chai

n am

plifi

er a

nd s

our

ces

64

Rotary

Clu

b

I beg your pardon! Have the Wikipedia people really go not idea? How can it

be that they list the most important in-dustry in the German town of Herford as the textile industry? After all, every hi-fi fan knows that Herford is home to one of the most famous and certainly also one of the most important German high-end manufacturers, namely T+A. Indeed they have been there for 32 years, du- ring which time company founder and trained physicist Siegfried Amft has developed and expanded his business. Starting with loudspeakers and then moving on to amplifiers, the route of expansion has led all the way to AV com-ponents, network appliances, CD players and record players. What has remained constant along the way is the down-to-earth nature of the firm’s founder, who has no airs and graces and prefers to hold meetings casually dressed in a friendly pub than suited and booted in a posh restaurant. Decorative ornamen-tation, in-depth psychological acoustic philosophies or grandstanding gimmicks are thus not his thing at all.

Instead of T+A for ‘Theorie und An-wendung’ (Theory and Application), any

By Dirk Waasen (main text), Lothar Brandt other abbreviation indicating a sound, sensible approach could therefore have worked as the company’s acronym. But why such a long preamble? Because the boss’s character is reflected in the company’s products and because they are more fun if you know that they are subordinated to concepts of sensible design, demanding technology and awe-inspiring sound.

This applies especially to the V Series launched in 2003 to mark the company’s 25th anniversary. It was praised so highly back then in AUDIO that there were no superlatives left for the next issue. One thing, however, has eluded the V Series components to date: a proper apprecia-tion of their merits in a linked-up system. And it is high time this was done, not least because T+A has since been constantly upgrading the components and the differences are now bigger than the suffix ‘Second generation’ would suggest. Still the same, however, are the products‘ incredibly complex, precise production and instantly identifiable de-sign. The adjectives heavy, solid, precise, robust, high quality and elaborate can be copied and applied to each individu-al appliance ad infinitum. There is nothing to complain about anywhere. Period.

Record PlayerG 102

Regal, helpful and good: T+A’s V Se-ries components on their own are al-ready magnificent. Together they are a revelation.

chain amplifier and sources66

Within the analogue high-end two-channel V Series range, which can be identified with either a hyphenated or subscript ‘2’ appended to the product name (T+A permit both formats), the P 10-2 valve pre-amp is according to T+A the most elaborate appliance. Indeed, this small signal artist incorporates every approach that has high-end fans nodding appreciatively: the P 10-2 takes each channel, for instance, under its wing in-dividually, thus underpinning the aspira-tions of the double-mono structure, which are also visible externally. All of the com-ponents are arranged as mirror copies, as a result of which the signals for the left and right channels take exactly the same paths – simply so that neither of them delivers the signal a microsecond earlier or later than its counterpart.

All of the components used seem to spring from the answer to the question: What is good and expensive? For in-stance: membrane capacitors, mica capa-citors, metal film resistors, individually screwed-on phono sockets and precision potentiometers from Alps – What more could you want? Perhaps five valves per channel? Done. Sitting enthroned atop the pre-amp behind delicate grills are thus a total of ten valves, which ought to

be capable of processing even extreme bandwidths and high dynamic ranges of digital sources in such a way that the pre-amp follows the ideal of ‘straight wire with gain’ and does nothing other than build up the signal so that it can control the subsequent mono blocks perfectly.

For electrical experts: T+A configures the amplifier stages as differential cas-codes, as a result of which the valves’ positive properties get aggregated to-gether and should thus process the signal much more swiftly – making the negative

aspect of valves, often described as ‘soft’, a thing of the past. Even the valve genre then counteract the tendency towards excessively elastic interpretation. The P 10-2 contents itself with no less than the 12AX7 double triodes in the particularly low-distortion ‘LPS’ version (long plate / spiral filament).

T+A consciously maintains close ties to the rest of the product family here too, as the same model is used in the pre-amps of the V 10-2 integrated amplifier and the D 10-2 CD/SACD player.

Pre-amplifierP 102

CD/SACD PlayerD 102

Power Amplifier/monoM 10

>

Manual craftsmanship: at T+A in Herford highly trained emplo-yees make and test the very complex appliances.

Record PlayerG 10-2

Resting in the solid steel housing on four shock-absor-ber feet is a belt-driven, taut heavyweight turntable.

T+A recommends the version with the integrated PH-G10 phono pre-amp. It sits well shielded as close as possible to the pick-up. Given the tiny signal voltages of an MC pick-up this makes complete sense.

What more dare we wish for? Away with the negative feedback and everything that could hold the music back or impair it in any other way. This, however, is no easy undertaking if the linearity of the amplifier stages does not match. In the case of the V 10-2, however, it does – as is confirmed by a very little distortion factor in the one tenth of a percentage range.

What began so wonderfully symme-

trically then gets carried on in the pre-amp’s output, with a high-current triode named ECC 99 standing ready here to serve each of the phono and XLR sockets appropriately. The very low output resi-stance, just 140 ohms, permits loss-free cable paths to the power amp of well over five metres.

In everyday life, users will not regular-ly be much concerned with the high standard of the means by which they switch the sources, adjust the balance or configure the volume. It is worthy of praise nevertheless. For instead of couarse switches T+A employs input se-lectors with opto-electronic transmission and magnetic locking, while the volume is controlled by the previously praised, expensive quad Alps potentiometer, which intervenes both downstream of the inputs and upstream of the out-puts.

T+A kindly does not simply amalga-mate the inputs’ mass, but rather re-directs not just the signal but the mass as well, thus keeping the source devices completely galvanically isolated from

each other. Now really nothing can impair the signal of the device that has just been used. That too – no surprise – is one of the commandments of the unwritten high-end bible.

At the end of the day, however, all efforts stand or fall on the stability of the power supply unit. Especially in combi-nation with valves, which not only place special demands on the operating vol-tage but also have a voracious appetite for filament voltage. Which com-mandment we were at again? Thou shalt not use a power supply unit for two pur-poses. Siegfried Amft and his head de-veloper, Lothar Wiemann, keep to that too, by entrusting two power units con-figured as high-frequency flyback con-verters with one task each. The power supply unit for filament voltage goes about its work so gently that the highly sensitive valves do not run up to full load as soon as the system is switched on, but are brought up to operating temperature slowly and then kept in the ideal thermal range. In this way the team from Herford handle even the most sensitive source

Valves have their clear advantages. But we

don’t want to stay at the acoustic level of

the 1950s.

Lothar Wiemann, Head Developer

chain amplifier and sources68

CD/SACD PlayerD 10-2

With an excellent drive, this top-loader plays the silver discs’ data into a quad con-verter.

With eight Burr-Brown DACs the complexity that T+A goes into for conversion is certainly immense. The valve output stage tops things off – with a combined voltage (12 AX7 or ECC 82) and current stage (ECC 99)

devices with appropriate respect. For example their own D 10-2 CD/SACD player, which from its looks alone already maintains the family bonds by following a form that is classical from the very start. It is not without reason that the term ‘Bauhaus design’ gets used in connection with T+A appliances. In the company of such elite devices as are featured in this magazine, it is difficult to pick a favourite – as a system component it is, however, for the author of this article at least the D 10-2 player that creates the greatest fascination. After all, it combines very much the hardest digital source with the roundest of signal processing in the form of a valve output stage.

However, ahead of the signal output the electronics are devoted to each sec-tion separately. That starts once again with two power supply units for the ana-logue and digital segments. Naturally, the two voltage pre-processors keep out of each other’s way here as far as they possibly can: the secondary switch-mode power supply for the digital section is in the back right-hand corner of the housing,

while the high-voltage power supply for the analogue valve output stage is accordingly right at the back on the left of its circuit board.

Another component board accommo-dates the player’s heart, the digital-to-analogue converter. Here it appears as though T+A wanted to interpolate eve-ry single one of the umpteen thousand little digital steps in such a way that nothing is left but a thing of impossibili-ty: an analogue digital signal or a digital analogue signal. Here we see a funda-mental advantage of high-end products: higher prices facilitate more production work, more ideas and, if in doubt, more materials as well. Where others gloat over a Burr-Brown converter, the D 102 leans back in relaxed mood and asks: “So, what do you all want? I’ve got eight of them in me. And in the 32-Bit version, too.”

Thus T+A enthrones a quad converter that eliminates even the smallest errors and is also said to be lower in noise than a differential transformer. Which again throws up the question of how much

more silent absolute silence can be than normal silence. Ultimately the discussion here revolves around a signal-to-noise ratio of 100 decibels – where silence reigns.

T+A strays a little from the pure phi-losophy of no modulators and no inter-vention in the case of the programmable signal processor, which provides switch-able oversampling algorithms for CD playback. The same goes for the >

Pre-amplifierP 102

With five valves per channel the stereo pre-amp is based on anything but a simple concept.

As all the signals come toge-ther in the pre-amp there is a risk of equalising currents that could potentially impair the sound flowing along the numerous solid wires. T+A therefore puts its faith in ‘floating ground’, using diffe-rential amplifiers in the input.

than focus on the laser. This, according to T+A, makes the sound of the D 10-2 “on a par with vinyl”.

This statement is all the more stunning given that T+A produce a record player, the G 10-2, that in terms of quality and looks fits seamlessly into the V Series range. And into the fictional high-end bible, which states in the record player

SACD section, in which four switchable oversampling and noise-shaper circuits are available. These in theory enable cool systems to be tonally warmed up and loose systems made tighter. Thus this circuitry is allowed.

In the valve output stage the tester came across some familiar acquaintances: the 12AX7 LPS double triode as pre-amplifier and the ECC 99 double triode, predestined for high currents. Both valves act here as amplifiers and filters, meaning that the entire acoustic load rests on their shoulders. Indeed that is the case even in frequency ranges otherwise catered for at best by bats – the valve output stage of the D 102 can be switched between 60 and 120 kHz to adapt it to the amplifier.

The high quality mentioned in the introduction comes literally to the fore once again on the D 10-2: the sheer weight of the metal housing has the drive resting as in Abraham’s lap, while the cover closes hermetically around the disc, which is then allowed to do nothing other

psalm: everything that can be decoupled, shall be decoupled, so that no influences of any kind, including mechanical, can lead the signal astray. This commandment can be followed through having an evenly running motor, solid housing and decou-pled components. Points that T+A too clearly takes to heart. The turntable platter is thus driven via rubber belt by a synchronous motor, slightly offset from the centre. The bearing is lathed with micrometre precision and is practically free of any imbalance. T+A now com-bines these mechanical fundamentals with a motor control system that elimi-nates errors by DSP and regulates con-stant speed – freed even of any mains fluctuations – in such a way that any fluc-tuations at all are so small they cannot be measured.

Steady tranquillity in the whole system is provided by a wooden section, known as a resonance absorber, filled with lead and sand and running diagonally across the inside of the record player, vibration inhibitors in the feet and a small damping

With the V Series we aim to prove that

top-class high-end products can also be

‘made in Germany’ – at prices that are

not astronomical, but down to earth.

Siegfried Amft, Founder

chain amplifier and sources70

mat on the bottom of the housing. In the case of the record player itself the deve-lopers combine solid aluminium with a laser-cut acrylic plate in order to unite solidity and absorption. The high stan-dard being aimed at is shown by the aluminium platter, which is made in one single process, including the bearing hole. Any tolerances in the bearing are thus a thing of the past. AUDIOphile had

the opportunity to look at the bearing unit separately and the way in which the platter seems to float on its bearing is fantastic. It seems to rotate totally un-affected by any friction.

When it comes to the pick-up arm the customer is spoilt for choice. For the G 10-2 R version T+A uses an arm from partners Rega. As with the turntable plat-ter the arm too is made in a single >

T + A32 years of technology and application

Siegfried Amft set up T+A Elektroakus-tik GmbH in 1978 to develop high-qua-lity hi-fi components. T+A celebrated its early success with loudspeakers, but then soon broadened its portfolio by adding all relevant premium hi-fi and high-end products.

These days, the 1982 TMR Series lou-dspeakers are regarded as legendary.

Four years later came the Pulsar Series pre- and power amp, which in modified form is still in the range today – as part of the R Series. The Pulsar AudioCon line launched in 1988 also set a trend for the future by linking together a set-up’s various different appliances via a bus system and operating it via central remote

control. Hitting the headlines in 1995 was the Solitaire A2D, a fully digital, regulated active loudspeaker. In 2003, for the company’s 25th anni-versary, T+A gave itself and its fans the V Series.

Today, at the company’s highly mo-dern base in Herford T+A employs a workforce of around 100. And well worthy of note is the fact that T+A still repair and restore appliances from the company’s earlier days.

Part of the V club: the V 10-2 normally veils its abundant

set of valves beneath protec-tive mesh cylinders. Here for a change openly visible: two ECC 83 double triodes (pre-

amp), two ECL 82 triodes (in-put stage), two ECC 99 double triodes (driver) and four EL 519

pentodes (output).

ContactT+A Elektroakustik

With the V Series models and their current next generation appliances the German company has conclusi-vely established itself in the interna-tional high-end circle’s first division. Within its price category each component is right up there with the value-for-money champions.

Record PlayerT+A G 10-2List price: €6,490 (from April)Guarantee period: 2 yearsDimensions WxHxD (cm): 44 x 16 x 38Weight: 15 kgFinish: Aluminium silver / blue acrylic; titanium/greyOptions: With MM or MC pick-up, with Rega or SME arm,with PG-G 10 phono amp

CD/SACD PlayerT+A D 10-2List price: €7,990Guarantee period: 2 yearsDimensions WxHxD (cm): 44 x 17 x 39Weight: 12 kgFinish: Aluminium silver / blue acrylic; titanium/grey Connections: Fixed phono, opti-cal and coaxial digital output

Pre-amplifierT+A P 10-2List price: €7,990Guarantee period: 2 yearsDimensions WxHxD (cm): 44 x 17 x 39 Weight: 12, 5 kgFinish: Aluminium silver / blue acrylic; titanium/greyConnections: Phono optional, 6 x high-level RCA, 1 tape out, RCA / XLR per pre-out, headphones (back)

Power AmplifierT+A M 10List price: €20,000 (pair)Guarantee period: 2 yearsDimensions WxHxD (cm): Each 35 x 52 x 48Weight: Each 52 kgFinish: Aluminium silver / blue acrylic; titanium/grey Connections: RCA / XLR (three or four-pin)

Distribution:T+A Elektroakustik GmbHPlanckstraße 11D-32052 HerfordTel.: 0049 (0)5221 / 76760Internet: www.taelektroakustik.de

process from die-cast aluminium. As a counterweight T+A uses tungsten, which is very heavy in relation to its size, in order to free the arm of any unnecessa-ry leverage effects. The cartridge is con-tributed by Benz, with here the C05 moving coil system being used.

The alternative to the Rega-Benz com-bination is an SME-Benz combination with the version name G 10-2 S. Respon-sible for this option are no less than le-gendary tone arm producers SME, who make the arm’s tube from chrome-plated stainless steel and dampen it internally. For the system support and arm retainer SME uses die-cast aluminium and for the counterweight the same as Benz: tung-sten. Their choice of cartridge supplier is also the same, though this time it’s the System C10 moving coil that’s used.

Finally, when it came to choosing the power amp, AUDIOphile’s decision was “No compromise” and thus invited the M 10 mono blocks into the listening room to provide appropriate power amplifica-tion. After all, ‘Let’s go for broke’ is the Ms’ philosophy. A mighty 52 kilos each in weight, able, if needed, to deliver well over 1,000 watts and so stable that the loudspeaker has probably yet to be in-vented that in electrical terms could pose the M 10 monos any problems.

However, the fascination lies not just in the brawn but in the more delicate aspects of the amps, too. Namely in the combination of valve and transistor tech-nology and the clever circuitry behind it. With the valves standing for the delicate, in other words the input side, and the transistors for the brawn, i.e. the unbridled output currents. In this connection the solid cooling fins are anything but just for show. Rather they are there due to the fact that it is via them that waste heat is discharged – a fan that might possibly be heard during quiet passages is there-fore not needed.

What in haute cuisine is ‘A portion of Périgord truffles with white truffle sha-vings, please’ is in circuit technology that which is contained in the M 10: valves that can work in Class A mode, an input stage as a balanced differential amplifier in valve cascode circuitry and no overall negative feedback. The power am- >

AUDIOphile ProfileThe strengths

Maximum dynamics

Full, firm bass

Lots of detail at every level

Strict neutrality

Gripping emotionality

Great feel-good factor

Breezily effortless nuances

Great flexibility

Modest footprint

chain amplifier and sources72

Record Player

Pre-amplifier

CD/SACD Player

Power Amplifier

Rumble: Improved

Dynamic distortion: Clean

Jitter: Very low

Stability: Sensational

In terms of rumble the G 10-2 version has improved significantly compared to its predecessor: at 83dB (previously 72.5) using couplers it can be anticipa-ted that absolutely no low-frequency interference from the drive unit (motor hum, bearing friction etc.) will get into the useful signal. Measuring using mea-surement couplers comes close to the realistic tracking situation.

It was also via the output voltage that AUDIOphile ascertained the distortion path for the P 10-2 pre-amp. The coordination is largely cle-an and tidy. Here too k2 rises – natu-rally from an extremely low level – in a straight line. The higher distortion components do not get involved at all until 300 millivolts – with fully undramatic k2 and k5 curves.

Jitter, the feared dithering of the pulse in the digital data flow, can be measured later in the analogue out-put signal. The test factory ascertains a value for this in picoseconds. The T+A D 10-2 shines in this area with a fantastically low 150 picoseconds. No graining or diminished playback precision in the sound as a result of jitter need be feared.

The M 10’s 20 bipolar output transistors do a great job and in high-power mode almost go off the chart. One mono block delivers over 60 volts to almost any load. Given a signal-to-noise ratio of 100dB, there is no possibility of the power amp contributing to any noise even when operated flat out.

Record Player

CD/SACD Player

Even speed: Excellent

Distortion path: Straight

The peak is nice and narrow at 3.15kHz without any major disrup-tions. The belt-driven player fluc-tuates by a maximum of +/- 0.07% around the set speed, from which the AUDIO test appliance deviated inaudibly by a minimal –0.1 percent. The manufacturer / dealer ought to be able to adjust that via the elec-tronics.

The D 10-2 entrusts its analogue output signals to a valve stage. In terms of the measurement of the dynamic distortion path this beha-ves in exemplary fashion. As output voltage goes up, the k2 (black line) rises consistently and in a straight line. Also running in linear fashion some way below is the k3 (red), while higher order distortion (k4 and k5) no longer plays any role.

plifiers also appear in pairs, meaning that they can be connected in parallel to in-crease current supply capacity or sepa-rately control bass and mid high-frequen-cy ranges of appropriately designed loud-speakers (bi-amping). Anyone who wants to deliver well over 1,000 watts at the terminals has to provide a greater factor inside. The M 10s do this via three inde-pendent power supply units: one for the voltage gain part’s valve circuits and two for the two power amps. To the question “Would you like a bit more?” the owner of two M 10s will respond full of conviction with “No”. One revelation admittedly presents the option of being able to switch the output stages’ operating voltage. In the first case the M 10 can run up to around 60 watts in pure Class A mode and then up to 250 watts in Class AB. In the second case up to 1,634 watts at 2 ohms are gua-ranteed to drive even the last bit of fatigue out of the membranes.

Which finally brings us to switching the system on and listening to music and thus to the most difficult section of the entire article. For while the technical parameters can be described and understood they

are no substitute for the moment when your mouth hangs open, the hairs stand up on the back of your neck and you are practically dumbstruck with awe, only for this to be instantly replaced by admira tion for the dynamic capabilities of the system. Has a CD or SACD player ever sounded so good? So free of any constriction, so open and unconstrained? Were the nuances that the record player teases out actually there on the vinyl before? And is there any loudspeaker that can give the M 10s a real run for their money? Perhaps answers do exist to each of these que-stions.

During the listening sessions, however, we did not find them. Perhaps we also stopped looking for them as the T+A system was able to unite several genera-tions and tastes: whether it was modern folk music from the SACD (Stockfisch), New Age music with instruments to the fore on the 180-gram AUDIO Vinyl Master Volume One double LP, comprehensively arranged classical music from record or CD or rough deep bass lines from any medium, the set-up played loud music well, played quiet music well and de-

livered strong, dry beats with the same incredible precision as it gently treated the most delicate of sounds.

In the end it was probably precisely this that set the T+A set-up apart: its supreme ability in all areas, which makes any listening profiles superfluous – because it masters everything superbly.

The AuthorDirk Waasen

He built his first loudspeaker when he was just 14, his first kit ampli-fier aged 16 and wrote his first test report in 1991. Today Dirk Waasen works as executive editor for publi-cations including the telecommuni-cations journal ‘connect’ and runs the Stuttgart operations of Weka Media Publishing.

M 10 mono ampsBecause of the M 10s’ sheer level of output a safety circuit ensures that turning them on does not cause your entire home electrics to fall over. Rapid deployment troops also constantly check M 10s’ mains voltage, internal operating voltages, operating temperature and loudspeaker outputs for any short circuits.

>

chain amplifier and sources74