I am about to dive into my first attempt at a DIY amp. I am down to pretty much the Opti-Mos from Seal Elec., but I recently happened upon the Tripath amps from Tripath. Does anyone have any opinions of the Tripath amps and if they are worth my time or are they a gimmic or what? Just wondering cause I am going to be making my purchase soon. Thanks for the help!!!
A friend of mine has tried one of the more powerfull ones, primarely for PA, and have found them very powerfull and capable of handeling BIG woofers (15 inch+).
You don't write anything about what kind of application You intend to use it for, nor do You write wich model You are thinking of, but if it's for subwofers, concider one of the big models.
You don't write anything about what kind of application You intend to use it for, nor do You write wich model You are thinking of, but if it's for subwofers, concider one of the big models.
Well, I am going to be using the amps for about 50% HT and 50% music, for now these will be in an apt. if that matters at all.They will be used on my fronts, center and surround speakers. The fronts and center will consist of ribbon tweeter, 6.5/ and 2 8" with a sensitivity of 94 db and a imp. of 6 ohms. The tripath amps will be the 0103A. What are the downfalls of tripath amps and are there any sonic differences to it? Thanks for the help!!
Depends on what you are using it for
However, there is a fundamental problem with the Tripath approach. You basically add an extra layer of analog to digital back to analog. If you are using analog input, this is a necessity for going class d, but if your source is digital ....
What others are doing is much more sensible (and difficult) and that is to generate the analog power output signal directly from the digital source. Tripath has since soon after their inception claimed they will produce such a circuit. Sadly, they have failed to deliver on this promise and are probably more interested in communication equipment than audio amplifiers.
Presently, nobody seems to be able to touch what TI are doing. Watch out for others such as Apogee, Cirrus, Linfinity, Maxim, Harris (now Microsemi or Intersil?) etc. The two first players are also involved in a pure digital solution, the others probably not. I would also expect Analog Devices to get into the game at some point.
Also, if your requirements are high efficiency, you may be more inclined to look to a digital solution. Tripath is one of the few that offers high power versions "out of the box".
Petter
However, there is a fundamental problem with the Tripath approach. You basically add an extra layer of analog to digital back to analog. If you are using analog input, this is a necessity for going class d, but if your source is digital ....
What others are doing is much more sensible (and difficult) and that is to generate the analog power output signal directly from the digital source. Tripath has since soon after their inception claimed they will produce such a circuit. Sadly, they have failed to deliver on this promise and are probably more interested in communication equipment than audio amplifiers.
Presently, nobody seems to be able to touch what TI are doing. Watch out for others such as Apogee, Cirrus, Linfinity, Maxim, Harris (now Microsemi or Intersil?) etc. The two first players are also involved in a pure digital solution, the others probably not. I would also expect Analog Devices to get into the game at some point.
Also, if your requirements are high efficiency, you may be more inclined to look to a digital solution. Tripath is one of the few that offers high power versions "out of the box".
Petter
I am planning on just connecting it to my receiver via interconnects. So the TI path would be best to wait on? Does the Opti-mos sound like a good beginning kit? Also, today I was talking to a rather knowledgable guy about building an amp and he told me that building one for music is ok, but one for HT is a bit diff because of something to do with the specs for DD and the such. Was he full of it (like I think he may have been) or not? Also, any opinions on the Opti-mos amp? Thanks for the help!!!
That's the deal, I don't "have" to go with a digital amp. I don't know if there are any significant improvement that would warrant going with the tripath over the Opti-Mos. Is there any reason to go with one over the other? How are these for a first time amp to build? Any and all opinions on these amps are welcome and appreciated! Thanks for the help!!!
re tripath
It can't be that bad. The fact that belcanto uses this chips in the evo series amps( with rave reviews I might add) is significant for me. Especially because this is a company with a rich history of good tube/analog sound. The sell the chips on the high end for 38 a pice or you can buy the developers kit ( basically a built amp board sans power supply) for 300 USD for the top of the line one. I plan on building one as soon as I can find a kit or get some good board designs done. Hope this is helpful
It can't be that bad. The fact that belcanto uses this chips in the evo series amps( with rave reviews I might add) is significant for me. Especially because this is a company with a rich history of good tube/analog sound. The sell the chips on the high end for 38 a pice or you can buy the developers kit ( basically a built amp board sans power supply) for 300 USD for the top of the line one. I plan on building one as soon as I can find a kit or get some good board designs done. Hope this is helpful
tripath boards
hi.
we have the boards and the chips available (not much idea in making one board i think).
let me know if you need a board and / or more info.
bye k madsen - http://www.cadaudio.dk
hi.
we have the boards and the chips available (not much idea in making one board i think).
let me know if you need a board and / or more info.
bye k madsen - http://www.cadaudio.dk
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