L-200 MK2 Dual Mono Tube Preamplifier
The L-200 MK2 full function line preamplifier is an improved version of our very successful L-200 MK1. Simple and elegant topologies and powering schemes that have been used successfully in the prior version have been methodically gone through by the Triangle Art design team and refined even further. All proven elements of the prior version were retained such as heavy duty chassis design, use of an external power supply and careful and meticulous selection of the finest electronic components and wiring. A new circuit configuration is used and the preamplifiers new printed circuit board, itself a work of art, uses a symmetrical signal flow layout.
Features:
The L-200 MK2 offers a total of 5 line level inputs. Inputs 1 through 3 are available as RCA connections and inputs 4 and 5 on female XLR connectors.
The output signal is available on 2 RCA jacks and one male XLR connector for each channel.
The input selector and the passive 64 step switched attenuator are both Elma units wired to connectors and the circuit board using military grade shielded cable.
The power transformer of the L-200 MK2 is housed in a separate chassis and connects to the main unit via and umbilical cord and multi pin connectors on both chassis.
Power indication is by a blue LED built into the power switch on the front panel of the preamplifier chassis.
Technical Details:
This preamplifier offers several engineering changes and upgrades, some of which learned of during our development of the landmark P-200 phono stage. The external power supply chassis with the toroid power transformer is mounted remotely from the main chassis via an umbilical cord guarantees interference free operation.
Internally in the main chassis the power supply is separated after primary rectification and is dual mono after this point. Two separate LC power supply filters constructed of the highest quality parts, including proprietary chokes and Mundorf capacitors feed 2 completely separate line amplification stages.
Each line amplifier stage is constructed of the finest parts available, including Mundorf capacitors, AMRG resistors and proprietary output transformers. The design is an improved version of the circuit found in the MK1 version of our L-200, a single ended transformer output design.
A single gain stage is used in each channel, completely free of any feedback, global or local. The output transformers, a custom design made exclusively for Triangle Art, provide low impedance drive to connected equipment. The inputs are protected against extreme infrasonic signals and DC.
The design now uses one 6SN7 dual triode per channel with slightly different operating points and biasing than the prior version. This results in greater overall dynamic contrast and improved fine dynamics as well as greater clarity.
The improved separate internal power supplies for left and right channels produce better sound staging and three dimensionality.
The L-200 MK2 retains all of the Triangle Art “Magic” that the L-200 MK1 is known for and takes it to a new level. Any line source will benefit from being run through the L-200 MK2 and for phono based systems there is no better partner than our own P-200 phono stage, results are nothing short of spectacular and synergistic.
Triangle Art M-100 Mono Amplifiers and L-200 Preamplifier
admin –
Hey Guys.. They finally arrived!! After a few months of anticipation, my TriangeArt M-100 mono amps and L-200 line stage were delivered! I’ve been a long time TriangeArt fan and consumer. The owner, designer and builder (all machined and assembled in his factory in Santa Ana, California) Tom Vu truly builds works of art that perform better then they look. I’m currently running his flagship amps (TA-350’s) and absolutely love them. When Tom called and told me he was working on new amps & line stage designs and explained in layman’s terms about point to point connections, I was in.. Ive run a lot of his gear since 2004. If he was excited about it, then I was too. All the technical specs can be found on his website. Everything came in wooden crates. Upon arriving home, I didn’t even make it in the house. I opening everything up and proceeded to move it into my music room. Needless to say Deanne was not happy I didn’t come kiss her hello first! Lol oops… I first unhooked and replaced my line stage with the L-200. Cranked up the 350’s for 10 minutes or so to get nice and warm. Well… all I could think was holy sh*t!!! The separation, clarity, bass and amazing expansion of soundstage floored me! The more amazing part is it retained the TriangleArt warmth that I love.. it blew me away how musical it is.. of course Tom knew I was home listening to it.. He called me about 40 minutes into it. I answered and said, are you kidding me!!! He laughed and hung up! Lol Next, I made the quick switch and fired up the M-100’s and let the heat up for 10-15 minutes, let the needle down again on Tin Pan Alley.. Immediately in the drumroll at the beginning of the track I could feel it in my chest
! The bass was tight, firm and very fast! They drove my Usher TD-20s with little effort. The really cool thing is the gain can be controlled from the back of the amps. This came in really handy when I eventually bi-amped them with my 350s. that took it to pure music bliss! But back to the amps.. they added a layer I’ve not heard before. Tom somehow was able to lower the noise floor in a significant way. I would recommend these amps and line stage to anyone. If you love tube gear, you would be crazy not to try them. They wouldn’t disappoint even the pickiest critic! A HUGE thumbs up Tom!!! You outdid yourself my friend!
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If you like to enjoy the music with ultra-high-end analog play-back systems, you definitely cannot go wrong with TriangleArt product line.
I have been using what so-called audiophile toys for more than 20 years. Many gears come and go from my system in the past years. Every gear has its own characteristic. I use the product specification as reference only, I trust my ears more. We just find some gears to meet our expectation
In the beginning, I was searching to upgrade my turntable and found beautiful Triangle Art turntables. I luckily had a long talk with the designer/ founder- Mr. Vu. He is a very nice and humble person and spent a lot of time explaining all his turntables in very detail. I finally settled with Master Reference turntable with Osiris Mk2 Tonearm and Apollo MC Cartridge. When I set it up with my EAR 324 phonostage preamplifier. I was very impressed with the sound produced from it-very clean and detail.
A little bit later, I found my EAR 324 was not the perfect matching with Master Reference turntable. Then Mr. Vu suggested me to try his Reference Tube MK2 Phonostage. I am very happy that Master Reference turntable and Reference Tube MK2 Phonostage bring me very high level of LP listening experience. They are a must together.
Late on, I sent Mr. Vu with the recording of my system sound for him to review. Mr. Vu gave me very humble opinion saying that my system still had a potential to maximize the performance. So I had another long talk with Mr. Vu about his L200 Reference Tube preamplifier. I learned that Mr. Vu is a man with true passion for music. He knows not only how to design his products but using only premium parts in his products. So I took his advice and replaced my solid state preamplifier with his L200 Reference Tube preamplifier in my system. Instantly I can tell my system sound is warm, natural and more body. The vocal sound is sweet and more emotion. That said LS200 works very well with my solid state amplifier. I certainly enjoy this addition of L200 Reference Tube preamplifier to my system.
Sometimes the upgrade bug seems never let us stop exploring new gears. Mr. Vu is very proud of his latest new design tube mono amplifier M-100 and offered me to try M-100 in my system. He warned me that I would beg him not take them away after the audition. I have never used tube amplifiers in my system before. I like the fast and dynamics of my solid state amplifier. I was kind of skeptical to try it or not. After the second thought, I don’t think I could go wrong with Mr. Vu’s design. So two M-100s are in my system. Since I have never had whole tube gears in my system, I crossed my finger to hear the sound from them. Surprisingly, the sound has full body from top to bottom. The sound is very alive. I have been trying playing different kind of music since. They never disappoint me. M-100 is surely a very good design tube amplifier. It’s fast and dynamics like solid state amplifier. The bass reproduction is first rate. They give me the very different listening experience but in the good way. One more thing I need to mention is even my CD player works very fine with his tube products. Now I am in music paradise and enjoy my music more in both analog and digital worlds.
The main reason I like Triangle Art products is Mr.’ Vu’s design, implementation and build quality. I definitely recommend his products to any serious listeners. I am proud to be the new member of TriangleArt family.
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Been talking with Tom for a few months now while I was looking for an upgrade to my stereo.
Tom had a used reference phono stage from Triangleart. This replaced my Parasound JC3+ What a difference. The soundstage and vocals were a huge difference in my room.
Now I’m hooked on Triangleart equipment.
So I now I replaced my turntable with a Triangleart turntable with a 12 inch tone arm new cartridge and speed controller Tom help me set up the turntable over the phone it was so easy. My last turntable the audio shop set it up for me. Yup I didn’t know anything until I got this new turntable. Tom has been a great teacher.
Now I just received the new preamp from Triangleart. Hold on to your seats. My last preamp was 13k. The Triangleart yes it’s 20k but it blew my old pre amp out of the water. Absolutely no comparison. The soundstage Has grown buy a mile. More detail on the highs tighter bass and the vocals so crystal clear.
A few notes.
Tom is a great guy and will always help. I spoke with Tom for a few months before I bought anything. He was still willing to talk and help when I asked questions.
Thanks
DJR from Wisconsin
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An Audiophile’s/ Music Lovers journey! Like all of us who pursue this hobby we are constantly reminded and rightly so that we are pursuing the impossible I.e. the creation of the sense of live music in your home listening space. So which side of the fence are you on? The equipment side always looking to buy the newest hottest piece of equipment with the newest materials, the unusual or innovative design or do you pursue this hobby to seek consistent musical enjoyment. Unfortunately with the demise of many brick and mortar stores we often purchase based on some review or word of mouth. My journey started some 42 years ago. Fortunately at that time I was mentored by someone who was not only amazing at setting up systems but also acted as a mentor on my journey, now some 40 years of evolution. After his store closed and he moved my journey took the equipment route, spending a lot of money trying to achieve musical satisfaction. Many products seemed to fit the bill but ultimately failed to sustain my enjoyment. But now all of that has changed. After 40 years of buying, trading etc I have found the equipment I will live with for the rest of my listening life. It started when looking to replace both a solid state and tubed stereo amps with mono blocks. New ones were somewhat expensive as I was now retired from 45 years of medicine practice. I came across a pair of Triangle Art mono amps at a fair price so I took a chance. Expecting some improvement I hooked them up, sat down to listen and was overwhelmed. I had never experienced the sense of the music engulfing me. Sure it checked all the audiophile boxes but that was secondary to the musical enjoyment I was experiencing. I called Triangle Art to get a question answered. Fully expecting a robot to answer I was overwhelmed when Tom Vu answered the call. My question was resolved and then we chatted a while. I began to review his electronics and ultimately traded my well respected/reviewed linestage, phonostage/cartridge and most recently the turntable/tonearm. With each purchase (in part possible due to Mr Vu’s trade in policy) I became more a part of the music being played. I felt engulfed in the performance, most recently advanced by upgrading the linestage.At every step in this journey Tom Vu has explained/ guided me through each change always pleasant, always helpful. To conclude after 40 years in this hobby I have reached the pinnacle of my musical enjoyment. I have listened to many systems, auditioned many components but NONE come close to the joy I get from this set up.Plus the construction is first rate. I would strongly recommend that if you are new to this hobby or wanting to upgrade you give Triangle Art an audition. You just might end your journey here without feeling the need to constantly’ climb the ladder’. Thanks and happy listening!!
Dr. Ron