Treble details like the shimmer of a cymbal or the "air" surrounding the highest notes of Jon Faddis' trumpet sound exquisitely delicate, blessedly free of even a hint of harshness. That is a big part of the Atolls' innate musicality.

The Atolls will seduce sophisticated music lovers, folks who yearn for a sound beyond what they are experiencing over their cell phones and iPods. Methinks the adorable French components are the perfect antidote to the plummeting audio standards of today's short attention span market. Atoll's raison d'�tre is disarmingly direct: Simply render the unadulterated sound of music. When you hear it, you might even put down that book you are reading and savor the sound.

PRICE: AM200 amplifier $2,000, PR300 preamplifier $2,000, CD200 CD player $2,000
CONTACT: 203.877.7776, www.musicalsounds.us