Topic: New T-Amp

[som]

My bedroom system consists of an old Yamaha integrated, a cheapo DVD player for CD playback, and and old set of Cambridge Soundworks Ensemble II speakers. A few weeks ago the Yamaha started acting up. Rather than get it repaired, I purchased one of the Sonic Impact T-Amps that have been causing such a stir. It cost me around $40 shipped new in the box off of Ebay.

I got it about a week ago. I hooked it up in my bedroom, powering it with 8 AA batteries and using cheapo Radio Shack interconnects and speaker wires. My first impression was good....it will definitely suffice for a low-volume bedroom system. However, the speakers aren't very efficient, and aren't that good, so I thought I would give it a spin in my main system. My main system is *not* very high end, but is certainly better than the junk in the bedroom:

NAD C320BEE integrated amp
NAD 521i CD player
Ascend Acoustics CBM-170 speakers (which are pretty efficient)
Heavy-gauge speaker cable that Ascend Acoustics sells
(plus a turntable & preamp, and a powered subwoofer, but they were not used for the comparison)

So, I played a couple tracks off of Michael Houser's Sandbox CD with the T-Amp powering things. My first impression was "wow!". This little battery-operated toy filled up my living room with music! I could hear subtle details and the imaging and soundstage were impressive. It seemed very clean and forward sounding. Maybe a little lean in the bass.

I switched to the NAD C320BEE powering things, and the bass definitely beefed up. The overall sound was more "polite" and laid back....still plenty of detail, but not as in-your-face. I noticed that one particular guitar part that really soars (on "Low Country") had more of an emotional impact.

I switched back to the T-Amp and this confirmed my impressions. Some of the bass issue could, I guess, be attributed to the battery power and cheap speaker cable (no way to use the heavy cable with a stock T-Amp), plus the fact that it had maybe one hour of break-in. But here's the amazing thing: this little $40 amp held it's own with an amp costing 10 times as much! As I told my wife, if I had plugged in the NAD 3 years ago when I got it, and it had sounded like the T-Amp, I would not have been dissatisfied.

Pretty amazing.

[anodyne33]

 

[som]

http://www.tnt-audio.com/ampli/t-amp_e.html

[macdaddy]

hooray!


i posted a thread on this unit a while back... i have one and am building another...


nice work som. that's what you get from an eno fan - ingenuity!


+t for the effort, and another +t in 12 for bringing up a subject i love to talk about

[BobW]

If someone puts "giant-killer" in an ad again, I'm going to scream down the street running   

[som]

If someone puts "giant-killer" in an ad again, I'm going to scream down the street running   

But this is a true giant killer! 

(and the tnt site is not an ad)


Edit: don't you mean "run down the street screaming"?

[timP]

been eyeing this amp up for a cheap bed room stereo,

and I know almost nothing about this side of audio yet,


what would be some good speakers to compliment this at a decent price?

amd would powerd speakers be better?


dunno, but the room is pretty small and I am just looking for something to run my MP3 player into

[macdaddy]

i am using norh speakers...

the omega minime speakers were designed for a modded tamp (the clarit from red wine audio)... i would love to give these speakers a whirl, but it is kind of low on my to do list...

[Krispy D]

funny I was just thinking about this little amp.  I'm thinking about getting one to run direct out of the puter in the office.  anyone have any real experience with it?

[nickgregory]

anyone have any real experience with it?

ummm....maybe the guy who started the thread and posted a review at the beginning of it

[Krispy D]

anyone have any real experience with it?

ummm....maybe the guy who started the thread and posted a review at the beginning of it

DOH!

cold medicine has got me a bit stupid!  I'm going back to bed....

[som]

what would be some good speakers to compliment this at a decent price?

I *hear* that the most important thing is to get high efficiency speakers (90+dB), given the low wattage of the amp. However, for the low volume I listen to music in my bedroom, the 86dB (I think) old Cambridge Soundworks sound fine.

I've been considering these....they get great reviews, especially considering the price...another giant killer!  Anyone heard these?

http://www.audioadvisor.com/store/productdetail.asp?sku=ATHASB1.2&product_name=Audition%20B1.2%20Speakers%20-%20Black,%20Pair

[bgalizio]

what would be some good speakers to compliment this at a decent price?

I *hear* that the most important thing is to get high efficiency speakers (90+dB), given the low wattage of the amp. However, for the low volume I listen to music in my bedroom, the 86dB (I think) old Cambridge Soundworks sound fine.

I've been considering these....they get great reviews, especially considering the price...another giant killer!  Anyone heard these?

http://www.audioadvisor.com/store/productdetail.asp?sku=ATHASB1.2&product_name=Audition%20B1.2%20Speakers%20-%20Black,%20Pair

No, but I have their S3 bookshelf speakers, which are very nice!
http://www.athenaspeakers.com/modelS3.htm
http://www.audioprods.com/clearance_athena/product_info.php?cPath=30&products_id=15228&osCsid=6117a6bf0f0b90265fc460cdab58406d

[BobW]

Edit: don't you mean "run down the street screaming"?

Part Amish you're not ?