Topping TP20 tripath 2020 amplifier (versus NAD C320BEE)

[longshanks]

Congratulations on purchasing this fine amp.

I am guessing that the amp might shine more if it had a dedicated PSU.

How long did it take for you to receive this amp?

I might buy it just to check how it sounds.

 

[psychotropic]

hey vortex, i totally agree, the 'punch' is not well defined.

Raja, I got the amp in about 8-10 days from ordering. No customs duty applied. It's worth buying for a lark if you have reasonably sensitive speakers and/or a small-ish room.

It does have a dedicated power supply, but it's a switching one. But I am not able to detect any noise while listening to it. Maybe if I can get hold of a linear power supply to compare it with, i'll try it out and see if there is an improvement.

Anyway, I've been listening to it everyday and quite enjoying it. So much so that I am mentally considering selling the NAD. My only concern of course is that if I move to a large house and I need more powerful amplification then the Topping may not cut the mustard. I am absolutely convinced this amp is superior to the NAD, but of course I will do that comparison for the sake of objectivity.

But if anyone wants to make me an offer that I can't refuse, for the NAD i'll consider it ) ( I bought it for 10k in August '09 [originally bought by first owner in '05], paid 1.5k in bus tickets to go pick it up from Hyderabad, it's in excellent cosmetic and working condition, except that it has some 'starting trouble' on cold days....so you need to power it up and wait for 5 minutes, or the protection circuitry kicks in) I am not yet putting this in the classifieds because I am not sure I want to sell it, and I may not end up selling it at all.

 

[grubyhalo]

.... My only concern of course is that if I move to a large house and I need more powerful amplification then the Topping may not cut the mustard...

Ofcourse, this would be moot if you have your new sub by the time you move to the new place.

 

[psychotropic]

hehe, that is true......but i wonder if that is going to happen in 2010, or whether budget constraints will push it to 2011.

(the new sub, for the others, is an HSU Research STF1 which I am sort of maybe considering picking up if i am convinced it'll work well in my room)

Ofcourse, this would be moot if you have your new sub by the time you move to the new place.

 

[iaudio]

hehe, that is true......but i wonder if that is going to happen in 2010, or whether budget constraints will push it to 2011.

(the new sub, for the others, is an HSU Research STF1 which I am sort of maybe considering picking up if i am convinced it'll work well in my room)

Where are you getting the HSU sub from? :licklips:

 

[psychotropic]

apparently audire is going to start distributing it from february, and sell it for 25k. It's a 300 dollar sub (going now for a festival iscount of 250 dollars), but considering how much it would cost to ship it from the US, i am guessing 25k is not a bad price to pay, and I've read very good things about the STF1.

Where are you getting the HSU sub from? :licklips:

 

[jaudere]

hey vortex, i totally agree, the 'punch' is not well defined.

Raja, I got the amp in about 8-10 days from ordering. No customs duty applied. It's worth buying for a lark if you have reasonably sensitive speakers and/or a small-ish room.

seems to be quite tempting. What's the exact procedure to order it?.I am especially interested as i am using single driver speakers which are highly sensitive.

 

[jai1611]

seems to be quite tempting. What's the exact procedure to order it?.I am especially interested as i am using single driver speakers which are highly sensitive.

I am using a TA2024 based amp with a pair of single driver bookshelves (Fostex 167E based) in a small room. They work brilliantly well together. I prefer the T-amp to the Miniwatt tube amp with my speakers

I have a spare Lepai TA2020 amp lying around. You are welcome to borrow it for a few days if you want to try before ordering. The Lepai isnt as well designed as the Topping but still gives you an idea of what these sorts of amps are capable of.

 

[psychotropic]

how would you compare the T-amp to the other amps that you've heard? have you tried the fostex based speakers with any other amps? have you tried the T-amp with any other speakers?

I am using a TA2024 based amp with a pair of single driver bookshelves (Fostex 167E based) in a small room. They work brilliantly well together. I prefer the T-amp to the Miniwatt tube amp with my speakers

I have a spare Lepai TA2020 amp lying around. You are welcome to borrow it for a few days if you want to try before ordering. The Lepai isnt as well designed as the Topping but still gives you an idea of what these sorts of amps are capable of.

 

[jaudere]

I am using a TA2024 based amp with a pair of single driver bookshelves (Fostex 167E based) in a small room. They work brilliantly well together. I prefer the T-amp to the Miniwatt tube amp with my speakers

I have a spare Lepai TA2020 amp lying around. You are welcome to borrow it for a few days if you want to try before ordering. The Lepai isnt as well designed as the Topping but still gives you an idea of what these sorts of amps are capable of.

thanks a lot. i am visiting mumbai in last week of feb. will P M you,

 

[gobble]

Jai - what make is your fe167 speakers?
Jaudere - I thought you have DIY open baffle multi-way setup. When did you get single drivers?


Regards

 

[jai1611]

how would you compare the T-amp to the other amps that you've heard? have you tried the fostex based speakers with any other amps? have you tried the T-amp with any other speakers?

I've tried it with the single drivers, Cambridge Audio S30 and Yamaha NS8390. Work well with all of them but work best with the single driver bookshelves. I've compared it to the Yamaha AX396 and Marantz PM6000 OSE. In smaller rooms or with efficient speakers, I would prefer the T-Amp. Not in large rooms or with my other speakers (MS 908 and Dynaudioa Audience 52). I think the t-amp would do better than my Marantz 7001 in small rooms but never compared them head to head.

 

[jai1611]

Jai - what make is your fe167 speakers?

Its a simple, bass reflex bookshelf that I made

 

[jaudere]

Jai - what make is your fe167 speakers?
Jaudere - I thought you have DIY open baffle multi-way setup. When did you get single drivers?


Regards

Well, i have been experimenting again and again. I think the full range speakers opened up after few months. i tried all kinds of combinations. It was a multiway set up (3 way 4 speakers)when I last talked about it in my thread. Even in that set up, i was using full rangers(philips 8") as midrange. After trying everything, i came to a conclusion that single driver full range gives the best sound (i think that is what people call as "coherency". Of course you must consider that I used cheap drivers). Surprisingly i do not miss bass even on open baffle. I used to keep bass at +6. Now I keep it at neutral.
People just cannot believe that they are listening to a single driver speaker , that too just 25W RMS neither can they believe that there is no speaker box as such.

 

[srikarkav]

Hi Guys,

Can someone confirm this the same amp tropic has got?


eBay.com.sg: Tripath TA2020 Mini Cute Class T Amp Amplifier Ipod MP3 (item 250564393713 end time Feb 15, 2010 21:01:12 SGT)

cheers,
sri

Edit: The spec sheet given by tropic on his amp tallies with the above amp.How come the one above is cheaper?

 

[gobble]

Well, i have been experimenting again and again. I think the full range speakers opened up after few months. i tried all kinds of combinations. It was a multiway set up (3 way 4 speakers)when I last talked about it in my thread. Even in that set up, i was using full rangers(philips 8") as midrange. After trying everything, i came to a conclusion that single driver full range gives the best sound (i think that is what people call as "coherency". Of course you must consider that I used cheap drivers). Surprisingly i do not miss bass even on open baffle. I used to keep bass at +6. Now I keep it at neutral.
People just cannot believe that they are listening to a single driver speaker , that too just 25W RMS neither can they believe that there is no speaker box as such.

Welcome to the FR club I'm with you on this ....

Cheers

 

[grubyhalo]

Hi Guys,

Can someone confirm this the same amp tropic has got?


eBay.com.sg: Tripath TA2020 Mini Cute Class T Amp Amplifier Ipod MP3 (item 250564393713 end time Feb 15, 2010 21:01:12 SGT)

cheers,
sri

Edit: The spec sheet given by tropic on his amp tallies with the above amp.How come the one above is cheaper?

I think it's this one, but I'll let him confirm it:

Topping TP20 Mark2 Class-T TA2020 Digital Amplifier Amp - eBay (item 180462541945 end time Feb-27-10 09:43:48 PST)

 

[srikarkav]

Thanks gruby. But i think on tropic's amp they have improved the connectors.May be his amp has an improved cap too.tropic has to clarify on this cap thing.Mulling over if the 2.2k diff between the amps is worth it ,to go for the mark 2.

cheers,
sri

 

[psychotropic]

hey srikar and gruby, yes it's the Topping that gruby linked to. The datasheet is the same because it uses the same chip. The Lepai is even cheaper using the same chip. But the Topping TP20 is the cheapest (apparently) no-compromise solution including power supply that I've seen. Srikar, the amp you linked to doesn't accept RCA inputs, doesn't have the regular speaker binding posts, and doesn't come with a power supply, and it costs 1750. The Topping costs 4k including a 12v, 5A power supply, with gold plated binding posts and RCA inputs. But I am sure sonically they'll be pretty much the same.

But if you add a 12v, 5A power supply to the amp you linked to the cost comes up to about 2750, and then the difference is not too much.

I think it's this one, but I'll let him confirm it:

Topping TP20 Mark2 Class-T TA2020 Digital Amplifier Amp - eBay (item 180462541945 end time Feb-27-10 09:43:48 PST)

 

[psychotropic]

About the caps and resistors and stuff, maybe somebody who knows something about this stuff can comment.