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Review: Acoustat Trans Nova Twin 200 Amplifier

Category: Amplifiers

Lived in S. Florida during the time Acoustat was in business there and knew many of the principals there. Talk about a bunch of fanatics dedicated to high end audio,would be a gross understatement. The folks at Acoustat lived,breathed,slept,and played as hard as anyone in audio.It was truly their whole reason for being. The products they brought out were astounding and have truly stood the test of time.

One such product was their first power amp, the Acoustat Trans Nova Twin 200,also known as the TNT 200. For several years they auditioned practicaly every amp out there. Knowing full well that the amp would have to be exceptional in order to drive properly their range of electrostatic speakers,with their widely varying ohm load. Frustration after frustration ensued with each amp they auditioned. Those that could drive them just did not have the sonic signature the speakers needed. Consequently those that did have the signature they were seeking just did not have the current to do the job.

Face with this dillema,the only recourse was to build their own amp. Armed with the things learned in the auditioning the other amps,they now had a focus on what to do. The Acoustat TNT 200 was to be a fully MOSFET amplifier from input stage to output stage. Probably the first to use this type of topolgy. No one knew their speakers better than they did,so the amp was built knowing it drive the Acoustat line of speakers.

The first review of this Amp came from "The Sensible Sound" #17 Spring 83 issue. In the comparison it was matched against the Van Alstine Transcendance 400.

While I will not to into excessive detail here,the review on the Acoustat was most favorable. The TNT 200 has a more discernable sound than the Transcedance. Percussion has a seductive silkiness that is very pleasing.The mid range the amp excels with great detailing,with a very wide sound stage.While the top end frequencies,have a clarity and depth not often found.

I have used many different amplifiers with different Acoustat speakers. None of them for me really filled the promise. Finally located a TNT 200 and had a friend of mine who use to work for Acoustat rebuild the amp and add all of the updates.

Once you hear this amp driving a pair of Acoustats,you will then know why all other amps pale in comparison. This amp has the muscle,transparency,sonic signature,depth,and clarity that Acoustat Speakers need. And at prices in the secondary market are a true steal.

So if you have Acoustats or any electrostatic planar speaker here is your amp. The search is over. As far as conventional speakers go this amp will drive them with a verve that will astound you.

At the very least this amp will make you want to listen to every album or CD you own. A true glorious delight.

Associated gear
Acoustat MRP Pre Amp. Acoustat Model 2 Speakers.Denon DP 61 F Turntable,and Denon DCM 370 CD Player

Similar products
Threshold,Forte,Audio Research,Citation,Adcom,etc

ferrari
unclejeff
1,313 posts
 
I have been trying for quite some time to get schematics on this stuff. If you do a web search on 'Acoustat', you will find an Email address to some of the former engineers. they might reply.

I recently was able to one of my Acoustat X amps as I own it's twin an we were able to compare and find the problem. Good luck.
lou_3rd
74 posts
 
Not that it was worth it, resale is nothing on it, but for the heck of it I decided to mod a TNP preamp. After hearing a plethora of disparaging comments about it, and assuming that it was not such a horrid design after all... Well, I was completely right, the original caps and bypass caps used in the TNP suck, use RT or RTX caps for bypassing, and Black Gates in the signal path, and Nichicon Muse caps in the supply, replace the 1N400(X) cap with UF4007’s and this preamp will hold it’s own against the big dogs, and smoke the later Acoustat preamp, unless you mod it! :-) I did not do the phono section as I just wanted to prove a point, and as I had wasted quite enough money on it. If I was not crazy about remotes, I would use it…
stuf4s1000
1 posts
 
Interesting. In response to the old post regarding how much of an improvement the TNT-200 is over the DH-200, I can sum it up in one word "INCREDIBLE".

I have used and tested the following amps for powering my Acoustat Model 3's w/Medallion transformers:

Hafler DH-500
Hafler DH-200
Perreaux PMF-2150B
Threshold S/300

Several years ago I became interested in replacing my Hafler 500 with a Perreaux PMF 2150B. Out of the amps listed above I had found the 2150B had much better detail and was a significant upgrade in overall sound. During my quest, I found that used 2150B's had become popular among the "e-Bay" audio speculators. So much so that they were priced much more than they were worth to me. I did a bit more research and came to the conclusion that "on paper" if I could find a TNT-200 it should provide a similar upgrade in sound quality. Well, I found one and bought it at a very reasonable price. What happened next was nothing short of awesome. I just couldn't believe how good the TNT 200 was. It was amazing. There was so much detail I was dumbfounded. CD after CD, there were details that I had never heard before. Amazingly on some you could hear people whispering in the background very clearly.

After I bought the TNT 200, I sold the Hafler 500 for $100 more than the Acoustat. Hafler amps are great, but the Acoustat TNT-200 is so good that you would have to pay at least $5000 today for an amp that could even compete against it. In my mind, an Acoustat TNT-200 in working order is priceless.

I hope that answers the question albeit a year later...

BTW, the DH-200 has better sound driving my Acoustat Model 3's than the 500. I bought a used 200 for my son's birthday awhile back and after listening to them drive the Model 3's I tried trading my 500 for it, but my son would hear none of that. :-)
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