Triangle Art P-200 Phonostage

They say that good things come in small packages. Not so with the Triangle Art (TA) P-200. It was quite a surprise to find a large 90-pound wood crate parked on my doorstep. I’ve become accustomed to diminutive phonostages that can be carried in one hand; the P-200 is obviously an exception. The main reason for the bulk is a massive chassis that is totally CNC milled from aluminum stock. The chassis top, bottom, and rear panels are 3/8″ thick, while the front and the two side panels are a remarkable 1″ thick. Gorgeously finished in satin black, its looks combine a bit of brawn and finesse to make for an elegant impression. Clearly, industrial art plays a significant role in TA’s overall design philosophy. Turntables came first in 1999 with the introduction of the Reference and Signature models, and the line expanded over the years to include tonearms, phono cartridges, and electronics. Tom Vu, TA’s CEO, prides himself in offering music lovers analog playback components that aim to kindle the music’s passion and thus nudge the art of music reproduction forward; the P-200 tube phonostage is a case in point. 

It’s fair to say that the P-200 incorporates some classic design touches. Passive inverse RIAA EQ became popular in the 1980s and is implemented here using high-quality caps, resistors, and silver wire in the signal path. The RIAA network is said to be accurate to better than 0.5dB, and unlike active EQ using feedback loops, the passive approach maintains stability of operation even as tubes age. In addition, the mm input overload margin is excellent at 85mV. The inverse RIAA circuit is sandwiched between two 12AX7-based gain stages. A cathode follower provides low-impedance drive. This is also a classic approach, practiced religiously over the years by Conrad-Johnson. I was informed that the cathode follower used is a 12AT7 twin triode. After I removed the top plate (you’ll need a 9/64″ hex key) for a peek at the large PC board that’s mounted at the bottom of the chassis, I not only noticed some premium parts such as Mundorf silver-gold caps and AMRG resistors, but also discovered that the cathode follower tube was actually a 12AU7. According to Tom Vu, the P-200 can accommodate both tube types in this position, and he encouraged me to pop in a 12AT7 for a listen. 

The stock tube complement is gold-pin Russian reissue Genalex Gold Lion. But it seems that TA expects most end users to undertake tube rolling—almost obligatory, really, when it comes to 9-pin miniature triodes. That’s partly the rationale for having all three twin triodes shared across left and right channels. The intent is to permit greater flexibility in tube rolling for personal sonic preferences. Let’s say, for example, that you are lucky enough to score a single super vintage tube; you can then just drop it into the preferred circuit position without the need for a matched pair of tubes. 

Both mm and mc cartridges are accommodated. There are two mc inputs that differ only in connector type, female XLR or standard RCA jacks. Similarly, the output signal is also accessible via RCA or XLR connectors. Moving-coil loading is fixed at approximately 100 ohms, which is probably an optimal choice for most cartridges, and certainly worked well for my Clearaudio daVinci II MC. Changes in mc loading can be made at the secondary of the step-up transformers, but since it involves a PC-board-level modification, it should ideally be performed at the factory.

The power transformer is housed in an external chassis that connects to the main unit via an umbilical cord to minimize the potential for hum and noise induction.  The tube filaments are heated by regulated DC voltage for lower noise. The high-voltage power supply is heavily filtered and separated for left and right channels after initial rectification. Voltage limiting is used during startup to protect the tubes from excessive voltage until they start conducting. 

The total gain for the mm section is 45dB, which is supplemented by an additional 26dB of gain provided by a pair of high-quality Lundahl LL9226XL step-up transformers, which come encapsulated in double thickness mu-metal housings. In total, the 71dB of gain is sufficient to amplify even a 0.1mV mc to line-level voltage. This strikes me as a sensible approach as there is no active gain stage that can compete with a good step-up transformer when it comes to pure, low-distortion gain.

Tubes do what tubes do. A tube’s sonic DNA is quite unique and nowhere does it make for a more obvious difference than a phonostage. I’ve yet to audition a solid-state design that comes as close as a tube unit to the textural and tonal conviction of the real thing. It is no accident that all the coveted classic designs from Audio Research and Conrad-Johnson are tube based. My latest tube phono- stage purchase was a Wright Sound WPP200, hand-built by the late George Wright. It was obviously intended as a budget unit but featured a tube-rectified and -regulated external power supply and a circuit topology similar to that of the P-200. I was curious to find out how it would fare against a much more expensive unit.  Well, it turned out that sometimes you do have to pay more, a lot more, for reference-quality sound. 

First to make the leap onto the platter from my top of the pile was the Chesky reissue of the original RCA Living Stereo LP of Gershwin’s An American in Paris/Rhapsody in Blue (Chesky Records RC8), Arthur Fiedler conducting the Boston Pops Orchestra, Earl Wild on piano. This superb recording is quite revealing of any dynamic bottlenecks in any given system. Most of my listening was conducted in the context of an exceptionally capable setup: the Analysis Audio Omega planar loudspeakers powered by the SMc Audio DNA-1/GT-21 Ultra Plus. This Class AB amplifier represents a complete overhaul of the venerable McCormack DNA-1 and incorporates Steve McCormack’s latest circuit refinements and tweaks. The GT-21 Ultra Plus is capable of stupendous bass slam and volcano-like macrodynamic reach and is the best match for the Omega loudspeaker I’ve found to date. If there’s anything amiss as far as dynamic range (or anything else for that matter), this is the system to reveal it. To its credit, the P-200 did not disappoint. It showcased this recording’s exceptional dynamics and realistic transient speed. There was no doubt about it, this phonostage was just killing it.

Spatial resolution was another strong sonic attribute. Combined with excellent soundstage transparency and a considerable depth perspective, it offered convincing elucidation of massed voices. Complex polyphonic passages were readily resolved, one fine example being Handel’s Messiah choruses, King’s College Choir, Cambridge (EMI CSD 3778). There seemed to be no loss of information at the frequency extremes. In particular, bass lines were well defined with no reduction of impact. 

Of course, ultimate performance is a function of the quality of the analog front-end. I tried running my linear-tracking B&O 8000 turntable into the mm input, and compared with my Kuzma Reference table, there were losses at the frequency extremes, dynamic range took a hit, and soundstage transparency suffered, as well. There was no reason to shoot the messenger, the P-200 was simply telling the truth without adding any euphonic colorations. 

That brings me to reproduction of the upper midrange. My personal preference is for some textural sweetness coupled with fully saturated tonal colors. Instead, I perceived a somewhat assertive demeanor and a slight bleaching out of harmonic colors. I wondered if the culprit was the stock tube complement or possibly the Lundahl step-up transformers. It was easy enough to bypass the stock transformers by connecting my Sound Tradition MC-10 step-up to the mm inputs of the P-200. The MC-10 features the famous Hashimoto HM-3 transformers, which for over a decade I’ve considered “best of breed.” There is something very special about its upper mids—a pure tone that I’ve come to know and love. It improved depth perspective and image palpability and yielded a sweeter midrange tonality, sounding more tube-like. The Lundahl transformers simply lacked the beguiling, almost lyrical upper mids of the Hashimoto HM-3. Alas, the Lundahls are fixed in place, and so, it was on to Plan B: some basic tube rolling with the idea of nudging textures toward a vintage tone. I rolled in a pair of Siemens ECC83 that I pulled out of my Wright Sound WPP200. That proved to be a step in the right direction, which encouraged me to replace the 12AU7 cathode follower tube with a Brimar 6060 Yellow T premium 12AT7 type. Without much effort, the combined sonic effect was to deliver more refined textures with increased “fat on the bones.” Not only did midrange gravitas benefit, but for some reason transient speed seemed to improve as well. Needless to say, I was a most happy camper at this point.

The P-200 distances itself from the competition by virtue of its superb spatial resolution, transient speed, and resolution of low-level detail. Expect a compelling dynamic range, capable of fleshing out subtle microdynamic nuances as well scaling orchestral peaks with composure.  The P-200 simply gets out of the way and allows the music to ebb and flow without dynamic constraints or tube colorations. My guess is that most of you will be perfectly happy with the stock tube complement, which squeezes out a fair amount of tube magic, but know that the unit responds well to tube rolling should you get the urge to experiment with your favorite preamp tube types.  The P-200 affirmed my belief in the virtues of a tube phono- stage. It is as good or better than any phonostage I’ve had in the house. It has supercharged my analog playback enjoyment and is deserving of a strong recommendation.

Specs & Pricing

Gain: 45dB (mm) 71dB (mc) @ 1kHz
Input impedance: 47k ohm/150pF (mm), 100 ohm (mc; adjustable)
Output impedance: <500 ohms; lowest recommended load impedance >10k ohm
Distortion (THD+N): 0.01% typical, 1kHz @ 0dBV (1V rms out)
IMD: 0.01% typical, 60Hz and 7kHz 4:1 @ –3dBV (0.7V rms out)
Maximum output: 18dBV (8.5V rms) into lowest recommended load of 10k ohm @ 1% THD+N
Maximum mm input: >–21.4dBV (85mV rms) @ 1 % THD
Crosstalk: <–60dB @ 1kHz
Noise: < –70dB 20Hz to 20kHz relative to 0dBV out; < –85dB A-weighted relative to 0dBV out
Dimensions: 18″ x 7″ x 14″
Weight: 60 lbs.
Price: $15,000

TRIANGLE ART
Anaheim, CA 92808
(714) 553-6474
triangleart.net

Associated Equipment
Speakers: Analysis Audio Omega, Fleetwood Sound Company DeVille
Line Preamplifier: AudioPrism Mantissa brought up to Red Rose Model 3a specs
Power amplifier: SMc Audio DNA-1/GT-21 Ultra+
Phono front end: Kuzma Reference turntable, Kuzma Stogi Reference 313 VTA tonearm, Clearaudio daVinci V2 MC Phono Cartridge
Cable & interconnects: Acrotec, Mogami & Kimber KCAG interconnects; Acrotec 6N; Kimber KCAG, ChromaLeaf Canare 4S11, Analysis Plus Oval 12, & Take Five Audio Cryo treated Mogami 3103 speaker cable
Accessories: Sound Application CF-X & TT-7 power line conditioners, Herbie’s Audio Lab UltraSonic SS-9 and HAL-O III tube dampers