Dayton DTA-100 T-amp -$49!!!!!!!

[blackraven]

Up date on the amp. I received the little Dayton amp today. They actually sent me the newer DTA-100A instead of the older DTA-100. The darn thing is small, the power supply is bigger and heavier than the amp.

I hooked it up to my son's system using his Maverick Tube DAC/Pre at first as the DAC alone and then as a Preamp-DAC along with his PSB B6 speakers. The sound in the first set up was suprisingly good. Bass was tight and deep and the sound had good air. Treble was improved as well as detail. Mid range depth was lacking though and the sound leaned to the bright side of neutral. Set up #2 using the Mavericks Preamp I turned the volume control all the way to the left on the amp and used the Mavericks volume pot to control the volume. The sound was markedly improved. It was smoother, warmer with more depth and air. Bass was deeper. It did really help the sound of the B6's treble which is a little rolled off to begin with. The Maverick Preamp really improved the sound. The only cons were that there was a little less resolution and that the gain on the preamp is set too low. I noticed this when I hooked up the Maverick to my Parasound. The volume is just not there. Another draw back to the amp is that distortion kicks in a little early when the volume is turned up 60% on the amps pot. The PSB's sensitivity is 90dB but I have read that they like a lot of power despite its sensitivity rating.

The amp is rated at 30wpc at <0.01% THD but I think that is being generous. But hey for $50 it's definitely worth the money if you want a compact system. It sure sound better than using a cheap AVR or 2ch amp. I will give another update once the amp has a few hours of burn in.

Oh and one last con. When I disconnected the right channel RCA plug from the unit, it pulled out the female connector from the back of the unit. Looks like you get what you pay for!

[Feanor]

... Set up #2 using the Mavericks Preamp I turned the volume control all the way to the left on the amp and used the Mavericks volume pot to control the volume. The sound was markedly improved. It was smoother, warmer with more depth and air. Bass was deeper. It did really help the sound of the B6's treble which is a little rolled off to begin with. The Maverick Preamp really improved the sound. The only cons were that there was a little less resolution ...

This is a demonstration of how tubes color the true sound. In as much as Maverick is only adding to, not replacing, any Dayton component, the addition would seem to be distortion. Whether this is an "improvement" is subjective.

"It was smoother, warmer with more depth and air." These are qualities commonly attributed to tubes, but I contend that they are artifacts.