Where is hi-fidelity going? Integrated products like the Devialet point the way, and yet traditional stalwarts like the Swiss Solution keep the faith, even if they are new to the scene. Enter the lab, Trends Audio of Hong Kong, China. David Ho, the proprietor, sent us his PA-10.D as a review item. We had requested the complete set of products (as shipping would be cheap - they're small), to give full review of the Trends Audio experience.
Many good things are coming from China in the world of high fidelity. Why? It's the market, projected to surpass Europe's GDP this year, and the USA, in 2016. Already, our preliminary research has shown production capacity of domestic luxury hi-fi to be equal to that of our existing market in North America.
Now back to Trends Audio. Trends is the market name for ITOK Media Ltd., operating out of Hong Kong. We like Hong Kong, because we've been there twice. Once with family, and the second time, with a jazz ensemble. In fact our experience of Hong Kong has given us an interest in all things from China in general, like beautiful vistas, Tai Chi, and genuine cuisine, like that served at the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club. We've learn that it's polite to accept what's served to you, and that drinking 13 cups of tea is a pleasant way to enjoy genuine company.
Now not every number is equally meaningful among contrasting cultures. We weren't able to verify the measurements supplied by Trends as our stalwart reviewer assigned to the task suffered a leg malfunction while visiting family. One can do this equally in the Alps, or the North of Canada, on a relatively flat surface, we've discovered, due to ice. [We don't call Canada "The True North Strong and Free" for 'nothin, and thankfully a wonderful medical system, and several helicopters and planes (we can't remember the exact sequence) brought this bright man back home.]
So, what are we saying? We've suffered no misfortune in visiting Hong Kong twice, and none in the slightest receiving and using the Trends PA-10.1D.
The Trends PA-10.1D is a thing of beauty. Attractive casework, good brushed aluminum fascia (front panel), solid contrasting black "rivets" complimenting the fantastic body-work, with sculptural milled indentations showing solidity of the metal face. The model number could use more work. No. 1 or No. 10 would be a better name for a lovingly crafted item. We see it as a starting point for a wonderful product line, lovingly crafted and made to serve the interests of the desktop audio community.
One of our reviews commented on its well-designed circuitry. He liked how it accommodated for tube-rolling, and perhaps the MOSFET output stage brought him on-board. He poured over the manual and the circuit and commented on every good thing that David Ho had done. Following his footsteps, we can see that this is not a lightly-designed or poorly thought-out product.
You can adjust tube bias, should that be your inclination, and we can heartily recommend the PA-10.1D as a pre-amplifer over the Bottlehead Foreplay, given component quality, operability, and value for money criteria. It took a while for us to get our heads around it, as we were expecting the full Monty of Trends Audio to succinctly put into a commendable review.
After all, at the prices we are looking at, Trends offers a system building exercise, par excellence, offering at affordable prices, amplifiers, this particular pre-amplifier, the PA-10.1D, cables, adapters, a generic power-supply unit, and a Digital to Analogue converter, the UD-10.1 DAC, even speakers. For less than the price of a high-end cable, one could assemble an entire system, and enjoy the experience immensely.
Product quality wise, the Trends unit we received we would rate about the level of a British Rotel. In fact one of our friends, a loudspeaker manufacturer, once designed a Rotel advertisement featuring a vaccum tube as an April fools joke for his co-workers (he was working in a hi-fi shop at the time).
View .PDF
Product: Trends Audio PA-10.1D
Tube Headphone / Pre-Amp (4003 2955)
SRP: $299.00 USD
Manufacturer: www.trendsaudio.com
Available online via the Trends Audio.
For best listening, and selection, audition at your best local retailer of desktop audio solutions
No comments:
Post a Comment