March 18, 1999
New Product: Thor Audio introduces lower-cost versions of its high-end tube preamps and DAC, using exactly the same circuit designs

Fairfield, CT. Abandoning its trademark round brushed-metal enclosures in favor of more conventional rectangular cabinets, Thor Audio has announced a cost-cutting series of high-end tube components.

Thor's TA-100 Line Stage will come in a conventional rectangular enclosure

Carrying on the electronics design tradition of the company's highly-regarded 1000 Series, the new 100 Series products will use exactly the same circuits and parts suppliers as the more costly line. Thor will achieve a lower price point by using those manufacturers' "second best" parts as the active and passive components.

"Those are the only things that have changed - not the basic circuit," comments Thor's designer and CEO Paul Marks. "The same impressive soundstage, imaging, and focus that Thor components have come to be known for is still there!"

Although the 100 Series electronics will be housed in rectangular enclosures, sans the dramatic in-the-round presentation of bare glowing tubes familiar from their ancestors, they will still share the same Oakton gray powdercoat finish as the rest of Thor's products.

Four components in the new series will go into production over the next several months. First off the line will be the TA-100 Line Stage (preamplifier), priced at $3,750 (US). That compares to a list price of $6,990 (US) for its predecessor, the TA-1000 Control/Line Preamp.

The TA-100 will be followed by the TA-300 Phono Stage, to be priced at $3250 (US); the TA-200 Line/Phono Preamp, $4490 (US); and the DC-100 24/96 digital-to-analog convertor (DAC), $4990 (US).

Web Site: Thor Audio

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