I own the Thrax Teres Mono Blocks – a bit late replying (I just got them), but here is my input; if you’re still interested.
Details below, but in a word…. They are “Elegant” amplifiers.
First, as mono blocks, at 50 pounds, they are subtle in weight and dimensions - not overly large and heavy. Start up and shut down is eventless. The two-stage power-on to standby mode is excellent. Designing the stand by to leave the amp on but shut the tubes off is great design, as warm up time is reduced. The ribbed casing is subtle but elegant; all connectors substantial and solid.
The foundation of music for me is the bass – without it, you’re building your audio house with no foundation. The Teres bass is a real strength - full bodied and textured; but tight and with excellent pacing – if your toe is not tapping you better lie down, you’ve died and just haven’t fallen over yet. I’ve never heard bass so well presented. Low piano notes rumble. Electric bass throbs and pulses. Acoustic bass resonates. Bowed bass reverberates.
Moving up to the lower mid range the magic really takes off – Cello, woodwinds resonate with rich texture. You don’t just hear the bass clarinet, you hear the woodiness of the clarinet. You hear the bow of the cello or bowed bass resonating against the strings.
Upper mid range is also rich and full –you hear the rich brassiness of a trumpet but no upper register shrillness so often heard. With saxophones you can hear the reed vibrating; the sax player’s embouchure (breathiness as in Ben Webster or the tight control as in John Coltrane).
Note separation and instrument placement is amazing – everything is placed separately and clearly distinct, but still blended into a single musical expression. The instrument placement shows the stage arrangement especially noticeable in complex classical music where the different sections of the orchestra are well located. This separation is fun on jazz quartets but it is amazing on a 60 piece symphonic orchestra piece (e.g. Gustav Mahler). The density and body of lower register strings is palpable – rich, thick sounding.
The high end is elegant and very present; but never in your face. The strings shimmer so sweetly and even on the most intense attack it presents the edge without crossing over into sharp.
Attack is startling – again with the speed and dynamics, the sounds just appear and can startle – pleasantly. Decay shimmers on and on and on…. Until it just fades into nothing, and you notice it stopping.
Here’s the next good part – some amps I have had, only sound good when listening at “pointy ear audiophile volume levels”. Yes, the Teres sounds great turned up but it also sounds rich and full at mid and low volumes.
I listen to almost every kind of music and recording quality – from country blues (Big Bill Broonzy, Son House..); to electric blues (SRV, Ronnie Earl, T-Bone Walker), to early jazz (Louis) to mid (Count Basie, Charlie Parker, Miles, Duke,….) to later jazz (think ECM or Avant Garde bands like Art Ensemble); Fusion (John Mclaughlin Marcus Miller), rock (Pink Floyd, Allman Brothers…), pop, folk, classical (solo, chamber, orchestra), opera, world music, …. Well you get the idea.
As such, in choosing an amp, I must be able to listen to well produced as well as average or poorly produced and still enjoy them. This is where the Teres operates with grace…. Well produced recordings sound AMAZING; decently produced albums sound good; and poorly produced sound listenable (think Duke Ellington Fargo Concert, 1940 – 1 microphone in a school gymnasium). Unlike other audiophiles I am not doomed to listen only to Norah Jones or other syrup voiced mega produced female vocalist because they sound so good.
And in case you think they only do "Serious music" - jazz, classical) .... when playing rock (Pink Floyd, Porcupine Tree, Nirvana for example), they were moving the furniture around the room; with the bass drive and bubble of sound. Power in reserve!
Combine all the above together and I get chills; and the Oh Wow factor; but this is not an “in your face audiophile” sound. It is subtle, it is natural, – it presents the music as it is. As Music.
Finally in a word – Subtle, Elegant, Natural, Dynamic, Resonant, Textured.
Nice work Thrax. Technology presenting as art!
Accompanying Equipment used: Innuous Zenith server, Aqua La Scala DAC (direct to amps), Stereovox SEI 600 Interconnects, Siltech 770L speaker cables, Peak Consult Incognito X speakers.
