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Gear / Technical Help => Playback Forum => Topic started by: som on April 27, 2006, 02:39:44 PM
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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.
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???
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http://www.tnt-audio.com/ampli/t-amp_e.html
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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 ;)
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If someone puts "giant-killer" in an ad again, I'm going to scream down the street running ::)
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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"?
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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
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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...
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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?
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anyone have any real experience with it?
ummm....maybe the guy who started the thread and posted a review at the beginning of it
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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....
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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! ;D Anyone heard these?
http://www.audioadvisor.com/store/productdetail.asp?sku=ATHASB1.2&product_name=Audition%20B1.2%20Speakers%20-%20Black,%20Pair (http://www.audioadvisor.com/store/productdetail.asp?sku=ATHASB1.2&product_name=Audition%20B1.2%20Speakers%20-%20Black,%20Pair)
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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! ;D Anyone heard these?
http://www.audioadvisor.com/store/productdetail.asp?sku=ATHASB1.2&product_name=Audition%20B1.2%20Speakers%20-%20Black,%20Pair (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
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Edit: don't you mean "run down the street screaming"?
Part Amish you're not ?