Hi guys im new to tri path amps just bought myself the above amp and I am blown away at the sound it produces I have a Marantz pm6004 and a denon pma 520ae and believe me when I say this little amp blows them away for sound quality so detailed natural and can hit low notes easy with punch and detail that the other amps don't quite give me.my question is the amp came without a power supply I hooked it up to a spare 12v 5a supply I had lying around.now the dc input says 14v so could I get a 14v 5a supply to give it a little more oomph ?
My experience is that there was relatively little difference between a 12v and 14v power supply, but there is a BIG difference if you go to a 12v battery (marine/deep cycle battery, which does not suffer when deeply discharged).
Battery power brings the 2020, 2021, and 2024 to another level. The sound is more relaxed, while the bass is deeper. Very nice! I am running an 18ah battery, so it has plenty of juice and lasts for days and days before I have to recharge it.
Battery power brings the 2020, 2021, and 2024 to another level. The sound is more relaxed, while the bass is deeper. Very nice! I am running an 18ah battery, so it has plenty of juice and lasts for days and days before I have to recharge it.
Thanks for the reply I will give a battery a try and if you say its even better sound then I will be in heaven these things are insane for the money 🙂
next up will be mods but will open it up and see whats in there first because I think it has some decent components already the info says it has 9000uf filter capacitor but with what ive read on the forum they can come with a mish mash of components heres a pic of the so called inside of mine any thoughts on mods ?
next up will be mods but will open it up and see whats in there first because I think it has some decent components already the info says it has 9000uf filter capacitor but with what ive read on the forum they can come with a mish mash of components heres a pic of the so called inside of mine any thoughts on mods ?
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
I have test my SMSL TA2021B with the following psu's.
A) 12V battery (14V when fully charged).
B) 12V smps with the addition of a 10.000uf Rubycon cap (stiffener cap).
C) original 12V smps that comes with the amp.
D) KingRex 13,5V linear psu.
The best option was A (detailed, without grain, good bass extension and definition).
Surprisingly option B was very very close to A but with just a little more grain.
Option C was ok and D was the worst (muddy).
A) 12V battery (14V when fully charged).
B) 12V smps with the addition of a 10.000uf Rubycon cap (stiffener cap).
C) original 12V smps that comes with the amp.
D) KingRex 13,5V linear psu.
The best option was A (detailed, without grain, good bass extension and definition).
Surprisingly option B was very very close to A but with just a little more grain.
Option C was ok and D was the worst (muddy).
I can get a power sonic 12v 21ah deep cycle battery quite cheap here in the uk would that suffice and how long would it last as I play my music most days about 6 hours a day
The point is that a smps with an additional bank of caps (stiffener caps) is so close to the battery that it doesn't worth to get into the trouble to use batteries and chargers.
My battery is 1,6mAH, it lasts approx 5-6 hours of playing time.
My battery is 1,6mAH, it lasts approx 5-6 hours of playing time.
hi again I have just realised my supply has changeable output voltages 5,6,7.5,9,12 at 5 amp and 13.5,15 at 4 amp ive had it running at 15v 4amp for a few hours with no heat from the amp case or any other issues sound is still superb and actually can go a bit louder before distorting than it did with 12v 5amp. has anyone tried a 16v 5amp supply as im sure the amp can handle it easy.
sorry for my noob questions just trying to get as much info as possible what is the maximum output current(amp)do I have to stick to 5amp for safety or can I get higher ampage power supply
As long as your psu can easily provide 5amps you will be fine.
Even if your psu can provide 10 amps, your amp will still pull only 5amps max, so you don't have any benefits from a bigger psu.
Even if your psu can provide 10 amps, your amp will still pull only 5amps max, so you don't have any benefits from a bigger psu.
If you really want to take the best out of this amp, i suggest you the following upgrades.
A) Replace input caps (2.2uf) with good quality MKP caps (Jansen, Mundorf etc) you will have to transplant the amp to a bigger case, since MKP caps wont fit otherwise.
B) Replace psu caps with low esr caps (Panasonic FC, Nichicon, Rubycon, etc).
C) Bypass or replace the volume pot with one of a better quality.
D) Optimize output stage according to your speaker impedance.
A) Replace input caps (2.2uf) with good quality MKP caps (Jansen, Mundorf etc) you will have to transplant the amp to a bigger case, since MKP caps wont fit otherwise.
B) Replace psu caps with low esr caps (Panasonic FC, Nichicon, Rubycon, etc).
C) Bypass or replace the volume pot with one of a better quality.
D) Optimize output stage according to your speaker impedance.
thank you zakman35 for your time to reply to my questions I am starting to understand this little amp a lot more now I have realised the limits of the psu I can start to think about mods(time to get the soldering iron out of retirement) 🙂
Hi
Anyone can tell me what happened? I've opened my smsl and Look what I've found.
AMP seems working fine, though...
Thanks.
IMG 20180907 144442 — imgbb.com
Anyone can tell me what happened? I've opened my smsl and Look what I've found.
AMP seems working fine, though...
Thanks.
IMG 20180907 144442 — imgbb.com
