The T-Amp really IS amazing!

[dgo]

Hi all,

(Tale from a audio mod noob who got interested reading all those stories about the T-Amp).

After a long long wait, yesterday I finally received my Sonic T-Amps.
I hooked them up to the regulated 13.8V 6A amp sat down and started to listen, pretty sceptical I admit.

At first, I thought they were a little dry and 'sketchy' in the high and mids, but after a short while everything got seriously better.

These things really ARE amazing! They are extremely transparant, excellent in the lows, very nice good stereo field, amazing sounding metal sounds (cymbals, strings, etc), ah well, no need for another review here

But I just cannot believe this! I found myself frantically searching for those great sounding cd's like it was the first time again listening to a good sounding setup. Simply amazing. The dynamic on my Hepta Springs is unbelievable. I use about half of their power which is more than enough power using this PSU.

I didn't even replace the standard speaker output terminals yet, so I had to use only 1/3 of my Monster Cable thickness to get the cable in. Nevertheless it sounds amazing! I phone everyone I know and the have to hear this!

I have a great sounding Cyrus amp at my disposal which I like very much. But the Cyrus brings something to the sound (too much 'placement' or something), and this you have to like. Depends which music you listen to as well. But I find the T-Amp just sounding better! You just forget searching for the amps sound and emerge in the music. Which is the point I guess.I haven't felt with a new piece audio equipment in a long time!

Just curious: what do the T-Amp mods mentioned on the excellent forum would bring extra ? I don't have the feeling (even with the unmodded speaker clams, which I will fix!) that I want more? I'm talking about pots/caps etc.

[dgo]

Originally posted by dgo

.......

Just curious: what do the T-Amp mods mentioned on this excellent forum would bring extra ? I don't have the feeling (even with the unmodded speaker clams, which I will fix!) that I want more? I'm talking about pots/caps etc.

Doesn't anyone have anything to comment on this?

[ohenry]

See the thread entitled "Sonic Impact 5066 Parts List & Modifications" from 2/03/05 for insight on modifications and parts.

You *will* hear a difference.

Have fun.

[dgo]

Originally posted by ohenry
See the thread entitled "Sonic Impact 5066 Parts List & Modifications" from 2/03/05 for insight on modifications and parts.

You *will* hear a difference.

Have fun.

Thanks ! I'm having loads of it already!

And I didn't look thru that thread yet, so I will!

[irss]

You mentioned that '...At first, I thought they were a little dry and 'sketchy' in the high and mids, but after a short while everything got seriously better...'

What's according to you is 'a short while'? 'Cos my t-amp sounds a bit harsh in the high and mids too. But the problem, I suppose, is that the t-amp I own is completely new. I've listened to it for about 10 hours only.

How many hours of playing it does require to reveal itself???

[dgo]

Some say 50, some say 100.

I found the biggest improvement over the first 10-15 hours and gradually getting better after that.

Also, I think it has to do with getting accustomed to the natural sound the amp gives. It still sounds a bit dry and crispy sissling compared to what I was used to. (especially very appearant with metal symbals and clean vocals)
But in my opinion it is just transferring the sounds ultra transparant compared to the amp I was listening to. I've got a feeling I'm hearing the frequencies the way they were recorded. The dryness(or should I say cleaness) and crispyness for me is proof of it's excellence. I just wasn't used to hearing this type of clear transparant sound because my other amps simply can't offer it. And I absolutely love it.

[opentop]

Well DGO,

A few weeks ago I also received my two T-Amps and I also was amazed by the sound of it. I am not an experienced solderer and modder, so for me it is a risk to solder things upon such a small print.
But I just orderded the EB-TA2024 evaluation board from Tripath, which has a few advantages over the T-Amp (see under the TA2024 topic).

[dgo]

Originally posted by opentop
Well DGO,

A few weeks ago I also received my two T-Amps and I also was amazed by the sound of it. I am not an experienced solderer and modder, so for me it is a risk to solder things upon such a small print.
But I just orderded the EB-TA2024 evaluation board from Tripath, which has a few advantages over the T-Amp (see under the TA2024 topic).

Hello opentop,

I'm not sure what you're trying to say... I'm not an experienced diy either, and up til now I've been running the SI unmodded, I just hooked up the regulated PSU. I did however order one of Art's excellent alu housings ( http://mywebpages.comcast.net/ampbox/ )
which, next to looking real stunning, will supply better input/output terminals and volume pot.

But for now, it's still the stock SI

And, apart from the clipping behaviour, (obviously) I'm extremely content with the sound quality.

What's your experience and setup?

I'll look into the evaluation board, thanks. I'd be interested in your comparison with the stock SI.

I'm also building the AMP3 kit from www.41hz.com I suspect this will have a better clipping behaviour than the SI. The soldering is quite a challenge though for a diy beginner like me, but I'm almost finished.

[opentop]

Hello DGO,

What I am trying to say is that I am very pleased wity the T-Amp. It sounds great and very clear, open, detailed. I use it in the following setup: TEAC vrds10 Cd-player, Audiomat tango 2.0 DAC, Behringer 2496 DEQ Ultracurve, Duson C100 pre-amplifier and Magnepan 0.5 speakers.

But... reading all the articles about the T-Amp I learned that is still possible to improve the sound through modding. But like I said, I am not experienced in modding. And looking at the size of the PCB inside the T-Amp I decided to skip that option (maybe I will mod in the future but I first want to learn about electronics and I want to practice soldering before I begin).

Then I read about the evaluation board with the same Tripath-chip. It has the possibility of connecting your speakers with bananaplugs (instead of crappy binding-posts), it has a double RCA audio-input (instead of mini-jack). And the bass roll-off is gone thanks to a different input cap (don't ask me about the technical details, I am a newbie in this field).
My conclusion: by buying this I won't have to mod to improve the sound. And the sound of the T-Amp is already great.

[dgo]

Originally posted by opentop
Hello DGO,

What I am trying to say is that I am very pleased wity the T-Amp. It sounds great and very clear, open, detailed. I use it in the following setup: TEAC vrds10 Cd-player, Audiomat tango 2.0 DAC, Behringer 2496 DEQ Ultracurve, Duson C100 pre-amplifier and Magnepan 0.5 speakers.

Glad you like it too. What's your experience on clipping /ringing in your setup ? nice system ! What's the efficiency of those speakers? What amp did you normally use?

Originally posted by opentop
But... reading all the articles about the T-Amp I learned that is still possible to improve the sound through modding. But like I said, I am not experienced in modding. And looking at the size of the PCB inside the T-Amp I decided to skip that option (maybe I will mod in the future but I first want to learn about electronics and I want to practice soldering before I begin).

I think we can shake hands there on experience. It's the same reason I didn't try out to mod thing yet. But also, I'm not experiencing that I'm missing something. Like I said before, the only 'problem' I have with the SI is the clipping behaviour.

Originally posted by opentop
Then I read about the evaluation board with the same Tripath-chip. It has the possibility of connecting your speakers with bananaplugs (instead of crappy binding-posts), it has a double RCA audio-input (instead of mini-jack). And the bass roll-off is gone thanks to a different input cap (don't ask me about the technical details, I am a newbie in this field).
My conclusion: by buying this I won't have to mod to improve the sound. And the sound of the T-Amp is already great.

That looks like a good call. For the same reasons you mentioned I bought one of Art's chassis (and it looking good). But I won't have better input caps. (With people so positive about the result, I'd like to try it out)

If my amp3 (2021B based) project doesn't succeed I think I'll go your way. I'm interested in the 2021B evaluation board as well.

I'm really beginning to wonder how the other chips of Tripath sound.?