Price is: $2,998.00 U.S. plus shipping.
This is the Tube Research Labs 225, solid state, unbalanced, power amp. It is essentially the TRL Samson Mono blocks in one convenient chassis and is a type of sliding Class A design. So it offers the imaging, smoothness - ie: no crossover distortion, tonality, of a Pure Class A design without the amp running full tilt continually. So the amp runs cool.
Sonically it is very musical, very dynamic, powerful, with great imaging, both in sound staging and clarity of individual instruments. Bells and chimes just ring to life. According to many people who have gone through tons of expensive gear, they feel that the TRL gear is some of the most musical, and truly world class. Paul was not interested in creating a big company so it remained a very small, niche, product line. His design philosophy was built around very powerful, robust, power supplies.
TRL is more famous for their tube amplifier line of 80, 200, 400, 800 watt, monster tube amps. The 800s were aprox. 140 grand and came in 4 very large chassis, while the 80 watt stereo amp was 10K and the 200 watt monos were 25k, U.S.. The solid state and tubed power amps sounded essentially the same. I asked Paul how the 225 amp compared to the tube amps. Here is his reply.
“If I'm listening to a 15 or 30 ips masters and the speakers are right, and the cables are good, and the deck is sounding right, the tubes are more open a little, and breathe free-er up to the power limit. The 225/Samson has a lot of power and doesn't clip or behave badly.” "The 225's use an adaptive biasing arrangement similar to what's been called "sliding class a". It works out well. These amps are the only transistor amps that I know of that are open. Period."
You will notice that you don’t see TRL for sale on the used market. People who have them know after decades of chasing audio that they have found something very special, so they are holding onto them. I know if I sell this amp, and the Dude preamp, that it will be very hard to replace them down the road. So I don’t take this lightly. The funds of this sale would be used for a non audio purchase.
Here are some comments on the TRL sound. Comments on the tube amps, Samsons, etc., correlate this the 225 for sale.
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/review-tube-research-labs-m-225-mono-blocks-amplifier?highlight=tube%2Bresearch%2Blabs"I have been in this hobby for 30 years and this is the first time I have felt compelled to write a review about a stereo product. Tube Research Labs has been producing some of the finest and very expensive tube equipment for well over the past 20 years. This review is about their solid state mono blocks the M-225. Each amp is very conservatively rated at 225 per channel but it sounds much more powerful than the suggested 225 per channel. In the past 30 years I have owned more gear than I would admitt. SS, tubes, you name it, I have owned from moderately priced to quite expensive amps. Some of the brands include CJ, ARC, Pass, BEL, Levison, Krell and many more. I have also listened to some ultra expensive systems $100,000+ so when I hear music I know it and when I hear crap I also know it. Usually price has very little to do with the sound.
TRL's M-225 mono blocks are very plain looking black boxes
and weight about 45 lbs each but their sound certainly isn't plain. The TRL M-225 doesn't sound like a ss or tube amp but it sounds like real music. Right out of the box I knew this was a very special amp. My wife who likes music but will only listen to one cut at a time came in for a quick listen and stayed for the entire Alison Krause CD and then we listened for about another hour. Her comment was this is the most enjoyable I have ever heard your system. The only change has been the TRL amps. Are these the best amps I have owned? Absolutely. Ever heard?
Yes they are! Why? Because my system no longer sounds hifi but sounds like real music. Anyone in the market for a great SS amp check out TRL's ss amps."
-This one is too long to quote. Read it here:
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/review-tube-research-labs-samson-monoblock-amps-amplifier?highlight=tube%2Bresearch%2Blabs-Another review on the tube amps. Same basic sound as the 225.
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/review-trl-inc-gt-200-tube-amp?highlight=trl"I really need to tell the of the transformation of my system. I recently bought new amplifiers. The Tube Research Labs GT200 monoblocks. A triode tube design by Paul Weitzel. About 4 months ago I recieved the Dude preamp by TRL. It was specially made to be fully balanced. My reaction to the sound was so pleasurable and positive that it got me to thinking what will the TRL amps do for the music. I had to decide if I was willing to give up my Krell 650 mono blocks. The speed of the Krells and the extension both on top and bottom were hard to beat. Still I took a chance on the GT200's. A friend warned me that the base on tubes could not and would not match that of solid state especially Krell FPB650 monos. I must say I was not prepared for what I was about to experience. My description no matter how clever, will not come close to describe what these amps can do. They just made the Krells sound broken. That statement is hard for me to say because I dearly loved the Krells. The GT200s beat the solid state monos in EVERY way. And by no small margin! Many questions ran through my head. First of all how do they do it? Second why has no one built amps like this before? I was so taken back that I just could not believe it. I just heard music, plain and simple. Only it is not that simple. I now realized that I have been cheated all these years as a music lover. As good as I thought my systems were they were (pardon the grammer) pure crap! Let me tell you this is absolutely the most fun and passion I have experienced in all my years as an audiophile. Magic, pure magic that is what it is. If cost were no object these are the amps I would own. I am done looking! I have found what I consider to be the Holy Grail of amplification for me and my sound cave. In the last 3 months I have bought more and more music and I must say the only downfall of these amps is you can't buy enough music. You will listen to every thing you have and then some. Classical, jazz, rock, vocals it does not matter. These amps are killer.Power,speed,air,grace,depth,width, go ahead throw all the standard stereophile standbys at me. All I can tell you is they just don't do it justice. Do whatever you have to but take a listen to these things. I dare you! I double dog dare ya! "
Associated gear
Tube Research Labs Dude preamp.
Accustic Arts Drive1 Mark2 transport
Accustic Arts Dac1 Mark4 DAC
JM Labs Focal Utopia Loudspeakers
Synergistic Research Powercell 10SE
TRL interconnects and speaker wire.
16 primitive diffusors
Synergistic Research MIG's
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People, don't judge this amp by it's box. TRL gear is at the very top of the Audio food chain. Take a chance, I think you will be glad.
