Thanks Nemo for making this video, I spent a lot of time working on the midrange and am glad that you picked up on that. In fact, I had to sacrifice a bit of the bass to get this mid range.
Looking forward to seeing what your brand has in store for the future. Not currently in the market for a tube amp but 2-3 years down the road for sure.
I spent most of my time working on getting rid of the midrange bump so the amp is smooth. In fact, custom parts needed to be ordered to get that midrange and I am glad you were able to pick up on that strength. To say the midrange beats everything you have tried at your place is very rewarding for me. The beta version of the TS120 actually had deeper, stronger, and faster bass, when I voiced it, I sacrificed the punch of the bass and toned it down by 10% to get that midrange. I was ok with other tube amps beating the TS120SE in bass because I know, although it is very impressive at audio shows to have crazy bass, when someone sits down at their home and wants long-term enjoyment, the midrange is the key.
Come on mate you got to put batteries in with it doesn't have to be expensive look, at the Phillips are made in China, you should be able to get them about 30 cents a packet, they're good batteries I use them never had a problem. another good cheap battery is Panasonic the ones made in Poland. Have you tried running KT 150 valves I don't think this amp is capable but have you tried a conversion? Can you run them on this app without a conversion?
@jedi-mic The transformer is rated with enough power for kt150 and kt170 actually. I have used it occasionally but did not announce it as I am doing long term testing.
Winging the video, not having a script... makes it so easy and enjoyable to listen to your videos. Great, honest and passionate review. Like you're listen to a buddy you trust. Thank you!
thank you for the kind words brother, very few people notice the entire video is essentially a freestyle, maybe only 2-3 people year comment about that and I genuinely appreciate the few of you that notice.
Emei is a purist piece, no features, no subwoofer output, tone control, nothing, just a super simple amp all about sound quality and it does it very well. Little too early to say anything beyond that but this could be a big winner for those that don't need the features and simply want the best sound under $2k.
Im also in the chicoamp wagon. Im waiting to see Nemo gives his review . For me would be my next amp upgrade. I have an emotiva ta2 and an external dac. So ill be a pretty solid upgrade. I might have to get a rel because it lacks a woofer output but thats part ofy upgrade path since its my first hifi setup !!
@@Jeipr if you're coming from emotiva you're gonna love the choco, it's got all the things that emotiva gets right about sound but on a much higher end overall. More refined treble, much better midrange, etc... Too early to say anymore but I was originally an emotiva amp guy before I upgraded to Kinki.
If they are lithium batteries, they are considered dangerous goods and can not be shipped without incurring a penalty of up to 27000 dollars. Dont own the Ts120, so they might be ordinary aa or aaa batteries.
Maybe that’s why the A6 does not allow digital in to digital out audio Audio out is only from analog out in the A6 As you say it does not suit bright speakers like the focal
@@NemoPropagandaI built a pair of CSS Criton 1TDX with the upgraded crossover in 2020. I have a Pontus 2 for digital. I'm running it on a Rogue Sphinx V3 and it sounds great but feel like it needs a little more power when playing fast or fast and heavy music such as Crust, Dbeat, Burning Spirits etc. Sphinx is 100 watts into 8 ohms and has a dampening factor over a 1000, very musical, no harshness with poorly recorded albums and shines with anything that is well recorded. I was looking at the Kinki MX-1 but feel it might be a little too detailed with those poorly recorded genres. Hegel H190 and the Galion might be good fits, but, out of my price range. Cannot wait for the review as this might be the amp I'm looking for price/sound wise. 6moons review was cryptic but piqued my interest
@@Waderunner626 6moons is always cryptic, they use too many big & fancy words and it's hard to udnerstand the context unless you're an english teacher. I'll make sure to test the emei with the CSS, I can't promise I'll mention it in the video but feel free to comment on that video and ask when it goes up, probably a couple months away from a review though.
The biggest thing I have learnt here, is what the older gentleman told you. Dollar for dollar a tube amp will SOUND better, forget the features. Looks like my new target is probably a Galion. Now to figure out the differences between the 2 versions.
my understanding is the cheaper one has more flavor to the sound and the more expensive one is a more neutral by comparison and has more clarity in the top end. Based on that I think personally I'd go for the cheaper one if it was me because I'd want that extra flavor. I'm sure thomas can explain it better if you email him via the Galion website but I'm pretty sure there is also some writing on the site about the differences if you wanted to skim through that first.
...But will you purchase one? My only reason for avoiding tubes is having to replace them and knowing when to replace them. They degrade from the start but by how much? If I had reliable information on when the sound goes bad, I'd consider it. The brain compensates for a lot more than people give it credit for. Thanks for the vid!
No, I'd go broke if I bought everything I liked :). I agree, the brain certainly does compensate but if it still sounds great I don't think it matters too much. I'd imagine most guys change their tubes out more on a time schedule just to play it safe. I don't know what that time shcedule would be but I'd imagine its in years like maybe once every 3 years perhaps. If you're serious about it you could always email thomas who could better answer that question.
Very insightful and straight forward assessment, good job. I appreciate the observation that perhaps spending more on the equipment than the speaker might be a way to go. In recent years I have come to the heresy that the long-accepted practice of a 60% budgetary split on speakers versus the rest of the components might be outdated wisdom. I have found that many lower priced speaker options in this day and age are outstanding performers. Able to hit way above their weight class, to be on par with hi-end components you would not even to think of pairing them with 30 years ago.
I strongly agree, I think the affordable speaker category has made big leaps & gains in the last decade and while many of them are fair for the money a good amount of them will reward you more with better amplification.
Love the video Nemo! I am a tube guy, sold all my solid state, except my NEC A-10 (original owner from the 80s). The holographic effect and midrange are so amazing. Currently using Rogue Cronus Magnum III. Tube are addictive, once you hear it , you hear it. Waiting for delivery of Q Acoustics Concept 50s .. thanks for doing a tube piece! Are you going to keep the Gallion ?
Hey Paul, no unfortunately not. As a person who reivews a lot of gear I have to be very discipline with what I buy for myself or I'll go crazy and buy everything and that would be reckless. I'm very happy with my personal system of Kinki Studio & Buchardt.
ALL this ..............with current production tubes . Tube rolling ............I say NO , don't do it with THIS amplifier ! I am an old school tube man, almost seventy years living, working, repairing , modyfying and building tube amps , personaly I never use current production tubes so far , as long as my private stock of nos tubes allows this ................current production only for repairs , retubing and modern designed tube amps but not all ! Tube rollling with precioud expensive nos is for tube gear that is build with no commercial limits , yes there are some brands that do honor nos tubes but not that many ! Those amplifiers often use OPT transformers, one transformer costing sometimes more than the price of a Galion ........there's where nos tubes realy SHINE and make the most DIFFERENCE....... Back to this amplifier .......It is very good value for the money as it is sold and straight out of the box . Would I buy it ?..... maybe, I could take the purchase in consideration because at my age it will propably outlive me ........If I would be younger the answer would be NO..... Remember this amplifier is biased by a electronic circuit that works fine but won't live forever , anything fails in amplifier it will be the solid state and the capacitors . The biasing is no excuse for NOT using perfectly matched tube pairs ! .............here the bias automation circuit will compensate for differences in againg ..... Many so called matched pairs are not realy matched pairs.....buy in stores with good reputation and respectfull service . Tubes must be matched in current and ALSO in transconductance , idealy they should be matched at the same operation conditions as in your amplifier ! ...........and AFTER a serious burn-in period only ! To point it out ....this amplifier will propably please many/most audiophiles... during it's lifetime ! Notice that when you purchase an amplifier like this one; do NOT wait to buy TODAY your personal stock of tubes to retube in the future.........at the price of today and no one knows what will happen or what will be the price in the future .......so be SMART ....! You can even ask Thomas to sell you the spare tubes at good price .... Lots of beliefs are on the web by so called new experts without the real know how of old school experience and ( lost) know how of tube technology , it makes me smile at all times because you never can argue with ( mostly fake ) beliefs .... I build and modified tube amplifier that nobody could tell they were listening to a tube amplifier....... A friend for who I build a system told me a story , ........his neighbor , the mother of a teenager came to his door asking what scool he followed to play guitar , she wanted to send her son to that kind of music acadamy .....when he told her that was his music system that played this guitar her eyes opend in unbelief .............double mono 3W 2A3 SET amplifiers , high sensitivity speakers ...........he let her in to loisten , since they became friends ! I had a similar experience iduring summertime when the windows were opened and people passing by , some of them asked who played the piano ? Have a nice day and thanks for the nice review... Want to preserve the qualityies of this amplifier ( andothergood amplifiers ) ..........use quality cables and interconnects..............If you have some money to spend go for NEOTECH ...Silver OCC...........a lifetime investment you will never regret ! Thanks to Thomas also .............I will send him some batteries hahahaha......he did indeed a nice job modifying the DOGE to his personal taste shared with the new owners .......... .
Wow… this amp sounds amazing. I guess it’s making the rounds with other reviewers… I’ve been watching too many golf videos and basketball podcasts; I didn’t see it coming. Great job bro!💪🏽🎼🖤🔥‼️
Nemo, luv how your reviews are short to the point but cover almost everything that you could need. Just one question is solid state like your monoblocks still have faster lightning quick dynamics?
This is the first amp I’ve heard you really mention how impressed you were with the midrange. Same with the Fritz Carbon 7’s you did a while back- were you thinking the same thing I was wishing you could hear the Fritz’s on the TS120? Sounds like a midrange dream team!
yeah normally its either highend requires hegel amp costs a real estate, or 'midrange that cant get any higher with a lessfox' not smooth not detailed not wow just a right earbud
Solid review Nemo, thanks for testing with this with inexpensive speakers. I want one, but it's probably overkill for a near field desktop setup. But I do wonder how it would sound with my under $200 Kanto YU 4" passive speakers.
it would help out their lean midrange for sure but It would be like having a space heater right next to you lol. The kanto Yu are cool but wasn't my favorite cheap speaker + galion pairing. I find the Yu don't like to get too loud as they become a bit shouty and the Galion is very happy to play loud so its kind of a wasteful combination. Same with the Sony SSCS5, it's cheap driver just couldn't handle the power of the Galion at louder volumes.
@NemoPropaganda Thanks for your response. The Galion is just a pipe dream at this point in my life. The YU are placeholders until I can get the SuperMon Mini. However, the YU did exceed my expectations. They have very good soundstage and imaging. But you are right about the lean midrange, and the bass lacks timbre. I use an external analog crossover on the output from my DAC as a workaround for those issues. The high pass goes to the amp, which drives the speakers, and the low pass goes to my sub. The crossover is in the 90-120 Hz range.
@@keithjohnson2863 hey man we all gotta work with what we got! If you want an upgrade without breaking the bank the RSL CG3M is tonally superior to the Yu and very small!!
@@NemoPropaganda Thanks for the tip. I just rewatched your review of the RSL CG3M. it came out about a month after I purchased the YU. I'll keep those in mind if I get the itch to change thinks up.
Ho ho ho what’s this, you got the Kinki Studio Choco Taco integrated thing, neat. I’m a disciple of the Solid State Church but this review makes me question the dogma. How long do vacuum tubes last? I run my stereo an average around 14 or 15 hours a day
I don't think that is true about tube amps!! Artifacts are amplified. Introducing distortion to what you are listening to....tubes change over time, and not always for the better. They degrade. Great review though!
@@NemoPropaganda I can't quote exactly what you said, but the guy you mentioned, what he said about tube amps. It is a subjective thing. Good solid state amps don't typically add a ton of artifacts like tube amps. He said, tube amps are generally better- subjective opinion.
@@TheCharlesAtoz ah I see, yeah I hear ya, I'm a solid state guy myself also but theres no denying what tubes do in the midrange though if you don't like that kind of sound you may feel solid state is better or if like me you use your amps for many hours a day then it just makes more sense to go solid state.
A really nice amp overall. However (and a deal breaker for me) is that it has no balance control. Myself (and I'm sure many others) just don't have the space or ability to perfectly position their speakers for that perfect balance. I have a pair of Klipsch and would love to hear what somebody has to say about this amp with those speakers.
Valve integrated or power amps.. (tube amps to all over the pond) sound louder than transistor watts i.m.o. because as vollume is increased in any tech' of an amplifier, it's THD accordingly rises with it, & the reproduced waveform will eventually get miss- shaped & go into what audio engineers call "clipping" but that higher vollume caused' clipping in tubes give benign sounding even-order harmonics in their clipping distortion, which actually sounds not unpleasant to the ears, as it's in harmony with the source sound being reproduced, while transistors are well known to give mainly odd-order wider-spread harmonics that grate on our ears, no it any kind of harmony with the music. P.S. all distortion is wrongly reproduced harmonics, nothing else)
Special Edition TS120 $4495 USD all included worldwide. You do not pay a penny more! Does it mean i don't have to pay customs and taxes which amounts to about 29% extra. I am from Denmark.
I think there is a lot of confusion surrounding Luxman, Luxman is more the neutral & clarity focused sound so it would be the opposite of a tube amplifier. Accuphase on the other hand is generally warmer but the price disparity is pretty big here so a comparison doesn't really make sense. Most Accuphase systems I've heard have been well over $100k so it's not really a useful datapoint for me.
@@NemoPropaganda Accuphase with its warm( (tube-like?) tone is more comparable then? I know they’re priced so high in the US market but the Japanese domestic models are very attractive.
@@Zhorellski I don't really have enough experience to speak on the brand as a whole but the few accuphase amps I've heard seemed to be on the warmer side.
@@NemoPropaganda Cheers. I should but they were never that responsive when they were just Doge, now that they are making Galion for Thomas, I'm not sure they will give me time of day. No harm in trying I guess. I tried getting the Doge amp for a couple of years.
It was designed by the same designer but they don't sound alike. The TS120SE is about 20% less bright than a Doge 10 Mk3. TS120SE also has a fuller smoother mid bass body while the MK3 is lean. Mk2 had more body in the upper bass compared to the Mk3.
Nemo i yell you brother, you have such a bice wrapped formula fkr you reviews i listen reviews of products i dont even want to buy because i learn at the sane Time... very straight to the point personality just like me.... Plus i am a crazy car freak or anything thats buens fuel .. dont het ne started on ev
hell yeah brother, cars are awesome!!!!!!!! I driver a twin turbo V8 and ocassionally step on the gas for no reason just to cancel out a tesla driver, I also try to eat a pound of beef per day so I can cancel out a vegan. It ain't much but it's honest work lol
Hi Nemo. I like your channel and your presentations. But since you have used word cheating in a title, we can also consider this word in a sense of tehnical cheating, if we leave alone specs datas of some manufacturers. Regarding the resolution and microdetails in speakers like Klipsch, B&W, also Focal's in general, please see some Erin's (Erins Audio Corner) empirical cases - measured findings and explanations - what is actually going on with such speakers. Or in short. I've never heard jazz band playing live in some club, or studio that you get - hear (ok, it depends where you do seat, but in general...) such kind of "resolutions" . It is totally untrue and unnatural expression of band's tonallity and instruments. So can we talk about High fidelity in such cases?
@@mikehuntington4440 Quote: "To be honest the upper treble seemed a bit rolled off which I realized from the very beginning. So imagine my surprise when I started to listen to familiar recording in which the treble plays a very important role. Regardless of this roll-off I could hear it all; all the details and shadings, all the changes of timbre and recordings quality - clearly and at once. The only difference was that all these items were not central parts of the presentation. They were present but rather in the background instead of dominating the main action."
@@JPWintersOhhh, uff, khh, khhh. You know everything about me and Nemo is a hi fi half god, like Erin or Amir or Danny for someones. So what is high fidelity to you in music reproduction? Please, explain it or is it beyond explainiable?
Yeah, I think hifi is hifi, it's not live music, it's different. Some people hunt to make their system sound like live music but I think hifi will always be its own thing. Live music doesn't really sound that great to me personally and can be a bit sharp at times but everyone has different taste :)
Hello, I always follow your videos, since I can't audition the sound equipment live in my country, Chile, I need your advice, I want to buy some speakers and I like the focal chora 826 and the focal aria 906, they are for listening to rock, the I want to move with my leak stereo 230 amplifier, in your opinion, which of these two models would give me a better match for rock? I hope your help and thank you.
mmm... I have not heard Chora 826, only Chora 806 & Aria 906. Both are very good speakers as long as the price is not inflated (like in USA) but I would not consider either one rock speakers. They're both good and very similar, open, clear, detailed, neutral/cool midrange. If that is the sound you like then it's a great speaker. For rock some may feel they are a little too analytical but personal taste is a big factor. What is the price in your country for Aria 906?
@@Luis-eh1cf oh okay, yeah then that's a really good price! The two speakers are similar, Arias midrange is a little fuller sounding and gives you a much nicer cabinet. I would go Aria for sure if you have the extra money. However if you listen to dirty rock where the recordings are a bit poor the Aria 906 will show you that.
Thanks Nemo for making this video, I spent a lot of time working on the midrange and am glad that you picked up on that. In fact, I had to sacrifice a bit of the bass to get this mid range.
Looking forward to seeing what your brand has in store for the future. Not currently in the market for a tube amp but 2-3 years down the road for sure.
What is the probability of a Tube preamp?
@@damonmaddox1313 In a few months.
@@aceofspades6667 A solid state class A 20w amp in a few months. A transmission line affordable speaker in a few months.
@@ThomasAndStereolike the PMC DB1? Bigger or smaller? ( assume bigger)
I spent most of my time working on getting rid of the midrange bump so the amp is smooth. In fact, custom parts needed to be ordered to get that midrange and I am glad you were able to pick up on that strength. To say the midrange beats everything you have tried at your place is very rewarding for me. The beta version of the TS120 actually had deeper, stronger, and faster bass, when I voiced it, I sacrificed the punch of the bass and toned it down by 10% to get that midrange. I was ok with other tube amps beating the TS120SE in bass because I know, although it is very impressive at audio shows to have crazy bass, when someone sits down at their home and wants long-term enjoyment, the midrange is the key.
Come on mate you got to put batteries in with it doesn't have to be expensive look, at the Phillips are made in China, you should be able to get them about 30 cents a packet, they're good batteries I use them never had a problem. another good cheap battery is Panasonic the ones made in Poland.
Have you tried running KT 150 valves I don't think this amp is capable but have you tried a conversion?
Can you run them on this app without a conversion?
@jedi-mic The transformer is rated with enough power for kt150 and kt170 actually. I have used it occasionally but did not announce it as I am doing long term testing.
I have a TS120 SE - can’t say enough good things about it! Thomas’ sales and after sales attention is also outstanding!
Winging the video, not having a script... makes it so easy and enjoyable to listen to your videos. Great, honest and passionate review. Like you're listen to a buddy you trust. Thank you!
thank you for the kind words brother, very few people notice the entire video is essentially a freestyle, maybe only 2-3 people year comment about that and I genuinely appreciate the few of you that notice.
Okay, Galion is great, now tell me more about that Choco Sound Emei 👀
Emei is a purist piece, no features, no subwoofer output, tone control, nothing, just a super simple amp all about sound quality and it does it very well. Little too early to say anything beyond that but this could be a big winner for those that don't need the features and simply want the best sound under $2k.
Im also in the chicoamp wagon. Im waiting to see Nemo gives his review . For me would be my next amp upgrade. I have an emotiva ta2 and an external dac. So ill be a pretty solid upgrade. I might have to get a rel because it lacks a woofer output but thats part ofy upgrade path since its my first hifi setup !!
@@Jeipr if you're coming from emotiva you're gonna love the choco, it's got all the things that emotiva gets right about sound but on a much higher end overall. More refined treble, much better midrange, etc... Too early to say anymore but I was originally an emotiva amp guy before I upgraded to Kinki.
Batteries create a shipping problem that’s why
yeah I thought it might be something like that.
If they are lithium batteries, they are considered dangerous goods and can not be shipped without incurring a penalty of up to 27000 dollars. Dont own the Ts120, so they might be ordinary aa or aaa batteries.
Maybe that’s why the A6 does not allow digital in to digital out audio
Audio out is only from analog out in the A6
As you say it does not suit bright speakers like the focal
Thanks for the review! See the Choco sound Emei in yhe background. Excited for the review of that as well!
oh yeah! The Choco is really great, very limited features but the sound is top tier!
@@NemoPropagandaI built a pair of CSS Criton 1TDX with the upgraded crossover in 2020. I have a Pontus 2 for digital. I'm running it on a Rogue Sphinx V3 and it sounds great but feel like it needs a little more power when playing fast or fast and heavy music such as Crust, Dbeat, Burning Spirits etc. Sphinx is 100 watts into 8 ohms and has a dampening factor over a 1000, very musical, no harshness with poorly recorded albums and shines with anything that is well recorded. I was looking at the Kinki MX-1 but feel it might be a little too detailed with those poorly recorded genres. Hegel H190 and the Galion might be good fits, but, out of my price range. Cannot wait for the review as this might be the amp I'm looking for price/sound wise. 6moons review was cryptic but piqued my interest
@@Waderunner626 6moons is always cryptic, they use too many big & fancy words and it's hard to udnerstand the context unless you're an english teacher. I'll make sure to test the emei with the CSS, I can't promise I'll mention it in the video but feel free to comment on that video and ask when it goes up, probably a couple months away from a review though.
The biggest thing I have learnt here, is what the older gentleman told you. Dollar for dollar a tube amp will SOUND better, forget the features. Looks like my new target is probably a Galion. Now to figure out the differences between the 2 versions.
my understanding is the cheaper one has more flavor to the sound and the more expensive one is a more neutral by comparison and has more clarity in the top end. Based on that I think personally I'd go for the cheaper one if it was me because I'd want that extra flavor. I'm sure thomas can explain it better if you email him via the Galion website but I'm pretty sure there is also some writing on the site about the differences if you wanted to skim through that first.
...But will you purchase one? My only reason for avoiding tubes is having to replace them and knowing when to replace them. They degrade from the start but by how much? If I had reliable information on when the sound goes bad, I'd consider it. The brain compensates for a lot more than people give it credit for. Thanks for the vid!
No, I'd go broke if I bought everything I liked :). I agree, the brain certainly does compensate but if it still sounds great I don't think it matters too much. I'd imagine most guys change their tubes out more on a time schedule just to play it safe. I don't know what that time shcedule would be but I'd imagine its in years like maybe once every 3 years perhaps. If you're serious about it you could always email thomas who could better answer that question.
Do i see a Choco Amp by Kynky at the top??? Yessss!!! Im really interested in this amp!!!! ❤❤❤. Tha ks for the great review as always!!!
Yes sir!!!!!!! I'm surprised so many people have their eyes on the Choco!
Very insightful and straight forward assessment, good job. I appreciate the observation that perhaps spending more on the equipment than the speaker might be a way to go. In recent years I have come to the heresy that the long-accepted practice of a 60% budgetary split on speakers versus the rest of the components might be outdated wisdom. I have found that many lower priced speaker options in this day and age are outstanding performers. Able to hit way above their weight class, to be on par with hi-end components you would not even to think of pairing them with 30 years ago.
I strongly agree, I think the affordable speaker category has made big leaps & gains in the last decade and while many of them are fair for the money a good amount of them will reward you more with better amplification.
A dimmer for the led colour would suit a lot of people who listen in the dark or change the colour to a light white
I'd really really love to hear one of these! Personally, I love blue LEDs - especially on silver gear. They need dimmer options for night tho - agreed
That would be cool, I'm a big fan of dimmable light sources on gear.
Love the video Nemo! I am a tube guy, sold all my solid state, except my NEC A-10 (original owner from the 80s). The holographic effect and midrange are so amazing. Currently using Rogue Cronus Magnum III. Tube are addictive, once you hear it , you hear it. Waiting for delivery of Q Acoustics Concept 50s .. thanks for doing a tube piece! Are you going to keep the Gallion ?
By the way saving $ to add a Galion
Hey Paul, no unfortunately not. As a person who reivews a lot of gear I have to be very discipline with what I buy for myself or I'll go crazy and buy everything and that would be reckless. I'm very happy with my personal system of Kinki Studio & Buchardt.
Another fine video thanks, when you get around reviewing the UBR62s could you please remember to compare them to the s400 MK2. Thanks
I will but its no contest, the S400 MK2 takes the easy win and priced $1000 higher theres no shame to the Elac for that.
Sweet review as always Nemo! Digging the no nonsense approach
I been saving for this amp since it was first announced. I'm still over a year away. But it's my end game amplifier choice
I respect your financial planning!
ALL this ..............with current production tubes .
Tube rolling ............I say NO , don't do it with THIS amplifier !
I am an old school tube man, almost seventy years living, working, repairing , modyfying and building tube amps , personaly I never use current production tubes so far , as long as my private stock of nos tubes allows this ................current production only for repairs , retubing and modern designed tube amps but not all !
Tube rollling with precioud expensive nos is for tube gear that is build with no commercial limits , yes there are some brands that do honor nos tubes but not that many !
Those amplifiers often use OPT transformers, one transformer costing sometimes more than the price of a Galion ........there's where nos tubes realy SHINE and make the most DIFFERENCE.......
Back to this amplifier .......It is very good value for the money as it is sold and straight out of the box .
Would I buy it ?..... maybe, I could take the purchase in consideration because at my age it will propably outlive me ........If I would be younger the answer would be NO.....
Remember this amplifier is biased by a electronic circuit that works fine but won't live forever , anything fails in amplifier it will be the solid state and the capacitors .
The biasing is no excuse for NOT using perfectly matched tube pairs ! .............here the bias automation circuit will compensate for differences in againg .....
Many so called matched pairs are not realy matched pairs.....buy in stores with good reputation and respectfull service .
Tubes must be matched in current and ALSO in transconductance , idealy they should be matched at the same operation conditions as in your amplifier ! ...........and AFTER a serious burn-in period only !
To point it out ....this amplifier will propably please many/most audiophiles... during it's lifetime !
Notice that when you purchase an amplifier like this one; do NOT wait to buy TODAY your personal stock of tubes to retube in the future.........at the price of today and no one knows what will happen or what will be the price in the future .......so be SMART ....!
You can even ask Thomas to sell you the spare tubes at good price ....
Lots of beliefs are on the web by so called new experts without the real know how of old school experience and ( lost) know how of tube technology , it makes me smile at all times because you never can argue with ( mostly fake ) beliefs ....
I build and modified tube amplifier that nobody could tell they were listening to a tube amplifier.......
A friend for who I build a system told me a story , ........his neighbor , the mother of a teenager came to his door asking what scool he followed to play guitar , she wanted to send her son to that kind of music acadamy .....when he told her that was his music system that played this guitar her eyes opend in unbelief .............double mono 3W 2A3 SET amplifiers , high sensitivity speakers ...........he let her in to loisten , since they became friends !
I had a similar experience iduring summertime when the windows were opened and people passing by , some of them asked who played the piano ?
Have a nice day and thanks for the nice review...
Want to preserve the qualityies of this amplifier ( andothergood amplifiers ) ..........use quality cables and interconnects..............If you have some money to spend go for NEOTECH ...Silver OCC...........a lifetime investment you will never regret !
Thanks to Thomas also .............I will send him some batteries hahahaha......he did indeed a nice job modifying the DOGE to his personal taste shared with the new owners ..........
.
Wow… this amp sounds amazing. I guess it’s making the rounds with other reviewers… I’ve been watching too many golf videos and basketball podcasts; I didn’t see it coming. Great job bro!💪🏽🎼🖤🔥‼️
same here except I've been watching too many videos on black holes and video games lol
Very good and descriptive review, thank you. Now I only have to sell my car to afford this. So again, thanks 😄
Thank you for this excellent review. Just one question, can it handle loud volumes without the sound hardening?
the amp kept its composure and sound quality no matter how much I cranked the volume knob, even with harder to drive speakers.
Nemo, luv how your reviews are short to the point but cover almost everything that you could need. Just one question is solid state like your monoblocks still have faster lightning quick dynamics?
I didn't notice any difference, if you're talking about that slow/relaxing presentation some tube amps are known for the Galion is the total opposite.
Thanks for sharing and the comparison is great.
This is the first amp I’ve heard you really mention how impressed you were with the midrange. Same with the Fritz Carbon 7’s you did a while back- were you thinking the same thing I was wishing you could hear the Fritz’s on the TS120? Sounds like a midrange dream team!
I had both at the same time and listened to them together :)
yeah normally its either highend requires hegel amp costs a real estate, or 'midrange that cant get any higher with a lessfox'
not smooth not detailed not wow just a right earbud
prob its bcs its around same level as my old iem, so 'personal' sound i guess
Solid review Nemo, thanks for testing with this with inexpensive speakers. I want one, but it's probably overkill for a near field desktop setup. But I do wonder how it would sound with my under $200 Kanto YU 4" passive speakers.
it would help out their lean midrange for sure but It would be like having a space heater right next to you lol. The kanto Yu are cool but wasn't my favorite cheap speaker + galion pairing. I find the Yu don't like to get too loud as they become a bit shouty and the Galion is very happy to play loud so its kind of a wasteful combination. Same with the Sony SSCS5, it's cheap driver just couldn't handle the power of the Galion at louder volumes.
@NemoPropaganda Thanks for your response. The Galion is just a pipe dream at this point in my life. The YU are placeholders until I can get the SuperMon Mini. However, the YU did exceed my expectations. They have very good soundstage and imaging. But you are right about the lean midrange, and the bass lacks timbre. I use an external analog crossover on the output from my DAC as a workaround for those issues. The high pass goes to the amp, which drives the speakers, and the low pass goes to my sub. The crossover is in the 90-120 Hz range.
@@keithjohnson2863 hey man we all gotta work with what we got! If you want an upgrade without breaking the bank the RSL CG3M is tonally superior to the Yu and very small!!
@@NemoPropaganda Thanks for the tip. I just rewatched your review of the RSL CG3M. it came out about a month after I purchased the YU. I'll keep those in mind if I get the itch to change thinks up.
Ho ho ho what’s this, you got the Kinki Studio Choco Taco integrated thing, neat.
I’m a disciple of the Solid State Church but this review makes me question the dogma.
How long do vacuum tubes last? I run my stereo an average around 14 or 15 hours a day
I'm not sure but I'm in the same boat as you, I use my amps a ton so I've always used solid state. Yeah the Choco is pretty sweet so far!
I don't think that is true about tube amps!! Artifacts are amplified. Introducing distortion to what you are listening to....tubes change over time, and not always for the better. They degrade. Great review though!
I'm not sure what you're referring to, what's not true?
@@NemoPropaganda I can't quote exactly what you said, but the guy you mentioned, what he said about tube amps. It is a subjective thing. Good solid state amps don't typically add a ton of artifacts like tube amps. He said, tube amps are generally better- subjective opinion.
@@TheCharlesAtoz ah I see, yeah I hear ya, I'm a solid state guy myself also but theres no denying what tubes do in the midrange though if you don't like that kind of sound you may feel solid state is better or if like me you use your amps for many hours a day then it just makes more sense to go solid state.
A really nice amp overall. However (and a deal breaker for me) is that it has no balance control. Myself (and I'm sure many others) just don't have the space or ability to perfectly position their speakers for that perfect balance. I have a pair of Klipsch and would love to hear what somebody has to say about this amp with those speakers.
not sure which klipsch speakers you're referring to but I did mention klipsch in the video.
Valve integrated or power amps.. (tube amps to all over the pond) sound louder than transistor watts i.m.o. because as vollume is increased in any tech' of an amplifier, it's THD accordingly rises with it, & the reproduced waveform will eventually get miss- shaped & go into what audio engineers call "clipping" but that higher vollume caused'
clipping in tubes give benign sounding even-order harmonics in their clipping distortion, which actually sounds not unpleasant to the ears, as it's in harmony with the source sound being reproduced, while transistors are well known to give mainly odd-order wider-spread harmonics that grate on our ears, no it any kind of harmony with the music. P.S. all distortion is wrongly reproduced harmonics, nothing else)
I'm not sure that's it, I was nowhere near clipping, often times I only had the volume knob 930
About those batteries...Thomas. What say you??
Special Edition TS120
$4495 USD all included worldwide. You do not pay a penny more! Does it mean i don't have to pay customs and taxes which amounts to about 29% extra. I am from Denmark.
Yup, I pay those.
looks like you have your answer :)
Last question how is it done?
@@mrt6349 please email Thomas using the contact form on the Galion website.
What about VAT?
How would you compare this against Accuphase and Luxman integrated Amps?
I think there is a lot of confusion surrounding Luxman, Luxman is more the neutral & clarity focused sound so it would be the opposite of a tube amplifier. Accuphase on the other hand is generally warmer but the price disparity is pretty big here so a comparison doesn't really make sense. Most Accuphase systems I've heard have been well over $100k so it's not really a useful datapoint for me.
@@NemoPropaganda Accuphase with its warm( (tube-like?) tone is more comparable then? I know they’re priced so high in the US market but the Japanese domestic models are very attractive.
@@Zhorellski I don't really have enough experience to speak on the brand as a whole but the few accuphase amps I've heard seemed to be on the warmer side.
Amazing =)
Buy a Primaluna , or at least look into a premaluna amp.
I have, not a fan of the volume control personally but it sounded good: ua-cam.com/video/9MIhvJrkolY/v-deo.htmlsi=EXQO13WK6013gxdA
Will it stack on top of a Doge 7 please?
I don't know bro it's pretty heavy, you should email doge and ask them.
@@NemoPropaganda Cheers. I should but they were never that responsive when they were just Doge, now that they are making Galion for Thomas, I'm not sure they will give me time of day. No harm in trying I guess. I tried getting the Doge amp for a couple of years.
@@choboutube yeah, some companies really suck when it comes to communication. You try asking thomas via the Galion website?
As I understand it, the Galion is basically a Doge amp, with a little extra bling - et voila! Smart move, Thomas! 😉
It was designed by the same designer but they don't sound alike. The TS120SE is about 20% less bright than a Doge 10 Mk3. TS120SE also has a fuller smoother mid bass body while the MK3 is lean. Mk2 had more body in the upper bass compared to the Mk3.
It's also $2 grand more
Almost $3 grand
Have you ever used ts120se as a power amp with kinki pre?
no, I didn't see any benifit in doing that.
@@NemoPropaganda Thx 🙏
✌🏼👽☮❤
Batteries not included move on 😂
Nemo i yell you brother, you have such a bice wrapped formula fkr you reviews i listen reviews of products i dont even want to buy because i learn at the sane Time... very straight to the point personality just like me....
Plus i am a crazy car freak or anything thats buens fuel
.. dont het ne started on ev
hell yeah brother, cars are awesome!!!!!!!! I driver a twin turbo V8 and ocassionally step on the gas for no reason just to cancel out a tesla driver, I also try to eat a pound of beef per day so I can cancel out a vegan. It ain't much but it's honest work lol
Hi Nemo. I like your channel and your presentations. But since you have used word cheating in a title, we can also consider this word in a sense of tehnical cheating, if we leave alone specs datas of some manufacturers.
Regarding the resolution and microdetails in speakers like Klipsch, B&W, also Focal's in general, please see some Erin's (Erins Audio Corner) empirical cases - measured findings and explanations - what is actually going on with such speakers.
Or in short.
I've never heard jazz band playing live in some club, or studio that you get - hear (ok, it depends where you do seat, but in general...) such kind of "resolutions" . It is totally untrue and unnatural expression of band's tonallity and instruments. So can we talk about High fidelity in such cases?
Is it okay that I don't understand this comment at all?
@@mikehuntington4440 Quote: "To be honest the upper treble seemed a bit rolled off which I realized from the very beginning. So imagine my surprise when I started to listen to familiar recording in which the treble plays a very important role. Regardless of this roll-off I could hear it all; all the details and shadings, all the changes of timbre and recordings quality - clearly and at once. The only difference was that all these items were not central parts of the presentation. They were present but rather in the background instead of dominating the main action."
Mentioning Erin, ASR, or measurements is mostly for amateurs or beginners who just don't understand. Nemo is beyond that.
@@JPWintersOhhh, uff, khh, khhh. You know everything about me and Nemo is a hi fi half god, like Erin or Amir or Danny for someones.
So what is high fidelity to you in music reproduction? Please, explain it or is it beyond explainiable?
Yeah, I think hifi is hifi, it's not live music, it's different. Some people hunt to make their system sound like live music but I think hifi will always be its own thing. Live music doesn't really sound that great to me personally and can be a bit sharp at times but everyone has different taste :)
Hello, I always follow your videos, since I can't audition the sound equipment live in my country, Chile, I need your advice, I want to buy some speakers and I like the focal chora 826 and the focal aria 906, they are for listening to rock, the I want to move with my leak stereo 230 amplifier, in your opinion, which of these two models would give me a better match for rock? I hope your help and thank you.
mmm... I have not heard Chora 826, only Chora 806 & Aria 906. Both are very good speakers as long as the price is not inflated (like in USA) but I would not consider either one rock speakers. They're both good and very similar, open, clear, detailed, neutral/cool midrange. If that is the sound you like then it's a great speaker. For rock some may feel they are a little too analytical but personal taste is a big factor. What is the price in your country for Aria 906?
@@NemoPropaganda Hello, it was 806, sorry, and the arias should cost approx. 859 dollars.
@@Luis-eh1cf oh okay, yeah then that's a really good price! The two speakers are similar, Arias midrange is a little fuller sounding and gives you a much nicer cabinet. I would go Aria for sure if you have the extra money. However if you listen to dirty rock where the recordings are a bit poor the Aria 906 will show you that.