Tripath amplifiers... good idea or not?

[dbhuis]

Hi everybody,

today someone pointed these things to me:

New 2012 Indeed Class T Amp Tripath TA2021 25WX2 Stereo Amplifier 12V5A Power | eBay

He said that they're great, and that they sound good. I also read this post:

http://www.hifivision.com/amplifier...ripath-2020-amplifier-versus-nad-c320bee.html

This seems to be nearly the same amplifier as the one on Ebay.

Psychotropic is really positive about this thing. Still, i am a little unsure. Will 25 watts ( that is the one on Ebay) be enough for my speakers? My speakers are rated for up to a 100 watts, and can withstand 200 watts for one second.

That's why i am a little sceptic about 25 watts. Of course, it is about the sensitivity of the speakers hooked up to it. The only problem is that i got my speakers for free from someone, and the specs of these speakers are nowhere to be found ( even the manufacturer doesn't have them anymore ), so i don't know about the sensitivity.

Will this sound good? Is this something i should buy?

I'd like to hear your thoughts about it.

Kind regards,

dbhuis

 

[omishra]

What is sensitivity of your speakers? They are okay for small room and moderate volume controls.

 

[dbhuis]

That is what the problem is: i got my speakers for free from someone ( yet it still are good speakers ) and the specs are nowhere to be found. If i knew the sensitivity i would know whether this is a good amplifier or not. ( Still, i'm curious about the sound quality )

Thanks anyway

 

[asliarun]

25W is actually an overestimate. You end up getting about 7-10 clean watts.

I tried Topping TP20 on no-name speakers which ran beautifully and tried it on difficult to run high wattage speakers in which it performed miserably. So the speakers matter a huge deal.

Considering the low cost, it is worth a gamble. Just my two cents. To put it another way, within the constraints of 7-10 watts, their performance is remarkable.

 

[dbhuis]

Well okay, i guess it's not for me then. I haven't got exactly bookshelf speakers. They've got a max of 100 watts so seven to ten watts won't cut it.

Thanks

 

[darmstadtium]

Hi
Since its been w while ,Can someone please post a link to buy this product?

Many thanks

 

[Srinath_seshadri]

Get a tas5630 based amp. Its a lot better than a tripath IMHO.
Cool.
Srinath.

 

[Rabepobemababe]

@Srinath_sheshadri,

You have mentioned a very interesting Class-D chip. I was looking at the chip's data on TI's website. It shows that it can put out about 90 wpc into an 8 Ohms speaker with less than 0.05% THD+N. This is achieved at about 35V power. Beyond 90 wpc into 8 Ohms, the THD+N value raises sharply. As is common with these chips, one set of specifications for advertising, and another set of specifications for realistic use, seem to be the norm with this chip also. The chip is advertised as 300 wpc into 4 Ohms at 10% THD+N.

AliExpress has already listed a number of amplifier brands featuring this chip.

But questions remain as to:

1. The availability of a reliable, low-noise SMPS that can supply 35V / 7A DC power.

2. Quality of the end-product, and customer grievance redressal by these manufacturers in case the necessity arises.

My attitude would be that of "once bitten, twice shy" regarding these amplifiers. I cannot confidently recommend them unless there is adequate customer support for these amplifiers in India if something goes wrong.

 

[Srinath_seshadri]

I have a tas5630 I ran for a year off a laptop power supply. 32v and 1/2 amp if I recall. It sounded so good. I have to wind its transformer and make my power supply. But anything near 100w at that low distortion is far more than you need. I'm planning to get about 48v DC out of a hand wound transformer and try it. 100 watts is huge, I have vintage speakers that are 95-98 spl. Anyway with 48v DC the THD stays very low till you get into the 150-180 watt range after which it rises sharply.

Also get these boards made by reputable sellers from postings off diyaudio.com. ljm_ljm is one, but I got mine form someone else - dont immediately recall who, but they also had a lot of good reputation on diyaudio.

I was just saying these are better chip amps than the tripath. Of course I have never owned a tripath, I heard one at a friends, I think a 2020. There is a few other ones too, 2024, 2050 etc.

Customer support - LOL, no one does that. BTW these tas5630 amps have a grand total of 12 components, you blow it up, its not worth it really, test the 12, and whatever you can replace, try it, and if it isn't that's it, you toss it. Having said that, mine has held up well, so much so that I need to make the transformer and give it its own chassis. Its earned it.


Cool.
Srinath.

 

[Srinath_seshadri]

Amp's output has to be more than speakers capacity. That way you can run the amp at lower settings, so you get less DC output. If you're overloading the speakers, you will easily hear it and turn it down. If you are running into DC form the amp, you'd fry everything and not hear it till you see smoke.
Cool.
Srinath.