T o m E v a n s D e s i g n Story
There are Three Important aspects of this Legendary Audio Designer.
1. Tom Evans listens:
As obvious as this seems, it is stunningly unusual. Tom Evans actually listens to and loves music (opposed to almost all others who listen to test equipment and sine waves)
2. Tom Evans designs psycho-acoustically:
Meaning he studies how the brain and ear relate to each other and designs with that concept as the paramount concept. If the playback is not natural sounding then the design is wrong. No matter how technically advanced. We have never, I repeat never, heard a designer speak in such organic terms.
3. Tom Evans starts with a blank sheet of paper:
Is this a duh comment?
Hardly.
Most audio designers start with books on audio design and figure most of the work was already done for them so they just have to tweak it.
Then they have their marketing department tell you how ‘steeped’ in audio design these supposedly ‘new’ designs are providing.
Except they are copies with minor improvements, which is more appropriate to the advances in the components used in the design rather than the design itself.
Talking to Tom Evans is like talking to an Alien. His approaches are so vastly different than any others, we just shut up and listen to him.
And when he turned his gaze to an amp? The complexity to create simplicity is again shocking. But remember, his benchmark is simplicity in the final result. With all these amps eye opening technical achievements, they simply sound fluid and natural.
Every single reviewer of analog we know of thinks Tom Evans products, especially the phono, are the best in the world - by a wide margin. In fact, our reviewer who writes for Stereophile, 6 Moons and Robb Report pushed us relentlessly to explore Tom Evans. As with many geniuses they seem to be most popular after we’ve lost them, and were happy to know Tom Evans was upright. We never had heard of him. In this case, the best kept secret is not a plus for audiophiles.
Here’s some background in Tom Evans own words:
All audio amplifiers be they IC or discrete circuits have inherent flaws that the ear / brain is very sensitive to..
I have developed unique circuitry and techniques to avoid the common pitfalls of amplifier design others fall into.
Since then there have been a multitude of 'pretender' phono amp products produced by everyone that can hold a soldering iron, but none use or know anything about the highly advanced circuitry design I developed and use in my product range.
I setup a small design house in Wales by 1995 where we have designed an expanding range of products from, I have also been a consultant for Pioneer GB where I developed a range of products for them too but kept my 'secrets' to myself.
I used the money from this work to develop a range of world class phono amp designs that I update as IC technology moves forward. I am also in close contact with all the major IC manufacturers worldwide and often receive pre-production samples of IC's to play with in advance.
I co-designed both the power amps with another chap better known for designing and manufacturing the output transformers. We setup a LTD company that we put all the export sales through leaving me to just deal with sales and design/ manufacturing / development of new products.
I persuaded him that adding the latest in IC tech and unique circuitry and with a unique composite tube output stage would get the very best from both worlds, the amazing specs and and exceptional audible performance prove this to be very true indeed.
You can see the results of Tom Evans fanaticism in every component that comes out of Tom Evan Audio Design.
Or in the words of a very successful musician, "Once I heard the realism of Tom's products and experienced the excitement and passion they were capable of, that was it! I was supremely hooked!"
Tom Evans Audio is not evolutionary (as most brands are), he's revolutionary.
True Audiophile has the Tom Evans Audio complete line including their amplifiers. Check them all out. Let us know if you have any questions.