Erukian Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 I'm curious, for those of you who do own the SI or the Teac or any Tripath amp. How good it sounds compared to your best amp. Trying to be the most subjective and open minded you can, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 At the other end of the spectrum the 500 watt digital Yamaha seems to be proving very popular with B&W and Maggie owning audiophiles over here. It is about $4000 give or take but apparently that is chicken feed compared to what they are used to spending on amplification to drive these speakers. Of course the fact that you can walk into their house with this amp under your arm blows their minds. The competitive products need forklifts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Robinson Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 ---------------- On 3/2/2005 1:52:37 AM Erukian wrote: I'm curious, for those of you who do own the SI or the Teac or any Tripath amp. How good it sounds compared to your best amp. Trying to be the most subjective and open minded you can, of course. ---------------- I have both the Teac and the Sonic Impact. My best amp is my Horus 2A3 SET with the Pantheon pre-amp. See signature below. The Sonic Impact seems to me to dig out the musical details a little bit better than the Teac using the Njoe Tjoeb 4000 as a source. The sound is well balanced with a very respectable soundstage. The bass is controlled and the midrange is smooth. The Teac seems to have a bit of a veil over the music, but it takes some careful listening to detect it. The first impression on both these amps is impressive, esp. the SI because by merely looking at it, your expectations drop or disappear completely. The Pantheon/Horus, by comparison, digs every last musical detail out and throws a huge soundstage. The midrange is wonderful smooth, never forward and the bass goes considerably lower. The Pantheon/Horus combination is around $4000, plus tubes, and the Tripath solution is ... well, interest earned on the $4000+ investment. Comparing them isn't fair but it's done anyway, and the digital deal is laughably good for the price. _______________________________ 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...
Daddy Dee Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Erukian, I think Chris has given a pretty good review of the SI and Teac. That rings true in my experience of these little guys. It is probably fair to say that the tripath amps deliver 95% of what a really high end (and expensive) amp will deliver. I think that's probably the case with my gear which is not really expensive relative to some. The last 5% in audio is where things get really expensive. Is it worth $2000 to beat an amp that costs $100? It's a fair question. That's what makes the tripath such a winner in bang for the buck. Absolutely amazing. I sometimes wonder if feathers are ruffled talking about how good it sounds. Don't know for sure if they are, but I wonder sometimes. When talking about a given amp, and to improve upon it's sound one must look at amps that BEGIN at 10X the cost to think of improvement??? That amp will bring a smile to my face everyday. Being a cheapskate, part of my enjoying my system is enjoying how good it sounds and how much money I didn't have to spend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Has anyone else had to reverse the leads on one Khorn to realize the full center soundstage v separate left and right sources from the Teac or is it just in my system? Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Robinson Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Dee, "I know I'm paranoid.... but, am I paranoid enough?" --Tom Clancy Great line. Really had me giggling. Reminds me somewhat of George Carlin's questions to his nuns in school: "Could the all-powerful God make a rock so big that even he couldn't lift it?" Indeed, God said, "I am before all was ..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott0527 Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 If only you had invested $10,000.00 in Tripath Technologies in the middle of 2000. Today you'd have about $500.00 http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/charts/chartdl.asp?Symbol=trph Wall Street hates 'em so maybe they really do sound good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebes Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Thanks for posting the info Russ, very informative. So Scotto, sounds like it's time to buy low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Robinson Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 I've been selling and investing in semiconductors for 25 years. All I can tell you is that it is as lousy a business to be in as airlines. Heavy capital expenditures, cut-throat competition, you name it. In this case it seemed to be a management issue not a product issue. When you invest, you buy the company, so this deal has many facets. If the chips are really good, someone will buy the company and IP for what it's really worth. For the moment, I wouldn't touch the stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 I"'m curious, for those of you who do own the SI or the Teac or any Tripath amp. How good it sounds compared to your best amp. Trying to be the most subjective and open minded you can, of course." My desecrated SI amp compared to..... A Magnavox 6BQ5 PP console amp: The SI amp has higher frequency extension. The Magnavox while seeming more rolled-off, has a warmer high/mid range. The SI has a nice midrange, kinda like a cool warm. High range is crisp, but not harsh. Bass is tight with the SI, but it is a tad bit weak. The Magnavox PP bass is tight and strong compared to that SI amp. 300B SET amp, and 2A3 amp with James output iron, chokes, PS xformer: The SI amp compared to my 300B amp is little on the dull side. The SET amp has stronger, tighter bass, and the big open air sound. The 2A3 amp was the same way. But the 5930/2A3 tubes compared to the TJ 300B, made the 300B's sound dull on the high range. Leaving the SI amp in the dust. Powerwise, the SI amp can pretty much outcrank all the tube amps. My Sonic Impact amp is re-cased and using a 100K stepped attenuator. I also swapped out the PS cap for a larger value. It's a bang for the buck factor amp. Nice for quick listening in short time....no heat, tubes to baby..... I take it with myself in my vehicle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aviserated Posted March 4, 2005 Author Share Posted March 4, 2005 Sonic Impact T-AMP's are in stock at www.target.com. Please do not waste your time using batteries with this amp, they are only good for adding weight so the amp will not slide around. The power supply allows the amp to play louder with no loss of sound quality. Radioshack stocks the 12volt 1.5amp power adapter (273-1779) and free adapter plug (273-1716). Price $21.99 plus tax. You will like this amp! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 ---------------- On 3/2/2005 1:12:16 PM Chris Robinson wrote: Dee, "I know I'm paranoid.... but, am I paranoid enough?" --Tom Clancy Great line. Really had me giggling. Reminds me somewhat of George Carlin's questions to his nuns in school: "Could the all-powerful God make a rock so big that even he couldn't lift it?" Indeed, God said, "I am before all was ..." ---------------- Thanks Chris. Those are the words Clancy gives to his character Mary Pat. "I am before all was" powerful word there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 Radioshack stocks the 12volt 1.5amp power adapter (273-1779) and free adapter plug (273-1716). Price $21.99 plus tax. Is it a regulated supply? How's the noise? The supply I use is lower amperage, noise is minimal. But I need more current..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 My 300B amp is now 2A3. Sonic Impact is great bang for the buck, but it ain't even close to 2A3 triode sound. I'm impressed. The old school 2A3's make these Chinese TJ 300B's sound rather boring..... Hum level is nice and low, I need to measure that. I figure a good amp is one you don't want to turn off before you go to bed, and I didn't want to turn it off last night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herc Posted March 5, 2005 Share Posted March 5, 2005 Where is the T amp listed on target.com? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aviserated Posted March 5, 2005 Author Share Posted March 5, 2005 www.target.com search under 535963 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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