T-Amp and Speakers - Page 2

Sealed Lead Acid.
Basically it is the battery in your car.

Lots of Mods indeed! Check out the DIYAudio Class-D forums for more ideas.
The stock T-amp is noteworthy, but it does suffer from some performance hinderances that the other Tripath-based amps have resolved. Here's a frequency response chart. (The T-amp is in red. )

Here's another thread detailing my adventure in the land of Tripath Amps. I'm using a 41Hz Amp3, which is a more advanced DIY kit, but it works wonderfully, and should have a similiar freq. response to the Amp6 version on the above chart.

I bought myself a T-Amp from Target for $25 just out of curiosity after reading some rave reviews on the amp. And I've got totally blown away after I hooked it up. I have a relatively large room and it fills my room with unbelievable soundstage. I tested it out on both my Cantons and Merlins. It drove the Cantons with ease. Even with the Merlins(87 db sensitivity), I only had to turned it half way to fill the room at moderate level.

I completely agree with ClassicalGuy. There is misconception on wattage on an amp. The true is, it's the current that pushes/pulls the speaker drivers efficiently and accurately. Or else, all tube amps would all be craps. Somehow the Class-T circuitry is able to product the right amount of efficient current.

A few simple tweaks to make the T-Amp better:

1) A separate regulated 12V power supply greater than 3 amps. The higher the better. The key is regulated, so it will provide the proper current on demand. You can find one relatively cheap on ebay. Radio shack sells one for ~$40. Higher ampere allows the T-Amp to put out more bass. DO NOT use dry batteries. And you don't need to mess with chemicals in the SLA. I bought a 5amp regulated one on ebay for $16.

2) DO NOT use the crappy cable that comes with the amp. Get a gold plated mini-RCA Adapter(assuming you are hooking this up with a DAC, I used it to hook the amp directly to my CD player), or a better mini-mini cable. Both can be found for less than $10.

3) Stick the amp to a solid platform. Get some blue tack. Well... duct tape might work too, I haven't tried it.

Here is a link for more tweaks:

http://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/t-amp_tweaks_e.html

In terms of speakers, hmm... not sure if you can get some decent new ones for sub $200. But try the Gallo's(but you might need a sub):

http://www.roundsound.com/satellite-speakers.htm

If you have some extra cash, try the Coincident Triumphs. They are very efficient(>92 db) and very musical, costs around $600 used.

Good luck.

Check this out, pretty good deal:

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....oni&1147127462

Not really.
P=IV=I^2*R
Power (in Watts) is directly proportional to the square of current.
There is no more magical current coming out of class T circuit than what its rated wattage would suggest.

How the amp behaves near clipping is often a big factor that determines how many sounically useful watts an amp can put out. Some tube amps can sound good even when clipping, and actually creates pleasant distortions and natural dynamics compression, which make things sound even louder. Guitar amps often exploit these properties.

I don't know why there is so much T-Amp bashing around here. Maybe because it's all the over-stated claims that the $30 amp is better than a $10,000 tube amp, or whatever. Anyway, it's a $30 amp. I have no doubt that the $125 super T-Amp is better, or that the $400+ clari-T is better, or that the 41hz kit works better. all of those cost more than 4 or 5 times the price, and may require you to solder and tinker. If that's what you're looking for, go for it. None of those comments should be attacks on the $30 T-Amp because it is less expensive and doesn't require tinkering skills and time.

AV123 announced about 5 months ago that they would have a $100 50 watt chip amp, and rumors abound that it sounds good. But there is no product - just hype. It's three times the price of the T-Amp, and not available. I'm not saying don't wait for it - maybe the release is around the corner, but it's not out yet even after delivery was promissed months ago. Scant information on their website and discussion forum about when it will be released, and my inquiries have gotten "we have no information" responses. Furthermore, no one really knows how it will sound, do they? I hope it sounds great. They have delivered a pretty nice looking bookshelf speaker for $240 delivered that is supposed to sound good (although very oddly you can't get grills for it). They've announced a lot of other products, but they seem to announce things long before they actually deliver. Only time will tell whether the product will be available and whether it will be any good.

Finally, people keep saying that the T-Amp isn't powerful enough for regular bookshelf speakers. Those comments are utter nonsense. I'm using the amp with 4 different bookshelf speakers, and it's plenty powerful. There are hundreds of other reviews here and throughout the web saying the same thing. There is no clipping and no distortion at quite loud volumes - too load for me to listen to. And there is room left on the dial. So you can listen to people who are reading charts, or you can listen to people who are actually using the amp with real speakers.

If you are not running efficient bookshelf speakers, it's not a good amp for you. Someone on the forums was complaining that the T-Amp did a bad job of powering a subwoofer. Well, of course it would. It's not a powerful amp. But it sounds great when properly used with in the right speakers and a good regulated power supply.

Whether you should spend the extra $$ on the Super-T or one of the other incarnations depends on whether the extra benefits are worth the extra costs. If you're buying $1,000+ bookshelf speakers, it would probably make sense to get the better build quality and presumably better sound of the Super-T or one of the other improvements. If you're running $200 speakers and don't want to spend the extra money, I think you'll be pleased (as I am) with the stock t-amp. If you like to tinker, you can upgrade it later. If you don't, you can sell it, give it to a friend, or throw it away later. You'll be out, at most, $40.

Bottom line: There is no other amp available in it's price range that is any good at all. None. You have to spend over $100 for the upgraded amps for relatively small improvements in sound quality (but maybe some significant improvements in build quality). Receivers under $200 are generally junk, and will not, in my opinion, compare to the sound of the T-Amp. I have used many. Receivers are inherently noisy because of all of the tone controls and circuitry. The additional claimed wattage of cheap receivers may or may not be true, but in any case is only important if you need the wattage for the speakers you are running.

Very true indeed. However, don't forget the 'R'-esistance factor. Hence:

I=(P/R)^1/2

Therefore the amount of current pumped out of an amp depends on the resistance of the circuit. Theorectically "I" can be huge with very little power. But of course, it's almost impossible in the real world unless the circuit board can be kept cryogenically at absolute zero temperature.

Classical guy is right, you can't really go wrong with the T-Amp. If you don't like it, sell it on ebay, the most you can lose is $10.

how would you go about attaching an unpowered subwoofer to the T-amp?

There is no way a $30 plastic matchbox can power a passive sub. Get a separate amp or subwoofer amp. The cheapest solution would probably be buying a part out subwoofer amp plate.

i should've added that T amp was an example.

i've got an old 70s reciever (pioneer SX-950) and it doesn't have a subwoofer port on it (like the T-amp). its big and heavy and has a high output rating (something like 90 watts). how would i wire an unpowered sub to it?

Does anyone use the AC power supply from Sonic Impact? (http://www.si-technologies.com/front...sp?productID=3) If not, what power supply do you use?
Thanks-

Get a better one, at least 3 amps:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...entPage=family

And you need an adapter to connect to your amp from the PS.