The current line-up includes two integrated amplifiers, three pre-amps, a stereo amplifier and two mono-blocs, a phono-stage and a headphone amp: Enough to cover a host of different system requirements; not so many as to be unmanageable. There’s even a dedicated Stax Electrostatic headphone energiser, but that’s seriously niche. The Trilogy DNA ensures that each product carries a strong aesthetic marker, but unlike more ostentatiously ‘styled’ products, these look simple, classy and will fit right in with products from other brands. Despite their clean, uncluttered exterior, the units are surprisingly versatile and offer carefully considered operational flexibility. On the face of it, you don’t get much more functionally straightforward than a power amp, but even here, the Trilogy solution presents more than its fair share of surprises. Some of those surprises are on the outside, some are on the inside and some are to do with the options on offer: all of which, one might conclude, makes the 995R under review a pretty typical Trilogy product.
Things ain’t always what they seem…
The 995R sits at the top of Trilogy’s amplifier range, one above the smaller, squatter 994. How is it different? Let me count the ways…
The amplifier’s narrow, deep and tall proportions are not unique. I first came across them in the distinctive shape of the Levinson 33H (although I’m sure that wasn’t the first amplifier to adopt this form), followed by the VTL Siegfried and S-400, as well as others since. What is surprising to me is that given the obvious benefits – small footprint, ease of handling, thermal and constructional advantages – more companies haven’t followed suit. So, the 995R’s form-factor is still rare enough to be rated unusual. But what makes it really visually distinctive is that massive, front mounted heatsink, milled from a solid block almost 12cm/5” deep. Now, as heatsinks go, it’s tempting to point out that this one is far from as efficient as it might be. More, thinner fins would result in greater surface area, increased thermal dissipation and use less material. But that would be to miss the point. Whilst the massive machining is indeed a heatsink, thermal dissipation is far from its sole raison d’être. It’s also intended to provide thermal stability – and that’s where the sheer material mass comes in. Those fins might be thick, but their proportions and spacing (as well as the gently curved fascia) are also what marks this out as a Trilogy – a perfect blend of engineering efficacy and brand identity.
That in turn brings us to a second important distinction – and the thing that, for many, will make this amplifier seriously interesting. Rated at 200 Watts into an 8Ω load (350 into 4Ω), the 995R – and the smaller 994 mono-bloc – can be switched to Class A operation, in which mode the 995R delivers an extremely practical 40 Watts into 8Ω, with sustainable peaks of 55 Watts into 8Ω and 100 into 4Ω. Bear in mind too, this product’s firmly no-nonsense engineering background. When it says Class A, it means Class A: not some pseudo, almost, pretend, sliding bias, kinda Class A, but the real, non-switching, current guzzling, hot running thing. A genuine 40 Watt, Class A mono-bloc? Now that is definitely interesting! It also helps explain the desire for thermal efficiency. The output stage runs hot – but you want it to run the same hot, all of the time.
