[Review] Terminator pure class-A fully discrete soild state amp review Options

[ΓΛPΤΘΓ]

Specs
Pure class-A, with 20W power draw at idle
16-600 Ohms load (optimised for low impedance)
1700mW into 40Ohm load
W 184mm，L 300mm，H 56mm
2.2 KG

Sorry for blurry pictures, it is taken from my phone.


Better internal shot from the builder:

(the transformer is shielded in a metal case as seen in my photo)

Exterior

The amp is cased in a thick chassis and finished with thick brushed silver front panel. The volume control is metal with texture on it to prevent slipping. Rear of the amp have standard IEC power socket and a pair of RCA inputs. The RCA sockets are gold plated and bolted to the chassis, not direct stressing the PCB. The overall finish is very nice and solid, but to point out the “Volume� is labelled as “Volumn�, after telling the producer about the typo he replied saying it’s a short hand as “Volume knob� so I don’t know anymore. The rubber feet on the amp is rather hard, I would much prefer a softer silicon feet on it and have more grip on my glass desktop. Other than that, it’s nicely done, and “volumn� isn’t too annoying unless you keep staring at the front.

Baseline impressions and test

Noise test
This test will use my AD1000PRM and TF10 to test out the noise level with input disconnected to prevent any noise coming from the source.

Using AD1000PRM (40Ohm, 102db/mW) there is no noise with a totally black background at all, all the way to the maximum, but slight hisses on the volume pot near the maximum when I am turning it. Noise is gone once you stop moving the knob.

Using the TF10 IEM, which is far more sensitive to noise, I can hear noise right from the minimum and it increases to maximum. It is safe to say that the amp is not suitable for amping sensitive IEMs, even though it does a rather good job if you ignore the noise.

Early impression
The improvement moving from the internal amp to this is quite massive, the first thing I notice is the vastly improved soundstage and much better dynamic range, the high extend very far and bass is punchier but didn’t notice a increase in the amount. It compares very favourably to the Luxman P200 driving it from memory.

Overall sound
Soundstage
Certainly one of the strengths of this amp, the stage is very natural and open but not artificially large, positioning is very precise.

Detail
This amp shows very good detail, but due to the sound of the AD1000PRM which like amplifying the sound of micro details, it can be a bit tiring to listen with tonnes of different sound getting thrown in your face (ears I meant).

Highs
I would think this is the weak point of the amp. While the treble does extend quite well, the cymbal hits are not as sharp and clearly defined as I would like, certain much room for improvement.

Mids
Mids are abit smoothed out, which pair AT with forward mids quite well, however some might want to keep the forward mids and should not get this amp. Have said so, the mids are still overall forward, but just not as forward as before so the AT house sound is still here.

Bass
Bass is not boasted to add much addition warmth to the headphones, but the impact is plentiful, very tight and controlled too. It can go deep too but as the same, the sub-bass/low bass is still not boasted.

Speed
This amp is fast, and it helps to pair it with fast headphones, it never struggle in complex sections and every tone is clearly played without any blurring at all.


Strength
Natural and spacious soundstage, very good speed, good bass response, midrange (personal choice), price


Weakness
Treble can be better, midrange (personal choice)


Other flaws
The gain is quite high when using with my AD1000PRM, with my source at 100% the amp need to be turned right down. It doesn’t help at all with a sub-par volume pot, it just makes the matter worse as there is signifiecnt channel imbalance until it is over 8 o’clock range. This forces me to turn my source down to 25% to have some better control over the volume.

Equipment Used
Headphones: Audio Technica ATH-AD1000PRM, Ultimate Ears triple.fi 10 (Null Audio Enyo Silver + Sony Hybrids)
Source: Asus Xonar Essence ST (3 X LME49720HA)
Interconnect: Chord Company Crimson Plus RCA interconnect

This amp is priced at 250USD shipped.

This post has been edited by ΓΛPΤΘΓ: 5 Mar 2010, 3:36