Galion Audio TS A75 Amplifier by Terry London

For the past few years, my favorite YouTube channel has been Thomas & Stereo and its owner, Thomas Tan. There are several reasons for this. First, he has a very pleasant and warm communication style. Secondly, he has always explained there is no “absolute” standard because what an audiophile/music listener is looking for mainly boils down to personal taste, not an objective measure. Thomas has historically laid out for his viewers what he is personally seeking in the performance of a piece of gear or the overall musical presentation of a system. Therefore, if his YouTube viewer’s “taste” matches his sonic priorities, it raises the probability that they will enjoy that equipment in their system. Since I began writing reviews, I have always preceded in this fashion, sharing what audio parameters are the most important for my enjoyment and emotional connection to the music. I am predominantly an acoustic jazz listener. Therefore, timbres/tonality/color consistently rank at the top of my musical totem pole. If a piece of gear screws up this aspect of the music, it’s a deal breaker for me. I have gotten tons of positive feedback from readers over the years, and knowing what my tastes are has helped them immensely in selecting/purchasing equipment because their priorities matched mine. I admire how Thomas helps his fans get what they are looking for.

About four months ago, I started receiving emails from readers requesting if I could set up a review on the Galion Audio TS A75 amplifier, which retails, including shipping, for $1495. Galion Audio is Thomas’ company. Galion Audio manufactures tube and solid-state integrated amplifiers, single chassis amplifiers, and speakers. Thomas works with a respected OEM  company. He voices each amplifier and has the ultimate last word over parts and construction. The Galion TS A75 weighs 39 pounds. The amplifier’s dimensions are width 17.2 X 12.1 inches, depth X height 6.25 inches. The A75 delivers 75 watts @ 8 ohms and 100 watts @ 4 ohms. It is a class A/B design. The appearance and build quality of the Galion Audio TS A75 black chassis with its white lettering is quite acceptable for an amplifier shy of two thousand dollars.

On the front, the on/off power button in the middle shines blue when the amplifier is on. You also get the Galion insignia and the name of the amplifier. Around the back, you get a pair of good quality speaker 5-way speaker terminals, two sets of inputs (RCA/single-ended and XLR/balanced), a button that allows you to select between the two, and finally, the ubiquitous IEC input. The first hint that the Galion Audio TS A75 is no average budget amplifier is that the XLR inputs are not pseudo-balanced. The A75 is a truly balanced design from input to speaker terminals. Undoubtedly, it was more dynamic, quieter, and transparent when driven by its XLR inputs. Brilliantly, Thomas and his design staff applied the bulk of the money to the quality of internal parts and the power supply. The Galion Audio TS A75 is not a high-wattage design, but because of its very robust power supply, it is a high-current design. This power supply uses dual 200 W high-quality toroidal transformers with 20 capacitors that give 200K of capacitance for both channels. You get a 14-day trial period, and the warranty is for one year that covers parts and labor.

Well, what the hell does the Galion Audio TS A75 amplifier sound like? It delivers an overall tube sound that reminds me tremendously of a high-caliber EL-34 tube-based amplifier, with the following caveats: It’s much quieter than a sand-based amplifier, and because of its power supply, the bass control and extension are much better than the average tube-based design.

When I played the wonderful album Remembering Benny Carter by the great Warren Vache on Cornet and his quintet, I was struck by the beauty of the mid-range in three ways. The air/space between the instruments was very much what tubes offer regarding depth and dimensionality in the soundstage. If you love listening to vocals, the A75 will delight you with a three-dimensional portrait of the singer’s position, in this case, Nicki Parroti. The Galion Audio TS A75 rendering of Warren Vache’s Cornet’s warm, brassy tonality was pristine and present. Thomas’ goal in voicing the midrange was to get those tube-like characteristics, and he nailed it to a high degree.

To test what the Galion Audio TS A75 would do with the music’s bass foundation, I cued up the album “Summer Wind” by the legendary bass player Ray Brown. The low frequencies of Ray Brown’s bass fiddle were produced with grip and powerful impact. Just as importantly, the unique timbres of Brown’s bass runs were vivid and easy to hear, making his tone qualitatively different from that of other bass jazz players.

The classic Blue Note album “The Right Touch” by pianist Duke Pearson was my final selection. I use this recording to evaluate the high-end air and truth of tonality that drummer Grady Tate’s cymbals create on this recording. If not rendered correctly, his cymbal playing can sound somewhat bright and too much “in your face.” The Galion Audio captured all the air, decay trails, and color of Tate’s cymbal play without harshness.

For the asking price of $1495, the Galion Audio TS A75 is an exceptional amplifier. It contains high-quality internal parts and a robust power supply, and it is based on a truly balanced design, which is rare at this price point. Then add a beautiful tube-like midrange regarding spatial dimensions and density of timbres/colors, excellent bass extension in dynamics and tonality, and an airy, sparkly high-end that never gets harsh or hard, and you get an amplifier that performs way above its price. Thomas’ voicing of the Galion Audio TS A75 is masterly at getting a very wonderful synthesis between tubes and solid-state designs. Where does the A75 fit in regarding price vs. performance? It outperforms amplifiers priced similarly by Rotel, Marantz, NAD, and Emotiva. No, it is not at the performance level of a Coda S5.5 or an SPL S1200, but both these amplifiers cost thousands more. I can see the Galion Audio TS A75 placed in two systems. The A75 could be for someone just getting into the high-end hobby. The asking price is quite affordable, and they could build around the A75 for a very long time, creating an excellent system. The other possibility would be an established high-ender who wants to start a second system or would like a different-sounding amplifier than their reference amplifier for variety, especially if they are using solid-state and want a taste of tubes but without the possible hassles of re-tubing in the future.

Specifications:

Price: $1495

Website: www.galion-audio.com

Tracking number will be provided in about 3 to 4 weeks once it arrives in your country
High current power amp.
XLR and RCA Input.
14-day trial period. 5% restocking fee.
Includes Power cable.
One-year parts and labor warranty.Associated Equipment

TJ’s Associated equipment

Source:
Pass Labs DAC-1
Audio Note (UK) DAC 4.1 Balanced Signature
Reimyo DAP-999EX Toku
Mark Levinson 31.5 transport
Pro-Ject reference CD transport & LTA power supply
CEC-3 Belt-driven transport

Amplification:
Coda S5.5
SPL Elector preamplifier
SPL S1200 amplifier
Threshold 550e amplifier
AricAudio Motherlode MII preamplifier
AricAudio Super 300B SET amplifier

Loudspeakers:
NSMT System Two
Tekton Design Ulfberth
Music Design Knight One

Accessories:
Black Cat 3202 XLR ICs
Jena Labs reference AES/EBU digital cable
Kirmuss Audio Adrenaline speaker cables
Krolo Design reference rack & footers
Puritan Audio power conditioner & grounding system
Audio Archon power cords