Trends TA-10.1 Amps at LSAF [message #4226] |
Sun, 22 April 2007 10:16 |
FredT
Messages: 704 Registered: May 2009
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Illuminati (1st Degree) |
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The Trends TA-10.1 class T amp was the winner of the integrated amp class in the Stereomojo "Great Digital Amp Shootout 2007". http://www.stereomojo.com/SHOOTOUT2007INTEGRATEDS.htmBrad Baker will be using a Trends TA-10.1 Class T amp in his Hawthorne Audio Silver Iris open baffle speaker room, and I'll have one in the AudioRoundTable Group Build room. Mike Wyatt of AudioMagus, US distributor for Trends products, is also sending me a fully modded Michael Mardis Signature Edition of the amp to exhibit. So anybody who has read all the recent internet hype about this little amp, and is curious about its sound, will be able to hear it at the Lone Star Audio Fest in its stock and fully modded forms. Just two more reasons to be there.
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Re: Trends TA-10.1 Amps at LSAF [message #4240 is a reply to message #4230] |
Mon, 23 April 2007 14:44 |
FredT
Messages: 704 Registered: May 2009
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Illuminati (1st Degree) |
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It is all it's cracked up to be within the limitations described by the Stereomojo publisher. Accurate tonality, convincing soundstage, good space between the instruments, etc. It's easy to listen to and a great sounding amp as long as it's played within its power limitations, but if you don't have very high efficiency speakers it won't have the dymamic range we all expect from a high end system. It will play about as loud as an eight watt 300B SET amp, and its distortion pattern is similar - it doesn't suddenly clip like most solid state amps, but it does begin to sound congested when you push it too hard. And it has no remote, one set of inputs, speaker terminals so close together that banana plugs are almost a requirement, and it's so light that heavy speaker cables will cause the front end to rise. Definitely not the amp audiosnobs will be buying to impress their audiosnob friends.
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Re: Trends TA-10.1 Amps at LSAF [message #4257 is a reply to message #4256] |
Mon, 30 April 2007 04:43 |
SteveBrown
Messages: 330 Registered: May 2009
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Grand Master |
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I agree that it has a lot going for it and it's a great amp. In my system I'm comparing it to a number of SE tube designs and in that league, I'm preferring the tube stuff. The current champ is a 45 parafeed amp that uses nickle in the output transformers and a number of other fun tricks, like direct coupling between stages. FWIW, not only do I have the Trends, but I recently bought a Charlize amp and I have a "Gain Clone" amp. I'd like to do a shoot out at some point and compare them all. I've not heard the Charlize yet, but of the other two, the Trends easily tops the Gain Clone.
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