Tubes and clarity. Something you don't normally hear in the same piece of equipment in the same breath. Well, for the second time I've found a piece that has those two qualities..
Everyone Mark from audio pursuit. I appreciate you taking a few minutes of your day to watch my video and I hope that if you're in the market for a pre-amplifier that this video helps you out.
If you've been watching my channel for the past 15 months, then you know that I am absolutely bowled over by the ability of Thomas Tan’s Galion TSE 75 amplifier for $1495. It is a truly fantastic performer. It has enough power for my current sucking Magnepan .7 and the delicacy to provide tremendous detail via any speakers. I connect them with. When Thomas Tan announced he had released the P75 preamplifier I got myself into line to review one. However, the popularity of the P75 has been so great that Thomas only had a few review units available, so I got into line. Well, the time kept going and going, so finally when I saw one pop on the used market I contacted Thomas and asked him if he’d be offended if I reviewed one that another reviewer was selling? bought being the good guy that he was he had absolutely no problem so I plumped down a very reasonable amount for the P75 and anxiously awaited its arrival in November.
I've spent the last two months listening virtually every day to the Galion TS P75 and if you watched other reviews, then you already know this is one special unit at its current price of $1995. When I watched Thomas's video introduction, I was so very excited as he announced that there were four vacuum tubes in the unit. Now 35+ years ago if not more I had a Conrad Johnson PV 7 preamp, which I foolishly mated it to an Adcom GFA 555. The match was horrible. And being young and foolish, I sold the PV 7. It was only later that I realized how ignorant I was. Not long ago I was able to hear one while visiting an acquaintance a few hours from my home. The PV 7 sounded just as I remembered, a bit hissy, but insanely warm and comfortable.
The Galion TS P75 is a different beast. While it does have warmth, it is not the thick syrupy PV 7 style. Instead, it is warmth in a subtle way and secondly, very clear for anything near its price point. In many ways reminded me of an Audio Research tube pre-amplifier that I heard a couple of different times a few decades back
Visually, the TS P75 uses the same face plate design as its matching amplifier, a brushed black aluminum front face with two vertical strips that are aligned above the nice quality feet. One difference is that inside the left vertical strip is a sensor for the remote. In the middle between the two vertical strips are five buttons. All of which has an LED inside the center that all glow blue when engaged with the exception of the power button, which is red when powered off from the front panel only. Upon powering, it will blink blue for about a full minute while the tubes warm up. Some may be turned off by this, but I find it a nice touch, as tubes do need a bit of warm-up before playing music. From left to right is the power button followed by Line In buttons one through four that glow blue when pressed. Inside the right vertical strip is the volume knob and finally along the right edge up top in a large font is the TS 75 lettering on the bottom in a small font is the words “designed by “and two Chinese characters.
Before going to the back panel, I want to compliment Thomas Tan on the remote that he chose, this is a solid aluminum case that is quite heavy and about 4 inches long and 1 1/2 wide, with curved sides. The six buttons on top feel almost like ball bearings with the Mute and Standby on the top row, Input - button or + button, to go up and down between sources and finally, the bottom row is the volume up and down buttons. To access the batteries you need a small hex wrench to remove the four screws but still it is a wonderful remote and heavy, much like the Sim Moon equipment. It's also important to note that when adjusting the volume with the remote control, the knob on the front panel actually rotates up or down and you'll see an even smaller blue LED engaged on the knob to show where the volume is set at.
The back panel from left right starts with your four vertical RCA inputs followed by two sets of RCA outputs then a trigger switch, then as you get close to the left side, you have the horizontal toggle switch for normal or noise reduction, and below that a screw for a grounding wire. Then finally your power rocker switch and socket. Now much has been made of Thomas not including balanced outputs, and I do have to agree with there by saying it was a missed opportunity. However, truly balanced design would have upped the cost significantly. Thomas stated his reasons, and while a bit disappointed, I respect his decision.
Under the hood.
Inside along the left starting in the back, you'll find a very nice toroidal power supply unit with separate left and right channel separation. About 75% of the inside is taken up with left and right channel capacitors for each line in in the middle are the four vacuum tubes. The quality of the parts is truly amazing with capacitors from Jupiter Audio much like Thomas's speakers, Clarity, which are blue, and there are six of them per channel, and Solen caps for each channel as well. The tubes which have now been upgraded to the PSVANE 12AT7-S with two per channel.
Listen to the music
Since this had been a piece from another reviewer I knew that I have been plenty of hours on it so therefore, I hooked it up and let the tubes warm for a half hour or so before listening each day. The rest of the source consisted of the WiiM Ultra music server playing via Roon or Qobuz. From there the signal went into a Denafrips Iris DDC and then the sibling Ares II DAC before coming into the TS P75. Outputting into the A75 amplifier powering the Buchardt S400 MKII speakers for initial listening. As fine as the TS A75 amplifier is I was quickly convinced that Thomas stepped up his game another notch with the P75.
Starting off, I decided to give the tubes a test by playing the hottest trouble recording I know, Donald Fagen's Kamakiriad. The top frequencies in this are honestly a bit overcooked, much like the bass in his album Morph The Cat. The four vacuum tubes without bringing attention tempered the sharp edge sanding it just a tad, but still fully aware of what this recording is like. But even more impressive is what you hear between the songs, which is nothing! Vacuum tubes, as any educated audio fan knows imparts some secondary harmonics into the signal. This usually ends up creating a softness with a hiss. The P75 doesn't import this in any noticeable amount unless I absolutely strained with my ear up against the tweeter. The last time I experienced something like this was with a piece by Steve Deckert of DecWare fame, who is notorious for demonstrating that tubes can provide a truly black background. Thomas Tan has all but equalled that feat.
Switching over to solo piano concertos, the notes were in full bloom, but never heavy. Yes, there was that subtle sweetness and a touch of warmth, but it still had every bit of delicacy to move from one note to another with the lightness of a butterfly. Now the mid-range was incredibly full of color, but not coloration. It was vibrant, listening to Pink Martinis “No Hay Problema”, the bongos were incredibly natural and rich while the piano just danced away. There's a point about 3/4 the way through the song where the keys are touched in a danceful way, like going down steps with ever increasing intensity. The P75 was effortless and in the background, the bass provided a wonderful tempo and accent sound that didn't overwhelm.
Shuffling to Trombone Shorty and his song “Due To Me”, the horn section with the lead trombone was never harsh or thin, nor was it sluggish at all even with a rather thundering bass guitar line that is very toe tapping. The vocals while slightly adjusted with digitation to assist the vocalist, kept the overall fun, happy nature of the song. The mid song trombone solo so familiar of early Chicago, but was even more audacity. Total texture was right down the middle as far as being properly reproduced. This is a song that everybody should have on a special playlist, as it's just a whole lot of fun. The P75 just revels in playing it.
Moving on the female vocals, my rediscovery of the beautiful vocals of the ballads by Heart continue to leave me ah struck. The P75 has taken it to the next level in my system. These ladies were young when they recorded these songs, the combination of excellent components of capacitor's in the four tubes along with a terrific power supply design just continues to amaze me to even just before filming this review. The track “Just The Wine”, is an excellent sample where you hear their soaring vocals and then a very simple acoustic guitar melody, the fact that while the frequencies between the vocals and the guitar were in that same range, there was no mistaking a very definitive separation, even when the violins kick in as a part of the studio recording.
In Heart’s song “Without You”, during the intro, there is some cymbal hits up near the bell that ricochet in a way that I've never heard with such detail that became even more apparent when I replayed all these songs again with the Fritz Carbon Seven MKII that are in for review. This track is another ballad that just reminds us how incredible Anne Wilson's vocal instrument is. Even pulling up their tribute to Led Zeppelin at the Kennedy Center Honors a few years ago, she still has it and even though the recording is not great, it's so very impressive to hear.
Listening to Elton John's, “Someone Saved My Life Tonight”, the short mid song drum solo, the clarity of the drum hits on the on the toms and snare drum just explode with no sloppy carryover. All the while in the background you get the synthesizer with this very high note kind of piercing through everything, there is no added fuzz other than what is there with the P75, no matter whether is pure solid state or even class D amplification. But yet I never felt irritated which I have a tendency to do with such high-pitched frequencies. That tells me that Thomas’ overall design and component choices are doing what he intended, musicality first.
Recently, I have found a new favorite Elton John song, “Holiday Inn” from the Madman Across The Water album. While it starts off more of a typical Elton John track from the mid 70s, about midway through the song, the instruments almost shift into special territory with this strong combination of piano and backup orchestra as a starting point. The song goes into the second chorus, but then there's some magical point where his piano begins, followed by the mandolin and an acoustic guitar. Just this beautiful harmony, and then the percussion begins to kick in and the P75 does something far beyond what the WiiM Ultra, Eversolo Play, or even the Oppo HA-1 in their preamplifier mode can duplicate.
Gillian Welch's “Hello In There”, which comes off shrill with any other combination I have on hand the P75 is not only able to round it with those capacitors and tubes, but more importantly, pull out other character structures of her vocals that give it the depth it needs. Its ability to dig in once again that comes from using higher quality of Solens, Clarity, and Jupiter Audio underneath the hood. Budget preamplifiers whether they be from the various Chi-Fi manufacturers or even other set ups just can't compete because the price point is too tight for them to invest in such quality. Thankfully, Thomas avoided that trap, and of course, if you know Thomas's story, when he builds his these pieces of equipment, he spends dozens upon dozens upon dozens of hours, trying out different capacitors and transistors and such in order to get the sound to where he wants, which is natural and a hint of warmth, but carrying all the detail possible.
For those of us who enjoy listening to the grandeur of large symphonies, the TSP 75 is a gift, for its ability with all the high-quality capacitors, etc. allow it to find and present not only detail but proper spacing so that instruments don't blend together in mush. The various woodwinds can be picked out one from another. The string instruments, especially the cello and the bass give us this warm richness, and the sense of authority that preamplifiers such as my Peachtree PreDac just can't compete.
While the TSP 75 definitely is at its best with acoustical instruments. It doesn't mean that I can't make some good hard charging rock 'n' roll enjoyable. Just the opposite, I spent one afternoon enjoying Molly Hatchet’s “Flirting With Disaster”. It was a wild ride back to my high school days when I’d listen to that album in the car to get amped up about some sort of event. While not an audiophile-quality recording, this preamp was able to make the driving guitars and intense drumming a whole lot of fun and sound so good that it truly triggered some memories back to the late 1970s.
If I had any wish for the TSP 75 beyond, of course the XLR outputs, it is that it had an internal phono preamp section. With Thomas's passion for giving the owner, a true musical experience having that would've been phenomenal. But we can't have everything and I understand perfectly not having that choice.
Equipment matching
Obviously, besides the matching Galion TS A75 amplifier, the TS P75 is truly a universal unit. That has become a foundational piece of my reference system It's a building to perform well with class D application. The Peachtree GaN400 was an exception match, providing some textural body and soul to the clean GaNFet sound. Much the same holds true when I paired the P75 to my vintage Adcom GFA 545 II, for a couple of days which definitely improved the sound of that vintage piece. Looking back and watching other reviewers such as Ed of Old Guy Hi-Fi, who came up with the same final conclusion, I have the Galion TS P75 as a preamplifier that can go well with any power amp and with some being a phenomenal match.
Final thoughts
I know someone you will say that by purchasing this preamp I pre-determined my likeness for it. Nothing could be farther from the truth as Thomas Tan himself pointed out after I told him what I paid for it. His reply was simple, if you don't like it, you're not going lose any money selling it. In that regard he is so right, but I'm not selling, as I feel like I’ve finally come full circle back to 40 years ago with the Conrad Johnson PV7.
The TSP 75 fully justifies my 2025 award of Design Excellence in Musicality, as it is absolutely a beautiful auditory experience. Therefore, I give it an absolute five star recommendation and place it among the top five components I've ever had in my own system.
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