T-Amps Decent?

Bigkahuna

Bigkahuna

Well-Known Member
Really intrigued by these T-amps due to there dimunitive size and apparently good review. A quick search found a 90w one up on that auction site. I don't really know anything about T-amps but am looking to have a office system I can connect a laptop and or MP3 to with thses Koss M80 Plus speakers I have and many of these have headphone jacks as well. :music:

When I found the M80 Plus apeakers I googled them and found an AK post where a guy talked about connecting to a "T-amp" with fantastic results. Any of you guys have thoughts or own one of these? Here is a link to a review that makes me think I should throw away my Sansui 9090 (jus kiddin) go with this thing and it is less than 30 bucks?????
http://www.tnt-audio.com/ampli/t-amp_e.html

This review was from 2005 and many companies since have come out with their version. Anybody have recomendations that are cheap to reasonable?
 

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I have a couple of the Sonic Impact t-amps, and I enjoy them. Just make sure that any t-amp you look at has a tripath brand chip, that is apparently where the magic happens.
 
I have been wondering the same thing as I see a lot of them online for rather a decent price and they seem interesting. Some reviews shower praise on them like they reinvented the wheel or something...
 
Some T-amps are IMO very good.

Several years ago a pal did the DIY route and built a 200 wpc job that sounded great. Teac used to make a little job with 3 channels of about 30 watts each, it sounded very nice; I used it in bi-amped systems to power compression drivers. I loaned it to a pal who's using it with Klipsch Fortes. I've heard Sonic Impacts sounding very nice driving efficient horn and Lowther systems.
 
I don't see anything that's better than a regular amp, except for the face that they can run off batteries. For the price you pay for them, you could buy a cheap or used stereo receiver and have much more power. They seem like a fad to me.
 
I have three T amps (actually class D amps) and honestly can say for the price they are quite good especially if you have a smaller room and some mid-efficiency speakers (90-92 db). I have a very decent 10 wpc PP tube amp and I can say with all fairness the T amp I have sounds very, very similar.

Here's what I currently have and use most all the time:

http://www.p-macaudio.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=TB20

and also just got this and applying mods to it and it can fill a 24 ft x 24 ft room quite easily (in fact it is so noise free you don't even realize how loud the volume is until you try talking to someone):

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-100W-4-TK2050...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3a56e603de

You can learn a lot about them by visiting this site:

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/class-d/

In fact read this little blurb and you will understand why there is so much hype about the Tripath chip amps:

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/clas...ipath-board-tc2000-tp2050-93.html#post2035233
 
After all the hype online, I picked up one of the original T-Amps and did a listening test comparing it to a couple of $800 plus tube amps using several different speakers. I later had several friends and their wives give them a listen.

Bottom line- the T-Amp was chosen over the most expensive tube amp there, and just below the little 4W Almarro. In every case, with every speaker by every listener.

That review is somewhere on this site.

I don't think you can get better sound for your money.

However, I thought that tripath went out of business? And I don't know that I would spend the 10x dollars some of the specialty companies want for their version.

Just my .02
 
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Reviews

rifftrax said:
I have been wondering the same thing as I see a lot of them online for rather a decent price and they seem interesting. Some reviews shower praise on them like they reinvented the wheel or something...
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Yes, that first review I read was like wow!!! But, I would certainly think if this thing was the greatest thing since sliced bread you guys could attest to that.
 
I've had my Sonic T for about 4 years and love it for both it's sound and versatility. My Cornwalls sound great with it. Every efficent speaker I own does for that matter. There are many T amps to choose from and most all have loyal supporters. Far from a fad I think they will be around for a long while.

cubdog
 
reyneman said:
However, I thought that tripath went out of business? And I don't know that I would spend the 10x dollars some of the specialty companies want for their version.
Click to expand...

Tripath is out-of-business but many of their chips were bought by companies that are now using them in their products.

Some companies way overcharge for their T amp products, but a little searching and you can find some decent products for under $100.
 
Does T-Amp mean Class-D? I'm not up to date with what's on the market, but I can imagine a Class-D amplifier with a switching power supply making beaucoup power in a small light weight package :banana:

Bobby D.
 
Does anyone know how the Class T tripath amps compare to the panasonsonic digital HTR receivers - XR45, 57, 700 etc?
 
I enjoy my sonic t-amps very much (I have about 7 of them), but they will not sound great with every speaker I have tried. I goofed around with them for a while. I now use them to power my computer based system using tekton fullrange speakers..

As a rule efficient speakers will help them out. But I have also played them with some lessor efficient speakers with pretty decent results (such as vintage AR's). My biggest failure was trying them with a pair of thiel's, the t-amps just did not have enough umph needed to power them.
 
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klama2006 said:
I enjoy my sonic t-amps very much (I have about 7 of them), but they will not sound great with every speaker I have tried. I goofed around with them for a while. I now use them to power my computer based system using tekton fullrange speakers..

As a rule efficient speakers will help them out. But I have also played them with some lessor efficient speakers with pretty decent results (such as vintage AR's). My biggest failure was trying them with a pair of thiel's, the t-amps just did not have enough umph needed to power them.
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So, if you have seven of these T-amps I am sure you have some favorites.... do tell....:yes: Any low buck sleepers so I can try one without big investment. What is the one that would make you say try all the others but this is the one you will end up with....

In general what should I be looking for with speakers if I use a T-amp? The koss speaker I have I am going to play around with but the guys in the speaker forum said they weren't very efficient. They were recomnending like 30wpc the Koss speakers are rated for like 20w nominal.
 
I've owned two, the Panasonic SA55xr (a surround receiver actually) and the little 10watt Trends audio TA10. The Trends wasn't half bad with an efficient set of speakers (Hawthorne Silver Iris open baffle) but 10 watts is 10 watts. The Panny however had some balls and also the ability to connect directly to your digital source via an optical or coax digital cable, when connected this way it became a "switch-mode amplifier" but I'll be damned if I know what that means. I was using the Panny for theater use and the Trends for late night low level listening when my beloved Marantz 2275 fell in my lap (about two years ago), well the 2275 kicked them both to the curb after about five minutes of listening. The difference was so astounding its hard to put into words, but I don't want anyone to think I'm trashing the digital amps, in fact for the money they are a good value that I still recommend to people. The Panny in particular for what you get for under $250 is a very good value, also I don't know what the big Marantz would cost today adjusted for inflation but my guess would be somewhere between $1,500 and $2,000 so its not really a fair comparison. So in closing in the right application (i.e. efficient speakers) they can sound darn nice.
 
Bigkahuna said:
So, if you have seven of these T-amps I am sure you have some favorites.... do tell....:yes: Any low buck sleepers so I can try one without big investment. What is the one that would make you say try all the others but this is the one you will end up with....

In general what should I be looking for with speakers if I use a T-amp? The koss speaker I have I am going to play around with but the guys in the speaker forum said they weren't very efficient. They were recommending like 30wpc the Koss speakers are rated for like 20w nominal.
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Well, I got 4 of the original super T's, and three of the originals. All of mine are low powered. If I remember correctly, the super T's put out about 15 watts. I mono-ed the inputs, and run them as mono-blocks in a bi-amp-able configuration. (you will read that you can not bi-amp them, but note what I did is different. I just mono-ed the inputs. I run one amp's right and left channel to one side of the channel). In essence, I just separated the left and right signals to there own side. You would need bi-ampable speakers, or more than one pair to take advantage of this configuration. In my experience, there isn't much of a difference between the original's, and the supper T's in performance.

I do not know much, if anything about the later higher powered tripath offerings.

If your interested, I could come up with a list of speakers that fared well with the original T-amp, and those that did not in my own personal system.
 
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Speaks

That would be cool if you could suggest some speakers. I had heard you could use two of these and BI amp them or something but I am not even sure I know what that is.......
 
I am very pleased with my Pop Pulse T70i. Almost sounds "tubey", has that warmth to the upper mids, very detailed and balanced though. No compromise in the bass compared to the little SI amp, probably due in part to it's 35w/c vs. the <10watts of the SI.

I recommend the little pop pulse as well. I think it's called the "tornado" or something. I know obad imports, audiomagus, cryoparts and a few others sell it. It's like $140 vs. 270 for the latest version of the t70i.
 
I have an AudioSource Amp Seven T that I bought new about 3 years ago for about $225 off eBay. It is 200w per channel Tripath Amp.
I use it in the summer months along with a Yamaha C50 Pre-Amp in place of my Jolida 502BRC tube based integrated amp when it is just too hot to run tube gear.
As much as I like my tube gear I have to admit this Tripath amp really sounds great, has power to spare, and gives the Jolida a real run for the money.
Unfortunately this model amp had a short production run and is no longer available.

As said the company that did the Tripath chips is out of business. Too bad they did not catch on in the market place sooner because they did have a good product.
I can’t speak for any of the latest batch of T amps but I know my Audiosource is a keeper for me.

Are you considering a low power unit more suitable for mini systems or something with some power to run a larger system?

If you can you want to get a T amp with one of the surplus Tripath chips in it. These were the latest generation chips before the company went out of business. These are found in the higher wattage amps and have the best sound.
The lower power units have a different chip in them that are an earlier design generation. These also sound good but by nature of their design cannot support higher watt output.
This is information from a couple of years ago. I have not kept up on the market but I hope someone picked up the ball on the Tripath chips. They do work well from my experience.
 
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