The new Grimm Audio PA1 is a mono power amplifier capable of delivering a substantial 200 watts into 4 ohms.
At heart, the new Grimm Audio PA1 is a true transistor power amplifier. Its design is based on the now legendary ‘Pierick Amp’, originally developed by Henk ten Pierick back in 1985. The concept has since been thoroughly updated for the 21st century.
According to the manufacturer, the Class AB amplifier has been designed in such a way that thermal issues and phase modulation are suppressed at the source. Grimm Audio says the secret lies in using 96 smaller, extremely fast transistors instead of a handful of large power transistors. All of these small transistors are mounted on an aluminium plate, providing tight thermal coupling to the rest of the enclosure, which incorporates the heatsinks.
The Grimm Audio PA1 also employs a special form of second-order feedback. Together with feed-forward capacitors, this is intended to ensure that the audio signal is processed without timing-related errors. There are no relays or coupling capacitors in the signal path. Instead, an intelligent protection circuit automatically intervenes should anything go wrong.
At the heart of the power supply is a substantial toroidal transformer. Following rectification, a large capacitor bank with a total capacity of 90,000 µF provides a well-smoothed supply voltage and, naturally, plenty of power in reserve.
The Grimm Audio PA1 is available immediately, priced at €24,000 per pair.