The leading edge is a sloped panel, like the bottom of the TVA 50, bearing the rocker switch for on/off and a centrally positioned meter, smack in the middle of the brass-coloured name plate. It's one of those rare cases where the 'laboratory look' has been refined just enough to render the object acceptable in a domestic environment. The edges of the chassis are nicely rounded, no roughness to spoil the impression of quality. Brushed stainless steel and faultless construction have a way of doing that. But, despite the raw tech and the screw heads and the funky black rocker switch and the unadorned transformers on show, the SFS-40 is handsome enough to elicit nods of admiration. It's as retro as the Papworth amp is modern, the tube complement (the aforementioned E元4s plus four 6DJ8s) there for all to see. Although a newer design, it's based on classic circuitry, or, to quote the company 'proper execution of modern design principles, superior parts quality, skilled hand-craftsmanship while utilising the inherent strength of the classic vacuum tube'. Then again, no anachrophile would want to hide that most obvious of competitors, the Sonic Frontiers SFS-40 from Canada.Īgain, we're looking at an amp deriving its juice from two pairs of E元4s, but Sonic Frontiers rates the SFS-40 at 45W/ch, slightly less than the TVA 50. And the latter is important because you won't want to hide this charcoal-coloured confection, so allocate some floor or shelf space. Priced at £1299 and measuring 440x200x350mm (whd), the TVA 50 is manageable both in terms of price and size. The Canadian company had been trading for 75 years at the time of review Sonic Frontiers' co-founder Chris Jensen stands alongside the SFS-40. I beat the hell out of it for a few weeks without so much as a minor crackle. So those with scorched carpets from TVAs of yore can think of this as a rehabilitated amp. Which makes this a 'real' amplifier at last. Lest you drift into 'been there, seen that, read the book, ate the cupcake' yawning mode, I should add that Papworth is part of a group that has been trading for 75 years, and its electronics division alone employs 38 people in a purpose-designed factory. The connections at the back include a choice of multi-way binding posts for either 4ohm or 8ohm speakers. Below the sloped front panel is an on/off switch, while a red LED indicates 'on' status. The valves pop up through openings in the slats but they're only visible at eye level or just above. The back section, which supports the slats, houses the transformers. Rated at 50W/ch, the TVA 50 is powered by four E元4s, with four ECC83s and two ECC81s completing the tube lineup. Even though the review sample had made the rounds, it held up well, resisting scratches and bruising. I've been informed that the company has redesigned the product – especially the circuit board layout – with reliability and safety as top priorities. Papworth's production values also suggest an end to the self-immolation which plagued the earlier version. This defeats the purpose for some, but I'd worry about anyone who bought a tube amp only on the strength of the valves being exposed to the elements. It then reappeared in the mid-1980s as the Mentmore, that particular company adding little of note to the history, although Mentmore was responsible for commissioning the look of what has become the current Papworth Audio Technology TVA 50 we have here.Īnd it is a looker, the slatted tube protection giving it a suitably modern appearance for those who don't want their tube amps to seem like something out of an H G Wells novel. And at that point in history, tubes were all but dead, so the original TVA valve amplifier can probably lay claim to the honour of reviving tube technology (in the UK at least). Admittedly, one of the two amplifiers I'm writing about here is well past its Bar Mitzvah, the third version of an aged Tim de Paravicini design which started out wearing a Michaelson-Austin TVA logo in the late 1970s. I'm pleased to note that both of this month's token tube products are beautifully constructed top-flight performers, and neither is over-priced or over-sized by today's standards. And with the reductions in size, we're also able to welcome a new breed of high-end performers with price tags that don't cause heart attacks. Despite the continuing displays of excess from across the Pond, enough manufacturers realise that the only way to get quality sound into certain homes is to 'down-size'.įor example, just think of the numerous classy mini-monitors released over the past few years, the paperback novel-sized CD transport and DAC from Micromega, or the slimline Krell preamps. An old circuit with a modern look versus a new design with retro styling as Ken Kessler hears valve amps from Papworth and Sonic FrontiersĬontrary to the practices of most specialist companies, some still believe that small is beautiful.
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