When did you decide that tubes were the way to achieve your sound? I'm asking because, to be honest, your components I had a chance to listen to do not offer what is usually considered a typical tube sound, which means warm, lavish and midrange-centric.
I'm not into valves to glorify or transfigure the lost age of vacuum tube technology nor because I like the cozy campfire mood which tube glow unarguable emanates. I dedicate myself to vacuum tubes, triodes in particular, because they are inherently linear amplification devices which also, like field-effect transistors, offer the advantage of powerless excitation. So by their nature, vacuum tubes are perfectly suitable for minimalist single-ended zero-feedback circuits. And as you know, that's what I'm into and strongly believe in. Moreover, tubes are desirable because they exhibit matchless sonic beauty when properly applied. Stereotypical tube sound as you described it means nothing to me. That's not what I am after.
What are your priorities in terms of sound qualities? How do you want your devices to sound?
I don't want my gear to have a specific sound signature. In fact, I imagine it to completely hide out of sight to just let the music play. Forget about the system, conquer space and time, dive into the world of music. As I see it, what appears as a modest claim at first sight is nothing less than the holy grail of audio design.
Did work by any famous audio designers inspire you or did you get where you are today entirely on your own?
Jean Hiraga was an influence as already mentioned. Another big influence was Morgan Jones, a contemporary master of tube technology and gifted author. Let's not forget Nelson Pass despite not being a vacuum tube man himself. Finally I must mention Stanley Lippschitz, a highly respected audio engineer who published a comprehensive and revealing paper about phono de-emphasis network design decades ago. The insights I gained from his papers were essential in the design of the Phono Enhancer and also the integrated phonostage of my full-function preamplifier.
How did you come up with your signature cosmetics? Did form follow function or was it a question of personal taste, perhaps the desire to differentiate your products from all others?
The appearance is in perfect accordance with my personal taste. And that's no wonder when all ten components which nowadays form the Thöress product line were primarily and initially developed to serve my own needs. I want my amps to be perceived as machines, 'puristic audio apparatus' as I call them whereas my speakers are meant to represent neutral and timeless pieces of furniture. This attitude naturally dictates a form-follows-function approach. A welcome side effect is that it sets my gear far apart from toy hifi. I should also mention that the more or less subtle retro touch of my products is to be understood as an homage and tribute to the tradition of professional audio components from the early times of hifi which I consider a major root of my approach.
