Arjen Helder's 2050 boards

[kickngas]

Oops, I meant the Helder TA2020 MKIII

[juanito]

I've got already Arjens Boards!!

I ordered the TA2024 and also the TK2050 dual monos plus the SMPS and alps volume pot.

Does any one have any pictures with this tk2050 amp?? I would like to get some ideas for the caseing.

Post some pictures as soon as I start with mine.

[rhing]

Originally Posted by mfong

I should have some time to get mine wired up this weekend. I did put my Helder 2020 mk III back in my system last weekend and as always was pleasantly surprised.

I used to own a Virtue Two amp with the 130 watt/30V SMPS. I bought it on a special promo from Seth at Virtue Audio. It was very well made and came with the Auricaps and upgraded transistors. I had it paired with a a pair of Fostex FX-120 monitors. When I had the Virtue Two paired with a DIY EF86 tube preamp, it sounded great. By itself, it still sounded good, but not as magical as with the tube preamp. Compared to my modded Sure TA2024 amp, I thought the modded Sure board held a sonic advantage in terms of a smoother, more life-like midrange. What the Virtue gave me more was headroom.

Eventually, I purchased a used pair of Klipsch Forte IIs and upgraded the crossovers, binding posts and internal wiring. I still have the Fostex monitors, but I prefer the Forte IIs for the full range capability and ability to cast a large soundstage and reproduce complex passages effortlessly (e.g., large orchestral crescendos, Pink Floyd's "Time". The Virtue could push the Klipsch speakers without running out of steam, but the amp had a transistor-type sound quality that always had me wondering if I should change the input caps to PIO types for a warmer midrange.

I also bought a used Magnavox console tube amp that I modded/upgraded as I could never get the warm life-like midrange I really wanted out of the Virtue. Rather than mod it, I sold it and made all my money back. The only problem with the tube amp is that it does get hot in the Summer and makes music listening almost impossible.

Enter in Arjen Helder's TA2020 MkIII board and MkII tube buffer. Though I still prefer my EL84 amp, the Helder TA2020 and tube buffer combo are very good. The TA2020 board by itself sounds as good , if not a bit better than the Virtue Two. I also like it more than the modded Sure TA2024 amp. It just seems to have a bit more headroom and deeper soundstage. With the tube buffer and an RCA 12AU7 black plate tube, I can really enjoy my music. It has a different sound than the EL84 amp, but it is equally as engaging and it has a warm tonality that fits my tastes. With 98dB efficient speakers, I can get away with a 6-10 watt T-amp. The tube buffer adds greater dimensionality to the soundstage and the sound is warmer and smoother. I am going to build a AMB Labs Sigma regulated linear power supply to replace the modded SMPS I have now to overcome the DC surge on power up/down of the buffer and T-amp pair. I hope to have it completed by the next Burning Amp Festival in October to bring to the show. Basically, this has become my warm weather rig.

[sharpi31]

Just bought a pair of Arjen's TK2050 mono boards. Been looking at the Sure & Hifimediy TK2050 boards for a while, but decided to go with Arjen's for the following reasons:

- No built in volume control (don't want one)
- extremely neat & optimised pcb layout
- heatsink rather than fan (won't be running these hard, so fan not required)
- proper input coupling cap (easy to swap out with something else)
- highly rated output filter inductors (better than the Sure)
- mono boards allow neater installation inside symmetrical case
- Arjen's excellent reputation on this forum

I plan on using a Meanwell SP-200-24 power supply, which is more attractive to me than the popular S-350-24. The S-350-24 has no power factor correction and the switching frequency is 25KHz. The SP-200-24 has active PFC and switches at 67KHz (PFC) & 134KHz (PWM). Obviously the SP-200-24 is less powerful, but is plenty big enough for me.

I plan on swapping the amp board filter caps for pairs of parallel 2200uf 35V Rubycon ZLH, and removing the standard input coupling caps and connecting large Siemens 10uF MKV via short links (the MKV caps are encased in metal and will be grounded via the chassis, so RF/EMI pick-up shouldn't be an issue despite their size).

Now I just need to wait 4-5 weeks for the amps to arrive :-)

[same64]

I have all of them except Sue amp burned by accident .
Hifimediy TK2050 board is excellent ,So is Sure board after mod.
Arjen's TK2050 mono boards i have only for two days so i cant say much yet.
There is something different about Arjen amp in a good way of course but cant put finger on yet .im using amps with cheap Chinese tube buffer but ordered Arjen one today.

[jrcanoe]

I have a pair coming. I hope they will sound as good or better than my sure 4x100 board.
I think Arjen’s 2024 boards sound better than the sure 2024 so I have high hopes for the 2050’s.
I don’t have any of his 2024’s left anymore; everytime I get one built some teen thing relative absconds with it. Time to order 4 more and go back to the craft store for more boxes.
I can’t decide what type of cases I’ll put the monoblocks in. If I go with metal it will be some kind of key box or lunch/cookie tin. Wood I would make my own or use a craft shop basswood box. Or I might just sandwich them between two pieces of lexan(The wet behind the ears crowd covets these with a tube buffer over top the most)
If I gave each monoblock it’s own tube buffer would you use only half ? or y in and out of the stereo buffer.
I am going to try to use them for my girlfriends manapans so I can swipe my parasound back. But if the piggish maggie’s or the girlfriend object they will drive the klipsch heresy ‘s at the cabin. The partsex 2024 driving the heresies now will be hard to beat at any sane volume level . A 2020 put in a respectable cozy night performance with the magnapans but would be out of it’s league at a party.
I have a love/hate relationship with these T amps. Everytime I listen to one I built I love it until I look over at the HK’s Bryson and Carvers and think how much money I spent.

[julcat]

I have seen in virtue amps that with a change of the input cap you can implement a high pass filter, is that posible in arjen tk2050's??? what will be the cap to implement a 80 Hz high pass filter????

Thanks

[julcat]

I have seen in virtue amps that with a change of the input cap you can implement a high pass filter, is that posible in arjen tk2050's??? what will be the cap to implement a 80 Hz high pass filter????

Please, Anyone????

[sharpi31]

Tried to answer your question but can't find the imput impedance of Arjen's amp in either the ebay listing or PDF manual (http://www.data.helderhifi.com/TK2050_info_file%20.pdf).

Once you know the imput impedance just use a calculator to find the correct cap value (Coupling Capacitor Calculator by V-Cap).

If the imput impedance is 22kohm, you would need a 0.09uF cap to give you a high pass filter with -3dB at 80.38Hz.

Bear in mind that this would be a first order filter with shallow roll off bellow 80Hz and phase shift up to at least 800Hz (unlikely to be ideal).

[julcat]

Thanks a lot for the Info Time to ask Arjen for the Input Impedance of the T2050 board