First I would like to say
THANKS to Todd for giving me the opportunity to participate in the loaner program!! I was supposed to have it for 2 weeks, and it wound up actually being 3,
. The third week came in handy, it gave me a chance to give it a final listen, after becoming more familiar with it. As you know,the amp is a solid state discreet design by Pete Millet. I believe it now retails for, approximately, $700.00. The only amp I had on hand to compare it to was the RSA HR-2 (old faithful), since I am in flux right now with my setup, still trying to decide if I should go fully portable or speaker based.
The following is a list of gear that I used to sample the TTVJ FET-A:
Source: Rega Saturn
RCA Cables: Analysis Plus Solo Crystal
Power Cables: van den Hul The Mainsserver;Shuyanta Viper
Headphones: AKG K702\SAA Equinox cable
Comparative amp: RSA HR-2
Music:
Eternal; Brandford Marsalis
Elvin; Elvin Jones Quartet
McCoy Tyner Quartet
Impact; Charles Tolliver
Cowboy Junkies
and some Hendrix...
The SQ of the CDs ranged from audiophile level to `bright and compressed as hell'!
[Build Quality]
I was supposed to take some pics, but time constraints and lack of a decent digital camera prevented me from doing so, feel free to visit TTVJ.com to check out look! I was surprised by the heft, and solid feel of the amp. It's built like a tank. The one nitpick is the look of the volume knob, yes I know I know, it's been mentioned before. Ignoring the aesthetic appeal of the knob, it feels solid, and turns very smoothly. It's something I could live with, this is definitely a function over form design! The RCA jacks feel secure, I didn't have any trouble disengaging the WBT nextgen connectors on my RCA cables. One thing I noticed during use, was that it became HOT, very HOT. I assume this is due to it running as a class A device. I didn't notice any vents\heatsinks for the heat to escape, but after being on for 4+ days it cooldown somewhat, although it was still warm. I prefer a two box solution, power supply and amp section completely separate. It also has a small\medium footprint, overall it is a very well built amp. I wasn't able to view the internals, not that I would know what the hell I was looking at
.
[Sound Quality]
I would like to approach this section from the `synergy' viewpoint. So with that caveat out of the way let's begin.
The first thing I noticed was the separation of instruments and layering. It was a very clean presentation, it also made the soundstage appear slightly larger than when I was using the HR-2. Each player had their own space and 'air' around them, this created a near holographic effect with certain CDs, this was very apparent on the Branford Marsalis Eternal CD, I think I played this CD once after having it for years, and by chance I pulled it out to test the FET-A and was unable to stop. I think I played this CD for 3-4 days!
Along with the impressive separation, I heard DETAILS.. gobs and gobs of details. With this particular setup, I didn't feel I was missing anything on the tracks. The HR-2, albeit it was introduced 5 or so years ago, was slightly as detailed (I believe the HR-2 is discreet in the output stage), which impressed me also. I think the low noise floor of both amps helps in this category, both the FET-A and HR-2 were dead silent for me, with nothing playing. Music seemed to emanate from a blackground. The only issue I noticed, was a tracking error, with the knob turned down to 0 and music playing, you could still hear it, if you listened. With no music playing and the volume maxed out, I could hear some hiss on the FET-A, not so much with the HR-2, but who listens at those volumes anyway.
Taking the good with the bad, here's the darkside of system synergy. Even with all of the detailed separation and low noise floor, the TTVJ FET-A was missing something. When I switched back to the HR-2 I realized that instruments didn't come across rich and full, I think since the HR-2 is geared towards sounding `tubey', this helps the AKG 702s, with the FET-A it sounded more flat. And at times sibilant with a sheen on certain tracks. Perhaps the FET-A is accentuating a flaw with the headphones (?). There wasn't enough warmth present. I think the FET-A would be better mated to HD-650s, or D5000s, etc... This is where it's important to properly mate components.
Overall I think the TTVJ FET-A represents a good value in the 500-1000 price bracket. If you get a chance to listen to one at a meet, please do. If I had a darker headphone, I would seriously consider this amp!
Once again, thanks Todd!