[JWFokker]

I say he should buy a pair of Fostex FE126E 4.5" full range drivers and put them in ported box. Cheaper than a pair of Atoms by far and they're quite excellent drivers. I'd recommend Tang Band W3-871's but they're not too efficient. Only 87 or 88db 1w/1m. The Fostex FE126E is 93db 1w/1m. Plenty efficient for a T-Amp. For $37 for the drivers and a few bucks more for some connectors, Acousta-Stuf and the MDF for a pair of boxes, you could have some pretty damn nice speakers. I suggest using the PC as the input to the T-Amp so you can use the EQ in Winamp to minimize the 6db peak at 6.5khz. Atoms are nice, but not cheap. For $70 tops you could have a pair of speakers that aren't quite as good, but a hell of a lot better than what you've got (and better for the money than the Atoms) and easily driven by a T-Amp.

Check this out:

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread/t-50975.html

While it may sound great for around $60-70, that still doesn't resolve your bass problem though. I think you should take the money saved, buy a good power supply for your car amp that you're going to use, buy a decent 12" Dayton sub for $100 and put it all together with a sonotube. That's the way to go.

EDIT: Just remembered you have car subs and amps.

 

[RnB180]

I like the sound of athenas, Canadian speakers in general sound good, and offer good price versus performance.

I actually use a 5.2 surround set up with Mirage Omni polar speakers. the efficiency of my speakers are 91 dB.

I use my the speakers for home theater and reference dolby level is at the 115-120 mark last time I checked.

If youre happy with the t amp, thats great, but if you are seriously powering tower speakers then why not just get something like the Panny or JVC offerings? which actually offer more features and headroom.

powering $1k speakers with a $20 amp? if it floats your boat.

BTW, i doubt those 6 moon guys are using the sonic t as their primary amp, have they used it as an amp? yes! are they using it over what they really use? NO,

tell me one audiophile including 6 moons and every other audio site drop their multi kilo buck amp set up for a $20 sonic t. That is my response to anyone that repeatedly points to the SAME 6moons review mentioned several times already.


am I a cool guy yep

, Can I be stubborn, YES! Im sure I can drive my speakers with the T amp, my little 5 watt tubey powers my mirage better then my friends 100 watt onkyo HTIB receiver. I dont find it difficult to believe that a sonic t CAN power my speakers, doesnt mean Id want to use it as a source of primary amplification.

 

[ooheadsoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RnB180 Im speaking of wattage because a 5 watt amp is capable of clipping speakers.

Actually, I doubt if power equivalent to a small handful of AA batteries can clip very many speakers.

The chip inside the t-amp is also used in the $100 griffin powerwave, if that means anything. Anyway, if you're on a strict budget, I don't see much of an option - you've got the t-amp or you can go multimedia. If you want to blast your music and you don't have super efficient speakers, forget it. If you have super efficient speakers, then I doubt you're the kind of guy that wants to blast your music for a house party. *shrug*

 

[RnB180]

clipping as in underpower not over power

btw, I have a sneaking suspiscion that a lot of the positive remarks and hype are due to the astronomical price versus performance ratio,

build and sound quality can be easily overlooked by the price.

as quoted from the TNT review that no one seems to mention

Quote:

Manufacturing and finish. What do you expect I should say? It is damn cheap, anyway it is nicely built and finished. For sure it possesses one of the highest WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) ever seen on Planet Earth The loudspeakers spring clips are flimsy and easy to break. Plus they don't accept anything else than 1.5-2.0 mmq bare wire. As the T-Amp so small, there's not enough room between the input minijack and the DC power inlet. The volume knob isn't exactly user-friendly though extremely precise Sound. Uhm, here are my notes: output power is too low, sometimes it sounds harsh in the highs and slow in the first octave. The bass range, from time to time, lacks control, especially when pushed too hard. Overall dynamics not excellent. Now, re-read thinking at the 23$-price target. I know, I'd better keep my mouth shut :-|

 

[bln]

There are other options than the T-amp below 50 dollars -- just check out eBay, as well as thrift stores, for a vintage amp or receiver. It's not hard at all to get a 30-watt receiver with phono, headphone jack, tone controls, etc. for under $50.

 

[ooheadsoo]

When those 8 AA batteries are outputting full power DC, I don't think it's enough to stress out any decent drivers.

 

[yorkie]

Quote:

If youre happy with the t amp, thats great, but if you are seriously powering tower speakers then why not just get something like the Panny or JVC offerings? which actually offer more features and headroom.

This is really simple, so bear with me: The T-Amp isn't an integrated receiver. If you need the features of an integrated receiver, you're not looking for a T-Amp. If you're strictly looking at sound quality, the T-Amp can "seriously" power speakers, provided that they are of a reasonably high efficiency.

If you're looking for the features of an integrated receiver, or more power, then you're either looking for a different amp or some product to compliment the T-Amp. That doesn't change the fact that for its uses the T-Amp is a great product.

Quote:

BTW, i doubt those 6 moon guys are using the sonic t as their primary amp, have they used it as an amp? yes! are they using it over what they really use? NO, tell me one audiophile including 6 moons and every other audio site drop their multi kilo buck amp set up for a $20 sonic t. That is my response to anyone that repeatedly points to the SAME 6moons review mentioned several times already.

I don't understand where any of these comments are coming from. Noone is saying that the T-Amp is perfect, or that it can beat out an amplifier which costs thousands of dollars. The fact that reviews are all using 2k$+ amplifiers to compare it to speaks for itself.

Why do you keep trying to knock a piece of audio equipment you've never heard before? I don't get it... you're not going to change anyone's opinions, either buy it or give up insulting it.

 

[geforcewong]

It's a low priced efficient amp that's mainly built for consumers looking for decent sound at a low price. It has the capabilities of a Class AB amp at low volumes and doesnt generate a lot of heat as more powerful Class A amps... You really can't complain about it considering the price you pay for them.

 

[RnB180]

Quote:

Originally Posted by yorkie I don't understand where any of these comments are coming from. Noone is saying that the T-Amp is perfect, or that it can beat out an amplifier which costs thousands of dollars. The fact that reviews are all using 2k$+ amplifiers to compare it to speaks for itself.

actually, someone made silly remark and posting the 6 moons link asking if I would call them fanboys because they used it. Making the typical gibberish enthusiasm comments and using the same 6 moon link you see everywhere. It has however been conveniently edited out by the poster after my rebuttal. My post would make sense if the original post I was responded to wasnt mysteriously removed.

 

[RnB180]

Quote:

Originally Posted by geforcewong It's a low priced efficient amp that's mainly built for consumers looking for decent sound at a low price. It has the capabilities of a Class AB amp at low volumes and doesnt generate a lot of heat as more powerful Class A amps... You really can't complain about it considering the price you pay for them.

I think he nailed it on the head.

 

[RnB180]

I keep my mouth shut for now, wouldnt want to add fuel to the fire.
Ill probably pick one up to see what the hype is about whenever I have cash to burn, but Id rather put into a new amp.

 

[JWFokker]

The lack of power below 40Hz is seriously improved by swapping out the stock capacitors for higher quality, larger Panasonic caps. You guys should check out DIYAudio's Class D amp forum. They're all over this thing. For $20-30 for the T-Amp and $10-15 in caps and resistors you can have an amp that is significantly improved over the stock T-Amp. Of course, it's also a good idea to run it off higher capacity batteries or a regulated linear power supply. You can pick up an Astron RS-3A for pretty cheap.

 

[geardoc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sumone Okay, but at what distance...1 meter? Suitably efficient could be 200dB. But what speakers on the market are that efficient & actually sound decent? ...

I could use some help finding some speakers for my t-amp under $100 or or so. Anything that would do jazz some justice?

I saw that Outpost had some Polk Audio R50 series for about $70. Would these do with the t-amp?

 

[comabereni]

I know it's impossible to evaluate anything independent of how much it costs, but I'd like to make one last point in this thread before I stop monitoring it.

The sound from my T-amp is far more similar to high-end components I've experienced in expensive 'audiophile' showrooms than any multi-hundred dollar receiver or amplifier I've bought or listened to. Is it perfect? No. I sometimes notice it is a little too "dry", grainy, lacking in that awesome "blackness" you experience and dream about after hearing the mega-kilobuck stuff. Sometimes at high volume, I find I've pushed it into clipping--makes me want something with a little more power, or more efficient speakers. Would I use the T-amp somewhere other than my office? Like in a dedicated listening room? I don't know--I've been debating that as I have been planning my "high-end" system. I'm not sure exactly how much I'm going to have to spend to improve on the sound I'm enjoying from my T-amp. Maybe a DIY single-ended triode/pentode tube amp project costing several hundred dollars, or a similarly designed digital amp with a bit more power, or maybe just an optimized T-amp with a tubed pre-amp and better speakers than I have in the office.

FWIW, Rnb is correct that there are other digital amps out there to consider that have more power and only cost a bit more. These include the 30w 3-channel amp from TEAC, three Tripath amp kits from 41Hz audio, the Panasonic digital receivers, a Sharp receiver ooheadsoo is using, etc. So if it's the 5-watt thing holding anyone back, come up with a few more $10 bills and buy more power. It certainly makes speaker selection a lot less difficult. But, if your room is small, your budget tight, your goal to have great 2-channel sound, and you understand what you're getting into and can live with the limits of your decision, the T-amp delivers--more than you are likely to expect.

-coma

 

[vba]

Quote:

Originally Posted by comabereni That said, I don't use mine to drive a subwoofer--that would be rediculous. I only power my ~89dB Paradigm bookshelf speakers with it and they play loudly and cleanly, to the point where my wife regularly tells me to turn it down. That's in a 10 x 14 home office. I couldn't have a block party with my system, but I could go deaf with it in my room, if that was my goal. I DO have a 12" subwoofer, but it has its own 250-watt amp. The amp/speaker combination sounds really great. So, as has been said several times now--the T-amp performs very well _within its limits_. If your goal is to lose your hearing half a block away, look elsewhere. If it is to enjoy great sounding music with moderate to high efficiency speakers on a tight budget (recommend 89dB sensitivity and higher), then it's worth a listen. Read the 6moons article. Check out the discussions on the other audio forums. You can always add a separate, powered sub later if needed. -coma

I agree with the above and Tennisets. I'm a 51 year old that has been in the audio game for a good number of years. I get the impression that many on this board are much younger than me

. I bought the T-amp a couple of months back to see what the fuss was about. Damn this thing sounds nice. I'm using 88 db/1m (8 ohm/3ohm miniumum) B&W 601s3 speakers and those 5 watts sound plently loud enough for me. I don't have any desire for more bass when listening to Classic Rock or Classical. This amp caused me replace my old 1987 vintage Creek CAS4040 (30 w/ch) int. amp. with a lowly 5 watts. There's no comparison, dead quite compared to the Creek and much better sounding.

There was no concern regarding volume levels, as I knew 5-6 watts would go along way. As indicated above 88 + 3 (for two speakers) + 3 (for room gain) - 8 dB (speaker distance) = 86dB for the first watt. This is loud, listening to music at these levels for a few hours can cause hearing damage. The extra 4 watts or so leaves plenty for headroom.