Poultrygeist
09-26-2010, 07:42 PM
I should have listened to PoppaC and read the manual. Instead I went with the quick set up and when no sound emerged from this board I thought it was DOA. After a few swear words I realized that all those tiny dip switches were turned off. Once I switched them on this mighty mite delivered the goods.
The board has no volume control other than the dip switches so a preamp or source with a volume control ( Ipod etc.) is worthwhile. The board amp requires an outboard 24V switch mode power supply but all connections with the board are straightforward.
I tried the board with three different pair of speakers and used an Aric tube preamp for the volume control and a CD player as the source. I listened to CDs by Steely Dan and MJQ.
The 83 db Aerials were first up and the little board drove them without a whimper. This combo surprised me with its power, detail, and sound stage. Bass response was just adequate. With the 93 db Tektons I expected more of the same but they just didn't seem to mesh as well. Imaging was there in spades but those full range drivers missed the warmth of a tube amp and they came off sounding a little on the thin side. The Tang Bands paired with the Sure Board sounded the best of the three. The board threw up a huge wall of sound with these big open baffle speakers and the bass, usually a weak point of OBs was better than I could have hoped for. The OBs sounded fuller than I ever remember and it was the only combo that caused my dogs to leave the room.
In comparing the Sure Board to the Dayton DTA-100 the Sure comes off as more powerful which is probably due to its beefier power supply. They sound similar as they share the same 2050 chip. The Sure is a more refined amp and probably benefits from not having a cheapo volume pot in the signal path. Nether produce heat and I'm not clear why the Sure has a fan as it never runs. The Sure Board Amp provides high end sound at a low end price of just $44. The large power supply is an additional $48 but its hard to image another amp on this planet delivering this much performance for under $100.
Note to moderator: I haven't been able to move the first six pictures from my gallery to this thread so would appreciate your help in doing so. Thanks
The board has no volume control other than the dip switches so a preamp or source with a volume control ( Ipod etc.) is worthwhile. The board amp requires an outboard 24V switch mode power supply but all connections with the board are straightforward.
I tried the board with three different pair of speakers and used an Aric tube preamp for the volume control and a CD player as the source. I listened to CDs by Steely Dan and MJQ.
The 83 db Aerials were first up and the little board drove them without a whimper. This combo surprised me with its power, detail, and sound stage. Bass response was just adequate. With the 93 db Tektons I expected more of the same but they just didn't seem to mesh as well. Imaging was there in spades but those full range drivers missed the warmth of a tube amp and they came off sounding a little on the thin side. The Tang Bands paired with the Sure Board sounded the best of the three. The board threw up a huge wall of sound with these big open baffle speakers and the bass, usually a weak point of OBs was better than I could have hoped for. The OBs sounded fuller than I ever remember and it was the only combo that caused my dogs to leave the room.
In comparing the Sure Board to the Dayton DTA-100 the Sure comes off as more powerful which is probably due to its beefier power supply. They sound similar as they share the same 2050 chip. The Sure is a more refined amp and probably benefits from not having a cheapo volume pot in the signal path. Nether produce heat and I'm not clear why the Sure has a fan as it never runs. The Sure Board Amp provides high end sound at a low end price of just $44. The large power supply is an additional $48 but its hard to image another amp on this planet delivering this much performance for under $100.
Note to moderator: I haven't been able to move the first six pictures from my gallery to this thread so would appreciate your help in doing so. Thanks