Matching a TK2050 to Tony Gee LBS

[Billyo]

Hi all,

Fairly green noob here, so pls be gentle!

I'm dipping my toe in the water with building speakers and have in mind Tony Gee's LBS as a great compromise between performance, price and simplicity to build.

Humble Homemade Hifi

I was wondering whether a pair of these speakers would match well with a TK2050 2x100 W amplifier from Sure.

I'm on a strict budget due to the WAF and at the moment don't really want to spend it on at least a midrange receiver for $700 and up (in Australia, Receivers are a rip off)... and anyway, looking at the THD of amps vs receivers, definitely it looks at though (on paper anyway) a TK2050 has a far superior THD to any mid-range receiver out there.

Each loudspeaker contains

2x Monacor SPH-176 woofer
8 ohm, Music power 120WMAX, Power rating (P) 70WRMS

1x Monacor DT-254
8 ohm, Music power 150WMAX, Power rating 90WRMS

The crossover circuit is in the link above (if its needed)

The completed speakers are nominally rated at 4 ohms, but not extremely so.

I don't have the skills yet to even begin to calculate what the power rating is of each completed loudspeaker.

Any knowledgable opinions gratefully received!

[Commited]

Hi Billy,

I recently went through the same dilemma re what TK2050 amps and in the end went for the hifimediy T2. Here are some thoughts that I posted on another forum:

In the past I had had a few DIY amps (TA2020 bi-amped and TA2024) and a few commercial amps (Arcam 8r, Leak 20, Meridian pre/power combo). I really liked the tripath stuff but I always found it a little bit gutless only being 20wpc. It did however compare admirably with the Meridians, beatingthem in many aspects.

After a bit of research, I found that the TK2050 chipset was now being used and was available in a few different forms:
Sure Electronics
Hifimediy
Dayton Audio
41hz Monoblock
Helder TK2050

The Dayton is a great option for plug and play but only runs a 24v power supply so for this reason and also due to doubts on build quality I discounted the Dayton Audio. I discounted the Sure Electronics amp having read that the sound was superior to the Dayton but the build quality was sub standard. That left the helder, 41hz amp and the hifimediy. I decided against the 41hz amp as I have to build it myself and I was feeling lazy. I hadn't seen any evidence to sugges that the helder board was worth more than twice the price and it didn't come as plug and play, so laziness and tightness won and the hifimediy amp was ordered with some RCA connectors. A suitable 27v SMPS power supply was also ordered from ebay.

Unfortunately my TK2050 is on it's way back to hifimediy as it had a hiss, so I can't do a full report. It was very promising though! It's also designed around 4ohm so will be good for your speaker build!

[Billyo]

Thanks Committed -

Do you think that assuming the Sure TK2050 2x100 functions as intended, it will power Tony's LBS properly - i.e. not too gutless and not such that it will blow the speakers instantly if somebody turns the vol too much to the right?

[Commited]

Assuming you're fixed on the Sure (which is only recommended if you're prepared to spend time upgrading it), then I'd imagine it would have no problem driving the 88-89dB efficiency speakers. How big is your room? I have 86dB El70s here in a 7x5m room with open doorways into other big rooms and they got loud enough for loud listening but maybe not partying!

[Billyo]

Originally Posted by Commited

Assuming you're fixed on the Sure (which is only recommended if you're prepared to spend time upgrading it), then I'd imagine it would have no problem driving the 88-89dB efficiency speakers. How big is your room? I have 86dB El70s here in a 7x5m room with open doorways into other big rooms and they got loud enough for loud listening but maybe not partying!

Thanks mate,

The room is fairly large, around 12 metres long and 6 metres wide at a guess.

Upgrading it? Why? Is it because of the build quality not being great?

[Commited]

Some of the components used aren't the best quality. The hifimediy T2 doesn't need the upgrades and works out cheaper so it's a bit of a no-brainer! It was US$59 delivered to my door so didn't really break the bank. I also picked up a 27v PSU from ebay for US$34 and I still need to find a case to put it all in.

[Billyo]

ok - I think you've won me over.

I emailed Tony Gee about the completed loudspeaker power rating and he replied that it was rated at around 70 W RMS.

so think that a 2x100 TK2050 should do a great job of driving them, maybe a little on the too powerful side, but overall a good match.

Someone tell me if I'm making a mistake in this assertion

[Commited]

There is no such thing as too powerful! Where are you going to source your drivers?

[Billyo]

Originally Posted by Commited

There is no such thing as too powerful! Where are you going to source your drivers?

Re too powerful... that seems to be a matter of great debate amongst very knowledgeable people. As for me, I don't know - so I'm playing it safe.

I ordered the drivers from Strassacker: Lautsprecher - Boxen - Selbstbau - the same place the other guy who built them in Australia ordered them from and got them delivered safely.

Suddenly, I've got cold feet re sending >300 euros overseas.

[Commited]

Don't worry about sending money overseas, these companies are reliable - if they weren't you'd hear about it!

Ordered the hifimediy T2 yet?