Price Paid:  $2000.00 from Llano

Summary:
please diregard my past reviews on Llano-I purchased a Trinity from Randy about 18 months ago, paid US $2,000 for it and received the amp about 3 months later. I was not entirely happy with the results so called Randy and he told me about an upgrade he could do on the amp, and that for the type of performance I was expecting from my system it would be best if I bi-amped (and used 2 of his amps). he went into his whole pitch on how nothing out there for the price or 2 times the price would beat his amps, and the countless number of customers who have used his amps are happy as pigs in doo doo. He told me to send him back my original amp and he would upgrade it (I would have to pay for shipping) and that he would build me a 2nd matching amp for US $2,000 and this would provide me with optimal performance. About 4 months later I received the first amp and the interior was damaged (transformer had a tear in it) and only one of the 2 channels of the amp worked. He insisted that the damage was caused by Fed Ex (the shipping company) I was puzzled since there were no problems with the packing cartons or the exterior of the amp or the feet. Anyway he told me to send it to him and he'd fix it. Then I got the 2nd and and it had the SAME problem---again he blamed the shipping company and again told me to send it to him for repair. Now the best part. Once he received the 2 amps he told me they were damaged beyond repair (and again, when I had received them one channel did not work, but both amps were cosmetically in perfect condition and the only problem they had internally was the power transformer--same problem on both amps). Anyway, he then tells me this is my problem and I have to follow up with the shipping company myself (Fed Ex). I talk to Fed Ex both in the U.S. and in Hong Kong and they both tell me that Llano did NOT insure the product and there is nothing they can do about this--I have to get my money OR the products back from the manufacturer. So right now, after countless communications back and forth between myself and Llano AND myself and Fed Ex, I am out about US $5,000 (products and shipping) and have nothing (not even damaged products in hand. the moral to this story is do business with reputable business's, not one man show "here today, gone tomorrow" type of companies. While it may be tempting to go the route I did, it is a BIG gamble

Strengths:
cheap price

Weaknesses:
you have to buy direct from them and if you have a problem you are likely hung out to dry

Similar Products Used:
many

Price Paid:  $4000.00

Summary:
What can I say. These reviews are biased. But I'm goona give my 2 cents anyways.

I have these hooked up to B&W N802s with Cardas Golden Ref. cables and Goertz Sapphire ICs, using an older Llano Concerto preamp and a Planet CDP.

This amp does it all in spades. Very musical and silky sounding, but it also is also very detailed and has incredible bass control, even better than the A200-C. The tubes lend a fullness and richness to the midrange which is absolutely stunning.

The power supply on this amp is absolutely huge--3.5 kVA I believe. A Pass Labs amp with a similar sized power supply is gonna cost you around $8k. This will be the last amp I buy for a long time.

Strengths:
Musical and detailed. Supremely powerful bass.

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
Llano A200-C, B&K ST-140

Summary:
Initially purchased a specially made 3-channel Llano A200S about one year ago. After talking to Randy White (the owner), I decided to upgrade to Trinity SX-3. When I first received the upgraded amp, the tube power supply had been damaged in shipping. Had to ship the amp back to Randy (bummer!). Llano corrected the problem quickly and Randy ran it in his system for two days to make sure it was working properly. They redesigned the power supply attachment and it is now attached differently inside the amplifier so that it should not be damaged during shipping.

This new design uses a vacuum tube front-end controlled by a separate power switch so it may be left in standby mode when not in operation. This feature insures that the amp
is always ready to deliver good performance, without hours of warm up time. Yet the standby power consumption is only 35 watts! I usually shut down all my power supplies and equipment when I am done listening. Keep in mind if you are powering all your equipment up from a cold start that the tube front end takes some time to "warm" up before you get the best sound out of the amp.

I am using the upgraded Llano in an audio only system with SimAudio P3 preamp, Pioneer DVD525 and JM Lab Mezzo Utopia speakers. I could hear detail and separation between instruments and voices that I have not heard before with other equipment. I had a friend over to listen and he was impressed also. I tend to like music at lower volumes although I have had no lack of power to drive my speakers when guests tested the volume button. I also enjoyed the warm sound of this amp. I had wanted to get a tube amp or tube pre-amp because I was looking for a warmer sound.
By combining this hybrid amplifier with a solid state pre amp, music sounds warmer and more involving.

I am giving this an overall rating of 4 because the Trinity 2000 or 3000 might be an even better solution because they have dual power supply connections where the tube section is powered by its own power cord, separate from the solid state power section. For value, the SX-3 upgrade is tough to beat so I am giving it 5 stars. If you are interested in this amp at all, I recommend calling Randy and talking to him. I found him to be a personable and knowledgeable guy who really enjoys talking electronics.

Strengths:
Excellent detail, warm and natural sound.

Weaknesses:
no remote control, gets very warm, since direct purchase
you must ship amp back to Llano if/when there is a problem.

Similar Products Used:
EAD PM2000, Classe CAV75, Denon AVR5600