maxsdad Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 After seeing some posts re: trend amps, etc., I looked on ebay & found some stuff I've never heard of. Has anybody heard of HLLY amps? How about TOPPING? They list specs and show pix and claim from 10-45 watt power and low distortion - at prices that run from $58-$240. The little ones all look alike, and seem to sty clean to about 6 watts. They all also seem to refer to the following in the specs - T-Amp IC Tripath TO 2024 - they also have a "best offer option and appear from the purhase history to accept most offers - any wisdom for the new guy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pragmatic001 Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 Hey, replied in the other thread. To answer your question here - I'd stick with a well reviwed brand: Sonic Impact (way cheap), Trends, or Kingrex. If you want something really inexpensive order the $30 t-amp from parts express. However, some of the very cheap models don't include a power supply and must be run on batteries. If you buy from a reputable online retailer at least you can probably return it if the sound isn't for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/t/118190.aspx?PageIndex=1 Here's a link to a thread with quite a bit of info on recent T-amps. I've had very pleasing experience with T-amps and have several on the shelf. Based on the 2024 chip, I've got two Super T amps and a Trends. They are all fine. The HLLY T-20 is based on the 2020 chip and is somewhat more powerful than those based on the 2024. No degradation in quality at all. I've had mixed results with two HLLY T-90's. Got one from a Chinese source on Ebay which would quit playing, acting like it had a thermal fault. But, it was nice when it was playing. Got one T-90 from a US source, chosen for reliability, but the unit was noisy, unlike the Chinese sourced unit that played only intermittently. The construction of the T-90 looks like it should be fabulous. The US dealer tells me HLLY is using a different board now to quiet the amp, but he doesn't have it yet Also he warns about Ebay amps, because Chinese are selling seconds and such. who knows? My take on the 2024 based amps and 2020 is that they are best on Khorns or LaScala. Actually, they are amazing with the efficiency of Khorn and LaScala. If that was the only amp I had for the big boys, I could be happy and never look back. They are OK on Heresy, but the Heresy does better with a more powerful amp, to my ears. The Virtue Audio version is absolutely killer. But it's pricey. I've been intending to put some of these amps in the garage sale, but haven't gotten around to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxsdad Posted July 2, 2009 Author Share Posted July 2, 2009 Hi! Well, I've embarked on an experiment. I ordered a "Lepai" 20x20(4ohm) from Techex Online via Ebay. It says Tripath TA2020-020 IC. The s/n is listed as >100db and the THD @.05% (which I doubt). It has bass & treble plus volume controls and spring clip speaker terminals. Cost was $19.95+ shipping for a total of $29.98. I plan to try it out on my LSI's at the office. Report to follow. Also, I ordered an Infinity Alpha 1200S sub last night - do you think I'll get Wiley Coyote'd if I put it in line w/ the speaker level inputs? They also have a critter made by Yulong Audio called "Amp One" that has 40x2 (8ohm), 30x2 (8ohm @ .02%thd), binding posts and listed for $139.00+ $40 shipping. We shall see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted July 2, 2009 Share Posted July 2, 2009 The Lepai should be interesting to hear. I would expect a pleasing result on La Scalas. Lepai has another little guy which has a sub out as well. The Yulong Audio Amp One is not a Tripath chip amp, but the guts look just like the inside of the HLLY T-amp 90. Amp one uses a Gainclone LM4780 Class-D amp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nu2toobs Posted July 2, 2009 Share Posted July 2, 2009 I have a Trends amp and it sounds great. In fact I'm tempted to switch to it for the summer. My stereo VRD is a little warm in the desert this time of the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 The gentleman who bought a pair of KSP-400s that I had recommended the Chinese tube amps on eBay. He had a couple of them and said they sounded very nice with his Fortes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lotusmark Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Bump for an update Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwingylee Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 I might be speaking out of place here. Here is my 2 cents. Take this for what is worth. I worked in China from 2000 - 2005 as an expat in a high tech field. I had offices in Guangzhou and Shanghai and travelled throught Hong Kong quite a bit. I am of Chinese descent but grew up and schooled in the midwest. Been involve in audio since the late 70s. While in China, I had the chance to listen to many Chinese products at length from Shanling, Cayin, Mingda, Consonance, etc...before they flooded the US. I met occassionally with the audiophile community in Guangzhou - we had a weekly meeting. The epicenter of audiophilia in China is Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangzhou. Shanghai was catching up in 05. The audiophiles in China are very sophisticated. They are heavy into tubes and vintage american stuff such as WE, ALTECs and JBLs. I heard great great stuff over there, mostly from the DIY community. WE300Bs are the King of tubes and 2A3s are queens. 805 and 845 based amps are quite popular, followed by EL34s and 6L6s. KT88/6550s not as much. Audiophiles in the orient are obviously into asian music. Music preferred by Chinese audiophiles are midrange-centric. They put a premium into tones, details and soundstaging. Gut wrenching bass and loud music are not so popular. My Black Sabbath disks were not well received. They did like my Patrician barber stuff. It was an interesting exchange in musical taste. I bought a lot of Chinese audiophile stuff there. All recorded with tube mics, preamps etc...they sound great! I say this because Chinese tube amps are voiced for music preferred by Chinese. That is great if female singing and acoustical instruments such as erhu and peipa is your cup of tea. They do occasionally listen to heavy drum music. You can find some of the stuff from musicdirect and acoustic sounds. You can see this by noting the western brands that so well in the asian audiophile community: Harbeths, Spendors, Quad ESLs, Rogers etc. I saw my first pair of Klipsch speakers in CHINA in 05 - it was a pair of La Scala Is in a used shop. Many of the Chinese tube amps are implementation of classic western designs. So when you buy a chinese tube amp, make sure your sonic priorities are aligned with the Chinese. If you like heavy rock and roll, they may not work so good. I was not too impress with any of the Chinese solid state stuff. I bought one to use in my office, They look great but sound mediocre to me. I hear they have greatly improved in the last few years. Chinese speakers suck - including the ones loaded with Lowther drivers. The only exception was one company that produced Proac clones for 30% of the Proac price. I wanted to bring home Chinese electronics because they were so much cheaper than here. Besides the ones from big electronic companies, there were many DIY/clones of classic western designs (such as MACs, CATs, etc.). I ultimately settle for a 2A3 based SET amp and a EL34 based integrated amp. My advice: listen before you buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 kwingylee, Thanks for sharing these observations from your experience. Most interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxsdad Posted July 19, 2009 Author Share Posted July 19, 2009 Well, the Lepai arrived! LED on volume knob lasted 2 hours, but the amps amaking!! Hooked it up to Heresy's, and was blown away! Very quiet after the initial startup pop, ran it for about six hours, stayed cool to the touch. Channels balance perfectly, judging by imaging on tv sound. Bass & treble controls function well, and I have yet to go pst the 11 o'clock poswition on the volume. Will try it on LSI's next. They have another model called amp one, which Daddy Dee said used a different chip & produces 45+45 watts. Is it any good? Costs $139 + $40 to ship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 Thanks for the report. Having the B and T controls are pretty unusual for a chip amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 Just an update in the department of weird. I was just browsing the net to see if I could find any new info on the T-amp 90. According to Paul at P-macaudio, HLLY was going to put out a new board to lower noise on the T-90. Interesting enough, and sadly, the last reviews I find out on the web are the same as what was out there in April '09 and in a search of blogs, the most recent posting is something the I wrote on this forum a while back. This doesn't look promising for HLLY. Maybe what they did was a one shot of production with a bunch of tripath chips. who knows? BTW, Virtue Audio is sold out on their Virtue One and Two amps. These are quite fine implementations of the tripath chip IMO. Anyway, their website just says no longer available as opposed to "back order". Don't know what the actual status is here. Hopefully they will get more built as they are really fine amps, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted August 2, 2009 Moderators Share Posted August 2, 2009 I tried to use my little T amp today and it's somewhat dead, the headphone jack works but the outputs on the rear does not work at all. I took the top off and can't find the problem, one thing I did notice is the little " chip " gets really hot to the touch when it's on, I guess it's dead ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 dtel, Is that the Gen2 T-amp? The tripath chips do have some sort of thermal fault shut off. That one is probably designed without much of a heat sink, though. I had the same problem with a couple of refurbed TEAC receivers that were tripath powered. A huge disappointment, IMO. Let me know if you are looking for a decent replacement. I've got a few in the stable that ought to give very good service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted August 2, 2009 Moderators Share Posted August 2, 2009 Is that the Gen2 T-amp? No it's one of the original models, the little flat style, looking at the box it must be the original. Yes I do want to replace it, I was looking at the one at parts express with a rounded top is that the newer model ? If you have one you would like to sell just let me know how much. I really like these little things, I use it in the workshop connected to a little FM / CD player with the headphone jack, they are very convenient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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