Anyone using the Transistor Research LabsM 225's

It's true, and I'm the supreme amp skeptic. I have about 50 hours on mine and it is simply unbelievable.

Corrections. The M225 and Samson are not identical, the latter using a new power supply.

If these are Class D amps they eclipse every D amp I've heard. I'm intimately familiar with the Class D fingerprint and this isn't it, tempting to say by far. Paul told me the first ~10 watts are class A. This is consistent with very low level performance. Milliwatts sound identical to power levels at much greater SPLs. No contraction of soundstage depth or width, etc.

Maybe it leaps over to Class D at > 10 watts??

Bass control, weight .... everything bass is stunning.

I will submit a review after 500 hours, but I could go on and on. I've yet to find a flaw. They are highly SC sensitive.

Try Ken Bonfield's American Baroque: Steel String Surprise through these devices. My most intense musical experience to date.

Rough Samsons notes, completely unedited, typo filled......


Looking, searching for flaws.
amp notes
12/16 tues
Bax amp delivers supremely well packed in a solid wood cubical crate.
45 minutes to extraction. Get a Phillips bit for your drill.

Stone cold -- I mean cold -- and with no break-in I like the sound produced by these large, flatish stainless steel devices immediately. They look like gear pulled from a navy ship, built for combat duty. The Samson fascia dispells that notion and accents a very attractive utilitairian appearance.

thur 12/18
A tangible tactility, like the bite one gets from steak with perfect texture. Yes -- I feel compelled to chew on something wonderful while listening to Ann Calloway, Even more so with Rebecca Kilmore. A certain angle of attack on Acoustic steel strings elicits this response. Where's the fondue?
The leading edge of marc antoines guitarmakes s me look up and ponder. A first.

Kenny G's ubuiqity and ubctuousness induced rep is ufair. Maybe it is fair but Ritmo y Romance sounds wonderfu. Rare is the sax I can tolerate. ... Stan Getz. these Amps render usually what is tortuous SAX nasality has me seeking sax music. Impossible.

Mkaes things sound happy, Frank S, who I loathe.

no image wander, focused, layered.

no fatigue, long sessions.

Sounds like a different amp on evert song. Disappears yet grips.

"I've never heard anything like it.

HIGHLY TEXTURED, MORE COMPLETE rendering of harmonic content.

Sometimes it sounds so good it's hard to believe (< 30 HOURS)

Bass plumbs deep, midbass finesse Larry Carlton "slightly dirty bass"

Beyond lateral boundaries

had to get up and walk aroundfocus, layering, ...phile stuff secondarily considered. Just there, not wanting for more in the face of extreme listenabilty and conveyance of musical pleasure.

Looking, searching for flaws.

tonal contrast between Ann's voice and muted trumpet makes me look up.

textuing, tonality, vibration of piano stromg fully revealed, as though under a sonic electron micorscope.

Joe Pass. Rawness of sound, as though possible to parse rawness sources. Early SS consoles? Guitarets seek a certain sound and what is captured here sounds like a Pass sounnd Marred by poor ss, engineering.

Samson removes the perpetual amplification from the system equation.

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The Clarinets sound is unmistable, mellow, round, unique -- on a good system easily distinguished from Soprano Sax.

I played years ago, . There is a particular way the reed feels against the lip, the aural perspective of the intrument mounted in your grasp and jaw. It has a unique smell. It's been years since I've experienced that odor, but did today. Anat Cohen and her group. A song I've heard a dozen times. Today I smelled it. Cork grease, Ebony,
a well used moist reed.

Trish Hatley, Hans and Phil singing... . Do I see Trish swing her head, as though trying to adjust interferring hair? Vocal producing structures visible. Dick Olsher's Leslie test ... Aural MRI

Rough notes correction. The case is not steel. It is high grade Aluminum.

Bill --
Intuitive Design Gamma Summits.

Bill,
Are you running your amps continuously? I'm failing to do this, forgetting overnights at low levels for example. Realistically, 6-10 hrs/day.

I'm hard-pressed to believe that a specific regiment will result in a sound different from another, but who knows? Brian is mildly adamant about continuous break-in operation.

I'd fire this query at TRL were it not for the fact that I'm embarrassed for not following instructions!
Dave
(Regular music, no noise or special break-in CDs, of which I'm dubious.)

Clio, Could you expand upon "From my experience.."? Also, Why is a break-in CD recommended once a month?
Regards,
Dave

The Intuitive design Gamma Summit is the final and most advanced of the Summit series which consists of a 2 unit, granite clad system. The top is the 2-way speaker using a custom Israeli Morel 7" midbass, T-line loaded. The soft-dome tweeter's identity is a secret, but is also modded and TL loaded.

1st order Xover with inductor and capacitor made by ID.

The base or stand is sand filled. 6 Stillpoints are used per side: 3 between speaker and stand, and 3 between stand and a 3" thick, 12"x18" Granite slab. Total weight per side is almost 300 lbs.

The speakers must be laser leveled for max performance and are excruciatingly sensitive to placement. 8' between speakers, 10 to my ears. Typically no toe-in, but sometimes I do a few degrees for a different perspective.

Both Paul and Dale use master tapes for voicing. I don't know if this is a factor in what turns out to be seductive synergy between amp and speaker. Impossible to know, of course, if this synergy is optimum without other speaker comparisons.

It sounds pretty good Pat, but there is quite a bit to be done. Sources, room treatment, subwoofer. Though these speakers have usable output down to 30 Hz, I want the infrasonics fleshed out. MDHoover uses a Rel with great success, but I'll probably build a sub(s).

I turned my fireplace into a sub by installing a 1.5" thick baffle and 2 - 10" Eclipse auto subs some years ago. It's been gathering dust for a while so I'm going to break out the Behringer gear and bring it back to life.

The FP and chimney are 15' long, resulting in a beautiful resonance around 20Hz, but also at ~40 which corresponds to the rooms major mode. That has to be nulled with EQ, thus Behringer DCX and DEQ 2496.
Dave