Tweak City Audio Gizmo v1.0M / WAF-1 Package

[leftnose]

Does anyone have experience with this combo for PC audio:
 
http://tweakcityaudio.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&category_id=6&flypage=flypage-ask.tpl&product_id=24&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1
 
I've done some re-arranging of my office and have lost the speakers I had in there and this looks like a pretty good deal.

 

[ROBSCIX]

It is said to be a great sounding set for the price.  I tested out the gizmo with a set of ELT525's and it sounding really good based on my testing.

 

[hermeslyre]

Quote from me couple days ago,
 
"The WAF-1 are great. Vocals in particular are just amazing to listen to, I'm coming from a generic Z-2300 setup though and haven't heard much else. Needless to say the logiteks get blown out of the water.
 
A negative point about the Gizmo amp though, it has a VERY sensitive input voltage allowance. The two DACs I've tried (UDAC and a Hotaudio dac, both with variable outs) all cause a noticeable distortion when raising the pot passed a certain point. This "flaw" has been brought up on the TCA forums and at one point craig even promised a revised design with a more realistic spec, and a trade-in program to boot, but it fell apart awhile ago. Ultimately I opted for a HK 3490 stereo reciever, it has a respectable built in DAC, comparable IMO to the UDAC, and the WAF-1's sound better with the extra power. They love to be cranked.
 
/Thread jack"


 
The gizmo with the UDAC was able to get pretty loud without distortion. Some TCA forum members use this exact setup and love it, but I wanted louder so I had to abandon it for something more powerful/stable.

 

[ROBSCIX]

I have used that amp with a few different sources and neve noticed any issues with the inputs. Can you explain a bit more about it?  Are your variable outputs beyond line level?
The unit is better for nearfeild operation with efficient speakers,  Look around though as there are many deals on amps out there. If you need loads of power I would look elswere also.

 

[leftnose]

Thanks for the info guys.  I think I'll move forward with this combo despite the warning about input voltages.

 

[gorb]

good luck.  you can always sell the little amp and buy a receiver or something else later on down the road.

 

[hermeslyre]

 
Quote:

I have used that amp with a few different sources and neve noticed any issues with the inputs. Can you explain a bit more about it?  Are your variable outputs beyond line level?
The unit is better for nearfeild operation with efficient speakers,  Look around though as there are many deals on amps out there. If you need loads of power I would look elswere also.

4.8v peak to peak MAX (variable out) for the HA bitperfect and I can't remember the spec on the UDAC. I was told the Gizmo has a 3.0 peak to peak input limit over at TCA forums, which is pretty low, almost a design flaw IMO. At source max any volume level on the Gizmo was distorted. I couldn't go passed a 6 o'clock pot position on the UDAC without some form of distortion setting in. Lowering the volume in windows did nothing, I was advised it could help. In short both dacs were overdriving the input.
 
There a couple of threads over at TCA about it: (does linking another site violate TOS here?)
 
http://www.tweakcityaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2783
http://www.tweakcityaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1935&page=2
 
/Another thread jack... sorry

 

[ROBSCIX]

Quote:

 

4.8v peak to peak MAX (variable out) for the HA bitperfect and I can't remember the spec on the UDAC. I was told the Gizmo has a 3.0 peak to peak input limit over at TCA forums, which is pretty low, almost a design flaw IMO. At source max any volume level on the Gizmo was distorted. I couldn't go passed a 6 o'clock pot position on the UDAC without some form of distortion setting in. Lowering the volume in windows did nothing, I was advised it could help. In short both dacs were overdriving the input.
 
There a couple of threads over at TCA about it: (does linking another site violate TOS here?)
 
http://www.tweakcityaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2783
http://www.tweakcityaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1935&page=2
 
/Another thread jack... sorry

Thanks for the links.  If your DAC and the inputs on the TCA gizmo are built to spec there should be no issue.  I am surpised as I have used a few DAC's and many soundcards on this amplifier and have had nothing but clean audio.  Sometimes outputs can be hot on some devices and you would need to set the outputs using a multi-meter. You can link to other threads in such cases.

 

[SemiAudiophile]

I've been using this combo for weeks now and it hasn't disappointed one bit! I use them as my main 2.1 setup for my TV along with a Monitor Audio R360 sub. Sounds fantastic for music especially in vocals and also great for movies as well. Warm and detailed is a good way to describe them, they image quite nicely as well. If I had to compare them to cans, I'd say there at least as good as an HD600. I also like the bass/treble adjustment on the Gizmo. It sounds a little "flat" on neutral setting so I like to set bass +2 and treble +4 on my setup. No distortion on my rig that I can detect, I'm running out of a D10.