The SI T-amp is still the best bargain in audio but the new generation of Tripath amps are far superior UNLESS you spend the time and effort on modding. The AMP3 is available assembled 
, and the AMP6 uses no SMDs so assembly is not difficult. The Charlize is also a completed amp.
As to Brians new D10.1, Im guessing they will be easy to assemble and most likely sound exceptional.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=82953
They will also allow use of plate powered subs since they dont use a single rail/bridged. And they probably will not be cheaper than a SI but then the parts and design will be far better. And to get the SI to perform nearly as well, you will be buying more parts and hopefully dont kill the T-amp during modding. Most people I know buy two so when they kill the first, they have a second to continue on with.
As to sound, numerous valve users have told me they love the sound and feel that the Tripath amps sound better than their valves, in some aspects and of course not in others. BUT most of these are big dollar amps vs. less than what they they normally spend on cable swapping.
amt
, and the AMP6 uses no SMDs so assembly is not difficult. The Charlize is also a completed amp. As to Brians new D10.1, Im guessing they will be easy to assemble and most likely sound exceptional.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=82953
They will also allow use of plate powered subs since they dont use a single rail/bridged. And they probably will not be cheaper than a SI but then the parts and design will be far better. And to get the SI to perform nearly as well, you will be buying more parts and hopefully dont kill the T-amp during modding. Most people I know buy two so when they kill the first, they have a second to continue on with.
As to sound, numerous valve users have told me they love the sound and feel that the Tripath amps sound better than their valves, in some aspects and of course not in others. BUT most of these are big dollar amps vs. less than what they they normally spend on cable swapping.
amt
I have recent experience with another T-amp from diyparadise,
http://www.diyparadise.com/charlize.html
We should go for higher efficiency (>100db/w)+ hige BLH + T-amp (<15w) of your preference for energy conservation (Electric bill conservation) and still able to do heavy metal music...
Cheers
http://www.diyparadise.com/charlize.html
We should go for higher efficiency (>100db/w)+ hige BLH + T-amp (<15w) of your preference for energy conservation (Electric bill conservation
) and still able to do heavy metal music...Cheers
I just, JUST came across a 100db @1 watt, 100hz-20khz (100hz res) 130Watt power handling driver, the other day. Not yet available, but it's a cooker! and that number is no guff. 100db, 1 watt input. That's a 4" driver. I'd say more, but I certainly don't have the right. Not my driver, not my company, not my perview. Sounds nice, so far.
amt said:
The only problem with t-amps is that they don't seem to last very long once I get them to glow like my valves do.
Seriously though I've built several Gainclones, some from kits some from scratch, slightly modded the SI T-Amp and built several tube amps. At this point I still like valves but there are cost-effective, power-efficient and excellent sounding options.
I am using both gainclones and tubes for my speakers. I installed some heavy relays (30A at 380VAC) which are powered by the rail of the gainclone (they also serve as protection, not turning on if one rail fails). Quite simple, actually - and fool proof if you use a switch with a central position...to one side 230VAC for gainclone, the other side 230VAC for tubed.
I do this for i) environment, ii) the bill, iii) saving tubes (not that I use WE 300B's, but anyway). I also use a notebook, which consumes much less power than any desktop PC (and my cat can't see what I am typing).
Erik
I do this for i) environment, ii) the bill, iii) saving tubes (not that I use WE 300B's, but anyway). I also use a notebook, which consumes much less power than any desktop PC (and my cat can't see what I am typing).
Erik
No, young man, you are quite wrong. Trying to make an impact on the environment by switching a class D or "T" amplifier is silly to the point of absurdity. You're an engineering student: why not calculate the total heat content of the earth's atmosphere and see what a tiny fraction of it that saving half a kilowatt-hour per day for every person on earth is? Besides, why is this thread in the tubes forum anyway?
John
Off Grid with a Class A....
You 'Could' always rig up a Induction Generator driven from a small Diesel engine in a sound-proofed shed, running on Veggy oil or BioDiesel....
The Induction Generator, unlike a Synchronous type, is very 'clean' Pure sine-wave, so its just the mechanical noise you may need to consider ....
If you have a large plot, you could mount the generator at some distance, providing you size the cables accordingly to prevent too much losses...
( The Induction generator, is just an Induction Motor, with Capacitors wired accross its coils to self-exite the rotor and produce AC power, when driven slightly above its normal motoring speed...)
(Just another of my interests...Converting engines to alternative fuels...!)
You 'Could' always rig up a Induction Generator driven from a small Diesel engine in a sound-proofed shed, running on Veggy oil or BioDiesel....
The Induction Generator, unlike a Synchronous type, is very 'clean' Pure sine-wave, so its just the mechanical noise you may need to consider ....
If you have a large plot, you could mount the generator at some distance, providing you size the cables accordingly to prevent too much losses...
( The Induction generator, is just an Induction Motor, with Capacitors wired accross its coils to self-exite the rotor and produce AC power, when driven slightly above its normal motoring speed...)
(Just another of my interests...Converting engines to alternative fuels...!)
jlsem said:
True: it's a small drop in the thermodynamic bucket. And, a pair of Class A monoblocks probably doesn't make the electric bill gulp too hard after a summer of AC in Texas.
But, if we all thought that way, we would all want to drive our own over-szed cars with our friends following us in their own over-sized cars while we drive from one over-sized house to the other, all the while straining power grids, raising gas prices, and...wait a minute...
As this is in the Tubes Forum: perhaps someone who loves tube amps heard a solid state amp, maybe Class D or T, that was pleaseing to thier ear? I have been following the thread for just that answer.
That's a pretty long leap from using a seven watt class A amp to driving a gas-guzzler and living in an oversized house. I walk to work (an unairconditioned shop), keep my thermostat set on 83 in the summer and 54 in the winter, and when I do have to drive I go about in a new Beetle. Why give up the pleasure of class A tube amps? There is open ridicule on this forum for those who tweak with cables and yet when the discussion comes up of living off the grid by burning biomass in diesel engines or using batteries and windmills, participants seem to sit by and nod their heads and say, "My, how thoughtful and intelligent this concern for the environment." Phooey.
John
Sir,
You take better steps than most. Living in big houses or living in caves? For live music, I argue for caves. The acoustics are more interesting. It's a question of large leaps in which direction, though, isn't it?
All that aside...how does the Twisted Pear MyRef RevC stack up for tube-like sound? I've read many good things, but do not recall a comment about its " valviness." It is also temporarily out of stock, so it is not a time-sensitive question.
Presently my plan is to use something like the Decware ZSLA-1 as a pre/buffer and something like the MyRef or one of Peter Daniel's LM3875's.
Regards.
You take better steps than most. Living in big houses or living in caves? For live music, I argue for caves. The acoustics are more interesting. It's a question of large leaps in which direction, though, isn't it?
All that aside...how does the Twisted Pear MyRef RevC stack up for tube-like sound? I've read many good things, but do not recall a comment about its " valviness." It is also temporarily out of stock, so it is not a time-sensitive question.
Presently my plan is to use something like the Decware ZSLA-1 as a pre/buffer and something like the MyRef or one of Peter Daniel's LM3875's.
Regards.
I know people who live with solar electric power and run their PC's, power tools and lighting without any problem. This is because it all consists of intermitent power draw with plenty of recharge time between. The one thing they could not consider ever doing is running a constant power draw of 150+ watts of Class A audio.
Aside from that how do you expect us to achieve the reduction in burning fossil fuels if everyone isn't prepared to give up on their own little gas burners (whatever they may be). It a real step change that is needed and every little bit will help. By a process of small incremental changes in behaviour I have halved my household energy consumption over the last ten years. Only with the right mind set was this possible. I am watching people all around me building bigger and bigger houses with little if any energy conservation measures, also SUV's are becoming a menace on our roads. This is a change for the worse over the last 5 years and shows that people heads are still in the totally wrong place. Our civilisation is built on the burning of oil - when the oil ends so will our civilisation.
It is not the heat that is put into the system that is important - it is the heat which is trapped in the system (by CO2) that matters - the more fossil fuels that we burn the more heat that is trapped - heat generation is a red herring.
I hope that explains my motivations.
Shoog
Aside from that how do you expect us to achieve the reduction in burning fossil fuels if everyone isn't prepared to give up on their own little gas burners (whatever they may be). It a real step change that is needed and every little bit will help. By a process of small incremental changes in behaviour I have halved my household energy consumption over the last ten years. Only with the right mind set was this possible. I am watching people all around me building bigger and bigger houses with little if any energy conservation measures, also SUV's are becoming a menace on our roads. This is a change for the worse over the last 5 years and shows that people heads are still in the totally wrong place. Our civilisation is built on the burning of oil - when the oil ends so will our civilisation.
It is not the heat that is put into the system that is important - it is the heat which is trapped in the system (by CO2) that matters - the more fossil fuels that we burn the more heat that is trapped - heat generation is a red herring.
I hope that explains my motivations.
Shoog
John/Jlesm
The thread is all about sustainable development, in which "engineering students", graduated and other people think about ways to keep someone's comfort but reducing on energy consumption (Shoog wants to listen to the same quality of music, but spend less energy). The idea behind is that very little people will give up the obtained standards of living (think in terms of the "tragedy of the commons".) they are even going for higher standards (the SUV's and bigger houses) so massive succes can be maintained only by making those standards sustainable (better warm insulation for the houses). People evoluted from the caves to their temperature stable homes - why should they go back?
Sorry for the long story
Erik
The thread is all about sustainable development, in which "engineering students", graduated and other people think about ways to keep someone's comfort but reducing on energy consumption (Shoog wants to listen to the same quality of music, but spend less energy). The idea behind is that very little people will give up the obtained standards of living (think in terms of the "tragedy of the commons".) they are even going for higher standards (the SUV's and bigger houses) so massive succes can be maintained only by making those standards sustainable (better warm insulation for the houses). People evoluted from the caves to their temperature stable homes - why should they go back?
Sorry for the long story
Erik
John,
Shoog expressed that he would like to find a way to listen to high quality audio, comparable to his present tubed system, but with a minimum of power consumption. And he asked for suggestions on how to do that.
You are right that this may not be the best area to concentrate our energy savings efforts on, but where's the harm in trying? Shoog has made it clear that this is merely part of a larger effort to reduce his impact on the environment. Even raising the issue gets some discussion and thinking going. An we need all of that we can get.
The single most important problem that we face as a species is to figure out how we are going to live sustainably. No other problem is even close. You don't think that the age old fight over resources is at the root of every major conflict in the word today? So we have to find a balance. Or we don't have to find a balance. But one thing you can be assured of, is that a balance will be reached - a balance between heat reaching the surface of the earth and heat leaving, a balance between what we take out of the ground and seas and what they can produce, a balance between how many toxins we can throw off and how much our surroundings can process. The question is; where would we like the equilibrium to be and what are we willing to do to achieve that goal, or are we willing to accept wherever it falls?
The historical and biological records are replete with examples of populations exceeding the capacity of their environment to sustain them. The results are not pretty for those populations. We are not immune the the basic laws of the universe. We can shape the outcome or bury our heads in the sand. We have a recent example in our own country of what happens when we bury our heads. The disaster in New Orleans may or may not be related to human effects on the weather, but it most certainly was related to unsustainable changes in the local landscape rendered by humans. And it demonstrates how quickly social order can break down when threatening situations are met with denial and inaction. Care to witness that on a slow rolling global scale? But there will be no simple witnesses. We will all be participants.
And for the record, and to save anyone the trouble of pointing it out; I'm a hypocrite in this regard and use more energy than I should or need to use. But the more people make the effort, and the more attitudes change, the easier it is for all of us to join in.
Sheldon
Shoog expressed that he would like to find a way to listen to high quality audio, comparable to his present tubed system, but with a minimum of power consumption. And he asked for suggestions on how to do that.
You are right that this may not be the best area to concentrate our energy savings efforts on, but where's the harm in trying? Shoog has made it clear that this is merely part of a larger effort to reduce his impact on the environment. Even raising the issue gets some discussion and thinking going. An we need all of that we can get.
The single most important problem that we face as a species is to figure out how we are going to live sustainably. No other problem is even close. You don't think that the age old fight over resources is at the root of every major conflict in the word today? So we have to find a balance. Or we don't have to find a balance. But one thing you can be assured of, is that a balance will be reached - a balance between heat reaching the surface of the earth and heat leaving, a balance between what we take out of the ground and seas and what they can produce, a balance between how many toxins we can throw off and how much our surroundings can process. The question is; where would we like the equilibrium to be and what are we willing to do to achieve that goal, or are we willing to accept wherever it falls?
The historical and biological records are replete with examples of populations exceeding the capacity of their environment to sustain them. The results are not pretty for those populations. We are not immune the the basic laws of the universe. We can shape the outcome or bury our heads in the sand. We have a recent example in our own country of what happens when we bury our heads. The disaster in New Orleans may or may not be related to human effects on the weather, but it most certainly was related to unsustainable changes in the local landscape rendered by humans. And it demonstrates how quickly social order can break down when threatening situations are met with denial and inaction. Care to witness that on a slow rolling global scale? But there will be no simple witnesses. We will all be participants.
And for the record, and to save anyone the trouble of pointing it out; I'm a hypocrite in this regard and use more energy than I should or need to use. But the more people make the effort, and the more attitudes change, the easier it is for all of us to join in.
Sheldon
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