Still running the output from your desk through your big brother's hi-fi? You need a studio amplifier! Roger Brown checks out Samson's Servo 150 to see if it packs enough punch to bring down the walls of your temple of sound.

Studio amplifiers aren't usually the sort of thing to get excited about, and most of us end up using some nondescript unit which 'does the job.' For ages I had an ancient PA amplifier, which was pressed into service with the volume levels set halfway, to prevent its 500w per side output from destroying my monitors. This was shoved in the bottom of my rack and basically forgotten about, until the inevitable happened and some nameless moron decided to pump up the bass from the amplifier instead of the desk, literally blowing my woofers across the room.

This set me hunting for a decent studio amplifier, and revealed what a dull piece of kit most of these items are. Either you get some basic black box with perfunctory knobs for setting output levels, or you get the same black box dressed to kill, with a load of LEDs, switches and handles that you really don't need.

Love at first sight

My first glimpse of the Samson 150 Studio Servo Amplifier was therefore decidedly reassuring. Its brushed steel rack mount ears, bevelled edges and large, flush-mounted knobs make for an auspicious debut. And closer examination revealed the style of the Samson Studio Servo range to be a case of form following function, in the best design tradition, rather than being simply a hi-tech pose.

The Samson's front panel signals all of its functions clearly, beginning with the protection light situated adjacent to the On/Off switch, which illuminates once the unit is turned on. Lighting up for approximately five seconds, it indicates the activity of the built-in protection relay circuitry. This operates a trip, ensuring 0 volts are provided to the connected speakers during this period, and preventing those ugly 'thwumps' as things are switched on and off.

"Setting levels is as much a tactile as an auditory process"

Symmetrically balanced at either end are the large input control knobs, whose 41 positions are all clearly notched. This makes setting levels as much a tactile as an auditory process. Clip lights nestle either side of these rotund knobs, illuminating whenever the the input signal rises to a distortion level above 0.01% THD. So, no danger of a repetition of the airborne woofer episode.

Directly below are the idle lights, which go on whenever input signal is present at the corresponding input channel. Back connections are even simpler, with the fuse and kettle plug inputs above a choice of push/spring or 1/4" unbalanced output connectors, for wiring up your monitors. Finally, to the far right of the cooling fins nestle a set of 1/4" input jacks.

Verdict

The circuitry of the Samson is as clear and clean as its design, with the aforementioned 0.01% of THD, a S/N of 103dB and frequency response of 20Hz to 50kHz, delivering a clean sound with little or no colouring, no discernable distortion and plenty of headroom.

Delivering 75 watts of power per channel, the Samson certainly ended my search for a decent studio amplifier without spending a fortune, as well as adding to my rack's image quotient.