Review: Trends Audio TA-10

Refefer · 05-31-2007, 04:42 PM

Trends Audio TA-10

As somewhat poor man of eclectic musical tastes, I always look for “bang for the buck” type of deals that will deliver sound suited for all genres of music. On top of being poor, I'm also a somewhat paranoid man when it comes to spending my money; I research the hell out of something before I decide to blind buy one. I will scour the Internet for hours, including the wonderful resource known as “Club Polk” to find exacting reviews detailing the qualities and disappointments for a piece of equipment.

When the T-amp was introduced, I was the first on-board. For a total of $50 dollars ($35 for the T-amp, and $15 for a decent powersupply... no batteries here!), I found the excellent makings of a decent computer system (which, as a video editor/programmer/general internet sort of guy, I spend a lot of time on) to replace my sonicaly lacking Klipsch Promedia 2.1. While the Klipsch was by far and away the best computer system I had heard, I was disappointed in the “size” of the sound stage and the fairly mediocre midrange.

After picking up a pair of excellent Monitor 5's from Brett (brettw22) in a very smooth transaction, I hooked up the speakers to the T-amp with all the expectations of a little kid on Christmas.

What I heard was magnificent.... and disappointing. The T-amp imaged the speakers brilliantly, better than every other amp I owned (a very limited selection). The upper and mid ranges were very well defined with excellent presence and detail, I found the lower bass to be somewhat limited; everything under 50hz really started to dramatically drop. To make sure this wasn't a feature of the Monitor 5's, I tested them with my Rotel and found them to roll off very nicely at around 40 hz, so it wasn't a limitation of the speakers.

Somewhat disappointedly, I realized I was going to have to build/buy a subwoofer to compensate for the early roll-off. I spent the next several days deciding on parts to purchase to build it.

However, right before I was about to purchase the materials to produce a decent sub, I browsed upon Michael Mardis excellent T-amp enthusiast website.

From there, I learned about the Trends Audio TA-10. Apparently, he had been commissioned by Trends Audio into helping design this beast to allow for optimal modding potential on a design that already compensated for the original T-amp's weaknesses, one of which was to improve its lackluster bass response.

$120 and 5 days later, I got a very small box in the mail. What I pulled out was very small box, 4.5” x 3” x 2” in size. I reached down to pick it up and was amazed by how light it was; this thing can't way more than a pound or two at the max. Fit and Polish were much better than the plastic case of the original t-amp; everything was nicely concealed in a nice silver box with a much, much better volume pot than on the t-amp (not hard to do). On the back there are much better binding posts, accepting bannanas, bare wire, and spades with ease. They also feature RCA jacks for input instead of the 1/16” mini jack that was needed previously. My only issue with the speaker terminals were the plastic coatings over them (presumably, this is to protect them against corrosion); twisting them open or closed took some effort since my fingers would slip off the smooth sides fairly easily. They made attaching bare wire and spades more difficult than it needed to be. They were also cramped, not so much a fault of design as much as having no place to put them on this small small box. Overall, the finish and design was excellent.

Finally, I connected the little box to my Monitor 5's and attached my Oppo player to it. I popped in Yo-Yo Ma's Unaccompanied Bach' Cello Suites.

I was disappointed. The highs were untamed, and while there was plenty of bass, it was uncontrolled. Imaging was so-so. I decided to give it a week or two to break in. This was around the holidays, so I took the TA-10 to work and let it run for a week using a pair of fostex drivers to burn it in.

After a week's vacation, I took the little amp home with me and reattached it to my Monitor 5's, which had been being run on an old Technics receiver I had. Once again, I put in the Yo-Yo Ma CD.

This time, I was floored. All the noise and glare had completely disappeared. The bass had become structured and very fluid. Most importantly, I couldn't detect any roll off in the sub 50hz region due to the amplier. The imaging was absolutely stellar, the cello being exactly where it was supposed to be. Switching albums to some progressive bluegrass, I stuck in Nickel Creek's Self-titled album. There was very little sibilance during the singing, something I found slightly present in the original t-amp. I spent the next 3 hours letting the TA-10 amaze me. It was exactly what I was looking for, a vast improvement over the original T-amp, and a decent step above my Rotel.

In comparison to my Rotel, I would say that I would give the Rotel a nod in terms of dynamics, no doubt due to the vastly greater power rating of the amp. Imaging I would give the nod to the TA-10 by a fairly big margin. It was more exacting than the Rotel was.

I wouldn't say the Trends Audio is the strictest music maker; I found the top end to be more relaxed than other amps I've listened to, something that meshed exceptionally well with the Monitor 5's and their original tweeters. That said, I found it to be faithful in reproducing details in the music I hadn't heard, in all frequencies.

Over all an excellent little device, and a great upgrade over the original T-amp.

P.S. The Trends Audio TA-10 was designed with the idea that people would want to tinker with it. If you goto Michael Mardis' website, you'll find a whole reservoir of information concerning modifications.

One of the best things Trends Audio has desgined was the addition of jumpers to the PCB board allowing you to bi-pass the volume pot and use the TA-10 strictly as an amplifier. This something I might very well explore somewhere down the line, but for now, I'm calling it a day.

-Andrew

Gaara · 05-31-2007, 05:00 PM

Nice review.

Stereo Mojo did a review a month or so back on a bunch of newer digital amps and integrateds. The Trends won the integrated category against some $2000+ units if my memory serves me correctly. I ordered one of these back in January and have been using it in one of my secondary systems since.

Just a minor FYI if you bought this recently you should have a TA-10.1, a upgraded version of the original.

Jared

Refefer · 06-01-2007, 10:30 AM

I picked mine up around the same time as you, so I have the original. I wonder how the newer one sounds?

Danny Tse · 06-01-2007, 02:03 PM

Stereophile's Stephen Meijas has been writing blog entries on the Trends TA-10.1 in recent days.

Lasareath · 05-31-2008, 04:08 AM

Well, I just bought one of these Trends TA-10.1's

With Shipping it cost 160.20

http://www.obadimports.com/catalog/i...02/4344389.htm

I bought it to use in my bathroom with an ipod dock.

Sal

ben62670 · 05-31-2008, 04:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lasareath

Well, I just bought one of these Trends TA-10.1's

With Shipping it cost 160.20

http://www.obadimports.com/catalog/i...02/4344389.htm

I bought it to use in my bathroom with an ipod dock.

Sal

Dude you spend too much time in the bathroom

Lasareath · 05-31-2008, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ben62670

Dude you spend too much time in the bathroom

Yea I know, I tried doing it all in one sitting but my legs fell alseep, I hate pins and needles!

05-31-2007, 04:42 PM	#1
Refefer Member Sales Rating: (1) Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Annandale, Va Posts: 1,257	Review: Trends Audio TA-10 Trends Audio TA-10 As somewhat poor man of eclectic musical tastes, I always look for “bang for the buck” type of deals that will deliver sound suited for all genres of music. On top of being poor, I'm also a somewhat paranoid man when it comes to spending my money; I research the hell out of something before I decide to blind buy one. I will scour the Internet for hours, including the wonderful resource known as “Club Polk” to find exacting reviews detailing the qualities and disappointments for a piece of equipment. When the T-amp was introduced, I was the first on-board. For a total of $50 dollars ($35 for the T-amp, and $15 for a decent powersupply... no batteries here!), I found the excellent makings of a decent computer system (which, as a video editor/programmer/general internet sort of guy, I spend a lot of time on) to replace my sonicaly lacking Klipsch Promedia 2.1. While the Klipsch was by far and away the best computer system I had heard, I was disappointed in the “size” of the sound stage and the fairly mediocre midrange. After picking up a pair of excellent Monitor 5's from Brett (brettw22) in a very smooth transaction, I hooked up the speakers to the T-amp with all the expectations of a little kid on Christmas. What I heard was magnificent.... and disappointing. The T-amp imaged the speakers brilliantly, better than every other amp I owned (a very limited selection). The upper and mid ranges were very well defined with excellent presence and detail, I found the lower bass to be somewhat limited; everything under 50hz really started to dramatically drop. To make sure this wasn't a feature of the Monitor 5's, I tested them with my Rotel and found them to roll off very nicely at around 40 hz, so it wasn't a limitation of the speakers. Somewhat disappointedly, I realized I was going to have to build/buy a subwoofer to compensate for the early roll-off. I spent the next several days deciding on parts to purchase to build it. However, right before I was about to purchase the materials to produce a decent sub, I browsed upon Michael Mardis excellent T-amp enthusiast website. From there, I learned about the Trends Audio TA-10. Apparently, he had been commissioned by Trends Audio into helping design this beast to allow for optimal modding potential on a design that already compensated for the original T-amp's weaknesses, one of which was to improve its lackluster bass response. $120 and 5 days later, I got a very small box in the mail. What I pulled out was very small box, 4.5” x 3” x 2” in size. I reached down to pick it up and was amazed by how light it was; this thing can't way more than a pound or two at the max. Fit and Polish were much better than the plastic case of the original t-amp; everything was nicely concealed in a nice silver box with a much, much better volume pot than on the t-amp (not hard to do). On the back there are much better binding posts, accepting bannanas, bare wire, and spades with ease. They also feature RCA jacks for input instead of the 1/16” mini jack that was needed previously. My only issue with the speaker terminals were the plastic coatings over them (presumably, this is to protect them against corrosion); twisting them open or closed took some effort since my fingers would slip off the smooth sides fairly easily. They made attaching bare wire and spades more difficult than it needed to be. They were also cramped, not so much a fault of design as much as having no place to put them on this small small box. Overall, the finish and design was excellent. Finally, I connected the little box to my Monitor 5's and attached my Oppo player to it. I popped in Yo-Yo Ma's Unaccompanied Bach' Cello Suites. I was disappointed. The highs were untamed, and while there was plenty of bass, it was uncontrolled. Imaging was so-so. I decided to give it a week or two to break in. This was around the holidays, so I took the TA-10 to work and let it run for a week using a pair of fostex drivers to burn it in. After a week's vacation, I took the little amp home with me and reattached it to my Monitor 5's, which had been being run on an old Technics receiver I had. Once again, I put in the Yo-Yo Ma CD. This time, I was floored. All the noise and glare had completely disappeared. The bass had become structured and very fluid. Most importantly, I couldn't detect any roll off in the sub 50hz region due to the amplier. The imaging was absolutely stellar, the cello being exactly where it was supposed to be. Switching albums to some progressive bluegrass, I stuck in Nickel Creek's Self-titled album. There was very little sibilance during the singing, something I found slightly present in the original t-amp. I spent the next 3 hours letting the TA-10 amaze me. It was exactly what I was looking for, a vast improvement over the original T-amp, and a decent step above my Rotel. In comparison to my Rotel, I would say that I would give the Rotel a nod in terms of dynamics, no doubt due to the vastly greater power rating of the amp. Imaging I would give the nod to the TA-10 by a fairly big margin. It was more exacting than the Rotel was. I wouldn't say the Trends Audio is the strictest music maker; I found the top end to be more relaxed than other amps I've listened to, something that meshed exceptionally well with the Monitor 5's and their original tweeters. That said, I found it to be faithful in reproducing details in the music I hadn't heard, in all frequencies. Over all an excellent little device, and a great upgrade over the original T-amp. P.S. The Trends Audio TA-10 was designed with the idea that people would want to tinker with it. If you goto Michael Mardis' website, you'll find a whole reservoir of information concerning modifications. One of the best things Trends Audio has desgined was the addition of jumpers to the PCB board allowing you to bi-pass the volume pot and use the TA-10 strictly as an amplifier. This something I might very well explore somewhere down the line, but for now, I'm calling it a day. -Andrew Attached Thumbnails __________________ Lovin that music year after year. *2 Channel System* Polk SDA-1B, Promitheus Audio TVC SE, Rotel RB-980BX, OPPO DV-970HD, IXOS XHA305 Interconnects *Computer Rig* Polk CRS+, Parasound P/HP-850, Adcom GFA-535, Creative Audigy 2 NX Last edited by Refefer; 05-31-2007 at 04:51 PM.. Reason: Added Pictures

05-31-2007, 05:00 PM	#2
Gaara Member Sales Rating: (27) Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: CT Posts: 2,194	Nice review. Stereo Mojo did a review a month or so back on a bunch of newer digital amps and integrateds. The Trends won the integrated category against some $2000+ units if my memory serves me correctly. I ordered one of these back in January and have been using it in one of my secondary systems since. Just a minor FYI if you bought this recently you should have a TA-10.1, a upgraded version of the original. Jared __________________ The Bedroom HT ------- PC Rig ------- Workout Rig

06-01-2007, 02:03 PM	#4
Danny Tse Member Sales Rating: (0) Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Castro Valley/San Francisco, California Posts: 3,756	Stereophile's Stephen Meijas has been writing blog entries on the Trends TA-10.1 in recent days. __________________ Some of my SACDs (updated 7/13/2010 with more Sting and the Wallflowers)

05-31-2008, 04:08 AM	#5
Lasareath Member Sales Rating: (16) Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Roselle Park, NJ Posts: 7,285	Well, I just bought one of these Trends TA-10.1's With Shipping it cost 160.20 http://www.obadimports.com/catalog/i...02/4344389.htm I bought it to use in my bathroom with an ipod dock. Sal __________________ POLK SDA SRS 1.2TL's (born: 4-24-89) RDO's, New Exotic Wood. Sonicaps & Mills! Adcom GFP-750 Pre Two Carver TFM-35X's Denon 3910 (sacd & redbook) Panamax MM-5500EX MIT Shotgun S1 from the Denon to the Adcom. 112 Sq Ft of ATS Acoustic Panels - all 4" Thick. My Polk SDA SRS 1.2TL website: http://www.LASAREATH.com Another Site for my 1.2TL's----->: http://www.polk-audio-sda-srs-one-point-two-t-l.com/ Extreme Excursions!!!!-------->: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHHLKERU0wo

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06-01-2007, 10:30 AM	#3
Refefer Member Sales Rating: (1) Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Annandale, Va Posts: 1,257	I picked mine up around the same time as you, so I have the original. I wonder how the newer one sounds?

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