Let's Finally Talk About The Galion TS120 Standard Edition Tube Amp

Рет қаралды 7,835

Күн бұрын

Over the last few weeks a number of folks have commented and asked about the tube amp that's recently appeared behind me. They wanted to know what it is and when I was going to talk about it. Well - today is the day I talk about the Galion TS120 Standard Edition tube amplifier from Galion Audio.
‪@galionaudio9146‬ & ‪@ThomasAndStereo‬
Find out more at JoyOfVinyl.com
Written & Produced by Rick Coste
You can learn more about Rick and his work at RickCoste.com

Пікірлер: 74

@ThomasAndStereo Жыл бұрын

Thank you Rick for this review. I am so happy that you are enjoying this amp and thank you for your support.

@TheJoyofVinylRecords Жыл бұрын

You're welcome! And thank you for a wonderful product :)

@tee-jaythestereo-bargainph2120 Жыл бұрын

Lol i said 300hrs long ago Espically with Golden lion - Great Job with your impressions

@tee-jaythestereo-bargainph2120 Жыл бұрын

The Capacitors need break in as well they reshape and reform from heat/cool off '

@bruceandt Ай бұрын

Galion always delivers. So many tube amps to choose from. What’s in the box vs affordability is always a concern. Circuitry is on point. No corners cut. Nothing lacking in this build as far as bottlenecks in flow. This is a sound build!

@TheJoyofVinylRecords Ай бұрын

I've been impressed with everything put out by Galion so far.

@look8234 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing your experience.👍

@motuknight5569 Жыл бұрын

Not being in the market for a vacuum tube amp but curious as always I’ve seen every tube amp video on KZfaq and have to say that your decision to procure this amp was 100% on point. Congrats and well done! Easily the right choice. She’s a looker!!!

@TheJoyofVinylRecords Жыл бұрын

I really appreciate the feedback! Thank you.

@ChristopherGronlund Жыл бұрын

I've wondered about that thing. I don't even have a turntable these days, but still always love your videos!

@TheJoyofVinylRecords Жыл бұрын

Thanks Chris!

@pjono77 Жыл бұрын

I've had the Galion TS120SE for about 3 weeks now and it's just getting better and better. At the moment listening to Class A with B tone control and the bass & soundstage is spectacular. I felt Kate Bush was in the room with me too! A fantastic amp.

@TheJoyofVinylRecords Жыл бұрын

That's great to hear @pjono77! I have noticed an improvement as it "burns in". I've also noticed better bass response after it's been on for more than a couple of hours.

@NoEgg4u 11 ай бұрын

Glad to hear that you made a good purchase. It should be fully broken in by now. Enjoy!

@mrhoffame Жыл бұрын

Cool review! :)

@TheJoyofVinylRecords Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@budgetaudiophilelife-long5461 Жыл бұрын

THANKS RICK 🤗 FOR GIVING THE GALION 120 an HONEST OBJECTIVE REVIEW 👍 THOMAS HAS WORKED 😅 SO HARD TO BRING IT TO MARKET AND WITH ALL THE OPTIONS AND YOUR SHARING YOUR THOUGHTS 💭 AND WITH YOUR EXPERIENCE…IS A GREAT SERVICE TO ALL THE OLD SCHOOL AUDIOPHILES …THAT THEY CAN HAVE THEIR CAKE 🍰 AND EAT IT TOO 😋💚💚💚

@TheJoyofVinylRecords Жыл бұрын

Thank you for the feedback! I really appreciate it. It was a pleasure to share my experience with the Galion.

@ronaldweed6103 Жыл бұрын

She's a Looker. Thx for sharing

@TheJoyofVinylRecords Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching!

@adsph 11 ай бұрын

Great review. Neil’s drum work is most impressive. Sounds like you have found the sound that you really like. Happy for you.

@TheJoyofVinylRecords 11 ай бұрын

I’ve always appreciated Neil and the band. It wasn’t until I was older that I began to really get what made them great. They are on a fairly consistent rotation these days.

@adsph 11 ай бұрын

@@TheJoyofVinylRecords I’m a huge Rush fan and a drummer. Not to mention an audiophile. Great channel.

@kibreddy Жыл бұрын

Absolutely magical when a system comes together. Thanks for sharing. I wonder how tight the bass is.

@TheJoyofVinylRecords Жыл бұрын

The bass is controlled and definitely present. A subwoofer would help but that's not a shortcoming of the amp. My next upgrade will be speakers - the search is on!

@kibreddy Жыл бұрын

@@TheJoyofVinylRecords Zu Audio is an obvious candidate for tubes. Check it out.

@wtcwtc9861 Жыл бұрын

Thank you. Hopefully Thomas can help get more reviews out there on the Standard Edition. It seems like most KZfaq reviews are on the Special Edition.

@TheJoyofVinylRecords Жыл бұрын

Someday I hope to be able to compare the too. The Standard Edition has improved the sound I’ve been able to achieve exponentially.

@thebostonaudiophile Жыл бұрын

Excellent review. If you’re in the Boston area, it would be great to meet some time, if you’d be interested. Enjoy your Galion!

@TheJoyofVinylRecords Жыл бұрын

Would enjoy that! Born in Stoughton and lived outside of Brockton. Now in NH :)

@TriAmpHiFi Жыл бұрын

@@TheJoyofVinylRecords NH here too. I figure when it's time to buy the economical U-Turn, I'll take a little ride down to Woburn & pick one out at the factory. 🔈🔉🔊

@TheJoyofVinylRecords Жыл бұрын

@@TriAmpHiFi I have one of the custom orbits that I purchased a couple years ago. They have a new model with some enhanced features (like the groove in the platter for the belt - finally!). You won't be disappointed with it or any of their models.

@carminedesanto6746 11 ай бұрын

I hope to see this at the upcoming Audiofest in October in Toronto 👍👍 That being said ..a phono board with mm/mc compatibility would be a damn nice touch😉 Great video 👍☕️🔥🥓🍕

@TheJoyofVinylRecords 11 ай бұрын

I have a review coming soon about a new addition that you just touched on. :)

@carminedesanto6746 11 ай бұрын

@@TheJoyofVinylRecords AWESOME!

@charlesclifton1006 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for reviewing Thomas' Galion. The amp seems to be getting quite a following and as well, very positive reviews. From what I am learning, this amp could be just what I am looking for but... I do wonder how this amp would sound at lower volumes. Now I understand that high efficiency speakers (Zoo?) may may be a good pairing? Yes, that is my question. Any suggestions from your followers would be most appreciated. Again, thank you and of course, thank you Thomas.

@TheJoyofVinylRecords Жыл бұрын

I will say that my listening room isn’t large and I don’t get much higher than 75db (I measured it). Depending on the music I might even go a little lower if my wife is in the room with me (she usually is) and it’s something she doesn’t love. It performs amazingly well.

@neilfisher7999 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the full review of the Galion. I was also considering this amp along with Primaluna. I settled on a Willsenton R300, 300B tube amp. Primarily because of it being a 300B, plus lower cost. I'm not quite ready to get to the $3550 - $5000 range yet. But in time, I'm sure I will upgrade again. Honestly though, this amp sounds incredible, and for the price it's hard to beat. I did roll the tubes and spent another $450 to upgrade from the stock tubes, which made it even better. It doesn't have all the features yours has, so that is a drawback maybe for some. This is my first full tube amp, and I don't think I'll ever go back to solid state. There could be a Galion in the future, who knows?

@TheJoyofVinylRecords Жыл бұрын

Thanks Neil! I've been thoroughly enjoying it, and the more I tweak speaker placement the more alive and 3D it sounds. The Willsenton gets excellent reviews. I considered that one as well. With the new tubes I bet the sound is incredible. It's definitely a respected amp and it's sound has been touted as being exceptional in many reviews I've watched (I watch too many reviews!!). I'm with you - there's something about tubes that grabs me. Solid state is great but I prefer tubes.

@ThomasAndStereo Жыл бұрын

If you bought the R300, you made a good choice. In fact, instead of thinking about upgrading your tube amp in the future, you should think about finding a speaker to best match that amp instead.....maybe the upcoming Galion horn speaker?????🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

@TheJoyofVinylRecords Жыл бұрын

@@ThomasAndStereo I'm very intrigued now @ThomasAndStereo. My next upgrade will be speakers. As always, it takes me a while to pull the trigger (research, listening, and trust in the product and manufacturer etc.). It's how I landed on Galion :)

@neilfisher7999 Жыл бұрын

@@ThomasAndStereo thanks for the kind words Thomas, I love your reviews! When I decided to dip my toe into tubes, I wanted to keep the cost down as much as I could so my wife wouldn't have me committed. Lol! But ad an audiophile, I know I'm not going to stand pat. And thanks for the advice about speakers. I currently have Zu Audio DWs. Which sounded great before the tube amp. Now they sound even better.

@ThomasAndStereo Жыл бұрын

@@neilfisher7999 Ah, Zu are easy to drive so you have a good match there. If you want to upgrade anything, it would be to add a subwoofer to your system. The R300 bass is crazy strong for a 8w 300b tube amp.

@bacarandii 11 ай бұрын

I love tube amps, too -- as much for the way they look as for how they sound. Of course, those who say they don't like tone controls because they want to "hear the music the way it was meant to be heard" are either being willfully naive or disingenuous. Every amp, every pre-amp, every tube (and kind of tube -- KT-88, EL34, 300B...), every cartridge, every stylus, every player, every DAC, every recording, every pressing, every playback format, every streaming file format, every speaker, every speaker position, every room and room treatment -- some say every interconnect cable or length of speaker wire... has its own sound. Nobody knows what the music is going to sound like to you, sitting or standing in a particular position in your room, at a particular point in time (have you just come home? have you been listening for hours? what's the weather like? what kind of mood are you in?). Your own set-up, your brain, and all your senses determine what music sounds like at any given moment. Everything else is relatively minor compared to that...

@TheJoyofVinylRecords 11 ай бұрын

I have to say I've come around to the use of tone controls - and for all of the reasons you mentioned. I even have a video produced about it that I plan to publish soon. It was great to read your response - my head was nodding the entire time.

@Kowinaida Жыл бұрын

Good natural review.

@calvinnapier9977 Жыл бұрын

Very impressive Rick and thanks for making me wish I had one! Don't apologize if you feel the need to use a bit of tone control, it's your ears, so make them happy. How long do you think it takes a new preamp to break in? I'm still in the hunt for one 🙄

@TheJoyofVinylRecords Жыл бұрын

Thanks Calvin! Those darn tone controls 😂. It depends on the preamp actually. I think my Pro-Ject took about 20 hours but that’s really a guess. Solid state I would say is shorter.

@SRX2004 Жыл бұрын

Great video. Even though I'm not an amplifier person, I prefer stereo receivers, I did learn a lot. I'm curious what speakers you have.

@TheJoyofVinylRecords Жыл бұрын

Hi! Currently running Klipsch 600M II speakers on stands.

@SRX2004 Жыл бұрын

@@TheJoyofVinylRecords Nice. I'm using the Klipsch R-41M speakers for my small system in the office. I'm using a Sony STR-DH540 receiver, a 40 year old Technics SL-Q300 turntable that I refurbished with a Pyle PP555 phono preamp. It sounds great.

@richarddias5285 Жыл бұрын

Great Review! Did you consider the Prima Luna Evo 400? If so, why did you pick the Galion? Also, what turntable and phono preamp do you use?

@TheJoyofVinylRecords Жыл бұрын

Hi Richard! Prima Luna was a frontrunner until I learned of the Galion TS120 and it's features. What tipped the scale for me was the way the Galion handles tube biasing - completely out of the signal path (which to be fair the Prima Luna's passive auto-biasing solution is also said to not interfere with the signal path), as well as the Galion's ability to switch between class A & AB. I was looking for Class A. The turntable is a customized Thorens TD 160 Super with an Ortofon Bronze cart connected to a Pro-Ject Tube S2 phono preamp.

@CS-bz9lk 9 ай бұрын

Terrific review! Thanks for sharing your experience with this amp. One aspect of most tube integrated amps that I find lacking is the ability to adjust the volume in fine gradations from the remote. What is your experience of this with the Galion?

@TheJoyofVinylRecords 9 ай бұрын

Hi! Thank you for the kind feedback. To be honest I don’t have an issue with the remote and volume. This could be all in my head but I’ve found that if I tap the volume control quickly one way or the other the result is what I’d expect. It seems sensitive to touch. A normal tap will result is a larger adjustment. It could be my laziness seeking justification however. Getting up and turning the volume know manually would probably be preferable for minute changes. Again - thank you for checking the review out. I purchased the Galion based on what I knew from watching Thomas’ videos for a long time. I wasn’t disappointed, had been looking for a tube amp I’d be happy with for a long time, and had to put this out there for others.

@CS-bz9lk 9 ай бұрын

That's very helpful - thanks. From what I can tell I think I would like the standard edition better that the SE. Enjoyed your review of the KLH Model 5 as well. I think this amp would match very well with it's soon to be released big brother, the Model 7, which I think I will be buying.@@TheJoyofVinylRecords

@TheJoyofVinylRecords 9 ай бұрын

If you do go with the Model 7 let me know what you think! @@CS-bz9lk

@JanEskildsen 5 ай бұрын

If you listen mostly to acustic classic and jazz, which tube should you prefer - KT88 or 6550? Which one last longest? Have heard not so good things about KT120 because it do not last? what is right and wrong?

@TheJoyofVinylRecords 5 ай бұрын

Hi!! No right and wrong but yes, have heard similar things about KT120. I prefer KT88s and have with Jazz. You won’t be disappointed 😀

@sommigame Жыл бұрын

For the price of a used car it better make a noticeable improvement, sheesh

@yippie6862 Жыл бұрын

Good review. One constructive comment. "The Speakers" "My Speakers" What speakers? You never told us what you have. Probably important when evaluating an amplifier for your audience to know.

@TheJoyofVinylRecords Жыл бұрын

Thank you for that. Always open to feedback and you’re right. For posterity - it’s driving Klipsch 600m IIs. Upgrading soon but incredible sound just the same.

@davidresch7830 Жыл бұрын

Rick what phono preamp did you use?

@TheJoyofVinylRecords Жыл бұрын

@@davidresch7830 Hi David! The phono stage I’m currently using is the Pro-Ject Tube S2 with a pair of NOS Mullard tubes.

@davidresch7830 Жыл бұрын

@@TheJoyofVinylRecords thanks

@kostas9826 Жыл бұрын

How about that beauty right behind you? Is it custom made?

@TheJoyofVinylRecords Жыл бұрын

Yes it is - sort of! Very observant. It's a customized Thorens TD 160 Super :)

@kostas9826 Жыл бұрын

@@TheJoyofVinylRecords Nice one! What cartridge do you use?

@TheJoyofVinylRecords Жыл бұрын

@@kostas9826 An Ortofon Bronze right now. Plan to test out the black next year.

@kostas9826 Жыл бұрын

@@TheJoyofVinylRecords I want to upgarde to a Bronze from my Blue one but I've read it's not so forgiving on non perfectly pressed/mastered records...

@TheJoyofVinylRecords Жыл бұрын

@@kostas9826 I wouldn’t worry too much about that. It might highlight the nuances in a sub-par pressing but it certainly enhances the soundstage of good ones.