Trends Audio TA-10: Modding Potential?

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#761
Yeah, Thanks!

I think thats enough info to do what I want to do. I think the input and power caps are going to be residing outside of the chassis. I might also move the RCAs and binding posts to another enclosure, and I guess I could go the RWA route and put the battery in the chassis with a charger/relay on the power switch...

Dave
 
#764
dweekie said:
You may be able to figure things out using page 7 of the evaluation board datasheet.

http://www.tripath.com/downloads/EB-TA2024.pdf
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link. So you do have to have those in somewhere even if you are going directly from the RCA's to J2. I guess you'd also be skipping the ferrite bead which I'm guessing is for EMI/RFI protection. I want to do something similar but don't want to skip something that's necessary.
 
#765
recca said:


Thanks for the link. So you do have to have those in somewhere even if you are going directly from the RCA's to J2. I guess you'd also be skipping the ferrite bead which I'm guessing is for EMI/RFI protection. I want to do something similar but don't want to skip something that's necessary.
Click to expand...

I think in the Mardis mods the input lines go directly from the RCA/s to the J2 or the pot.
 
#769
I'm about to order a pair of these amps to use to Bi-amp my fullrangers (95dB) and supertweeters (98dB).

Each TA10 will have connectors removed, volume pot removed and inductors screened then housed in a void in my speaker cabinets with it's own power supply.

Instead of using lead acid batteries I'd like to try feeding a car audio 1 Farad capacitor with a linear regulated power supply. Probably a 7812 with the ground reference pin jacked up with a couple of diodes to 13.4V. I'll make a basic soft start with an RC timer and a relay bypassing a resistor. SLA batteries only last a couple of years, sometimes split and leak and can produce hydrogen. The huge capacitors seem more reliable and safe to me.

I've never used these 1 farad caps before, they are surprisingly cheap so I expect he ESR might be rather high but that can be overcome by bypassing them with a good quality low ESR 1000uF

Before I go and buy a pair of ridiculous capacitors has anyone tried this and had troubles? Can you see something glaringly wrong with the concept?

Edit: I will be feeding each TA10 with a line level crossover board from Elliot sound products set to about 8-10kHz. One mono crossover feeding one amp (1 channel High and the other channel to the fullrange) inside each speaker cabinet.
 
#770
Hi OzmikeH,
Just wondering why you don't just change the input caps on the two amps to make them roll off the unwanted frequencies?
I have a very similar setup to you, a pair of 207 MLTL's with (soon to be) T90A tweets.
My new set up will be a TA2024 amp for each speaker but the HF side on each will have a very small value cap on the inputs.
 
#771
That's a great idea Lostcause.
My initial answer: Because I didn't realise until you told me..
Why didn't I think of that, it's obvious really.

Now that I've thought about it for a few minutes:
It might be better to roll off the highs from the FE207 so both drivers aren't radiating the same frequencies and causing lobing or suckouts. That is assuming the crossover doesn't cost more performance in other ways more than the gain from rolling off the high end. (and it will be fun building the boards and the cabinet)

The filters will be 24dB/octave.
I have FE207E and FT17H.

I've been looking at these 1 farad caps, the ESR looks pretty good, better than a lot of lead acid batteries. A supply that can survive the huge inrush and be quiet in idle state will be the hardest part.
 
#772
OzMikeH said:
It might be better to roll off the highs from the FE207 so both drivers aren't radiating the same frequencies and causing lobing or suckouts.
Click to expand...

I agree, I was going to put a cap in there just before the chip to work with the input resistor, not worked out the value yet ........

Might still get the FT17H as well..... those T90A's are going to break the bank at the moment......
 
#773
dweekie said:
I'm pretty sure it's the 100pf caps next to where the original input wires attach to the board. I took mine out. I feel like it sounds better without them. No ill effects that I can notice.
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Yep, I meant the 100pf's. Mike I thought you said they were important to keep RF in as well as out of the Trends? If they aren't necessary then great I'll just wire them up directly to the RCA's.
 
#774
recca said:
I thought you said they were important to keep RF in as well as out of the Trends?
Click to expand...

Yes, that's what they are there for - to keep RF in and out. It's going to be system dependent as to whether it makes a difference or not. There will always be RF leaking out of the amp inputs, but it may not bother what you have up stream. Or it might.

Keeping RF out of the amp is going to depend on your situation and locality. You just never know.
 
#775
panomaniac said:


Yes, that's what they are there for - to keep RF in and out. It's going to be system dependent as to whether it makes a difference or not. There will always be RF leaking out of the amp inputs, but it may not bother what you have up stream. Or it might.

Keeping RF out of the amp is going to depend on your situation and locality. You just never know.
Click to expand...


Mike

Thanks for the reply. I wasn't trying to stir up anything, just trying to understand the signal flow a little better. There appears to be many considerations that good designers acknowledge prior to putting something into production. Wannabe hacks like me have to lean on you all as much as possible. I appreciate all of the input you've put in on this forum.

David
 
#776
recca said:
Wannabe hacks like me have to lean on you all as much as possible.
Click to expand...

LOL. 😀 There is a lot going on when you design anything. What I do in my own equipment and what I do for someone else are not the same.

I know what I have in the system and how to use it. If a designer is sending an amp out into the big wide world, he wants to make it as bullet proof as possible. You just never know how it's going to be used and under what conditions.

So, there are a lot of things added to products just "to be sure" and of course in today's world "to be safe." That's not a bad thing. It means that you get a product that will almost certainly work well for you, and not burn your house down. Nothing wrong with that.

But it you are doing it yourself, you can take a lot more liberties. You know how and with what it will be used, so you can design and adapt accordingly.

Why do you think we have cars with heaters, cruise control and multi-grade oil here in Hawaii? They sure weren't designed for us!

So by all means, design and adapt to your needs. Just be aware of what each part does, so that you can make a smart choice.
 
#777
I'm a wannabe hack myself 😀. Michael has definitely been very helpful. I learned a lot over the past few months. One thing I took into consideration was the output filter of the device just prior to the Trends. It kind of goes together with the input section of the Trends. You may find some redundant items between the two, from which you can decide what components are absolutely necessary and what can be relatively safe to remove.

I'm currently going on an up and down cycle with this amp. I'm finding some of the best regarded components sound horrible together. I'll update once I get something sounding good. It's all about balance......
 
#778
Lostcause said:


I agree, I was going to put a cap in there just before the chip to work with the input resistor, not worked out the value yet ........

Might still get the FT17H as well..... those T90A's are going to break the bank at the moment......
Click to expand...

The only thing I don't like about the FT17H is the appearance. The cost😛erformance ratio is incredible. They sound great - I'm currently using them with series 8 ohms and 0.57uF.
My next cabinets will address the appearance issue by mounting them on a spacer ring from behind the baffle, then shaping the baffle to smoothly integrate the horn flare.

Going to start ordering parts today. I will document the amp & XO build in a new thread. As said above, when put together as an integrated unit the design can be optimised. The XO and amps will be built as an integrated unit.
 
#779
Soncaps?

Has anybody tried Sonicaps or better yet Sonicaps bypassed with Sonicap Platinums for the input caps? If you did, what values did you use? And, of course, a review please. 😀

BTW, I have four Obbligato 2.0uf PIO for sale.....cheap.😉
 
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