Is this TA2022 eBay amp a terrible idea for a beginner's dissection project?

[thomahawk]

Hi All!

After lurking on the forums for a couple of months I thought I'd ask my first question. I hope you're as helpful to me as you are to each other!

I'm just starting out tinkering in electronics (audio and otherwise) and being passionate about music I figure building my own amp is a good goal to work towards. However, I'm afraid to admit that after all my internet readings I'm feeling more confused & intimidated than I was when I started! The 41hz.com kits look easy enough to solder, for example, but (don't laugh) I just don't quite get how you take a finished kit module and turn it into something you can plug a power cord, source and speakers into, and have sound come out.

As such - figuring no amount of reading can substitute for direct experience - I'm thinking that rather than trying to cobble together a functioning amp from kit parts, I'd be better off starting with a functioning amp and dissecting it to see how it works. I've been looking for T-amps on eBay, assuming they're pretty much the best value for money. However most of the amps are TA2024-based and don't provide enough power for the 8ohm speakers I'll be using. So I'm looking at this 60w-into-8ohm, TA2022-based "MUSE MU-40".

The thing I'm particularly interested in with that amp is the switch-mode power supply. I'm not yet knowledgeable enough to know exactly what the implications are, but I do know that the Wikipedia page on SMPSUs says "...Very low cost SMPS may couple electrical switching noise back onto the mains power line, causing interference with A/V equipment connected to the same phase. Non power-factor-corrected SMPSs also cause harmonic distortion." Now that doesn't sound very good to me.

Now, although the ultimate destiny of this amp will be to donate itself to science, I would still like it to sound good! After all, that is the reason I'm trying out this hobby! However with a listing like this, I don't really know what to expect, beyond having a blind faith that the TA2022-based amps sound great for the money.

So, DIYAudioers; fundamentally, is this a good idea? Will this amp be a perfect base for me to get enthusiastic about learning more about electronics and audio? Will it be the perfect amp and I'll never want to buy another? Will that power supply make the amp sound terrible? Will the whole thing be so terrible that it will put me off the hobby for life?

Thanks for reading! Any thoughts/ideas/experiences would be really helpful for me in this first step.

Cheers!

[bobodioulasso]

I think that building a gainclone would bring you more than starting with a functioning amplifier.
For "dissecting it to see how it works" you need to have a schematic and written explanations.
Class D and SMPS aren't the simplest things to start with.

[Corax]

Hi thomahawk,

my advice would be the same as bobodiolasso's. Start with a linear amplifier, preferably an IC based with i.e. LM3886 (Gainclones), TDA7294, or similar.
The point with digital amplifiers is, as long as you don't understand the basics on how these 'babys' are working, any repair might be a p.i.t.a. for you. Besides - Tripath, the manufacturer of the so called class-T amplifiers is dead, for a few years now, and Cirrus, who bought Tripath for a few peanuts (something about 3 Mio. US-Dollars I believe) didn't put the Tripath chips back on production. These chips, unfortunately, have no future any more.

Since you're located in Australia, have you ever looked at Amplifier Kits - Audio Amplifier Modules - MOSFET Amps ??? This would be the first address for you in case you're starting with amplifier kits and you wanna have fun with soldering.

All my best wishes

Raymond