With an input-cap-mod/24v battery TK2050 board, I was not impressed. Only the midrange was good. I switched back to my Gainclone.
With this fully-modded/24v battery TK2050, I will never use my Gainclone on my main system again. I would put my TK2050 up against the RWA Signature 30.2 ANY DAY OF THE WEEK.
I now own a truly ultra-fi amplifier. I have never heard anything like it. I will not bore you with terms like "liquid highs" -- it is simply the best amplifier I have ever heard.
Mod List:
Power: 2x12v 5ah SLA batteries, wired in series.
Input Stage: DACT-Style 10k stepped pot, 2.2uf 250v Aerovox AFPS input caps, C17 R14 C25 R34 Removed, Limiters (on the bottom of the RCA jacks) removed.
Output Stage: 10uH 68-1 Toroidal coils, .47uf 160v MKP10 differential-caps, .22uf 100v MKP2 common-caps. Low-pass is about 71Khz at 8ohm.
Supporting Mods:
-Tank capacitors changed to 2x 2200uf 35v Nichicon Fine Gold
-Tank bypass film caps changed to WIMA MKP2 .22uf 100v
-TC2000 chip capacitors changed to 100uf 35v Nichicon Fine Gold, 100uf 25v Muse KZ
Note: The output stage is just as important if not more so than the input stage. People generally upgrade their input stage first, as it's cheaper/easier, but the parts on your output filter are just as important!
Also, upgrade signal path parts first, then do power cap mods!
With this fully-modded/24v battery TK2050, I will never use my Gainclone on my main system again. I would put my TK2050 up against the RWA Signature 30.2 ANY DAY OF THE WEEK.
I now own a truly ultra-fi amplifier. I have never heard anything like it. I will not bore you with terms like "liquid highs" -- it is simply the best amplifier I have ever heard.
Mod List:
Power: 2x12v 5ah SLA batteries, wired in series.
Input Stage: DACT-Style 10k stepped pot, 2.2uf 250v Aerovox AFPS input caps, C17 R14 C25 R34 Removed, Limiters (on the bottom of the RCA jacks) removed.
Output Stage: 10uH 68-1 Toroidal coils, .47uf 160v MKP10 differential-caps, .22uf 100v MKP2 common-caps. Low-pass is about 71Khz at 8ohm.
Supporting Mods:
-Tank capacitors changed to 2x 2200uf 35v Nichicon Fine Gold
-Tank bypass film caps changed to WIMA MKP2 .22uf 100v
-TC2000 chip capacitors changed to 100uf 35v Nichicon Fine Gold, 100uf 25v Muse KZ
Note: The output stage is just as important if not more so than the input stage. People generally upgrade their input stage first, as it's cheaper/easier, but the parts on your output filter are just as important!
Also, upgrade signal path parts first, then do power cap mods!
Here's a good analogy of the sound. It's gone from, "does my amplifier have enough resolution to fill out the music?" to, "does this music contain enough detail to really make this amplifier shine?", and I'm not talking about compressed music -- only FLAC or better.
In other words, sometimes the MUSIC isn't good enough for the amplifier, not the other way around. That's pretty revolutionary to my ears.
In other words, sometimes the MUSIC isn't good enough for the amplifier, not the other way around. That's pretty revolutionary to my ears.
Zobel + fan
Hi,
Very nice work.
Did you add a Zobel..and if so which value did you use.
For the fan, just send a quick e-mail to Sureelectronics, they send me a free fan. Connected to 5Vdc you do not hear it but there is a slight motor boat sound when running, maybe a separate voltage reg would do the job.
My output filter is 22uH with 0.22uF for a fc of 73KHz, and diff cap is 0.1uF. The original common caps were 0.68uF giving you a fc of 41KHz..
Regards,
Eric
Hi,
Very nice work.
Did you add a Zobel..and if so which value did you use.
For the fan, just send a quick e-mail to Sureelectronics, they send me a free fan. Connected to 5Vdc you do not hear it but there is a slight motor boat sound when running, maybe a separate voltage reg would do the job.
My output filter is 22uH with 0.22uF for a fc of 73KHz, and diff cap is 0.1uF. The original common caps were 0.68uF giving you a fc of 41KHz..
Regards,
Eric
Thanks Eric. No, I did not put in a Zobel. If I did, I would have used 10ohm, .47uf.
Good idea about the seperate Vreg for the fan, 7805 implementations are not expensive.
And no wonder the top end was un-impressive. Some of the parts decisions that Sure made are kind of baffling to me after reading the Tripath data sheet.
Good idea about the seperate Vreg for the fan, 7805 implementations are not expensive.
And no wonder the top end was un-impressive. Some of the parts decisions that Sure made are kind of baffling to me after reading the Tripath data sheet.
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Best amp indeed
Agreed. After some mods these are the best sounding amps I have ever had home. amazing for $50/ channel. You have obviously seen the other thread.
.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/class-d/143669-sure-electronics-new-tripath-board-tc2000-tp2050.html
.
Did you remove the heat sink to change the rubber cement for some better thermal paste yet? That should help you to keep from overheating the chips without the added complexity of the fan. I want to change my fans for northbridge heat sinks to hear if it sounds any better even though I have a separate regulator so the fan doesn't have to share the critical 5v driver supply.
Agreed. After some mods these are the best sounding amps I have ever had home. amazing for $50/ channel. You have obviously seen the other thread.
.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/class-d/143669-sure-electronics-new-tripath-board-tc2000-tp2050.html
.
Did you remove the heat sink to change the rubber cement for some better thermal paste yet? That should help you to keep from overheating the chips without the added complexity of the fan. I want to change my fans for northbridge heat sinks to hear if it sounds any better even though I have a separate regulator so the fan doesn't have to share the critical 5v driver supply.
Currently I'm not having any overheating problems. I just leave the top of my cigar box open and it has never overheated, even after hours of being on. If it does, I will add a 7805, caps, trafo and fan, and draw from the wall. Batteries for amp, wall for fan! Or maybe I'll just use some AS5 paste, like you suggested.
Do you know if the big thread has any comments on C29 C32 C37 C41?
Do you know if the big thread has any comments on C29 C32 C37 C41?
Power supply
We haven't done much experimenting with the power supply filters yet. I'm still playing with the coils which are the key part. The Ferroxcube cores with 14ga wire sound amazing and are still small enough but the best model, TN26/11-3C20-A113 are hard to get even though they are featured in the Class D application note. Once I settle on the output filter, I will start playing with the power supply.
We haven't done much experimenting with the power supply filters yet. I'm still playing with the coils which are the key part. The Ferroxcube cores with 14ga wire sound amazing and are still small enough but the best model, TN26/11-3C20-A113 are hard to get even though they are featured in the Class D application note. Once I settle on the output filter, I will start playing with the power supply.
Better coils
.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/class-d/143669-sure-electronics-new-tripath-board-tc2000-tp2050.html
.
Yes. See the thread.
.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/class-d/143669-sure-electronics-new-tripath-board-tc2000-tp2050.html
.
I'm eyeing this thing for my next amp/project and this sure looks positive.
The heatsink looks like a standard one that can be found on mainboards/graphics card. An aftermarket heatsink that works with variable distance between mounting holes won't be free, but sure would look cool. And stay cool.
The heatsink looks like a standard one that can be found on mainboards/graphics card. An aftermarket heatsink that works with variable distance between mounting holes won't be free, but sure would look cool. And stay cool.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Hi, I've already done this with the Alu heatsink that they make, works great:
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
It gets warm but not too hot...
Audio1st: Where did you buy your enamelled wire from in the UK? I've seen some on e-bay but I'm not really sure if it's any good!
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With an input-cap-mod/24v battery TK2050 board, I was not impressed. Only the midrange was good. I switched back to my Gainclone.
With this fully-modded/24v battery TK2050, I will never use my Gainclone on my main system again. I would put my TK2050 up against the RWA Signature 30.2 ANY DAY OF THE WEEK.
I now own a truly ultra-fi amplifier. I have never heard anything like it. I will not bore you with terms like "liquid highs" -- it is simply the best amplifier I have ever heard.
Mod List:
Power: 2x12v 5ah SLA batteries, wired in series.
Input Stage: DACT-Style 10k stepped pot, 2.2uf 250v Aerovox AFPS input caps, C17 R14 C25 R34 Removed, Limiters (on the bottom of the RCA jacks) removed.
Output Stage: 10uH 68-1 Toroidal coils, .47uf 160v MKP10 differential-caps, .22uf 100v MKP2 common-caps. Low-pass is about 71Khz at 8ohm.
Supporting Mods:
-Tank capacitors changed to 2x 2200uf 35v Nichicon Fine Gold
-Tank bypass film caps changed to WIMA MKP2 .22uf 100v
-TC2000 chip capacitors changed to 100uf 35v Nichicon Fine Gold, 100uf 25v Muse KZ
Note: The output stage is just as important if not more so than the input stage. People generally upgrade their input stage first, as it's cheaper/easier, but the parts on your output filter are just as important!
Also, upgrade signal path parts first, then do power cap mods!
Congratulations, you have destroyed the amplifier.
It's still working because it's low power and it can handle the huge amount of parasitic inductances that you added (for the moment
), but electromagnetic radiation may have increased around ten times.If you did similar modifications to any high power class D circuit (or something less forgiving like UcD), it would explode next time the volume is turned up for some time.
The most ridiculous part are the big class D output capacitors attached with wires to the PCB. This filter is intended to provide 12dB/oct attenuation up to 10Mhz, to prevent RF from reaching speaker wires (antennas!), but now it's giving up below 1Mhz due to the parasitic inductance that you added.
Replacing three SMD electrolytics, which are paralleled for reducing inductance and preventing resonances, by a big axial electrolytic, which is the highest inductance type, is also an award winning dumb idea. Inductance is typically 1nH per mm of terminal spacing. The big axial cap is around 20 times more inductive than the three small ones in parallel (which where there for a good reason).
The huge input capacitors are also funny because they act as antennas and pick up all the RF radiated by the rest of the circuit due to the modifications (plus any ambient RF willing to disturb the input op-amps).
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I think having all the mods summed up in a concise thread is nice, despite there now being 2 threads about this board now.
Thanks, I think I'll pick some up today and give some aircores a go.
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You are not selling the amps? You have two Cigar box amps up now on this site and on eBay for $350. About $100 in components and $250 for "your efforts".
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/swap-meet/153693-new-battery-powered-tk2050-amps-2-right-now-i-might-build-more-later.html
Now if you were Nelson Pass or John Curl, would have no issues paying the $250. Do you even know who these two gentlemen are?
This is nothing more than a plug.
We all enjoy mods/tweaks, but we also are proponents to the diy spirit, not trying to make a fast buck. Admit you have something financial to gain here.
"i might build more later"
"also, non-cynical people enjoy these threads"
"Keep your nose in those books, pseudo-engineer! Experience gets you nowhere!"
Your not likely to get far with this "crowd" on your attitude. You have only been a member here for 9 months...you have quite a bit to learn..."AHH - THE CONFIDENCE OF YOUTH"
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/swap-meet/153693-new-battery-powered-tk2050-amps-2-right-now-i-might-build-more-later.html
Now if you were Nelson Pass or John Curl, would have no issues paying the $250. Do you even know who these two gentlemen are?
This is nothing more than a plug.
We all enjoy mods/tweaks, but we also are proponents to the diy spirit, not trying to make a fast buck. Admit you have something financial to gain here.
"i might build more later"
"also, non-cynical people enjoy these threads"
"Keep your nose in those books, pseudo-engineer! Experience gets you nowhere!"
Your not likely to get far with this "crowd" on your attitude. You have only been a member here for 9 months...you have quite a bit to learn..."AHH - THE CONFIDENCE OF YOUTH"
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