Trinnov Amplitude 16 Amplifier Review

[voodooless]

I'm thinking the guy who wants a home theatre, maybe another one driving all the outdoor/pool/garage speakers. Sure it's a lot of money, but if it solves all the amplification with equal power all around (or even doubled in BTL) in a nice neat, active cooled box with hopefully a decent warranty, I reckon that's not bad value.

I've paid ~$2500 for two channel 200+ wpc stereo amplifiers back in the day. So 16 channels in 2024 for $12,500 is OK.

Yes, there are always two sides to the story, obviously

So yes, I would agree, it's not exactly bad value, and I would not expect this product to retail at €£$ 3K or so, but 12K seems a bit steep for what is in the box. They didn't exactly reinvent the wheel here, unlike their AVRs, but it is commendable that they went for an integrated design for the amps modules and PSUs. For this kind of money I would expect Hypex or Purify modules.

 

[welwynnick]

Rather similar AP test results to the Marantz AMP 10:

 

[Olli]

Great review, thanks Amir & Trinnov for supplying a unit for review.

I just bought Apollon NCx500 based MCH Amps Instead of Trinnov's Amplitude 16, despite the fact I really liked the "small" form factor & the DB25 connectors that would have gone nicely with my Altidtude AVP.

With Apollon you'll get better performance for a similar price and you can have Speak on Connectors.

 

[OldTimer]

Usually, more channels more distortion. I see from the ranking chart, the top 3 are 1 channel and others above are 2 channels (Hypex, Purifi, Ice,etc).
So, I cast vote as 4.

 

[voodooless]

Usually, more channels more distortion. I see from the ranking chart, the top 3 are 1 channel and others above are 2 channels (Hypex, Purifi, Ice,etc).
So, I cast vote as 4.

Only the B100 is truely a mono amp, the rest is not, but happen to be bridgable. Interestingly, some amps in the red section as well, notably the Crown XLi800, and even the lowest scoring Pass ACA can be bridged.

So it seems that your "fewer channels is better" hypothesis doesn't exactly add up

 

[welwynnick]

Great review, thanks Amir & Trinnov for supplying a unit for review.
I just bought Apollon NCx500 based MCH Amps Instead of Trinnov's Amplitude 16, despite the fact I really liked the "small" form factor & the DB25 connectors that would have gone nicely with my Altitude AVP.
With Apollon you'll get better performance for a similar price and you can have Speak on Connectors.

A wise choice, I think. That's what I would go for.

Only the B100 is truely a mono amp, the rest is not, but happen to be bridgable. Interestingly, some amps in the red section as well, notably the Crown XLi800, and even the lowest scoring Pass ACA can be bridged.

I think the suitability for bridging doesn't come from low distortion, so much as the ability to drive low impedance.
The Amplitude 16 has that in spades - more than any other amplifier that I can recall (for one channel at least).

 

[OldTimer]

Only the B100 is truely a mono amp, the rest is not, but happen to be bridgable. Interestingly, some amps in the red section as well, notably the Crown XLi800, and even the lowest scoring Pass ACA can be bridged.

So it seems that your "fewer channels is better" hypothesis doesn't exactly add up

It doesn’t mean less channels less distortion. To add more channels, you have to pay in distortion.

 

[Mrtwo]

Hard to justify the investment over multiple amps with comparable if not better performances. Trigger control for the whole setup is a welcomed help.

First thing that comes to my mind are amps based on Hyper NC/NCx modules or Purify, which comes in 4 channel even sometimes 8 channel flavor at a fraction of the price of Trinnov. Take a look at what Buckeye does, SoundImpress, Audiophonics ...

I tend to think it's aimed toward a small niche that would prioritize buying everything to the same brand (regardless of the price increase), or which would save a tiny bit of research (or knowledge) and opt for a single amp installation.

 

[Gorgonzola]

O Trinnov Amplitude 16 how shall I rate thy? For 1/3 the price I'd say 'Fine'.

 

[Sokel]

Hard to justify the investment over multiple amps with comparable if not better performances. Trigger control for the whole setup is a welcomed help.

First thing that comes to my mind are amps based on Hyper NC/NCx modules or Purify, which comes in 4 channel even sometimes 8 channel flavor at a fraction of the price of Trinnov. Take a look at what Buckeye does, SoundImpress, Audiophonics ...

I tend to think it's aimed toward a small niche that would prioritize buying everything to the same brand (regardless of the price increase), or which would save a tiny bit of research (or knowledge) and opt for a single amp installation.

Had a look around to compare (in terms of power mainly but that depends a lot on cooling and Trinnov has an unfair advantage as been active) .
Any way.
Comparable is the NCx500 builds which get you to about $6k for 16 channels for a basic built but it seems that they are either PSU of cooling limited (some don't even have the proper 16A mains inputs for such a 4-channel amperage if used to extremes) .

Doable though for that kind of money but not as compact and by all means not as nice looking and depending what Trinnov has used not the kind of info and control this can give you.

 

[Matt_Holland]

On the cost, please note that this product is sold through the installer channel which requires healthy margins. So please don't compare it to companies selling direct.

Very important point this. Virtually every Trinnov customer is a very high net worth individual and does so see the value in researching lower cost alternatives or caring a bit about measured performance. They won’t even care what amplifier is their integrator/consultant has specified, but if they do check the details of their spec they will likely be very re-assured that both processor and amplification is from the same brand and at a luxury price point.

The value proposition here is excellent in my opinion when applied to the right context.

 

[welwynnick]

Very important point this. Virtually every Trinnov customer is a very high net worth individual and does so see the value in researching lower cost alternatives or caring a bit about measured performance. They won’t even care what amplifier is their integrator/consultant has specified, but if they do check the details of their spec they will likely be very re-assured that both processor and amplification is from the same brand and at a luxury price point.
The value proposition here is excellent in my opinion when applied to the right context.

Did you mean to say "...... and does NOT see the value in researching lower cost alternatives....." ?

In principle I do agree, and Trinnov will be mindful of that as well.

So why would they saddle a premium product with second-rate $80 modules, when their customers would happily pay for Hypex or Purifi, like much of the competition?

 

[GXAlan]

Is this really what Trinnov owners aspire to?

As a Trinnov Altitude 32 owner, I run all active speakers which probably has worse measured performance.

I don’t think Trinnov owners are a homogenous mix, but I do think that Trinnov exists as an end game product. Either you are so rich, you just tell someone to give you the best, or you have really researched a product and saved up money to take the leap and the Trinnov will be the biggest expense in your home theater requiring sacrifice elsewhere. As expensive as the Trinnov is, it’s still asset allocation. In the US, the average car payment is $734/mo with an average transaction price of $47K. Factoring in interest, you can see how delaying a new car and driving your existing car for another 2-4 years can equal the cost of the Trinnov. You can get discounts from MSRP as well. So it is possible for an average person to get a Trinnov processor if they are really passionate about this gear.

Obviously, the Trinnov is for pure entertainment and a good AVR gives 90% of the performance at 1/10th of the price.

Getting back to this amp, yes, I can see a lot of Trinnov owners going for this product.

The Altitude 32 with the original DACs only offers 90.4 dB SINAD. Uniquely, it has full digital outputs for all channels. I can easily upgrade my Alt32 from “worse than an AVR SINAD” to absolute SOTA by running an external DAC from Topping or many other companies here and get a full 120 dB SINAD out of my home theater system. Topping DM7 will only cost me less than $100/channel and already owning a Trinnov Alt32, the DAC upgrade is just a drop in the bucket.

But I am not chasing SINAD. At 90 dB, in my room, the noise isn’t an issue and if the noise isn’t an issue, when listening to 85 dB content with 105 dB peaks *as most* and typically listening at lower levels, there’s no point in upgrading. That’s one less component to add heat/block airflow, one less set of cables, one less product to fail, etc. I listen to 2 ch music with my Trinnov too. I could just get a 2 ch DAC to upgrade my processing to 120 dB SINAD, but again it’s just not worth it.

The Trinnov owner doesn’t aspire to own gear for social signaling, or aspire to have SOTA measurements beyond the threshold of audibility “just because you can.” We do want an immersive cinema experience in our home that’s reliable and works every time.

If you look at the marketing for the Amplitude 16, it’s like the marketing for Rolls Royce. It’s about having sufficient power and there is no audiophile hyperbole. But the key is flexibility/reliability. 16 channels in a box is great. That’s only been recently matched by the Marantz AMP10. The gain staging is designed to minimize noise, which is something audible and may not be easily achievable with the AMP10.

So yeah, *if* I had passive speakers, this would be on my list of amplifiers. I would clearly need to evaluate if the Marantz AMP10 can serve the same need, and I bet it can. But the input buffer that reduces the gain is pretty nice, and if I ever need service, as good as D&M are for a large company, you do get personalized service with Trinnov, which is baked into the cost.

 

[Matt_Holland]

I do agree, and Trinnov will be mindful of that as well.

So it seems strange that they would saddle a premium product with second-rate $80 modules when they could use Hypex or Purifi instead.

I don’t think they have “saddled” them and ICE Power may have been the only option that would fit inside the chassis. The performance is excellent, and parts cost irrelevant. And there is the option to use the 8m model if better performance is wanted.

 

[Matt_Holland]

if anyone is using AES67 or Dante then they could save even more space and use an Innosonix MA32/D16/ D24 or /32
Apologies for sales pitch (we are the UK distributor) and for being a bit off topic.

 

[welwynnick]

if anyone is using AES67 or Dante then they could save even more space and use an Innosonix MA32/D16/ D24 or /32
Apologies for sales pitch (we are the UK distributor) and for being a bit off topic.

Is that the amplifier that was used in the Grimani Systems AoIP demo at CEDIA last year?

Edit: I believe they were actually Powersoft Quattrocanali DSP 1204.

 

[Mrtwo]

Had a look around to compare (in terms of power mainly but that depends a lot on cooling and Trinnov has an unfair advantage as been active) .
Any way.
Comparable is the NCx500 builds which get you to about $6k for 16 channels for a basic built but it seems that they are either PSU of cooling limited (some don't even have the proper 16A mains inputs for such a 4-channel amperage if used to extremes) .

Doable though for that kind of money but not as compact and by all means not as nice looking and depending what Trinnov has used not the kind of info and control this can give you.

From what we can see inside the Trinnov amp, same limitations would apply as we can guess there is a power supply on the front side (see bottom of JSmith pic), wired to the 2 power inlets. We can deduce the amp circuitry is located at the back.

I would say it features 8x the equivalent of ICEPower A300A2 (their latest module without PSU) grouped on a single board to make 16 channel of similar power, with the possibility to BTL each pair of channels.

They did the same kind of board with their 150ASH7 which is basically 3.5x 125ASX2 on one PCB. Pioneer bought from them in the 2010s for their AV amps.

Otherwise if PSU limitation is a real matter, you can still chose a bigger PSU or individual PSU (integrated to the amp board or not).

About cooling, it's hardly a problem since class D amps and the usual SMPS PSU they use have an efficiency of >90%. Though I would consider adding a bit of active cooling with nearly 3000W of total amplification (theoretically ~300W lost as heat)

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Given what it's for, and knowing how stratospherically high the budgets are for these home theater systems, I don't think $12k is too unreasonable, especially since the amps are going to be transparent, powerful and have the exact same gain on a per channel basis, which I think is a big consideration in these kinds of installations. And looks like its very easy to connect as well. I'm sure the owner of a $300k domestic Bijou who already is paying $20k for the candy counter and the popcorn machine, and another $50 k for the reclining seats with individual tactile thumpers, is not going to squawk too much about $10-15k for amplification even if it's ICE based.

Trinnov plays in a different league from domestic home audio purveyors.

 

[Sokel]

From what we can see inside the Trinnov amp, same limitations would apply as we can guess there is a power supply on the front side (see bottom of JSmith pic), wired to the 2 power inlets. We can deduce the amp circuitry is located at the back.

I would say it features 8x the equivalent of ICEPower A300A2 (their latest module without PSU) grouped on a single board to make 16 channel of similar power, with the possibility to BTL each pair of channels.

They did the same kind of board with their 150ASH7 which is basically 3.5x 125ASX2 on one PCB. Pioneer bought from them in the 2010s for their AV amps.

Otherwise if PSU limitation is a real matter, you can still chose a bigger PSU or individual PSU (integrated to the amp board or not).

About cooling, it's hardly a problem since class D amps and the usual SMPS PSU they use have an efficiency of >90%. Though I would consider adding a bit of active cooling with nearly 3000W of total amplification (theoretically ~300W lost as heat)

Ok,one thing at a time.
First of all the 90% efficiency of the class D amps is usually at full power* .Then,lots of them are current limited.
From the layout and Amir's measurements it seems that it using a single board of the equivalent of 8 x 400a2 as the smaller sister does not do 400 W and it certainly can not do 800 W at 2 Ohm.

The advertised power (not the burst nonsense) seems to indicate to a custom,single board double PSU with some serious current abilities.
So no,is not like they threw the spare modules in there and that's it.
If they also took advantage of the chip abilities this should have,temp/clip/various amp condition indicators,amp and volt meters in real time,etc,the works,as any of the new icepower modules have.
I'm not certain about this though.

*Edit: and not the same efficiency at all loads,specially when serious current takes over .

 

[TankTop]

Is it? One of those amplifier modules is about € 150,-, which gives you 2 channels, so all channels are about € 1200, or about 1/10th the asking price (and those are consumer prices). That leaves a lot of cash on the table for a PSU, module redesign, enclosure, connectors, and warranty.

I hate responses like these. I’m a general contractor and occasionally I’ll have a client tell me the prices materials at X so why am I charging so much. Vehicles, time, insurance, equipment, payroll, accountant, attorney, expertise etc… wholesale pricing a single component is absolutely ridiculous, it’s like saying there’s only $1.32 of cotton in your jeans.