Category: Amplifiers
This is a review of the latest solid state, mono-block amps from Tube Research Labs (TRL). They are named Samson by the builder Mr. Paul Weitzel of TRL.
Please to go my system link below to better understand my room set-up and ancillary equipment. This will help you better understand the full context of my review.
I also encourage you to look at the long list of amplifiers I have owned or listened to extensively in my home system over the last 5 or so years. I have been very active on Audiogon as demonstrated by my feedback and long list of amplifiers. I have been fortunate as I have sold gear for audio friends who had wonderful gear. This has enabled me to play with some fantastic gear over the years.
Finally, I listen to female vocalists, jazz, a little classical, piano and guitar instrumentals, contemporary Christian and alternate adult music. Some of my favorite artists include Van Morrison, Beth Orton, Sarah Groves, Aimee Mann and Rickie Lee Jones. I like to listen with the lights off and often with my eyes closed. Music is the way I relax and get away from all that fills my head in a given day.
Samson mono-block amps
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I am not a technical person and will do my best to tell you a little about these amps. Please call TRL if you have questions as I can report on my experience with these amps only.
-Paul states they put out close to 300 watts per amp.
-Mine are single ended, but think Paul can build yours as needed.
-No fuses as TRL employees a circuit breaker as the on/off switch.
-They always run cool no matter how long or hard I drive them.
-Very quiet – no real mechanical or chassis noise.
-See my system pictures for cosmetics.
-$5500 for the pair
-Shipped in a custom made wood crate very well padded and secure.
My experience with the twin Samson amps
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Let me say upfront that I do enjoy trying new gear and hearing the differences between components in my system. This was never a hassle to me, but fun. This has now changed as the TRL amps make music in a way that no other component has conveyed. This was true of the TRL S225 integrated amp and now even more so with the new Samson amps.
We all try gear and notice that this one sounds more transparent and that one has more midrange warmth and on and on…….. They do all sound a little different and sometimes greatly different. Some certainly outperformed others. I even recall saying one “killed” another with its overall performance. However, looking back they all had some limitations and in one sense they all sounded alike – like reproduced music. Here is where I begin trying to share my experience with these Samson amps in relation to all others I have enjoyed.
For me the Samson amps paired with the Dude tube preamp (TRL) broke through a sound barrier I truly thought was not even possible. This is why I am no longer compelled to try another amp flavor.
So, in what ways do these amps break new ground? Ok, this is a time where those standard Aphile descriptions just don’t reach far enough. The Samson amps are the standard for neutrality, imaging, bass authority, transparency, tonality, extension at the frequency extremes and so many other attributes based on my experience. Fellow music lovers let’s move beyond the elementary and onto the real deal.
Musical instruments and voices now sound live and not bound by the constraints of hardware. My words will fall short of my experience here as this really must be heard to be fully understood. The piano is now released in my music room. It sounds so live and un-reproduced. It sounds real and so right. The attack of the keys is alive and full of energy. The body of the instrument is palpable. Every key stroke is discernable and presented with utter clarity.
Kick drums come alive with impact, energy and realism I have only heard at the best live concerts. Voices flow with a sense of space and dimension that literally places the artist before you.
Even my most complicated jazz recordings come alive with discernable instrumental lines that were previously completely lost or blurred. Background notes, vocals and phantom sounds now BECOME part of the music. You must hear this first hand!
Does it sound like a tube or SS amp? My answer is very simple. It sounds like live music. I don’t even think about that notion with these amps. It seems so off point now. Please keep in mind I mate these amps with a nice tube preamp (review coming).
Never do these amps even hint of being compressed or strained in my system. My 8 ohm speakers are 90db efficient and I play music as loud as 102 db at rare –very rare times. The music grows in size as the volume is turned up. It never shouts at you screaming “I’m very loud”. Rather, music swells and its impact is awesome to experience. The other powerhouse amps I have owned are boys in this regard. The Samson amps are men. They are always in complete control adding to the live musical experience.
Yes, you will hear music previously lost in your system. Yes, there is air and space around each instrument as music floats from the blackest background imaginable. The Samson amps are state of the art in this area. They are pure magic to experience. I hear a whole new dimension to the music in my room. I can close my eyes and get so lost in the music. I feel and sense the piano behind the sax player over to the left and Van the Man just turned his head in the studio!
I will end by saying the Samson amps delivered music as I have never experienced in my dedicated room. They broke though a performance ceiling I thought all amps had in common.
Associated gear Click to view my Virtual SystemSimilar products TRL S225 stereo integrated amp
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