Atoll MS120 streamer
Somewhat bizarrely, it was in an Austrian high street dealer, while sheltering from a torrential downpour, that I heard the Atoll MS120 streamer. It was clear that the unit has great qualities and, having enjoyed the brand’s integrated streaming amps, I wanted to try this mini version in my own system.
French craftmanship
Atoll is one of those hi-fi brands that deserves a higher profile; it produces a range of high-quality electronics that are all designed and manufactured in France. I am pleased to say that awareness of their excellence, in the UK at least, is growing. The company was founded in 1997 by Stephane and Emmanuel Dubreuil at Brécey, in Normandy. A year later and products began to hit the high street while 2001 saw the company needing to move to larger premises. Being the only French brand to have Dolby and DTS licences at the time, it’s little wonder that Atoll produced home-theatre products with a three-year research programme culminating in 2004 with its first multi-channel system.
Extending their headquarters in 2016 to meet rising demand, Atoll has managed to keep both R&D and manufacturing in house. Alongside full-width high-end separates there is a range of compact units, including the MS120 Streamer, in a line-up of 41 products. Mini and midi-sized systems were once very popular and many brands produced them as an adjunct to the wider variants which were always thought of by comparison as ‘proper hi-fi’. But there’s often no need for a bigger box.
Design
Although termed a streamer, as similar units often are for simplicity of marketing, I feel the name is something of a disservice. The MS120 is so much more. Add it to a pair of powered or active loudspeakers and you have a complete system. Alternatively, use the preamp outputs with a power amplifier or monoblocs as I ended up doing to great effect.
Centred around a Burr-Brown PCM1796 DAC, the MS120 can be driven from the supplied remote, front panel buttons or, the sensible preference, the new Atoll Signature app, now in mk II form and much improved. If only all apps could be this easy to use, so intuitive and clear to understand; sadly, it is this aspect that often lets otherwise great products down.
Connected to either wi-fi or ethernet, the streamer section of the MS120 can read all audio files (PCM up to 24bits/192kHz & DSD 64/128) on a network and is both DLNA and UPnP compatible. The track name is displayed along with album cover and any tags present. A ‘gapless’ system allows for uninterrupted playback of consecutive audio tracks, while playlists can easily be assembled.
Streaming service access is wide ranging, offering the likes of Qobuz, Tidal, Deezer, as well as direct access to Spotify and Tidal Connect. Apple Airplay is due to be added shortly I’m told because, although Atoll acknowledge quality issues, they have provided Bluetooth connectivity on the MS120 so why not Airplay 2?
Something of special delight for me was the availability of internet radio via Airable. Over 100,000 stations across the globe are accessible and both the app and front panel screen very clearly display the station name, programme title, track playing and the bitrate/resolution being received. The use of the favourites menu makes this aspect a snip to master. Being Atoll, great care has been taken with the audio stages such that we have symmetrical output stages with no feedback and discrete components operating in A class. The volume control is analogue, capacitors high-quality MKP Link type and the transformers specially wound for audio use.
The MS120 front panel is dominated by a clear, easy-to-read and very informative five-inch TFT display (800×480) plus a 3.5mm headphone output although Atoll’s mini-series offers a dedicated headphone amplifier unit. Input and output provision allows for maximum compatibility and features two analogue, a pair of digital coaxial plus another of optical Toslink, both being good for up to PCM to 24-bit/192kHz. There is a preamp out plus both optical and coax digital outputs offered. We have USB-A inputs plus a 12V trigger connector to link to other components. Finish options are matt black or silver.
Set up
Because my Hegel H190 was already connected to a pair of Monitor Audio’s new Studio 89 loudspeakers I connected the optical and coaxial outputs of the Atoll unit to use a power amplifier stage that I knew well.
Whereas sometimes a coax connection is able to carry a wider bandwidth here both digital connections are to the same standard although I convinced myself that the coax output provided a slightly more open and transparent sound but that wasn’t always an advantage, notably with some older black-and-white films and dramas. It’s really horses for courses and a personal preference. All we are missing is an HDMI input which would, for my use, have been an added bonus.
Quite apart from the sound quality, which leaves nothing to complain about, the sheer ease of use via the MS120’s app was a joy. I spent several hours browsing internet radio stations that I knew along with many that I hadn’t come across before, as well as finding a raft of interesting podcasts from the simply enormous online library. Using Qobuz was a dream.
The front panel display can be dimmed or extinguished and I tried, albeit briefly, the headphone output to drive some HEDDphone Twos to discover that the quality was far from shabby. Before the listening panel arrived, I reverted to a more usual arrangement by which the MS120 fed monoblocs, in this case Trigon Dwarf IIs, were connected to my trusty Atalante 3 monitors from Revival Audio.
Sound quality
A panel member suggested we begin with some early sixties’ jazz courtesy of Dinah Washington and September in the Rain, which was very apt as we were in the last throws of that month. Not usually listening to much jazz, this track is somewhat different and I enjoyed the vocals and rich instrumentation. This is early stereo but a fine recording. We were presented with big Christmassy strings and corny major chord progression across a wide and detailed soundstage which had superb imaging. Just as the engagement wanes, the dry vocal delivery steps in to reignite the tune and add immense soul which was conveyed so well from the MS120. The midrange was sublime and in perfect harmony with the bass and treble. The venue’s atmosphere was conveyed vividly and with realism to draw the listener in.
I chose O Magum Mysterium, a chant from Christmas matins, and the King’s College, Cambridge recording under the maestro and much-missed Stephen Cleobury. From the first few notes I was transported to the East Anglian chapel and the hairs on the back of my neck began to tingle. We had enormous listener engagement as the music’s simplicity and directness is both endearing and alluring in equal measure. The waves of soft polyphony caress the listener with warmth. All the piece’s poignancy was there; we had emotion without melodrama and the entire system was literally ‘on song’ without the MS120 putting a foot wrong in any respect.
London-based David Gray’s Babylon was a panel selection, an artist who was big in 2001 when his White Ladders album appeared. It’s timeless pop that remains credible and showed the system’s timing ability as the panel responded to the energising beat. The single is shorter than the album track and delivered a powerful blast of energy which led us to wind-up the volume to neighbour disturbing levels. The system responded without difficulty and we wallowed in the hallucinating intro melody. We were treated to some delightfully powerful, yet well-controlled bass along the way. The panel departed but I left the Atoll MS120 in my system as a new daily reference. It’s just such a joy to use at every level.
Conclusion
I looked up the price of the streamer the Editor praised highly and then lent me some months ago, and was staggered to find that it costs more than the MS120. In the Atoll we have a product handmade in France that’s so easy to operate thanks to the user-friendly app and/or supplied remote control. It’s really a no-brainer which to opt for.
When Atoll sent me the cost of their little MS120 I assumed it was an ex-VAT trade cost. But, no – it was the retail price including the chunk going to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Therefore, something of an audiophile bargain, the Atoll mini streamer will do different things for different users. If you have active/powered loudspeakers, the MS120 will create a complete system. If you need to add streaming capability to an existing system, I can think of nothing better at the price than this Atoll MS120 as the digital source.