Is TRIPATH Class "T" Performance Outdated - Or Not?
Way back in the dark ages, I bought one of those cheap-azz Sonic Impact, battery-powered Tripath 2024 amps at the dare of a friend. He told me get ready to be humbled. WELL! I was pretty blown away from the unexpected, good sound that it produced. And I'm a guy that listens to some rather fine, single-ended tube amplifiers.
I purchased three very high-quality, Tripath kits from the now-defunct company "41 Hz" in Sweden: a 20 watt per channel, a 100 w/pc and a 4-channel amp for HT use. I built the 20 watt (TA2020 chip) amp about 12 years ago, and am still reasonably impressed with it's natural, very single-ended "tube-like" quality. The Tripath patents specifically addressed sound quality, in particular the clipping characteristics - to make their chips sound like typical "Class A" circuitry. Have you read their patents? Pretty brilliant, actually...
Fast forward to now. Of course, Tripath is sadly out of business and very few of their chips or amp boards are left in the marketplace. But I've still got two more 41Hz, Tripath amp kits left to build, and a bunch of spare Tripath chips in case I lose one to a failure.
Curious, I came on here to see what the latest and greatest in Class D technology is. Of course, nobody discusses Tripath anymore because the product is basically unavailable. I do see the primary hot tickets are Hypex modules (relatively expensive, I think) and the TPA3116D2 and its many variants. My personal experience with them is zero. Never heard one.
My question regards a few posts that have trashed the Tripath sonic performance as being vastly inferior to the latest and greatest Class D. Knowing human nature, I always wonder if this is just confirmation bias at work, and whether or not the Tripath bashers have actually owned a well-executed example of the Tripath technology? Other people simply parrot what others have said. So...is the Tripath now a truly outdated technology, with relatively inferior performance?
Before I delve into building yet even more possibly "outdated" Tripath amplifiers - is there anybody out there who owns a Tripath, plus one or both of the other technologies (Hypex or TPA3116) - and is willing to offer up an honest, unbiased description of the relative differences in sound quality?
My own suspicions lead me to believe that any possible improvements in the later Class D technologies will be subtle at best. When I have compared the little Tripath 2020 amp to numerous very high quality, "audiophile approved" amplifiers...it always held it's head up. It might sound different, yes...but vastly inferior? No way.
Can I please get some opinions based on actual listening experience?
Many thanks!
Way back in the dark ages, I bought one of those cheap-azz Sonic Impact, battery-powered Tripath 2024 amps at the dare of a friend. He told me get ready to be humbled. WELL! I was pretty blown away from the unexpected, good sound that it produced. And I'm a guy that listens to some rather fine, single-ended tube amplifiers.
I purchased three very high-quality, Tripath kits from the now-defunct company "41 Hz" in Sweden: a 20 watt per channel, a 100 w/pc and a 4-channel amp for HT use. I built the 20 watt (TA2020 chip) amp about 12 years ago, and am still reasonably impressed with it's natural, very single-ended "tube-like" quality. The Tripath patents specifically addressed sound quality, in particular the clipping characteristics - to make their chips sound like typical "Class A" circuitry. Have you read their patents? Pretty brilliant, actually...
Fast forward to now. Of course, Tripath is sadly out of business and very few of their chips or amp boards are left in the marketplace. But I've still got two more 41Hz, Tripath amp kits left to build, and a bunch of spare Tripath chips in case I lose one to a failure.
Curious, I came on here to see what the latest and greatest in Class D technology is. Of course, nobody discusses Tripath anymore because the product is basically unavailable. I do see the primary hot tickets are Hypex modules (relatively expensive, I think) and the TPA3116D2 and its many variants. My personal experience with them is zero. Never heard one.
My question regards a few posts that have trashed the Tripath sonic performance as being vastly inferior to the latest and greatest Class D. Knowing human nature, I always wonder if this is just confirmation bias at work, and whether or not the Tripath bashers have actually owned a well-executed example of the Tripath technology? Other people simply parrot what others have said. So...is the Tripath now a truly outdated technology, with relatively inferior performance?
Before I delve into building yet even more possibly "outdated" Tripath amplifiers - is there anybody out there who owns a Tripath, plus one or both of the other technologies (Hypex or TPA3116) - and is willing to offer up an honest, unbiased description of the relative differences in sound quality?
My own suspicions lead me to believe that any possible improvements in the later Class D technologies will be subtle at best. When I have compared the little Tripath 2020 amp to numerous very high quality, "audiophile approved" amplifiers...it always held it's head up. It might sound different, yes...but vastly inferior? No way.
Can I please get some opinions based on actual listening experience?
Many thanks!
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