Opinion 1

Everybody, well, maybe only the real tough guys, has a hobby in their private lives. Some people ambitiously work out, others spend time with their colleagues – you have to add by yourselves, what they are doing then – yet others listen to music for hours, like we do, trying to get the best possible quality of sound at home. The last group divides in two subgroups: the first one consists of audiophiles making their own audio devices, trying to prove to the world, and themselves, that they can construct any audio device better than anyone else in the world, and the second subgroup – to which I can be counted – only listens, using readymade audio gear. I will not talk about all the aspects of how a homo sapiens uses his free time, I will just say a few things about people, who have “some” knowledge about electronics. I put the parentheses on “some” for a good reason, because the constructor of the tested unit was also responsible for a recently tested power-filter, that made me re-evaluate my point of view on the price-performance ratio, as it was a big exception to the rule, that cheap things cannot sound good. So it would be a big negligence not to take that aspect into consideration. This constructor is a man, who learned the ropes of what he is doing at the acclaimed BBC studios to later co-found the IsoTek, a company probably known to many people, dealing with power conditioners, to later found another brand dealing with the current powering our precious systems – Isol-8. Theoretically a well renowned company should be sufficient for a constructor, but not for Nic Poulson. Actively enjoying his hobby – listening to music – he decided another step is needed to be able to fulfill his needs, so he founded the company Trilogy, a company dealing with the subject of sound amplification. Having a well-going company he could freely experiment in the new field of his interest. So we were very happy, when we got a call from the Wrocław based distributor Moje Audio, who announced we could try out Nic`s phonostage, called Trilogy 907.

In times, when often devices get bigger with the position they occupy on the price list, the Trilogy is a very compact unit, with a power supply separated into another housing. The small and flat phonostage is made from one slab of aluminum, and can be easily placed anywhere, even in very crowded systems. The power supply – please remember, that Nic Poulson comes from dealing with power – has an umbilical of sufficient length, what allows to place it really anywhere, where it would be convenient, even among the cable entanglement behind the audio rack. I do not claim, that this is the best solution, but sometimes it just cannot be done otherwise. This PSU is equipped only with an IEC socket and a multipin one to connect it to the main unit. Like I already mentioned, the main unit is made from a brick of aluminum, which has three milled stripes on the top, just to break with the monotony. The front is also far from extravagances, there is only the company logo in the left upper corner and a milled stripe on the right, which houses the red power indicator LED. The back panel is typical for turntable preamplifiers and has RCA input and output terminals, a grounding screw and the power supply cable, which cannot be detached. Due to the small size of the complete unit, all micro-switches used to configure the device were placed on the bottom. The looks can deceive, suggesting its low weight, what is obviously not true, as my Harmonix cables are very stiff, but were not able to move the unit by a hair.

First of all I must confess, that this was not my first contact with the tested Trilogy phonostage. I met it first during a meeting from the “Audiofil” series, where it, paired with a decent turntable setup, showed the place of a renowned file streamer. I was surprised enough, that I told that to the distributor, and he decided, that he wants to test if this was not just a „wow factor”, a short infatuation, or this product is that good. When I placed this product next to my reference, the Theriaa, I had some fear, how this comparison will work out, which I tried to mitigate, knowing how the initial impressions were. So I decided not to wait too long and placed the first record on my Feickert Twin. It was an old pressing, without any special mastering tweaks, rather just an interesting musical content, and this somewhat obscures the process of verification, how the preamplifier handles the low electrical signals generated by the cartridge. Of course you can assess some aspects like the resolution, temperature or weight of the sound, and all were very good, but the not so well recorded material equalizes the final sonic effect of the system, and the tested phonostage for sure deserved better, than just to listen how nice it sounds. This is why the next disc was the ECM issued disc “Volver” by Enrico Rava and Dino Saluzzi and their quintet. Before I jump to conclusions, I would like to mention, that I listened to some phono preamplifiers in my life, most of them being at least good, but their quality always correlated with their price. And here? Either Nic exaggerates with the low prices compared to the quality of sound, trying to find his position on the audio market, or he is volunteering to show us, how the audio world exploits us. The phonostage costing not even 12 thousand zlotys and it makes me switch many times between itself and the Theriaa to be able to see the very small differences. And those are in no way degrading aspects, but small things, nuances, that change the way of seeing the analog as being warm – I will talk more about that a bit later – and yet still having a high resolution. I do not really care, how you will perceive it, but I listened to this disc three times in a row, and each time with lower volume. I do not know how to explain this – well, I do know, this is caused by a resolution, reserved only for the best products, what makes us proceed like that. When something sounds with a slight tendency to quickly become liked by the listener, trying to saturate the virtual sources to have them become the main hero of the reproduced musical spectacle, this makes us turn the volume up, to be able to hear, what the musicians from the last rows have to tell us. Yet here, the mentioned resolution allows us, even forces us, to turn the volume down, as when the frontman is quieter, we hear more of the musical background. It turns out, that a give disc, even well known, never gave such opportunity for the supporting musicians to emerge, while positioning them far behind the speakers, still showing us what happens there, and please believe me, there is a lot going on. Of course this will happen, when the rest of the stereo system is up to par, that it is synergistic and on an appropriate audio quality level. I myself did not yet reach the point, in the analog department, where changes do not bring much, but having listened to many sets, being the maximum of what today`s technology can bring us: decs, tonearms and cartridges, I can name things quite easily. I do not want to position anybody`s system against any scale, but when you will find out, that after changing some component, you listen to a disc at lower volume levels than before, still catching all the smallest nuances, this will be a confirmation, that your system has gone up one level on the resolution scale. And I really want you to experience that. But let us get back to the topic. The piece opening the mentioned Rava & Saluzzi disc is a slow ballad, and the British product adds the “X” factor, by its ability to generate ethereal sounds. The initial Saluzzi solo tries to converse with all the other instruments in all upcoming phrases, which are placed in a 3D stage between the loudspeakers due to the efforts of Manfred Eicher from ECM, and with the help of the phonstage. The biggest positive impressions from this disc are the timbre and vividness of the trumpet (E. Rava), sparkling cymbals (B. Ditmas) and ethereal sounding bandoneon (D. Saluzzi). But we also do not forget about the rest of the musicians, the guitar (H. Pepi) and bass (F. Di Castri), which are on par with their abilities compared to the trio mentioned earlier.
Staying with jazz, but changing to a more expansive repertoire (concert, light free jazz), I took the disc that served as a test bed for the Theriaa phonostage. I tried many times to re-create the atmosphere of the day, when I first tested the Theriaa, but every time I felt many shortcomings, maybe not of the sort, that would disqualify the tested device, but for me important, narrowing the amount of information about the lead instruments, being the tenor saxophone and bass clarinet, both played by David Murray. This disc, titled “In Our Style” is branded by two musicians – David Murray, who I mentioned before, and Jack DeJonette and was issued by the Japanese label DIW. This label has a similarly careful approach to recording and mastering as the Munich based ECM, and this time, due to the device designed by the British engineers, allowed me to lose myself in music, which was close to the live experience.
Trying to present a few aspects, that are in favor of the British phonostage, I would turn my attention to the very good resolution and breath, which allow to easily catch the vibrations of the reed of both mentioned instruments. Of course this is not a homogenous sound in fast passages, but slow phrases of the instruments, common on this disc, give a spectacle of air leaving the tubes of the instruments, which is a real feast for the music lover listening to this music. I did not mention anything about the setup of the sound stage, as presented by the tested preamplifier, but I said, that the manufacturer is pricing his products scandalously low, so you may already assume, it is not a run-or-the-mill product. The price-performance ratio is really leaving all the competition ashamed. Of course everything depends on appropriate configuration of the system, but I am sure, that the high level of refinement of the 907 will have it fare well, even in setups that do not serve it well, as they will not be up to par with their quality. But I think, in consequence, such systems will show new levels of quality, which were unreachable before. Placing virtual sources on the stage is top notch, the space limited by the back wall (about 1.5 meters behind the speakers) is fully allocated an filled. If the recording is well made, then the width of the presented stage can expand beyond the speakers themselves. But let us move on. I am not sure, if you remember, that I postponed the comparison of the temperature of the sound of the Trilogy compared to the Polish Theriaa, but I made it on purpose. After listening to a few dozen discs, I see a very small, absolutely not disturbing, departure from the rules of total fidelity, which is sometimes very desirable, and if you want to get rid of them, you need to pay a lot of money. This difference I am talking about, is the slight extra weight put on the verge of the bass and lower midrange in the 907, with a touch of sweetness on the treble. As a consequence, this has a delicate influence on the sharpness of contours of the musical spectacle, but after such a dose of enjoyment and looking at the price tag of the device, this should be regarded more as an asset than a shortcoming. In addition I would like to remind about the refinement of the accompanying system, which has to be able to show the differences in the music flowing to our ears. Looking at this from a perspective of time, I think, what do I say, I am sure, that slight addition of the body to the sound of the contrabass and a touch of sweetness on the whole spectrum is very difficult to notice, without a head-to-head comparison, just like I mentioned in the very beginning. Describing the sound spectrum as a whole, as it is presented by Nic Poulson’s phonostage, I will start with the bass, which is low reaching and strong, while quite hard, and touching the midrange it allows the sound to gain weight and come closer to the effect of saturation, which is usually expected by vinyl lovers, and which I perceived with pleasure. But this is only a shade, a nuance, just a characteristic of the product, and absolutely not a problem. When we talk about treble, then the gold color presented by it, in context of the whole sound, is much more to my liking, than the ever present pale and soulless ticking, and allows the preamplifier to have a coherent sound of a high performance product. I do not know, what will now be done by the competition, but surpassing this British proposition will be very hard, although I encourage every company to have such good products, capable to rival the sound quality and pricing.

Sometimes there comes a moment of cognition in the life of the reviewer, and we start to think what could be, if… I think, that I just came to this moment, but fortunately I have what I have, and I am happy with it. This is really surprising, that you can offer such refinement of the sound at such price level. Is it lack of knowledge of the people responsible for marketing in that company, that they could ask a lot more for the product? I do not know, but having the opportunity to experience a product from the main part of activity of the company, a power filtering device, I do not think so, as the other product was also priced very nicely. I think, that such approach is only possible, when someone has reached full satisfaction from the life he has led to date and a healthy calculation of costs, allowing him and the company to stay alive, while keeping the end price at a certain level. I also think, that some freedom in pricing is also the result of not having a big company overhead and lack of excessive marketing. The tested phonostage from England, a side job of Nic Poulson, stood its ground in the comparison with the four times more expensive contender. And when we look at this price difference, it is the winner. Of course, in absolute terms the result would be the other way round, but it would need additional spending, which for some people would be worth the while, while for others not. And we cannot argue with both of those approaches, because those depend on many factors and reference points, which may be completely different for different people. Unfortunately time came to give the phonostage to Marcin for the second part of the review. I will miss this sweetness and slight saturation while listening to my beloved discs, without influence on the openness and liveliness of the sound. I think, that there will not be many people, who would complain, when confronted with the 907, unless the system they have is absolutely far from being transparent. In my system I put emphasis on timbre, and this addition from the phonostage was perceived as positive. In other cases, when a system is well balanced, when it becomes plugged in it, it will probably remain there forever, because the need to return it, may result in not listening to analog discs, until Trilogy 907 comes back.

Jacek Pazio

The system used in the test, a complete set of Combak Corporation.

Electronics Reimyo:
– Separate DAC + CD player: CDT – 777 + DAP – 999 EX
– Tube preamp: CAT – 777 MK II
– Solid state power amp: KAP – 777
Speakers: Bravo Consequence +
Power cables: Harmonix X-DC-350M2R Improved Version
Speaker Cables: Harmonix HS 101-EXQ (mid-high section); Harmonix HS-101 SLC (Section woofer)
IC RCA Harmonix HS 101-GP
Digital IC: Harmonix HS 102
Table: Rogoz Audio; Solid Base VI
Accessories: Antivibration stand for the power amp by Harmonix TU-505EX MK2, Harmonix Enacom improved for AC 100-240V; Harmonix Tuning Room Mini Disk RFA-80i
Analog stage:
– Turntable:
drive: Dr. Feickert Analogue „Twin”
arm: SME V
cartridge: Dynavector XX-2 MK II
Phonostage: RCM THERIAA

Opinion 2

A situation, when the main constructor and owner of the brand admits, that this is actually a hobby for him, and a departure from the main activities he does, does not happen often. He openly admits, that the products that are in the catalog were made purely for his enjoyment, and hopefully also for other people’s enjoyment too. That is the case with the devices carrying the brand name Trilogy and Nic Poulson, the man behind this all. Do you remember this name? We wrote about him recently, while testing the ISOL-8 MiniSub Axis. This time, we will concentrate on a device working directly with an audio signal, an analog signal that is. Ladies and gentlemen, enter the phonostage Trilogy 907.

Looking at the size of the 907, especially the main unit, we could ask ourselves the question, if the constructor did not go too far with his nonchalance, making compromises with regard to the used parts as well as the sound, making them adequate to the perceived size. Fortunately a closer look immediately alleviates the mentioned dilemmas. The main unit is made from one block of aluminum, and you can access the inside only from below. There you can also find micro-switches allowing adaptation of the parameters of the preamplifier to the used cartridge. In addition, despite the small external dimensions, the weight of the device does not leave place for complaints, and a look inside confirmed, that there is second to none audiophile air to be found. It also explained why the cabinet gets warm during operation – it acts like a heat sink for the output stage. You probably also noticed characteristic symmetry and full separation of the PCBs responsible for handling the signals of the left and right channel. This is then mirrored on the back panel. The positioning of the input and output sockets is adequate to the PCBs hidden inside, so they are located to the sides of the unit, while in the middle we have the grounding screw and the power cable, which is not detachable and terminated with a multi-pin plug.
Both the top and front were only delicately decorated, by way of milling. In addition on the front there is the logo and model name, as well as a red LED indicating operation. The power supply is nothing special – regarding its looks. It is made from bent steel plates and houses two toroidal transformers with some solid capacitors. Solid engineering work without any signs of excessive thrift or madness. An ideal example for common sense, where there is no need to waste money on elements, that are not needed.

So let us move to describing the sound of the unit. Although we had already some contact with the 907 during the “Audiofil” meeting in Wroclaw, listening among your own four walls is absolutely different to such casual listening elsewhere. There the room is absolutely unknown, a system that poses another riddle, only the Harmonix cabling was something we knew, but the result was very interesting. I forgot – half of the system used also the power filtered by the ISOL-8 MiniSub Axis. Fortunately the Polish distributor of all those brands – Moje Audio from Wrocław – treated this presentation only as a way to show us those products, and just a few days afterwards we could acquaint ourselves with this British product.
First Jacek listened to the tested phonostage for a dozen days, and he was very reluctant to tell what he heard, he only smiled enigmatically. Having in mind, that our musical tastes are quite far apart, I did not want to guess, if this smile means this preamplifier fitted his requirements, or completely the opposite. This is why I decided just to wait for my turn.
When I got the Trilogy in my hands I decided not to be too excited, and I replaced with it the tube Octave Phono Module, so that it has some time to play in my system to reach ideal thermal conditions. But I will not keep you waiting. On the platter of the mighty Transrotor La Roccia Reference I placed the tone down (at least for me) album “Re-machined: A Tribute to Deep Purple’s Machine Head” which starts with the immortal “Smoke on the Water” interpreted by Carlos Santana and ends with, something that might be regarded as a sacrilege, a version of “When a Blind Man Cries” performed by Metallica. If I would not know what is playing, and how much it costs, I would say, that this phenomenally dynamic, saturated and above average clear and swung sound comes from a much bigger product, costing in the range of 20-40 thousand zlotys. Yes, you are not misreading, there is absolutely no mistake in the price range I quoted. The Trilogy sounds with a finesse and class inversely proportional to its size and absolutely not achievable in its price range. Amplifying the micro-signals from the brilliant cartridge ZYX 4D (I am slowly adapting to its sound) it added such amounts of adrenaline to it, that there was no way of sitting in one place. If there was at least the slightest hint of rhythm within the groove on the vinyl disc, then the 907 immediately restored it, built tissue around it and made even the, to date, anemic recordings, to show strength and speed, that would put Chuck Norris to shame, and that even during his best period. You do not believe me? To verify this on your own, using your own guts, I recommend using the last album of Rodrigo y Gabriela “9 Dead Alive” – what this pair is able to achieve with two guitars is absolutely amazing. With the help of the tested device each touch of a string, each hit on the body sounds like we would be sitting in the third row of an exclusive concert, for a very small audience. There is absolutely no artificial, grotesque showing off with details, or offensive hiper- or over-resolution, because such artifacts quickly become boring and equally quickly make us having a headache. Nothing is blow-up, nothing is scaled-up, only we, the listeners, come closer to the musicians, shortening the distance to them. We get a load of pure energy, as if there would be a miniature nuclear reactor inside the preamplifier, and not just two toroidal transformers.
On much more toned down, and at the same time better recorded, material like “Vagen” Tingvall Trio or “Libretto II” Lars Danielsson there was an incredible precision and spaciousness of the sound. I observed something similar during the tests of the Phasemation EA-1000, what points to the extraordinary abilities of the British phonostage in that aspect. Adding to this the saturation and mass, density and substantiality of the sound we get a surprising picture. I caught myself losing the pragmatic insight into the test, and stopped ticking off the “samples” put on the playlist, just each and every disc I put on the platter run from the first to the last track. I could not imagine the situation, that I could switch a disc off after playing just one or two tracks; to stand up, elevate the tonearm and put the disc into the sleeve. It would be like leaving a cameral concert in the middle to go for a smoke or to make a phone call. You just don’t do that.
The resolution mentioned earlier, and the attention to reproduce stable, precisely focused virtual sources did not come in the way of having pleasure listening to older, sometimes not very well preserved recordings from the 60-ties or 70-ties. Even the first pressings of “Dziwny jest ten świat” Niemen or “Korowód” Marek Grechuta maintained their slightly nostalgic character. Of course the noise and ticks, unavoidable with such “souvenirs from our childhood”, were perfectly audible, and there is no way of leaving them or ignoring them, but instead of being annoying, or being punished by a too analytical, or emotionally conservative preamplifier, they were an integral part of the whole. They were the witnesses of authenticity, or truth – like the small wrinkles around the eyes of your beloved one.
It is hard to unanimously classify the Trilogy 907 in terms of the temperature of the presented sound. We have a kind of a through and through musical device, and at the same time incredibly resolving and transparent, which tries not to interfere to much with the amplified signal, but still making it sound much better than its competition, which similarly priced (or much more expensive).

Although the listening session in Wrocław already woke our interest in the Trilogy brand, which is making a debut on the Polish market, yet only this test, of this inconspicuous phonostage, with the name 907, made me realize, and as Jacek wrote also to him, what potential is hidden inside those sleek devices. If the other offerings designed by Nic Poulson have the same phenomenal sound, at equally low prices, then there is a chance to create a truly high-end system, with highest quality sound, at prices reachable for most people.

Marcin Olszewski

Distributor:Moje Audio
Price:  11 900 PLN

Technical details:
Size (907 Pre amplifier) (WxDxH): 150 x 220 x 38 mm
Size including connectors (907 Pre amplifier) (WxDxH): 150 x 235 x 38 mm
Weight (907 Pre amplifier): 2.0 kg
Size (PSU) (WxDxH): 132 x 225 x 57 mm
Weight (PSU): 2.85 kg
Packaged Size (combined) (WxDxH): 330 x 290 x 195
Packaged Weight (combined): 5.9 kg
Power consumption: 10 W
Inputs: 2 RCA phono sockets
Outputs: 2 RCA phono sockets
Input Impedance: 47kΩ (user adjustable)
Input Capacitance: 100pF (user adjustable)
Gain: 50dB, 64dB, 70dB (user adjustable)
Frequency response (to RIAA curve): 20-20kHz +/- 0.25dB
Output impedance: 150 Ω
Phase: Phase correct (non inverting)

System used in this test:
– CD/DAC: Ayon 1sc
– DAC: ModWright Elyse
– Digital source selector: Audio Authority 1177
– Network Music Player: Olive O2M; laptop Dell Inspiron 1764 + JRiver Media Center
– Turntable: Transrotor La Roccia Reference + ZYX 4D
– Phonostage: Octave Phono Module; RCM Sensor Prelude
– Integrated Amplifier: Electrocompaniet ECI 5
– Preamplifier: Accuphase C-2120
– Power amplifier: Accuphase A-36
– Loudspeakers: Gauder Akustik Arcona 80 + spike extenders
– IC RCA: Antipodes Audio Katipo; Siltech Classic Anniversary 770i
– IC XLR: LessLoss Anchorwave; Organic Audio; Amare Musica
– Digital IC: Fadel art DigiLitz; Harmonic Technology Cyberlink Copper; Apogee Wyde Eye; Monster Cable Interlink LightSpeed 200
– USB Cable: Wireworld Starlight; Goldenote Firenze Silver
– Speaker Cables: Organic Audio; Signal Projects Hydra
– Power Cables: Furutech FP-3TS762 / FI-28R / FI-E38R; Organic Audio Power; Acoustic Zen Gargantua II
– Power distribution board: GigaWatt PF-2 + Furutech FP-3TS762 / FI-28R / FI-E38R
– Wall Outlet: Furutech FT-SWS(R)
– Table: Rogoz Audio 4SM3; Audio Philar Modern Line III
– Antivibration platform: Franc Audio Accessories Wood Block Slim Platform
– Ethernet Cables: Neyton CAT7+
– Accessories: Sevenrods Dust-caps; Furutech CF-080 Damping Ring; HighEndNovum PMR Premium; Albat Revolution Loudspeaker Chips