Hello all, I just got my first T-Amp and Im kind of disappointed with the sound quality. I bought two to try out from parts express, the Topping TP20 and the Dta 100a.
My set up is a discrete soundcard to Tamp to a pair of paradigm atom bookshelf monitors. The Topping's 25wpc doesn't sound like it has enough current to drive these little speaker's woofers that well. I think they have an 89db sensitivity so I thought 25 watts would be sufficient. I have to turn the volume pot to the 2 oclock position to get a reasonable sound.
The dta 100a drove the speakers much better, but I still feel like the amp is not moving much air out of the reflex ports compared to a small A/B amp. The DTA amp came to the house with something rattling in the case and the hex scews on the face place were stripped :/ ... beside the point i guess, but another disappointment to all of the rave reviews.
The sound is indeed very clear which I prefer to a lot of warmth but it just seems too thin to me, lacking definition in the mids and kick in the upper lows. I saw another forum member was using a TP21 with a tube preamp and getting good results. But I feel like I am not getting the results I should be getting.
Any suggestions?
My set up is a discrete soundcard to Tamp to a pair of paradigm atom bookshelf monitors. The Topping's 25wpc doesn't sound like it has enough current to drive these little speaker's woofers that well. I think they have an 89db sensitivity so I thought 25 watts would be sufficient. I have to turn the volume pot to the 2 oclock position to get a reasonable sound.
The dta 100a drove the speakers much better, but I still feel like the amp is not moving much air out of the reflex ports compared to a small A/B amp. The DTA amp came to the house with something rattling in the case and the hex scews on the face place were stripped :/ ... beside the point i guess, but another disappointment to all of the rave reviews.
The sound is indeed very clear which I prefer to a lot of warmth but it just seems too thin to me, lacking definition in the mids and kick in the upper lows. I saw another forum member was using a TP21 with a tube preamp and getting good results. But I feel like I am not getting the results I should be getting.
Any suggestions?
First of all, these small tripath manufacturers tend to use 10% THD+n at 4 ohm load. The 25 WPC is more like 15 real WPC in 4 ohm and even less i 8 ohm (maybe 10 WPC)
Right. Distortion in the other problem but even with the dayton t. Some howhere is distortion in the base frequencies. I think that one starts to distort at 30wpc so maybe the peaks are going past this. At any rate I just dont get all the excitement. Maybe I should try the tipping t60 or just go back to solid state. But I read that a lot of folks find these little guys to be more than enough for reasonable listening levels which is what I do. Im also speculating that the input voltage might be an issue.
I have Arjen Helder 2024 based amp. It's only semi-finished, but requires only minor skills to get to work.
It's fine for small Behringer speakers with 5" woofers. I also have a 4 channel T.I. based amp (miniamp from MiniDSP) with 10 wpc in 8 ohms on larger speaker, and it's ok but not loud at all.
It's fine for small Behringer speakers with 5" woofers. I also have a 4 channel T.I. based amp (miniamp from MiniDSP) with 10 wpc in 8 ohms on larger speaker, and it's ok but not loud at all.
take a look here. It's some amps with decent power
CLASS D AMP - Wholesale products with online transaction
CLASS D AMP - Wholesale products with online transaction
I have been happily using a KingRex T20U (with their PSU) for over a year now and wished I'd had this fabulous amp for the last thirty years of my listening life.
I do use a pair of Tekton Design 4.5en's, with the Fostex FE126En drivers. I wouldn't mind having an extra octave of bottom end but the clarity and acuity of this wonderful speaker more than compensates for it.
I do use a pair of Tekton Design 4.5en's, with the Fostex FE126En drivers. I wouldn't mind having an extra octave of bottom end but the clarity and acuity of this wonderful speaker more than compensates for it.
Add a subwoofer; it's not reasonable to expect real bass from tiny bookshelf speakers. Or use larger more efficient speakers.
I'm sure seawalker would be happier with a sub in his setup.
For myself, I have yet to hear a sub that doesn't sound thumpy and artifcial to my ears. The Tekton's do a fine job of giving me the illusion that all these musicians are in between my speakers!
For myself, I have yet to hear a sub that doesn't sound thumpy and artifcial to my ears. The Tekton's do a fine job of giving me the illusion that all these musicians are in between my speakers!
Topping TP20
IMO, it is primarily synergy with the speakers which decide the SQ when playing around with Tripath amps. I have been a very happy user of a Topping Tp 20 for the last 2 years, and the efforts which I had taken to audition the amp (pretty easy, due to dimensions & weight) has paid handsome dividends.
First thing first .... the speaker selected necessarily has to be of 8 ohms impedance and near-abouts 90 dB sensitivity. I kind of, did audition 20 pairs of speakers over a period of 1 month before selecting the miniscule, virtually unknown JBL Control Ones.
Yes, placement of the JBLs was another thing to be taken care of. Initially, tried it wall-mounted ... fair result. Then, bookshelf mode at almost ear-level ... better. The moment I set up the speakers on top of a tall cabinet, say, 8.5' again on the bookshelf mode, but slightly pointing downwards by placing small rubber pads on the rear of each .... it was BLISS. Superb midrange, fantastic highs and reasonable bass! It now plays the entire plethora of music in my stables ... Western/Indian classical (Vocals/Instrumentals), Rock, Pop ... name it! Also goes up to sufficient volume levels (thats relative ... here, just to the level beyond which my neighbours could bang on my door to reduce) in a 270 sq ft living area ... without any distortions.
This Topping-JBL combination comes pretty close to my main rig, comprising of a Krell kav400xi and FS Linear Transmission Line 2-way speakers.
IMO, it is primarily synergy with the speakers which decide the SQ when playing around with Tripath amps. I have been a very happy user of a Topping Tp 20 for the last 2 years, and the efforts which I had taken to audition the amp (pretty easy, due to dimensions & weight) has paid handsome dividends.
First thing first .... the speaker selected necessarily has to be of 8 ohms impedance and near-abouts 90 dB sensitivity. I kind of, did audition 20 pairs of speakers over a period of 1 month before selecting the miniscule, virtually unknown JBL Control Ones.
Yes, placement of the JBLs was another thing to be taken care of. Initially, tried it wall-mounted ... fair result. Then, bookshelf mode at almost ear-level ... better. The moment I set up the speakers on top of a tall cabinet, say, 8.5' again on the bookshelf mode, but slightly pointing downwards by placing small rubber pads on the rear of each .... it was BLISS. Superb midrange, fantastic highs and reasonable bass! It now plays the entire plethora of music in my stables ... Western/Indian classical (Vocals/Instrumentals), Rock, Pop ... name it! Also goes up to sufficient volume levels (thats relative ... here, just to the level beyond which my neighbours could bang on my door to reduce) in a 270 sq ft living area ... without any distortions.
This Topping-JBL combination comes pretty close to my main rig, comprising of a Krell kav400xi and FS Linear Transmission Line 2-way speakers.
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