Trinnov Amplitude8 – 8-Channel Power Amplifier

Description

Overview

The Amplitude8 is the amplifier Trinnov built to do justice to a reference Altitude cinema. It has eight channels rather than sixteen, and it costs more than the sixteen-channel Amplitude16. That is not a mistake in our pricing, and it is worth understanding why before you compare the two: the Amplitude8 is built on Hypex Ncore NC1200 modules, the class D power modules used in the finest audiophile monoblock amplifiers, with two independent linear power supplies and a 48kg chassis to match. It is the higher-specification design, not the smaller one. Trinnov writes it closed up as Amplitude8; UK dealers usually write Amplitude 8.

Design & build

Think of it as two high-output four-channel amplifiers on one chassis, each with its own power supply built around a separate heavy-duty toroidal transformer. It genuinely requires two mains connections. The chassis measures 443 x 186.5 x 502 mm and weighs 48 kg, and a rack-mount kit is included. It is convection cooled with no internal fans at all, which makes it suitable for a rack sited inside the cinema itself — a real consideration when a fan-cooled amplifier would be audible in quiet passages. Warranty is five years and transferable.

Sound & performance

Each of the eight channels delivers 225W RMS into 8 ohms, 375W into 4 ohms and 500W into 2 ohms, measured across the full 20Hz to 20kHz band at 0.05% distortion rather than at a single convenient frequency. Frequency response is +/-0.5 dB and load-independent, the signal-to-noise ratio is 125 dB A-weighted referenced to rated output, and the damping factor exceeds 6000 at 100Hz and stays above 2000 across the audible band — damping factor being a measure of how firmly the amplifier grips and controls the loudspeaker cone.

Key features

• Eight channels of Hypex Ncore NC1200 class D amplification, 225W into 8 ohms and 500W into 2 ohms.
• Dual four-channel architecture with two independent linear power supplies and two separate toroidal transformers.
• One balanced XLR input per channel, or all eight channels fed from a single D-Sub cable to keep the rack tidy.
• Convection cooled with no internal fans, so the amplifier can live in the room it is driving.
• Input level matched to the Altitude32’s output, which Trinnov states lowers system background noise by 6 to 8 dB.

Technology

The Hypex Ncore NC1200 module is the reason this amplifier exists. It has among the lowest distortion and noise figures available in a power module, and its performance does not vary with frequency — which matters where the same amplifier handles a delicate dialogue line and a full-range effect seconds apart. That silent background is not an abstraction: an immersive system has a great many loudspeakers, each a potential source of hiss, and with sensitive speakers that noise accumulates.

The matched input level is the other half of that story. Because Trinnov set the Amplitude8’s input sensitivity to the Altitude32’s output level, the system’s dynamic range is used properly rather than wasted, and the noise floor drops audibly.

Specifications

Eight channels. 225W RMS into 8 ohms, 375W into 4 ohms, 500W into 2 ohms, 20Hz to 20kHz at 0.05% distortion. Frequency response +/-0.5 dB, load-independent. Signal-to-noise 125 dB A-weighted. Damping factor above 6000 at 100Hz. Inputs: one balanced XLR per channel, or one D-Sub for all eight. Two mains inlets. 443 x 186.5 x 502 mm, 48 kg, rack-mount kit included. Five-year transferable warranty.

Who it’s for

This is for the owner who wants the best amplification Trinnov makes, on the channels that will show it. In a large room it is frequently used alongside an Amplitude16 — the Amplitude8 on the front three and the most demanding full-range positions, the Amplitude16 on surrounds and heights. In a smaller reference room of eight channels or fewer it can do the whole job alone. If your priority is channel count per pound and per rack unit, the Amplitude16 is the more sensible buy, and we will happily say so.

Why buy from Hidden Home Technology

Amplifier choice is a system decision. It depends on your loudspeakers’ sensitivity and impedance, the room, and where in the layout the demanding work actually happens — often the right answer is a combination rather than one model. We will work that out with you properly. Hidden Home Technology designs, supplies, installs and calibrates Trinnov systems from our base in Bath, working across the South. Dan Crick has twenty-five years in the industry, the company has traded since 2004, and we are a CEDIA member, number A-356536. The price shown is £12,750.00 including VAT. Demonstrations at our Basingstoke showroom, and more on our Trinnov brand page.