I own a pair of the 75wi's and you should do whatever you can to audition a pair. I have them running with a pair of the Audio Physic Avanti III's.
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WOW!!!! These are the most incredible amplifiers I have ever heard. Everything else sounds like hifi. I have compared them with the best, Atma-sphere MA2 MKII.2's, BAT VK-150SE's, Lamm ML2's, etc. All are very good, but the Tenor's go to the next level in sound reproduction. I have heard them with the Wilson MAXX's, the wonderful Rockport Antares & Merak / Sheritan's, the very impressive Verity Lohengrin's and the amazing Piega P-10's. The Tenor's drove each speaker effortlessly. The amplification bar has been raised! |
I have had over the last few years VAC, Carey, Pass, Fi and most recently ARC REF 300 MKII's and Accuphase A-50V's bridged to monoblocks. I have heard the Atma-Sphere's on a number of occasions at a friends who owns them. I spent a considerable amount of time A/Bing the Tenors and the AR and Accuphase. IMOP none are in the same league as the Tenors, which I now own( 75WI). These are the best amps I have ever had in my system, and do just about everything right and so far nothing overtly wrong. Excepting VERY difficult loads, I think they are up to the task of driving a wide variety of speakers.Beautiful mids, lovely extended highs, holographic, palpable instruments pinpoint placed in an excellent wide and deep soundstage. But most surprising, GREAT bass, deep, taut and very natural sounding. These amps take a layer of film off the music I didn't even know was there till I noticed it's absence. Dynamic, fast with superb PRT. They are well worth the effort of auditioning. I am currently driving Piega P-10's with the Tenors. |
i have owned Tenor 75Wi monoblocks for about a month and agree with all the above comments. i had compared them to the Atmasphere MA2 MKII.2 which had been my choice up to that time....but it was not close. i was using Wilson Watt/Puppy 6s. these are "must hear" amps. if you have resonably easy to drive speakers or a small room the Tenor will be hard to beat. |
Terrific amps from yet another canadian wondercompany. These canadians know about high-end audio it seems...Rumor has it that Sam Tellig, (yes the stereophile reviewer) has found the Tenor to be his new ultimate best, replacing his beloved LAMM's. I actually have a friend who visited him 3 months ago and he was in complete admiration. He of course can get these for accomodation price, when they are not "free" on a long term loan... |
I spoke to Sam about 2 months ago the week after hearing the tenor amps at Lars's house.They switched between the Aloia and the Tenor and his comments were the Aloia was better in some ways and the Tenors were better in some ways both amps equally wonderful.The Aloia is lower in price now around 3000.00 making it the all time best value in audio.Also Lars still uses the Aloia preamp as his reference and owns the Aloia power amps as well.The Aloia preamp is also lower in price now around 3000.00 so if this is in youe price range don't miss the opportunity to aquire really great audio at a great price.Also watch for Lars' review of the Audio Tekne speaker ,interconnect,cd transformer,and power treatment system in upcoming Ultimate Audio in the near future. Sanibel Sound will entertain the New York Audiophile Society on October the 26th showing the Aloia amps ,Audiomeca cd equipment,Piega p-10 speakers,audio tekne preamp and complete cable network including the power supply for ac and the top of the line cd transformer.If your a member of this group don't miss this opportunity to see what many have called the best products of each type. |
kevin, you have a point there but i personally know the process jtinn went thru to form his opinion. jtinn had helped me demo a number of different amplifiers, some were his and some not. i had settled on the Atmasphere MA-2 but had wanted to first hear the Tenor before i made a final decision. at the time jtinn was not selling Tenor and in fact had never even heard them. jtinn arranged for a set of Tenors to be sent to him for audition and then i would try them out too. i had deceided to go with the MA-2s and was bringing back jtinns MA-2s and listened to the Tenor at jtinn's home. jtinn had listened for a few days to the Tenor but had not told me how he liked them. i sat down and had one of those "o my god" moments. now it is 3 months later and we are both still having those moments with the Tenors. i am just a friend/customer of jtinns. jtinn probably should mention that he sells Tenor in his posts. but i can tell you that if hears better than the Tenor he will tell you. that is the way he is. you will notice that jtinn's coments are not singular but reinforced by many Tenor lovers so this is a shared perception. |
Heard both the 15W (driving Gershman Opera Savage)and 75W (driving Pipedreams) at the Toronto show two weeks ago. Best amp at the show, and the two rooms that had the Tenors were also the two best rooms -- by far. Lush but with absolutely no weakness down deep, a rare combination with tubes of this power -- the 75W easily driving the pipes to room-filling levels (OK, the Pipedreams literally filled the room even when they weren't on!) The tenors are beautiful to look at too and impressive sitting "between the Pipes". This was a $100K room done right and gave me a sonic target to aspire to in the future, budget permitting. |
The Tenor amps may be the next best amp in the world - and in that regard they will have long, historic company. But, I don't care what Jtinn "is" to his personal audio-buddies; if he, or any other dealer, puts a rave or dump on a product, then he should disclose his financial relationship to that product. This is a very common and well-known point of etiquette that any dealer who is not a "shill" knows, even the honest shills. |
[email protected]: The Tenors are wonderful amplifiers, period. When you buy a manufacturer's equipment, you too have a relationship with that manufacturer. Does that make your opinions less valuable? I recommend equipment other than what I own or am affiliated with just as quickly and strongly as my own if I feel it is the best for the needs of the person asking. By the way Kevin, what is your user name? You appear to be hiding behind an email address that is not associated with a user name and we certainly do not know your affiliations, if any. Lexicon: Tenor Audio amplifiers are not discounted in any way what so ever. You obviously have received poor information. I am an audiophile and own the best I can find for my personal system regardless of my affiliations. My involvement with Tenor, from a distribution point of view, came only after my experience with their amplifiers as a listener of music. I found the amps to be so far and away better than anything else I have heard, I bought them as an audiophile. Only after living with them, as an audiophile, did I decide I wanted to help bring them into the US. My positive comment is one of many from those who have heard them. I have never heard anything different from anyone who is familiar with them other than "they are the best". If you are in the market for the purest sound available and choose to see my comments as a "spin" and buy something else, that would be your loss. Ask MES, Hoosier, mikel and many others who feel as I do - these amps are closer to the music than anything any of us have heard. Everything else seems to sound like hifi in comparison. |
the Tenor 75Wi monoblocks are $19900 list price per pair. that includes 3-rca inputs and one xlr input and a passive volume pot on each amp. you can switch from direct mode where the volume pot is bypassed or integrated mode where the volume pot is engaged. the Tenor75W monoblocks eliminate the volume pots and are $1000 less....i think then you must choose between 1 rca and i xlr input, but i am not 100% positive on that. most people are going with the integrated model as so far it has outperformed any and all super-preamps. details on www.tenoraudio.com. |
trgi, the 75W is around $20,000 and the 15W is around $16,000 for the integrateds. A bit less if you don't want integrated. Kevinkwan and Lexicon, Jtinn loves audio and when he finds something special such as the Tenor amps he likes to share with others. I know from personal experience that Jtinn is as honest a man as you are going to find. His knowledge is second to none as far as audio is concerned. If he is discounting, he never offered it to me. Thanks Jtinn for bringing these wonderful amps to our attention. |
just bought a pair of tenor 75 wi integrated amps yesterday to replace my aloia amps (2) and hovland preamp.they are superb.yes they are expensive,but that's relative and with the trade-in and by selling the ics that i won't need any more (i also traded-in my dodson dac),it is almost a wash.they are the most transparent,musical amps i have ever heard. the musical tonality,bass impact,mids and highs are to die for.the music sounds as close to a live performance as any system i have heard. |
tenors are beautiful in sound, as well as looking at. I heard them with the P-10's, which I ended up buying. The person I bought them from is now using the tenors to drive the rockport antares. i am not rich, (what is rich anyways), and will be saving with earnest to buy this dynamic beautiful sounding duo, and it will probably take me a couple of years.. till then, my classe' 301 will have to suffice with my audio aero capitole cd player, no need for a pre with this cd unit.. go tenor... |
to further the info. what is rich? i can't afford to quit working, i don't have a mansion. i have a supercar and am working on the sound of my passion. i can buy the toys, but keeping them maintained is harder than acquiring. love reading here on audiogon, and i learn something new every day. thanks.. |