TA2020 vs 2022 vs TK2050

[jarlly]

Hi Guys

Firstly, nice forum . Been lurking for a couple of days, having a read, but can't find an answer to my problem. Wondering if you can help me pick a power amplifier? The power amp packed up in one of my bass amps, so I'm looking for a replacement. Requirements:

CHEAP (I have multiple bass amps, and this one isn't really worth anything- must be less than £30 ($60), less is better)
1 Channel (more is ok, but I only need 1)
Able to drive an 8 ohm, 40 watt speakerto an acceptable level
low heat (will be mounted inside a sealed cab)- I have several heatsinks, so if a bigger heatsink is necessary to allow this, that's ok
Able to amplify low frequencies effectively (low B on a bass is ~30Hz). Less worried about high frequency.

Current choices are:

MK2 TA2020 from helder- cheap, good, I can't afford the MK3, my only worry would be powering an 8 ohm speaker- rated at 13W, 10% THD...

TA2022 - most expensive, least information. So, probably not.

Sure TK2050. Worried it might be lacking in bass because of some comments about the sound out the box. I can solder, but I don't really want to be swapping every capacitor out so it does what it should do from the start.

Or, Build my own.

Thanks in advance for your help

[hoka]

All three would serve your purpose fine, I have tried all three of them.
the ta2020 and the tk2050 can be run off a battery if that is useful to you.

The 2022 is probably the most powerful but requires a symmetrical power supply, I would advise that one for your application!

here is a cheaper one:

TA2022 50-150W Can BTL amplifier Kit SC | eBay

This is a good seller and an excellent deal!

[kristleifur]

TK2050 sounds better. By a very apparent degree.

Nowadays, the TK2050 chipset also out-powers the TA2022 because there are newer driver chips available to replace the TP2050 output chip (e.g. DDX-2240 and STA517B).

Also: The wattage of the speaker is essentially irrelevant It's just a maximum power handling figure and says nothing of the loudness or power requirements. The sensitivity figure however does tell you this. What is the sensitivity in dB/W of the speaker?

[hoka]

I have yet to hear a TK2050 amp that is better than a TA2020 especially a good one like the Carlize but even the Helder runs circles around a TK2050 when it comes to bass controle, midd definition, high clarity, background noise and most of all soundstage!

For pure Bass amplification I would go with Icepower ASC200 but the budget calls for a cheaper amp so TA2022 is my pick!

[nightanole]

I think most of the sure stuff can also use their proc controlled volume control. So that would eliminate a pot in the audio path.

Rotary Encoder Board + Volume Control Board for 2*100w | eBay

[wwenze]

The three Tripath chips require vastly different power supplies

TA2020 - 12V, or max 13+V
TK2050 - anything from 12V to 36V as long as the rest of the parts allow
TA2022 - ±12V to ±36V

I'd let my power supply decide.

[jarlly]

Originally Posted by wwenze

The three Tripath chips require vastly different power supplies

TA2020 - 12V, or max 13+V
TK2050 - anything from 12V to 36V as long as the rest of the parts allow
TA2022 - ±12V to ±36V

I'd let my power supply decide.

Good call. I was just about to leave the house this morning when i realised that instead of buying a power amp then buying a transformer for it, it would make vastly more sense to use the current transformer. It's spec'd at +-28VDC, just measured at +-29VDC (no load) so it looks like TA2022 is the winner out of the current 3.

However, having looked at hoka's link and other items from the same seller, I came across another three which I'm curious about:

LM3886 Amplifier. But it's still £20, so i'm not sure what the advantage over the 2022 is. Also heard you can't heatsink a 3886 directly to the outer case because the chip casing is -ve. That said, looks like it's covered with some rubbery stuff, though that's not filling me with confidence for thermal transfer properties.

TDA7293. This is £12 for 2 boards (I have a small guitar amplifier which is on the way out, hence this may be a big advantange), is very small and (AFAIK- please correct me if I'm wrong) I can heatsink it directly to the amp casing, unlike the 3886. It does seem suspiciously cheap, but if the chips do go pop I can get another from a guaranteed genuine supplier for about a fiver each so should be ok.

Of course, to muddy the water further (does it need it?) there's also the TDA8920, but I've heard that phillips chips are the most commonly faked and suppliers are harder to come by. And it's £20.


Any reasons I shouldn't go for the 7293? Definitely looking like the winner, if only for cost reasons. If the amp was any good to start with, then I'd be getting a BTL'd 2022, but I just don't think there's any point.

Again, thanks for the help

[alexcp]

LM3886 is available in an isolated case, and this is what it used in the LM3886 amp you mentioned. There is no issue with heatsinking it to the chassis/enclosure.

[jarlly]

Ordered the TDA7293. We'll see what it's like when it turns up

[hoka]

The guy wants a class-D and ends up with a chip-Amp

well there you go!