The review period for the 995Rs ran WAY longer than anticipated, although that allowed me to use it with a whole host of partnering products, with speakers ranging from the Wilson Sasha DAW (with which it proved an especially happy match) to various Vienna Acoustics models and, not least the Göbel Comtesse, Peak Consult El Diablo and Stenheim Alumine 5 SX, the last three being particularly price appropriate partners. Pre-amps varied between the VTL TL-7.5 and 5.5, the TEAD Vibe/Pulse, the CH Precision L1/L10 and Trilogy’s own 915R line-stage. In each case, the amps reflected the nature of the partnering pre-amp, proving equally happy in single-ended and balanced mode. They also proved conspicuously successful when driven directly from variable output DACS, working beautifully with the CH C1.2, the Wadax Studio player and the Grimm Mu2, perhaps reflecting the 200kΩ input impedance on the balanced inputs.
In fact, the Trilogy amps proved to be as practical and accommodating as they were capable. Perfectly able to show the differences between partner pre-amps, source components or cables, they also proved happy to work with any and all-comers. The narrow, deep footprint meant that the two amps could easily be accommodated side-by-side on a single shelf, assuming it offered the necessary height, not just for the chassis, but also to allow proper ventilation above it (a total of around 45cm/20”). If that height is restrictive, the same holds true for a single amp-stand. This is not a fussy product with a limited range of applications and I found it exceptionally versatile and tractable in use. If in doubt, reach for the Trilogies became an unspoken rule of thumb and more often than not, these were the first amps hooked up to any newly arrived speaker in the Reading Room, something that speaks for itself.
Different is as different does?
There is more rubbish written about Class A operation than almost any other subject in audio, short of ribbon tweeters (and cables). From the marketing-led claims about pre-amp tubes operating in Class A (it’s a given!) to the many and varied attempts to claim Class A performance from circuits that are clearly something else entirely. Yet that Class A moniker still carries its own fascination – and when you listen to a properly execute Class A design (of which this is one) it’s very obvious why.
The 995Rs bring a body, colour and fluidity to musical reproduction that is at the core of convincing audio performance. But to that they also add a natural sense of pace and dynamic discrimination, whether that means slow and low or fast and furious. Vivaldi’s La Cetra, played in a small group, original instruments arrangement (Rachel Podger and the Holland Baroque Society, Channel Classics CCS SA 33412) might not seem like a demanding dynamic workout, but the music is full of dynamic shading, accented phrases and bowing that mixes sudden attack with poised restraint. The Trilogy amps invest the music with substance, shape and shifting density, the playing with purpose and vitality. These amps have an uncanny ability to capture the tonality of instruments, the energy envelope of a note, to modulate a phrase. The bass and continuo underpinnings from Harpsichord, cello and bass are solid, rounded and perfectly paced, augmented by the piping notes of the chamber organ, beautifully hollow and resonant. The result isn’t just an expansive and coherent acoustic space, it’s a stable musical performance, firmly rooted but also full of life and contrast. Violins are sweet but also have bite, with a sense of vigour in the bowing when necessary, smooth continuity when required.
