UltraSonic Studios Amps

[Isaacc7]

Finding it hard to get my head around this, very much clouds my everyday thoughts. Wondering about things like, did Tomas get to enjoy his Tele, how many amps did he manage to get out into the world, did he truly know how world class his products are, especially compared to some of the silly priced amps out there at the minute, should he have taken his foot off the gas earlier, maybe delegating some of the production and not imposing a one amp per month deadline.
You may think I am being silly but I do feel a level of guilt, but if you think I am talking rubbish feel free to tell me to pipe down.

R.I.P. Tomas

I too feel a bit guilty. I think my amp was one of the last ones he built and it was a weird build with multiple issues he had to overcome. He pushed himself to meet the deadline.

On the other hand it was his choice to push. Maybe he made the wrong choice, but it was his. So my guilt is lifted a bit with that.

I am saddened by the thought he didn’t really understand the joy his amps give us now and in the future. It sounds dramatic and a bit silly to tell your amp builder that their amp brings so much joy to you and that you will always be thankful for them. But I do wish I had told Tomas that.

 

[baronbeehive]

To all those feeling bad about Sonic, he was only doing what he loved to do. He was always ahead and wanting to develop his amp builds entirely of his own choice. That's what he was like. And I'm sure that he knew how much we valued him and his amps as shown by the opinions expressed on the thread. He wouldn't have spent so much time responding to everyone if he didn't want to do it himself.

I think we are all still in shock over this tragic turn of events though.

 

[triod750]

Feeling bad about him is part of feeling good about him. This is how life and death is.

 

[Maxx134]

Oh no, this is shocking news, I don't know what to say. Something made me look at the thread just now and what awful news about Sonic. I know he said he had health problems but like all of us here I was hoping it wasn't serious.

I too send all my best wishes to his family.

I have known him when we both were on the Little Dot threads as we both started around the same time with some others including Maxx134. As you can see from my posts I joined around 2008 with my first LD amp and subsequently acquired the LD Mk VI+ balanced amp and that's where all the fun started when some of us there decided to try to mod our amps to the max by pushing it to the limits. Sonic was one of the first to carry out some mods and when MrCurwen joined the thread with his theoretical ideas Sonic was keen to develop these into a practical version of these ideas. All of which lead to this thread here.

Unfortunately there is nobody else that is involved in these builds and MrCurwen himself, being more of an ideas man, doesn't build them himself on the same scale as the business which Sonic developed AFAIK.

So we must be thankful that Sonic has left us with such a legacy for which we are most grateful. As others have said he was always polite and willing to help out anyone with problems and I am glad to have been involved in this thread which has been very good natured and fun. I am sure Sonic would be pleased to know how grateful we all are for that.

Sonic, you will be greatly missed.

This really tears at my heart. I knew Thomas since he first started here.

He was an honest and such a good man. God Bless his soul. I was unaware of any illness as he never mentioned his problems in his life. I will miss him. Ugg so... I'm speechless.

 

[baronbeehive]

Feeling bad about him is part of feeling good about him. This is how life and death is.

Very sorry for any misunderstanding, I meant to say feeling bad about his passing and the demands that we placed on him.

 

[baronbeehive]

This really tears at my heart. I knew Thomas since he first started here.

He was an honest and such a good man. God Bless his soul. I was unaware of any illness as he never mentioned his problems in his life. I will miss him. Ugg so... I'm speechless.

Yes I'm shattered, we knew him right from the start way way back sometime around 2008 when I joined Headfi.

 

[leftside]

So sorry to hear about this terrible news. I could tell from his posts on here that Tomas was a good man. He lived his last years doing what he loved. Can't ask for more than that. Treasure those amps he built.

 

[triod750]

Very sorry for any misunderstanding, I meant to say feeling bad about his passing and the demands that we placed on him.

That's how I read your words. Life is complicated and full. But maybe wishes and not demands?

 

[Monsterzero]

Tomas and I shared quite a few private messages. We both had interest in doing a tour and review of one of his amps, but his build que was always double digits in length and neither a tour nor a review ever materialized.
Tomas was always quite responsive with my questions and a cool person to communicate with. I never did get to hear one of his creations, which in the light of his passing makes me sad.

RIP Tomas

 

[UntilThen]

So sorry to hear about this terrible news. I could tell from his posts on here that Tomas was a good man. He lived his last years doing what he loved. Can't ask for more than that. Treasure those amps he built.

Tomas and I shared quite a few private messages. We both had interest in doing a tour and review of one of his amps, but his build que was always double digits in length and neither a tour nor a review ever materialized.
Tomas was always quite responsive with my questions and a cool person to communicate with. I never did get to hear one of his creations, which in the light of his passing makes me sad.

RIP Tomas

I will treasure my Odyssey and Oblivion. Aside from sounding great, these amps have 2 distinct traits I love most. They are super quiet (you have no idea how much this means to me after going through many tube amps) and very cool even after hours of operation. Only heat coming out of Odyssey is the power transformer which is to be expected.

Tomas shared with me after he created the Oblivion for my review. I like to think it's for my opinion. He shared that he was registering a company call Ultrasonic Studio going forward. It was the early days and he had only a trickle of orders but it grew and grew. It must be exciting at the beginning to be creating your own amps for sale, especially with very good feedback and critical ones as well. You have to be thick skin in this game. I guess it would take a toll as the weeks, months and years pass as he continues making amps after work on weekdays and weekends. The fun factor will drop off and it will become work. Never once did he complain to me though except for the occasions when he said he needed a weekend out for a change.

Then I receive my one and only silver Odyssey. The very first Odyssey. The only one that uses Telefunken EL11 as dedicated input drivers. When I had a look at the inside, I was in awe at the neatness and artistry of the layout. Tomas is a perfectionist. Even the inside looks great and the boutique parts. There are no cheap back and red cables. There are instead, green, yellow, red, blue and black cables with the black and gold Mundorf caps and Yamamoto's sockets against a silver chassis. It's a work of art. No chassis board. It's point to point wiring and soldering.

All of us are still in shock over this tragic news. It's hard to process your thoughts. Whatever I said these 2 days are a blur to me but I hope it's respectful and a tribute to Tomas and his creations.

@Monsterzero , I wish you had the opportunity to listen to one of the Ultrasonic amps or some sort of arrangement had been in place between Tomas and you. Guess as you said he got too busy in the end for it to happen.

 

[Isaacc7]

@UntilThen yes, his build quality is amazing. And because it is wired point to point I never have to worry about repairs long term. He was so humble. He sent me a picture of the inside of my amp but asked that I not share it because he didn’t want people to criticize his wiring. I went along with his wishes but I told him how crazy he was, the inside was immaculate!

 

[UntilThen]

@Isaacc7 all builders are protective of their proprietory work. I have a picture of the insides here with me taken by Tomas and I did take a few shots myself. I had to have a look at the inside. Some day I may share it.

 

[baronbeehive]

All of us are still in shock over this tragic news. It's hard to process your thoughts. Whatever I said these 2 days are a blur to me but I hope it's respectful and a tribute to Tomas and his creations.

Yes I hope so too. I am just wondering what we are all going to do now? This has been such a big part of life for the last few years.

 

[senseitedj]

Tomas will be greatly missed by his loved ones and the audio community.

I will continue to cherish my beloved Telemachus.

He did all of us a great service, he gave a lot of us access to endgame tube amplifiers at a reasonable price, which we would not otherwise afford.

I always looked forward to the end of the month when Tomas would unveil his latest creation and just look at them with awe. To me, that was always one of the highlights of my time spent in head-fi. I only wished more people had the chance to listen to his amps.

We've lost such a talented person and a friend in the community.

Rest in Peace Tomas.

 

[UntilThen]

Yes I hope so too. I am just wondering what we are all going to do now? This has been such a big part of life for the last few years.

Life will go on here. When I left Glenn's thread, I still visit there once in a blue moon. Glenn had cancer and has not shown up for a very long time. Then I came here.

Life will go on and you will continue to make fun of my golfing skills and @bcowen 's carting skills. Occasionally I will post any more headphone purchase to accompany my Ultrasonic amps. I will continue to listen to some cheesy songs like the Frank Sinatra's masterpiece I'm listening to right now - My Way.