Charlize, my thoughts

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#422
Super T vs Charlize

Woodmancy,

I would be interested in a more detailed comparison of the two if you could. I have heard the Charlize is the best of the 20w chip Amps, but I have also heard the Super T is much better than the $39 T-Amp. I have a couple of T-Amps, and if the DIY site comes back up I will ordera Charlize. I am also thinking about a Super T.

Thanks in advance,

Tripath07
 
#423
Tripath07

Both my Super –T and Charlize are totally unmodified other than the Charlize has the air core inductor option. The Charlize is mounted in a box from amt of this site with a 50K pot. I use the switched power supply that came with the Super-T. My speakers are Wharfedale 9 – not efficient, but I can get decent volume in a smallish room.
My favorite test track is the Modern Jazz Quartet “The Cylinder”. It has all the things I like, bass, piano, bells, rims, vibes, cymbals – lots of stuff going on and a good test of soundstage and imaging.
Both these amps are very good but I like the Super-T better in virtually all areas. It has more bass, and cleaner highs. The sound stage is wider. Instruments are more defined. The Charlize is softer—there is less edge to it. The difference is marked on the high frequency stuff.
I don't like the initial thud when you turn on the Charlize, even though I have the mod in place that is supposed to stop it. The Super-T is completely quiet on start up.
My impressions are much in line with amt’s thoughts on Charlize, here:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=83639
In fact, his comparisons between the Ref-T over the Charlize are just about my view of the Sonic-T over the Charlize.
I wonder why the Super-T gets overlooked on the site in terms of detailed modding? I guess because of its cost—but it comes complete in a nice box with good controls, ready to go. By the time that Charlize has been put in a box, it’s likely that you will be over the price of the Super-T.
Panomaniac has some suggestions for improvement on his site, but, unfortunately I need the same amount of detail that has been put out for the original Sonic-T. I hope he finds time to do them.

woodmancy
 
#425
woodmancy said:
I wonder why the Super-T gets overlooked on the site in terms of detailed modding? I guess because of its cost—but it comes complete in a nice box with good controls, ready to go. By the time that Charlize has been put in a box, it’s likely that you will be over the price of the Super-T.
Click to expand...


Prolly cuz this is a DIY site and the Super T is an "outta-da-box" amp with a somewhat high price tag, though as you've already pointed out, its cheaper than most projects.

The Super T lacks some of the gee-whiz factor that the regular Sonic T has because of the price, and of course this being a DIY site, amps that need extensive tweaks and assembly prolly should get more ink.

But as an owner of the Super T, I appreciate posts like this one as it will save me a lot of time and money. Well...mostly time.

FWIW: I'm enjoying the daylights out of my Super T.
 
#426
starn02 said:
A suggestion to all people listening to this discussion thread ....

The 2020 is a very good chip, but it definitely limited by the supply voltage (no more than 13-14V) and the energy stored in the supply caps (which is proportional to the voltage itself).
Instead of embarking in extremely complex (and costrly) mods of a
2020 board, you should definitely consider going to a similar chip with more watts and more voltage: Tripath TAA4100A .

After owning the original T-Amp and a 2020 board, I finally switched to this one: http://www.audiodigit.com/index.php?section=80.

The chip uses the same Tripath technology, the sound is similar, but is powered at 27V ... and it is really on a different level. You will get more power (and with most speakers it's really welcome) and most of all more agility in music reproduction ... I don't know exactly how to tell it, but it's really like removing a sort of "weight" to the amp: it does the same things but with much more easyness ...

I know there's a price difference, but are you really sure that all that caps and mods cost much less?
And you have also the option of multichannel sound ... see here : http://www.audiodigit.com/index.php?section=76

And if you want ... you can also modify or improve the 100w boards !
😉 I actually added an external 10000 uF cap to the supply (there are two pins on the board just for that) and I got one of the best bass performance I ever listened to.
Click to expand...

What type of supply you use?
I've read on audio digit site, that it's possible to supply with 18 v AC or 27 V DC.
 
#427
Nuuk

I do believe it is a 50K pot in there - although I am not about to disassemble to find out - I love amt's boxes, but getting a Charlize in the one designed for the Amp3 is tricky (amt advises against it). Maybe amt could comment? If anyone wants a picture, let me know.
I tried to get the same sound levels when I compared - is that enough - or is there an intrinsic sound deterioration when using the wrong pot?

woodmancy
 
#428
I tried to get the same sound levels when I compared - is that enough - or is there an intrinsic sound deterioration when using the wrong pot?
Click to expand...

It's a matter of impedance matching and I have found that to be quite important when getting the best out of amplifiers like Charlize.

Ideally, a 10K pot is best. Of course if you use something like the Monica2 DAC, that works best into at least 20K. Then, the only solution is an active pre-amp or buffer between the pot and Charlize.

BTW, I had no trouble getting Charlize in a case together with her automated 'quiet-start' circuit! That's her, top right, next to Brigitte and Monica with their SMPS below. 😉

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
 
#430
Super T vs Charlize

woodmancy,

Thanks for the quality review! I have two T-Amps, and the only thing I have done is experiment with the power supplies. I use a 7AH 12V battery, about half of the time and a SMPS (laptop style) the rest. I still have one more SMPS to buy yet, it's a 3.5 amp, I'll post my review of it when I get it.

The power supply is a key factor in sound quality!

Since the DIY site is down, and I am ready to buy I think I will get a Super T Amp. Although I probably will get a Charlize later. I like all of the points you made in favor of the Super T.

Thanks again very much!

Tripath07
 
#435
hi guys!

whom to name after? well, shoot me some suggestions!

actually have 2 new products. but only one is at the prototype stage. the other is still at layout stage.

i got so many mails asking what are the new products. please be patient, SHE will be unveiled soon! 😉

diyparadise
ps: i could also be reached via yahoo messenger. id is tampinyeo. pls identify yourself. thx!
 
#436
ok, ive changed my mind. I took the grills of my speakers and moved my speakers around a bit and it seemed to help.

The incredible thing is how real the voices sound. I think I was used to the harsh thill a minute SS marantz and sonic t-amp. Im plugged them back in earlier and I realised I was coming at it from the wrong angle.

I might try and swap the input caps to see how that changes the sound.

Would it be a bad idea to remove the 10000uf from the charlize if I have a 10000uf cap at the output of my SMPS? Would it make any difference to sound?
 
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