The way the amp looks and what it does on paper will be enough for many. But the circuit is itself, just as distinctive. The 995R is a hybrid design with a pair of 6H6P tubes at the input, acting as voltage drivers for an unusual, compound output stage. The vast majority of hybrid amps use tubes to drive a bank of large mosfet output devices (unless they’re using tubes on the output – but that’s a whole different story). The problem with this conventional arrangement is that the large mosfets might offer the infinite DC input capability required to mate with the driving tubes, but in effect, they also act as not particularly efficient capacitors, leading to a lack of control and the characteristic soft and soggy sound of large mosfet amps. To counteract this, Trilogy employ a pair of the smallest mosfet output devices available, sufficient for around 5 Watts output on their own. Their current delivery is then augmented by a bank of 12 Japanese bi-polar transistors, to deliver the current they can’t.
The circuit is fully balanced and feedback free, while the substantial power supply features a choke input stage – with a choke that’s almost as big as the amp’s mains transformer, a substantial toroidal transformer (which together with the heatsink helps explain the amp’s 38kg/84lb weight) and custom reservoir caps.
A model of practicality…
The rear panel offers switchable balanced XLR and single-ended RCA inputs, a mute option, RJ45 connectors for remote switching and a mode switch. The 995R can be run in three different modes: Class A, Class AB or (the slightly oxymoronic) eco-Class A, switched by cyclic pushes on the mode button. The amp turns on in Class AB mode, which generates repeated single flashes from the rear LED. Push the mode button and it switches to Class A (repeated double flashes from the rear LED, a solid blue LED on the front panel). Push it again and you reach ecoA (repeated triple flashes from the rear LED, a solid blue LED on the front panel, which starts slowly pulsing when no signal is present). The first two modes are self-explanatory, but the third deserves some further explanation. Switch the amps to ecoA and they operate in Class A all the time that they are receiving a signal. Once the input signal ceases, they wait for a properly polite period (around a minute) and then seriously dial back the bias current to the bi-polars in the output stage, keeping the rest of the circuit warm while saving considerable electrical consumption when the system is not in use. Start playing music again and they switch back to Class A. Of course, you have to wait for the amps to come up to full operating temperature, but for many this is a compromise they’ll be only too happy to accept. Speaker connections are via a pair of sturdy binding posts, with enough thread to easily accept double spades for bi-wiring – a very welcome nicety in this day and age.
Two sets of metalwork, massive machined heatsinks and all those internal niceties don’t come cheap. A pair of 995Rs will set you back the not inconsiderable sum of €56,000 (including VAT) but pick one up and I doubt you’ll feel short changed. Of course, that elevated price-tag attracts some elevated competition: competition the Trilogies will have to match on most grounds and beat on some, to justify their purchase. What this amp needs – what any amp at this price needs – is a quality or capability that sets it apart. What it needs is its own ‘super power.’
