dubai2000 Posted January 4, 2005 Share Posted January 4, 2005 Thanks for the info, Mike. At $429 (inclusive US/Canad shipping) this is indeed a bit more costly . see: http://www.geocities.com/vinnie822/ Wolfram Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stan krajewski Posted January 4, 2005 Share Posted January 4, 2005 ---------------- On 1/4/2005 2:40:37 PM fini went apes**t with the smilie faces. Good one. It gave me a good chuckle. But then again I'm easily amused. I can't resist. Just have to try this amp with my Heresys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 the Clari-T-Amp is one nicely done package. Pricey. But it does look nice. Excellent idea to put the battery inside the case. Looks like it would have reasonable potential for a diy project. I have read some posts on the net that suggest that accomplishing the mods would take considerable skill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Here's a little enclosure a guy could buy for the SI amp. Dunno about the feet, the sides of the case could be rounded, IMO. I have a teeny little enclosure that just might be big enough for the SI amp board. Maybe Fini can make some little dovetailed cases for these little Digi-amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Robinson Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 ---------------- On 1/4/2005 6:41:58 PM dubai2000 wrote: Thanks for the info, Mike. At $429 (inclusive US/Canad shipping) this is indeed a bit more costly . see: http://www.geocities.com/vinnie822/ Wolfram ---------------- Sure, guys, this amp is 10X the price of the SI, but if it really cleans up the last remaining foibles of the SI, AND includes the SLA and charging system, it sounds like a pretty sweet deal given the build quality, parts and labor. If the SI pleases as one would hope, this might be worth procuring and floating around the group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBrennan Posted January 5, 2005 Author Share Posted January 5, 2005 Chris---The Heresys I'm using have alot more foibles (did I pronounce that right?) than the SI. Frankly, with these speakers, any issues the amp may have that I'm sensitive to are not apparent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Robinson Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Thanks, Tom. I'm going to try this amp with my spare KG4's and my old Toshiba SD3109 and Njoe Tjoeb ... The KG4 is a great little speaker, slightly less efficient than the Heresy, but if the amp isn't really good, the tractrix horn will let you know it. Given your good ears, I think the results will be nice. This guy, Vinny, though, seems to have put a fair amount of thought and effort into improving the overall package, plus a tidy profit for his efforts. Ole Leo might want to rethink his position on building Tripath amps. If this guy can sell a boat-load at $500, there might be a market for it afterall. _______________________________ Music Hall MMF-7 Turntable w/ Goldring Eroica H MC Njoe Tjoeb 4000 CDP with 24 bit/192 KHz Upsampling Wright Sound WPP-100C Phono Stage JF Lessard Pantheon 6SN7 SRPP Preamp w/ RCA 5R4GY & Sylvania 6SN7 JF Lessard Horus Parafeed Cobalt 2A3 SET Monoblocks w/ Tung Sol 5687 & AVVT 2A3 1976 KCBR Klipschorns with ALK Crossovers Gear Online: Two Channel & Home Theater Systems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBrennan Posted January 5, 2005 Author Share Posted January 5, 2005 Chris---Well there are fellas around here spending alot more than $400 for 5 watt amps. The modded SI isn't a bad deal IF it sounds better. I've been impressed by these Tri-Paths and chip-amps on many occasions. The first I heard was a 200wpc Tri-Path my pal Kurt Chang built a few years ago. Very clean, powerful and nuetral, IMO just what an amp should be. It sounded great on a variety of horn speakers including my Altec A7-500s and 605As and Kurt's JBLs. He's using it now to drive his 72" B&G planar-magnetics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coda Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 There's a reason why we nicknamed it Plastic Fantastic, hooked to the Cornwalls since November, it has excellent control and clarity, regardless of price. Panasonic and Teac also offer tripath, they may be better than the Sonic Impact, the Teac is nice looking and should have more room to mod.. the future of Class T looks bright. Teac A-L700P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leok Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 I've been following this. Fun reading. Leo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Note: The "Attack of the Smilies" has been retired. I attempted to edit them out this morning, but Netscape kept crashing trying to load the "edit" page ( ). Amy gracefully assisted in the counter-attack. So, it is once again safe to click on "Page 1." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpg Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 In the thread that was posted above off anoher board about the modded SI... I have to say that the upgrades aren't really worth spending more than 10x the price. I agree that the upgrades should be done, though... but could be improved upon. My memory is a tad rusty on what parts on the board actually needed upgrading, but I'll try... Electrolytic power caps- Not even sure if the board had any to begin with. Anyway, they are needed. Get some Elna Cerafine's or something (high values, though). The input cap is also an electrolytic, last I remember. Change it to a higher quality electrolytic (Cerafine or Black Gate) or a higher quality, large value film cap (Solen, Audiocap, etc.) Change the pot! It is a cheapy... Get an Alps, Noble, or even a stepped attenuator. Upgrade any other film/electrolytic caps with higher grade ones. Many will be surface mount, so they can be left alone if you don't want to try to solder/desolder them. I know I don't... Get a SLA battery in there. I would personally use more than the 1.3Ah he uses. I'd go with 7+, probably. Put the little thing in a metal case. Get some nice RCA's for inputs, and some better binding posts. Change the LED. Re-route the input wires that go to the board. The original design has the input coming from a 1/8" mini-jack to the board, to the pot, back to the board. Run the wires straight from RCA to pot, then to board input. That's about all I remember... Depending on the parts you use, these upgrades could be done for $10 or for hundreds of dollars. But, I think you'll still stay under the $400 mark for the other one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Robinson Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 So ... Leo, since you're following this thread and have built something similar, (1) what would YOU do? (2) what do you think the component cost would be? and ... (3) when can I show up with parts in hand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 I'm not real sure if most DIY'ers out there are going to be comfortable doing surface mount repair station stuff with a regular pencil iron. Whassup widdat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Leo, I've also been wondering thoughts similar to Chris. What's your take on the SI and the "upgraded" project.... as to what you'd expect as the result. Also, I've gone back and read the archived threads on your waltham P6D again. Some time back you mentioned that you might build another batch in the future. Have been hoping that you would do that again. I would expect for there to be considerable interest and prospective purchasers on the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubai2000 Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Indeed - especially if the price is right . Wolfram Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben. Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Yup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 $400 of mods on a $29 amp strikes me as silly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben. Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 If it sounds great, so what? People will routinely put a $200 phono cart on a deck worth $50. If it betters $500 packages, that makes sense to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Everything strikes you as silly. You forgot to mention that it doesn't have at least 20 watts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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