Coda II
getting there slowly
Having put this pair of Convergence monos up for sale two things became apparent: firstly that a fair few people are aware of Tron kit but a relatively small number have heard it and secondly that having pulled them out of one set-up and put them in another, I heard them new all over again and concluded that hanging on to them was the best thing to do.
In answering an inquiry about these amps I also became aware of how much in system improvement is to do with directions of travel; system currently does this well but I’d like it to be better at that so change something, sometimes a step forward, sometimes sideways and sometimes backwards. Rarely do I re-trace my steps and reassess but in this instance doing exactly that but with different speakers in a different space has been very worthwhile.
My Tron journey started with a Convergence phono, then a Seven pre and then these monos; all over a period of several years during which the speakers (Harbeth 30.1) remained the same.
The Phono replaced an Angle Audio and was a straightforward better-at-everything step.
The Seven pre replaced an MFA passive and again was a switch from what good passives do to what good actives do, more drive, more dynamic but not the same airy transparent thing.
The monos replaced a Quad 405-2 and one of the nice but purely practical pluses here was the switchable input sensitivity on the Trons; using them at 3V allows for comfortable use of the volume control which is always at pretty low level. I like the Quad and still have it and the Trons are to my ears more similar to that than they are to the Sugden A21aP which is the other power amp I have used on and off for years. Like the Quad they are very even handed, solid well-controlled bass; if anything more punch and more extended (though bearing in mind this was with Harbeths so bass is relative). I do find that Quad just a bit matter of fact though, even with the Seven (valve) pre in front of it and the Trons make for a livelier presentation but without the exaggerated top-end that can get wearing.
More recently the monos moved to a pairing with Tannoy Legacy Ardens where they deputise for another Tron amp the Atlantic SET (but more of that later). This system had a Townshend Allegri passive pre and had also been through the same Sugden and Quad powers prior to the Atlantic so substituting in the Tron monos was pretty much a known quantity, or so I thought.
The Tannoys are clearly very different things to the Harbeths and though changing amps with the Harbeths did yield differences those differences are significantly more apparent with the Tannoys. I do now wonder whether the Harbeth mantra of all decent amps will sound the same is due to the speakers actually being designed to sound pretty much the same irrespective of what they are paired with. That is overstating it, but I would assume there are advantages (in broadcast) to giving a very similar result with whatever amplification is to hand. Whether we then say thr Tannoys are more revealing or the Harbeths are less fussy depends largely on whether we view this as a positive or negative trait.
Anyway, to come back to the point of retracing steps and revisiting known good points; what I hadn't done until yesterday was pair the Tron Seven and Convergence monos with the Ardens. And that's when I realised the monos had to stay.
Does this pairing do what the passive plus SET does: no.
Does it get a lot closer than anything else I have tried with the Tannoys: yes, and there are even things it does better.
Am I looking forward to trying the Seven plus Atlantic with the Ardens: very much indeed - but no longer with quite the sense of suppressed impatience that I had before.
And yes, as of this morning I have finally got around to trying the DC (non-cap coupled) inputs. Not sure I could pin-point any precise differences but it is sounding very good indeed.
In answering an inquiry about these amps I also became aware of how much in system improvement is to do with directions of travel; system currently does this well but I’d like it to be better at that so change something, sometimes a step forward, sometimes sideways and sometimes backwards. Rarely do I re-trace my steps and reassess but in this instance doing exactly that but with different speakers in a different space has been very worthwhile.
My Tron journey started with a Convergence phono, then a Seven pre and then these monos; all over a period of several years during which the speakers (Harbeth 30.1) remained the same.
The Phono replaced an Angle Audio and was a straightforward better-at-everything step.
The Seven pre replaced an MFA passive and again was a switch from what good passives do to what good actives do, more drive, more dynamic but not the same airy transparent thing.
The monos replaced a Quad 405-2 and one of the nice but purely practical pluses here was the switchable input sensitivity on the Trons; using them at 3V allows for comfortable use of the volume control which is always at pretty low level. I like the Quad and still have it and the Trons are to my ears more similar to that than they are to the Sugden A21aP which is the other power amp I have used on and off for years. Like the Quad they are very even handed, solid well-controlled bass; if anything more punch and more extended (though bearing in mind this was with Harbeths so bass is relative). I do find that Quad just a bit matter of fact though, even with the Seven (valve) pre in front of it and the Trons make for a livelier presentation but without the exaggerated top-end that can get wearing.
More recently the monos moved to a pairing with Tannoy Legacy Ardens where they deputise for another Tron amp the Atlantic SET (but more of that later). This system had a Townshend Allegri passive pre and had also been through the same Sugden and Quad powers prior to the Atlantic so substituting in the Tron monos was pretty much a known quantity, or so I thought.
The Tannoys are clearly very different things to the Harbeths and though changing amps with the Harbeths did yield differences those differences are significantly more apparent with the Tannoys. I do now wonder whether the Harbeth mantra of all decent amps will sound the same is due to the speakers actually being designed to sound pretty much the same irrespective of what they are paired with. That is overstating it, but I would assume there are advantages (in broadcast) to giving a very similar result with whatever amplification is to hand. Whether we then say thr Tannoys are more revealing or the Harbeths are less fussy depends largely on whether we view this as a positive or negative trait.
Anyway, to come back to the point of retracing steps and revisiting known good points; what I hadn't done until yesterday was pair the Tron Seven and Convergence monos with the Ardens. And that's when I realised the monos had to stay.
Does this pairing do what the passive plus SET does: no.
Does it get a lot closer than anything else I have tried with the Tannoys: yes, and there are even things it does better.
Am I looking forward to trying the Seven plus Atlantic with the Ardens: very much indeed - but no longer with quite the sense of suppressed impatience that I had before.
And yes, as of this morning I have finally got around to trying the DC (non-cap coupled) inputs. Not sure I could pin-point any precise differences but it is sounding very good indeed.
