sorry for photo failure, try again..
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
I received this board yesterday, hooked it up to a 36V meanwell powersupply turned down to 30V, and started listening. I was expecting it to be good after reading here about the sure boards and other tk2050, and I was not dissapointed. The sounds is amazing. The best I have had at my home. The difference was pretty big compared to my SE el34 triode 6W amp. I changed the output transformers to good quality ones in that amp some weeks ago, and I noticed a small change to the better. But the change when switching to this amp made a hugh difference on my speakers.
For my eyes, this board seems like has better parts than the sure boards, so I'm not sure what I should upgrade. I have some MCAP 2.2uf I might try in the input in place of the big blue ones (what brand are those), but those might already be better than the input caps on the sure.?
Also, the board can take both AC and DC as it has a "sanken 15A bridge". Because I already have DC from the meanwell, should I take the sanken bridge it away, would that make a difference?
Anyone recognices the inductors, what brand/type are those, should they be good enough?
The guy that made this said he made 50 ex that sold out now, but he will have more available next month.
I havn't heard the sure, so I cannot compare them, but I cannot really find any weaknesses to this board yet. The sound is clear, detailed, very relaxed, open, with a very dark background. I also have a HLLY tamp 20 with ta2020, and that sound is nice enought, but nowhere near the detailed high-end sound I get from this board.
Some pictures:
For my eyes, this board seems like has better parts than the sure boards, so I'm not sure what I should upgrade. I have some MCAP 2.2uf I might try in the input in place of the big blue ones (what brand are those), but those might already be better than the input caps on the sure.?
Also, the board can take both AC and DC as it has a "sanken 15A bridge". Because I already have DC from the meanwell, should I take the sanken bridge it away, would that make a difference?
Anyone recognices the inductors, what brand/type are those, should they be good enough?
The guy that made this said he made 50 ex that sold out now, but he will have more available next month.
I havn't heard the sure, so I cannot compare them, but I cannot really find any weaknesses to this board yet. The sound is clear, detailed, very relaxed, open, with a very dark background. I also have a HLLY tamp 20 with ta2020, and that sound is nice enought, but nowhere near the detailed high-end sound I get from this board.
Some pictures:
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Please do not take this as negative comment but try to improve soldering skills. The way it looks now I would not expect optimal results. Even better would be to use the correct type of connector. The caps would not be damaged then. You will have to change them now anyway but use the right tools and try to work precise.
If you can't get hold of the right connector desolder the one that is soldered to the board and wire new shielded wiring straight to the PCB. Thin shielded wire is the best option.
Or simply ask the seller if he can provide the cable harness.
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Thanks, I know it doesn't look pretty, but I didn't know that this would cause not optimal sound. Has the cap taken damage from this?
I bought it from taobao.com which is the chinese ebay equivalent, but difficult to use if you're not in China. I asked the seller if he also sells on ebay, he said no. I could maybe help to send out of china if someone is eager to try this board, but I got the last one, he is sold out until next month. Price was about the same as the sure board.
Looks nice
Those look very nice. The Tripath TK2050 chip set makes a great budget amp. Much better than a pair of bridged 3886 which is way better than a single 3886 that is so popular. I have a lifetime supply of Sure 2X100 boards but would be interested to see what the future price and availability of these will be to recommend to friends. The coils look like they are wound on the smallish 68mm type 2 cores. These cores may be ok for a 2020 amp running 12v supplies but are kind of small for a 2050 amp. I like the Wurth WE-PD, XXL coils in smaller values of 6.8 or even 4.7uH for an 8 amp rating vs about 3 amps for those. The type 2 cores are the most common since they are the ones that Tripath originally recommended but even with 18guage wire on my 106mm cores they are not as transparent as the Wurths which come preasembled and ready to install for $4. Are the heat sinks glued on? That will make it hard to do any mods. I assume he set the feedback resistors to accommodate a fairly high supply voltage such as 32v so it may not be necessary to get under them any way. Those input caps are quite popular right now and are reportedly quite good. I have people telling me to try a silver mica cap for a bypass but I haven't done it yet. It might be fun to compare a transformer to the MeanWell SMPS. In my experience the MeanWell would sound better. You could try connecting on the board after the rectifier to hear if it sounds any better. The on board turn on delay is nice as the Sure has quite a thump.
Those look very nice. The Tripath TK2050 chip set makes a great budget amp. Much better than a pair of bridged 3886 which is way better than a single 3886 that is so popular. I have a lifetime supply of Sure 2X100 boards but would be interested to see what the future price and availability of these will be to recommend to friends. The coils look like they are wound on the smallish 68mm type 2 cores. These cores may be ok for a 2020 amp running 12v supplies but are kind of small for a 2050 amp. I like the Wurth WE-PD, XXL coils in smaller values of 6.8 or even 4.7uH for an 8 amp rating vs about 3 amps for those. The type 2 cores are the most common since they are the ones that Tripath originally recommended but even with 18guage wire on my 106mm cores they are not as transparent as the Wurths which come preasembled and ready to install for $4. Are the heat sinks glued on? That will make it hard to do any mods. I assume he set the feedback resistors to accommodate a fairly high supply voltage such as 32v so it may not be necessary to get under them any way. Those input caps are quite popular right now and are reportedly quite good. I have people telling me to try a silver mica cap for a bypass but I haven't done it yet. It might be fun to compare a transformer to the MeanWell SMPS. In my experience the MeanWell would sound better. You could try connecting on the board after the rectifier to hear if it sounds any better. The on board turn on delay is nice as the Sure has quite a thump.
Thanks, thats informing. Why is it those coils is ok for 12V, but not for 30V ? Is ist just that those are small if run it close to 100W output?
Where can I buy those Wurth coils? I did a search but couldn't find anything.
The heatsinks are fastened with screws on, so should be easy to remove.
I have visited your shop in Taobao, but I can't find this board.
Think I got the last one of the 50 he had made. He said he'll have more ready next month.
Another questions about the coils. The values you mention are much lower than the stock (11uH). It looks to me as the output filter on this board is slightly different from the sure board. It doesn't have the last 0.22uf cap after the coil. Will this affect what value of coil needed? Or could i still try with the 4.7uH coil?
Wurth coils
You can try the lower value Wurth coils with the stock caps no problem. Then if you want, it will be easy to add the differential cap across the speaker outs as a mod. I use this filter with 3.5uH coils but 4.7uH has less out of band peaking and sounds really good.
You can try the lower value Wurth coils with the stock caps no problem. Then if you want, it will be easy to add the differential cap across the speaker outs as a mod. I use this filter with 3.5uH coils but 4.7uH has less out of band peaking and sounds really good.
Attachments
I have visited your shop in Taobao, but I can't find this board.
I'm sorry, please give me message in Taobao if you still need it. i will reply as soon as i have.Passive volume control
I have done a lot of work with passive volume control. Having the pot right on the board as you do is the best way. It minimizes all of the interactions caused by it's high output impedance. I would still try 10k. 50k will sound better only with a buffer following it. A tube pre might as well bypass the pot. Switched resistors might sound a little better and offer matched steps for active cross users with multiple channels of amplification but would have to be wired on.
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