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From first to last watt?
Shockingly, the described sonics translated verbatim to the Zu Presence, a first in my experience for high-power transistors and further evidence (if more was needed) that this Frank Blöhbaum circuit does not behave conventionally. The inner tension was actually less than with the DeVores but more than with the Mark & Daniels. This point bears emphasis. If used in lieu of low-power tube amps -- which would predetermine speaker options -- tone color, dynamics and intensity will be superior with the Thorens monos. Yet that limpid wafting mien the best such valve/speaker combos exude like a perfume will diminish or extinguish altogether. The power principle embedded in the TEM 3200 simply won't abdicate its imprimatur. At least with the speakers I had on hand, its rule seemed absolute.
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It's popular to claim a transistor amp sounds like a tube amp. It's misleading as well. In this case, all the voltage gain is tube generated and the transistors merely handle current and impedance conversion. Sonically, it's the tube virtues which dominate - except that tubes can't do this kind of bass nor impose this type of top-to-bottom control over a loudspeaker. Plainly then, the Thorens TEM 3200s cannot -- nor do they -- sound exactly like valve amps. They're hybrids and sound it. But that statement alone is misleading as well.


More than other such attempts; more than traditional power triodes in fact; these hybrids beat transformer-coupled SETs at their own game of an enriched timbral color palette. Then they add speed and clarity. It's in the domain of gestalt or feel where a fundamental difference remains. While these hybrids cover their sonic canvas with more intensely saturated tone colors than power triodes, they stretch that canvas over their frame far more tautly. That action should be instantly audible to most sensitive listeners. How they'll react and how their preference would fall is unpredictable. More relevant -- why would anyone acquire an expensive high-power amplifier and run it on micro-power speakers -- is what happens with loudspeakers out of bounds of traditional SETs. Suddenly those speakers evince all the telltale single-ended valve signs (minus the underdamped, bandwidth-limited bass and possible premature treble roll-out). That's the real market, the real proposition the TEM 3200s make. They introduce a far more mainstream audience to the very real virtues of valve magic without the usual excuses; without condemning the usual speakers as unfit to be exposed to these virtues. Instead of being told "you're not ready yet" -- cue up arrogant audio salesman -- if you listen to Dynaudios or Thiels, you're made welcome. As is, with the speakers you already have and love. With the bandwidth, dynamics, SPLs and bass you expect.

The implications are very real and exceedingly practical. In Casa Coral Bay, they meant utter equality without secret partisan preferences, between the low-efficiency high-power paradigm as represented by the Maximus Monitors and Thorens and the high-efficiency micro-power niche epitomized by my 2wpc Yamamoto A-08S and Rethm's Lowther DX55 Saadhana. If you asked me to clean house and just settle on one system now, I would not have a clear sonic preference. Other factors like expense, complexity, appearance, universality of applications and size would swing the final vote. Particularly groundbreaking is the fact that the hi-eff advantage of coming on song at far lower volumes than conventional speakers no longer holds true with the Thorens amps. That was another first in my experience which demolished one core belief of the hi-eff religion. Continue enjoying such speakers. Just don't do it under the assumption that they're the only ones to bring home the bacon at whisper levels. If you own the Thorens, any speaker will do.


Any? Surely there'll be load limits. I just don't own any such brutish speakers to know where. Deliberate amplifier cruelty seems plain idiotic and a costly waste of resources. The Mark & Daniel Maximus Monitor and Maximus Ruby were the worst I could do and from their polarity all the way to the counter polarity of the Zus, the sound described plugged 'n' played without shifts or interruptions. I will, however, say that I ultimately preferred the Maximus Monitors on these amps because the inner sergeant stopped saluting and went at ease. How about the Rethm Saadhanas?

This was another shocker. Ground lifts engaged in the hidden controls bay, ground pins on the power cords to onboard amps floated as well -- better safe than sorry -- the Thorens were stupendous and did not obviously overdamp. I had a bit more noise on the bass amps and Lowthers due to excess gain but nothing prohibitive. What was audible in the seat were moustache-curlin' dynamics on female vocals with minimal accompaniment such as the Skywalker-mastered Russian Twilight by Irina Mikhailova [Well-Tempered 5184]. The dynamic expander action of lightweight cones backed by supremely powerful driver motors in the grip of these amps was something to behold - like attending an AJA meeting of the Adrenaline Junkies Anonymous. Whoa! That the Teutonic force didn't cause any treble aberrations by now barely registered any surprise. That the already top-shelf holographic staging of these unique speakers had just gone up to a brand-new shelf became par for the course.


Granted, this combination was neither recommended nor smart. You can make first-rate sound on the Saadhanas with the little 5wpc $488 EL-84 Glow Audio Amp One. This detour experiment simply proved that the TEM 3200s truly do operate as claimed. They're linear and unperturbed from milli to macro volt. This defies the third-power rule which even Bryston acknowledges. As a rule of thumb, that states that powerful transistor amps come into their own at 1/3rd the rated power, i.e. 170 watts for a 500-watt bruiser. The Thorens monos come on song well before the first watt pegs the needle. This fact adds serious gravitas to their overall accomplishment. World champions then?

Thorens, you have a problem
It's obvious. A company known for mid-level turntables and the distribution appropriate for them is not automatically positioned to sell expensive SOTA electronics. Never mind that it'll take time for the public to acknowledge that the Blöhbaum angle doesn't just rebrand a proven package behind shiny chrome to have something to sell. When it comes to innovative, envelope-pushing amplifier companies, Thorens is not a name that comes to mind. That's bound to change - over time and many more independent review assessments and owner endorsements. Thankfully, Frank Blöhbaum has the time. His livelihood is securely independent of audio. One hopes that his turntable sales afford Heinz Rohrer the necessary time as well to build a from-the-ground-up market and distribution chain for his new Blöhbaum electronics.


The wrap
The Thorens TEM 3200s combine the tone, immediacy and microdynamics of power triodes with the unwavering, full-bandwidth control and linearity of transistor muscle amps. There's nothing warm or fuzzy about this sound and going source direct which I could with three different machines (Ancient Audio, APL Hifi, ModWright) merely highlighted that 'bluntness' via clear preference to include the ultra quiet wide bandwidth Wyetech Jade 6SN7 tube preamp in the chain. The TEM 3200s are the first muscle amps in my experience to crack the first watt challenge (our own John Potis encountered a similar exception in the Bryston 28B SSTs). They sound as crystalline, colorful and compelling as my Emission Labs solid-plate 45s - plus bass those direct-heated triodes don't even know exists. Over my triode speakers -- i.e. the sort not very likely to be matched to the Thorens monos by actual owners -- the one but arguably fundamental quality of power triodes which proved beyond the 3200s was their undercurrent of relaxed ease. The Thorens always showed off their ripped muscle tone. This tendency diminished once 85dB speakers entered the picture.

Without hyperbole or bad promises, Frank Blöhbaum's and Heinz Rohrer's amplifier creations behave like triodes on steroids. Just as steroids can be abused to produce unnatural results, unrealistic speaker choices deep in the high-efficiency sector can exhibit unnatural control as though held on too tight a leash. This only effects the gestalt of the presentation and intrudes less and less as the load becomes matched more appropriately to the grip of steel these amps exert. Technically a tour de force of innovative design, aesthetically elegant, operationally warm but not excessively hot like class A, these amplifiers create full-blown triode tone and SET immediacy on non-triode speakers - plus the kind of limitless dynamics and optimized bass response such speaker owners expect and demand. Now hi-eff triode man with his secret subwoofers is finally flat out of justifications for why his preferences seemed necessary. The TEM 3200s make that sound from conventional speakers which for all intents and purposes then act like high-efficiency speakers in dynamics and whisper-level satisfaction.


Your German expat scribe mistrusts most patriotism to instinctively accuse Stereoplay's earlier quoted review conclusion of nationalistic pride. Yet my encounter strongly suggests that it's perfectly appropriate. These Thorens monos have all the requisite qualities to dominate a world championship (and with the latter's four-year recurrence, one safely avoids any totalitarianism). All things considered -- what they do, how they do it and what you can drive with 'em -- these are quite possibly the best amps I've yet had the privilege to audition. That they're simultaneously more amps than most people need goes without saying. Playing at the edge of the art always is. A downscaled 50wpc stereo integrated of this unique circuitry... now that could have universal appeal. But whom am I kidding? Universal and high-performance audio never yet belonged in the same sentence. That makes the mere existence of these amps more miraculous yet. To bother transforming them into a commercial and necessarily expensive product; under a brand that'll require extra convincing in a fussy market place - it all reeks deeply of impractical passion and committed lunacy. In short, our kind of heady aroma. A standing ovation is in order!
Quality of packing: Double card board with foam cradles.
Reusability of packing: Yes.
Ease of unpacking/repacking: Easy.
Condition of component received: Perfect.
Completeness of delivery: Includes power cords, XLR-to-RCA adaptors and owner's manual.
Quality of owner's manual: Good and in English and German.
Website comments: Good but a bit lean still on hard tech data.
Pricing: In line with current cream-of-the-crop offerings and far cheaper than the Tenor Audio monos.
Human interactions: Prompt and very forthcoming with all information requested.
Suggestions: The upper set of shrouded binding posts 'vents' upward such that speaker cables sit right up against the heat sinks. A 70-degree counter-clockwise turn in how the posts are mounted would create more usable room for heavier, less flexible cabling. Ditto for the lower ones which, due to the short footers, leave little room for the cables to exit.
Thorens website