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Temple Audio Bantam XC2 impressions. Hand-made in England amp.

post #1 of 25
1/11/10 at 2:47pm
Thread Starter 
I have just ordered 1 of these:

Temple Audio Bantam. High Quality Class T-Amp.




Have anyone tried it? I cant seem to find anyone that actually owns this amp on the Web though, but I have high hopes that it drives my AKG K701 well.

The company - Temple Audio claims that @ No mass production amp comes close@.

It should reach me within a few days and I will tell y'all my impressions.

Now's the waiting part... tik tok tik tok =(
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post #2 of 25
1/12/10 at 6:27am
Haven't heard a lot of expensive hi-fi kit, but my Bantam was a great step up from my old Kenwood amp.
Easily drives my B&W 602s.
Now have it hooked up to a Valab dac and the amount of detail I'm getting out of this combination is incredible.
If you want eye-ball shaking bass though, you may need an amp with a few more watts.
BG
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post #3 of 25
1/12/10 at 1:42pm
At about $180 USD they are in a heavily contested territory w/ the likes of Trends. Wonder how they compare.
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post #4 of 25
1/12/10 at 2:04pm

T-Amps are great

I've owned three or four including the Trends and Kingrex.

I wonder how this will be as a headphone amp? Looks like it could be seriously good, by all means let us know when you get it!
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post #5 of 25
1/12/10 at 7:30pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrarroyo View Post
At about $180 USD they are in a heavily contested territory w/ the likes of Trends. Wonder how they compare.
Apparently, it is in a completely different league of Chinese tripath chip-based amps, also the headphones amp is a Plus.

@Jodet: I will be using a pair of Akg K701 (burned in) with it and if I receive it tomorrow, I will go straight to my local Hifi dealer and demo some speakers + headphones.

Lovely moments, arent they...
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post #6 of 25
1/13/10 at 6:38pm
Thread Starter 
I received the amp today morning, after countless hours of work, I eventually arrived at home and was too curious about the amp that I forgot to put my shoes off after entering my room(lol).

It took me about 10 minutes to set up my gear
Headphones: AKG K701 and HD 650

Speakers: Wharfedale 10.0

Source: Asus xonar U1 (looking for a Dac to upgrade), The E.N.D Deluxe Edtion ( Black Eyed Peas) FLAC and 256 Kbps MP3s from iTunes Store. + Chord iChord RCA to minijack cable.

The first impression was that they are surprisingly small, even smaller than in the picture and I couldn't believe they are able to drive any speaker - the size is about 1.5 times bigger than an iPhone/ipod Touch.

Buid quality is very good, solid and sturdy aluminum housing, however it doesn't have any fancy badge or label on (perhaps for stickers of your likes). I initially tried it as a headphones amp, and the first thing it brought out of my HD 650 was the presence of bass range, in "Imma be - Black Eyed Peas" the HD 650 went as deep as 25 Hz and it was absolutely articulate bass with punch and weight (compared to my current Musical Fidelity VCAN). Secondly, the midrange clearer and more precise, crisp and clear vocals - in "Meet me halfway - BEP" Fergie's voice was so sweet and full of emotion.
The overall performance of the Bantam XC2 was incredible, it easily outperforms my MF VCAN which was bought for the same price: £140 (remember to take into account the power amp feature)

I have just been listening to it for 2 hours now, would probably do a review if I feel sure that I could - since my musical knowledge is limited and my gear might not be capable.

Questions welcome!
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post #7 of 25
1/18/10 at 11:10pm
@zzkatsuyazz

I am reading your posts with interest because the Bantam XC2 looks perfect for my needs. I have Beyerdynamic DT770 Manufaktur headphones with the lower impedance drivers, and I listen to music through them almost exclusively. However, I do like to listen to music at fairly low volume levels through speakers occasionally (very old Mission 700's).

Currently I'm using an old Rotel amp which used to have a lovely warm sound but now sounds tired and lifeless - so an upgrade is long overdue!

I'm using an old mid-range Phillips CD player which really needs replacing too, but that will have to wait!

My musical tastes are quite eclectic - from extreme heavy metal, to hip-hop, to ABBA, to Vangelis - a bit of everything. Please can you say whether the Bantam XC2 is equally good at handling different genre's of music, and any other insights you may have gained now that you've had it a bit longer?

I think I've already decided to buy the Bantam XC2 but it would be nice if you can give even more reassurance about its qualities!

Thanks again.

PS. This is my first post, although I have been lurking here for a while. I hope it is ok.
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post #8 of 25
1/19/10 at 6:53am
Thread Starter 
Its sound quality is first-class, reassured , if you have ever heard about the implementation of tripath chip based amp, i assume the Trends audio, Kingrex,....(mostly CHinese) have been praised by every "audiophile" around the world.

Some magazines even compared the Trends Audio to £3000 kits and found that the Trends amp sounded better (blindtest).

The Bantam XC2 is considerably better than the Trends amp, as I have owned both, plus the headphones amp on the Bantam XC2 drives my AKG K701/HD650 better than my old Musical Fidelity VCAN.

Now your rig: The Bantam's power amp is powerful enough to drive these Mission 700s, if you will ever upgrade the speakers, just look for something with high sensitivity (>88 Db if you want ear-bleeding volume).

I'm using a pair of Wharfedale 10.0/ Monitor Audio BR1 and there is no distortion even at the maximum volume. 1 o'clock on the volume knob would be perfect for me (my bedroom is about medium sized)

I'm always here if you have more questions.

PS: If this thread is not buried again like last time, I will do a detailed picture review .
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post #9 of 25
1/19/10 at 10:52pm
Thanks for that information, it is extremely reassuring! I am still learning about things like different circuit designs such as these tripath chip designs, but I think Head-Fi is the perfect place to learn.

Until I have more experience, the most important thing to me is that you are very happy with the Bantam XC2, so I'm sure I will be!

I will place my order in the morning and give my impressions when it arrives.

Thanks again. I'm getting quite excited about how much better all my CD collection will sound!
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post #10 of 25
1/20/10 at 3:56am
Just a quick note to say I have taken the plunge and ordered a Temple Audio Bantam XC2 and power supply unit a few minutes ago!
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post #11 of 25
1/21/10 at 5:19pm
Thread Starter 
Congrat Musicol, I really do expect them will satisfy your ears - and your wallet too!

Dont forget to post your impressions though .
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post #12 of 25
1/22/10 at 4:56am

Awesome!

@zzkatsuyazz - You are right, this completely satisfies my ears!

Although I have not wired my speakers up to the Bantam XC2 yet, its headphone amp has seriously impressed me!

I'm currently listening to the Bladerunner soundtrack by Vangelis through the Bantam XC2 and my DT770 Manufaktur 'phones, and the combination is a very powerful, crystal clear sound. The bass feels absolutely bottomless, the mid's are beautifully clear, and the high bells and chimes simply sparkle. I'm hearing notes and instruments in my favourite music which I had simply never heard before! This is an amazing little box - I can't fault it.

The only thing I have to compare it to is my quad-core-extreme music PC and PreSonus Firebox external firewire soundcard. The PC is a good source, probably better than my old mid-range Phillips CD player (sorry I can't find a model number on it), and although the headamp in the PreSonus soundcard produces high quality sound with a colourless flat response (ideal for analysing music production projects), I find it far too clinical for relaxed listening. The Bantam XC2 on the other hand seems to be just as flat across the frequency range, but with a 'spring in its step' which makes everything enjoyable. It's as if I suddenly have an entirely new CD collection to explore!

When the rest of the household is awake I will take my current system apart and wire up the speakers (it will be quite a long and noisy job). Then I will give my impressions of the speaker-amp in this wonderful little box of tricks. As zzkatsuyazz said, it really is a surprisingly small unit, perfectly formed and feeling very solid. I can't imagine needing to use the 1year warranty given by Temple Audio. One last comment is that the item arrived in an incredibly well-packed box less than 48hours after I ordered it, with email confirmations during the despatch process to let me know it was on its way, and when to expect it. I am extremely impressed, both with the Bantam XC2, and with Temple Audio.

I hope this has been useful. Expect my impressions of the speaker amp shortly.
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post #13 of 25
1/22/10 at 1:56pm
Looks like a neat little amp. Seems just about perfect for a bedroom or office system with speaker and phones.
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post #14 of 25
1/22/10 at 3:11pm
A quick apology as I won't be able to hook the Bantam XC2 up to my speakers today - too much to do, and it will take a lot of work to get my old system out - I could only just reach the CD player's phono sockets to plug the XC2 in. It may be next week before I can wire it up and give my impressions. At least the headphone amp is hooked up and working beautifully.
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post #15 of 25
1/22/10 at 4:10pm
two of the posters in this thread who are praising this amp have only ever posted in this thread :P

i'm just bitter and cynical heh
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