Усилители мощности стерео — Aries Cerat Ianus Essentia

The Ianus Essentia is a monoblock power amplifier from Aries Cerat built around the company's TriodeFet technology, and one unit is needed per channel. It is both single-ended and single-stage, with no driver stage and no input stage, so the signal meets only one TriodeFet stage fed directly. Its circuit draws on the core of the Geminae technology from the larger Ianus model. Launch was set for the fourth quarter of 2020 with a price of EUR 39,000, and the UK list price is GBP 36,450 per monoblock.

Key specs that matter

Output power is 40 W into 8 ohm and 70 W into 4 ohm in full class A, and the amplifier stays stable down to 1 ohm. Gain is 26 dB, with a switch that lowers it in 4 dB steps to 22, 18, 14, 10 and 6 dB. Signal-to-noise ratio is 100 dB referenced to 0 dB. Frequency response spans 5 Hz to 60 kHz, and the top end is held there on purpose so that the circuit cannot oscillate. Idle power consumption is about 100 W depending on the bias setting. Each monoblock is 420 mm high, 400 mm wide and 310 mm deep without its plinth, and weighs 80 kg.

Engineering and use context

Aries Cerat describes the TriodeFet as a three-terminal active element like a MOSFET or a triode, whose transfer curves match those of a triode, the only difference being that current is scaled in amperes rather than milliamperes. This inherent linearity lets the company build circuits without negative feedback or degeneration, and the Essentia runs with zero feedback. Its damping factor is switchable. Gain switching is carried out by a TVC system, meaning a transformer volume control, rather than by resistive attenuation. Connections cover RCA, a TVC input, the proprietary AC link used across Aries Cerat electronics, and XLR as an option. Aries Cerat presents the Essentia as maintenance-free, and it is the smaller of the Ianus monoblocks.

Pairing

The stated low-impedance stability covers loudspeakers with demanding impedance curves. The variable-gain TVC input lets the amplifier take a source through transformer attenuation, and the AC link input serves Aries Cerat components that share the same connection, such as the Kassandra converters.

Alternatives

A bigger choice within Ianus is the Aries Cerat Geminae, built with a floating circlotron TriodeFet output stage, 130 W into 8 ohm and 260 W into 4 ohm in class A, and a weight of 200 kg per unit.