Temple Run Audio
Shelly Takacs
"Not my normal mode of operation, but the arrival of my new monoblock power amps has moved me to words!
I was a big fan of the original monoblocks, but the new versions are such an upgrade and worth every penny. Where on earth did the extended bass appear from as well as the generally improved sq.
I have only had them in situ for a few days after waiting awhile for the psu's to arrive and rebuilding my system after the fitting of a new carpet.
Worth the wait and no doubt after some longer running in things will improve further.
Thanks John for such a wonderful addition to my system!
Kind regards
"I borrowed a good preamplifier from a friend and gave the monoblocks a try. And WoW! Those little creatures scream out loud!!!
Now I could hear party music filling my huge living room at very high insane levels! That made me happy!
Music is playing all day in my home at moderate levels and for that I really seek for quality of sound; But when the weekend comes and some friends gather around, we like to hear the music pumping like we're at the club! And dance. And these monoblocks can do all that, given the right preamplifier and speakers. They deliver beautiful, balanced sound, not at all dry nor analytical, and they also trow massive beats at a party. The good thing is, they never loose quality when cranking up the volume.
And running cool and being so small is also a big advantage. I was the "Huge-Heavy-Tubes SET" kind of guy and owned a Line Magnetic 219ia. It's a beast! But I went rational and sold it to buy smaller and more efficient amplifiers (your monoblocks and another valved one - to keep the nostalgia alive). Some say I'm crazy, but in fact and being objective, your Temple Monoblocks are giving me the same emotional connection to the music, the same qualities (bass, mids, highs), the same soundstage, dynamics, etc. All in all, it was a downgrade in size and weight, not in quality. And I believe this is the future, Class D well done.
Yes, I still keep a tubes amplifier for late listening sessions, but merely because it looks good!
And one more thing, the power units look really nice and neat with my personal engraving and choice of colors. Thank you for that.
""If you're reading this, I assume you've at least a passing interest. It's just a shame that, lacking the mega-marketing budget of bigger brands, Temple Audio don't get greater recognition for their excellent products.
Having shelved my initial "class D incredulity" and successfully evaluated a pair of Monoblocks with standard PSUs, I took the plunge on a SuperCharged pair, with custom connectors and personalised engraving. All in, a shade over 1,100.
From first contact through to fulfilment of my order, John's attentiveness and prompt handling of my queries, his patient meticulousness, and, above all, his good nature, have been exemplary. (I handle Customer Support for my own organisation, and it's a pleasure to encounter such a like-minded soul.)
My Monoblocks having been in daily use for a couple of months now, I can only echo the sentiments of others here: these little gems are an absolute steal. Extraordinarily capable and revealing, casually dismissive of the load placed on them by the loudspeakers, punchy and authoritative one moment, effortlessly lucid and delicately nuanced the next, just as the music demands. 'nuf said!
(By way of context, the rest of my system comprises Chord Electronics front end, Wilson Benesch speakers, and Clearer Audio cables. Total investment just shy of 40k; a setting in which the Monoblocks are evidently and unflappably at home.)
In the end, (clich spoiler alert...), they simply "get out of the way", inviting one's full engagement and immersion in the emotions of the moment. Of such diminutive and eco-friendly giant killers, one may ask no more."
"Hi John - Well finally I've been able to tear myself away from the monoblocks to send you a review. Astoundingly outstanding these amps are too and that's not an exaggeration!I can only concur with many of the comments left by other customers regarding how incredible they sound - completely in control while letting the music breath. I'm using a Croft Vitale valve preamp fed by a Michell Focus One turntable and Marantz CD80 with vintage Yamaha NS690 speakers which are indeed perfectly matched (as you said they would be) by your monoblocks. They truly are the missing link I've been looking for, taking my system to a whole new level.
After many years of a nagging feeling that something was missing in my current setup the arrival of these little beauties has been a revelation. I play all kinds of music ranging from classical through jazz to rock, folk, Indian classical and so on. Everything I play sounds terrific with that special feeling of 'being there', whether it's a studio recording or a live concert. When I played some Beethoven string quartets (old Philips Quartetto Italiano recordings) it was positively scary how close I felt to the players. The same goes really for everything else I've been trying out. I played an old Mercury recording of Liszt piano concertos for my wife and she remarked how the piano runs sounded like water which I suppose is both a reflection of how well the mono blocks deal with musical lines as well as the almost visual/tangible quality of the playback. The amplifiers are really solid in all areas of the sound spectrum and accurate as hell with soundstaging to die for so that it's possible to really delve into recordings and hear how they were made - in other words I'll be busy for the next year or so re-exploring my entire music collection. In particular I would also to like to highlight how realistic everything sounds regardless of the instrument or human voice - truly remarkable! So many, many thanks for giving me so many more quality sounds to enjoy. I'm in audio heaven right now.
"As I listen to 99% vinyl being a record seller and having to playgrade every record I sell I have had many many amps over the last 40 years. (some good, some bad)I decided to buy the original Bantam mostly due to the rave reviews of cheap far eastern made T-Amps on some well respected sites, it was reasonably priced and British made and owned so I decided to give it a try not really expecting too much when compared with my then 3000 amp, within days I had come to the conclusion that it sounded better than the aforementioned amp or anything I had owned before (I won't name and shame the previous my more expensive amps),
The next step up the audio ladder for me was the Bantam Gold which is stunning to put it mildly, I used it with a pair of easy to drive vintage Klipsch speakers and a pair of large NHT speakers with equally fantastic results.
The problem now was how could I do any better than the Gold, I shouldn't have worried as my next purchase was the new Temple 70w Monoblocks..............
These are a complete revelation to me and in truth the best amplification I have heard to date, They just sound right in every department, I now hear details from vinyl that I have never heard before even on test records that I have played hundreds of times over the years.
They are also very well constructed and extremely durable, are cheap to run and powerful, they sound and look a a lot more expensive and classy than there selling price would suggest.............
If you love the clarity and precision of the Gold you will simply adore the Monoblocks.
"Hi John Just thought I should send you a email. I have had the Monoblocks running now for 2 days, and thought l would let you know they sound superb. They have had a hard act to follow, and have just replaced my Pioneer A300R Tom Evans Full Monty Amplifier, this 20 year old amp has seen plenty of attempts of replacement, so it's a testiment to Tom Evans.
One of the atractive things that drew me to the Monoblocks, is the fantastic ability to run the amps using batteries. I already do this with my other components J Kenny's Ciunus DAC and ISO-HUB, the difference running off grid is big. It's like a vail being lifted, I honestly believe people are not aware how polluted UK mains is these days.
I run my PC Based set up, and the Ciunas DAC goes directly to the Monoblocks, my speakers are Monitor Audio Studio 20 SEC.
Thanks again for a truly great product, battery powered, you will have to break the bank to compete with this babies.
"Hi John, just a quick update on the mono blocks. Got them powered up last weekend and they were sounding marvellous from the off. No problem running the Compasses using short XLRs from the Hugo TT. I work in the security and fire industry so have been experimenting with SLA batteries this week ... 2 x 12v 7Ah per side .... wow. Quite a revelation. I'm Going to introduce a couple of 24v chargers tonight via a couple of DPDT 3 position switches to save having to bugger about when they need a recharge. So I'm currently having a lot of fun experimenting with power supplies and thoroughly enjoying the music.
"Very impressed indeed. I like my old Monoblocks; they punch far above their price category, and the new ones are similar, but a further step forward. Tighter bass; more dynamic range as expected from the greater available output. They suit the Viottis and our other speakers (which aren't especially difficult to drive) extremely well. I also deliberately stuck them on the end of a 4-way I've been asked to modify (aka 'redesign' as whoever did them must have been having an off-day) which has one of the most reactive loads I've come across. Handled it very well, no sign of any difficulties at all. And they build on everything else the previous models did so well. I'm expecting they'll get a fair old bit of interest at Bristol -deservedly so.
Colour me extremely impressed; you have a winner here. Excellent class D implementation; I like the casework too. Simple, stylish without drawing attention to itself. Great job & proof positive you can get excellent quality and support British manufacturing at the same time, for a reasonable price in a very compact package.
500 a pair? Job done I'd say. They make an excellent partner to our Cesti MB speakers. Couple those with a nice little DAC or similar high performance / value source & you'd have a really good setup for a very reasonable price.