Upgrading \ Changing Toroidal transformer

[alou]

Hello,
I have a pair of assembled monoblock Tripath 2022 based amplifiers (150watt x2 4ohm,90watt at 8ohm) that play amazingly good with my old rebuilt IMF studio monitors and Canbridge Audio TL100 speakers ,also rebuilt recaped etc.


I was just wondering if i replace the Chinese made toroid transformers inside (see pic) with a better brand/make would it improve anything ?Or just leave them as is?

Any suggestions ?


toroid.jpg

 

[amplidude]

Dont expect much improvement, unless you're experiencing noise from it, maybe a belly band then.
If there's space a higher wattage might improve headroom, but a little.

 

[amplidude]

Better to improve charging caps, and input dc caps, most Chinese amps use cheap parts.

 

[FauxFrench]

I wouldn't bother changing the toroidal transformer. Old transformers are generally as good as new. Almost all over the world they are capable of making correct transformers, certainly the Chinese who are probably the biggest producer today.

If you want to do something, rather concentrate on the quality and amount of supply rail decoupling capacitance such as suggested by amplidude.

I have a very simple TA2022 amplifier. It sounds amazingly good even though the design is 15 years old. A pity Tripath did not continue.

 

[amplidude]

Yes a shame, had the ta3020 sounded amazing, all chips now are fakes.

 

[alou]

This the poppulse t150 i got 2 of them in 2015 with little expectations from audiophonics in France since the cost was less then to make something diy and was suprised with the sound!
Sounded better them my mark levinson monoblocks! And the matching with transmission line speakers was superb.
The only thing is hiss a hear from the tweeter at 15cm distance (up close that is) when no music is playing but after reading hundreads of pages in books and forums this is the SN noise floor and can be found in many amps even from top makers!

The capacitors are Elna Made for Alpine and seem genuine ,they have all the proper gen marking on the side if you look close.
I want to keep these for my second system and i am also afraid if the chips die on me where to get replacements.


Anyway here is the link of the original make any upgrade suggestions that will make a difference are welcome ,otherwise i will just leave as is .Sound is allready great!

Also the add mentioned LM LM-4562 opamps but after taking the board out an inspecting i couldn't find any.



POPPULSE T150 CE 2015 Amplifier Class T TRIPATH TA2022 2x60W / 8 Ohm - Audiophonics

 

[FauxFrench]

I have a TA3020 IC to be implemented when I have time. Not from before the bankruptcy of Tripath. On the "fake" issue I tried to investigate a little. Because Tripath went bankrupt and Cirrus Logic did not want to continue a production, it seems that a competent production was continued in Korea. It was not like the usual situation where an Asian wafer house makes a kind of a copy and sells it illegally in competition with the genuine product. These Tripath designs had no longer an owner that cared and a wafer house that had produced for Tripath before 2007 and had the design information could continue a production without fear of legal retaliation.
I read somewhere that Tripath had some issues with instability in some of their designs that could have been one of the reasons for their bankruptcy.
Anyway, an amazing leap forward for a good decade and a name to remember.

 

[alou]

The chip on the board is Tripath Korea!! I once read at another forum that who cares if these are not the US made ones if they sound so good!
This is what i am looking at to get a spare Tripath Korea chips but i read that these also had built generations .


Its a shame though sound is so good and detailed !! Probably the TA3020 plays way better but i have not heard or seen a ready made built from any maker with that cheap
only diy builts and not so well made.

 

[FauxFrench]

My TA2022 has considerable hiss with supply voltages above +/-30V. Below, it is no bother.

Seems like a nice amplifier. Single chip as far as I can see. Best with 8 Ohm speakers. The output power FETs in those days were not as low impedance as TI can do it today. An advantage compared to TI today - the TA2022 was designed to be put on a real heatsink.

 

[alou]

Yes its single chip on a heatsink and they are both bridged to MONO which gets around 90 watts per channel .Also have XLR inputs ,active only when switched to mono.
So my though was if an improvement is worth it but like my father used to say sometimes when searching for the perfect you destroy the best!
Maybe the original design is allready good.

 

[FauxFrench]

I guess that for three decades, Asian wafer houses have produced more semiconductors than in the West. Japan evidently, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, China - most brands produced there. Western designs, Eastern production.

NB: I would not touch the amplifier board you have right now. If you really want to experiment, you can still get simple TA2022 DIY amplifier boards for modification. Only when you are absolutely certain of the result, I would see if that improvement could be fitted in.

 

[alou]

Yes i agree thats why in these days we have the good Asian makers vs the cheap ones because almost 80% is made there.
Eventhough Japan is in Asia of course i woudnt add it to the rest ,they make products from th 50's.Even them they now make their cheap stuff in the rest of Asia and have no difference from entry level Chinese products only better quality control.

 

[FauxFrench]

Japan is somewhat different from the rest in that they started before the other and now make a large part of the designs.
The reason why I mentioned the other countries was that for 30 years it has been difficult to find an IC with (made in) USA or EU written on it. Most of what I have seen on western brand names was one of the Asian countries. Thus, their semiconductor production standards are up to level, for a start probably with production equipment of western or US origin.
Today, in particular China is also presenting designs that seem up to the best standards but then they are no longer inexpensive.

 

[alou]

Totally agree.

 

[kodabmx]

The shape of things to come:
Anyone know what it says?

 

[FauxFrench]

"Made in China, for Chinese"

 

[alou]

Well its a 1.4 billion market!

 

[Mark Tillotson]

Ensure the secondary side of the transformer has a route to mains earth, I've seen too many dodgily insulated chinese transformers, I had one that with primary and secondary windings touching. I noticed because of the bizarre noise spikes on the output, rather than by being electrocuted fortunately.

 

[alou]

I think it is ok on that subject ,i had the transformer removed when i took the board out to have a look at it.The winding are not touching and the device also has ground to chassis (bare chasis paint is removed there).

 

[nattawa]

The shape of things to come:
Anyone know what it says?

it reads "copyright reserved".