very interesting.... $39 amp gets good review

[psonic]

This little $39 digital amp is said to sound like expensive low powered tube amps...

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/sonicimpact/t.html

I may have to try one at that price :D

[Geoffcin]

This little $39 digital amp is said to sound like expensive low powered tube amps...

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/sonicimpact/t.html

I may have to try one at that price :D

I especially like the pic of the little amp powering the enourmous Avantguard Duos.

Oh, the reviewer says the're $20 at Target Online.

[Kaboom]

exactly as the guy writing the article predicted, i have real problems digesting that. dude if that thing is really that good why isnt it everywhere by now? he's talking of 40 buck amp that can rival Kbuck amps? i mean, this would be completely revolutionary. Heck perhaps it is a revolution and i'm missing out on it. for 40 bucks it definately makes me think twice of my project of buying a decent Hi-Fi system...
I just have real trouble believing that this thing can sound anywhere CLOSE to megabux systems... Peolple spend upwards of 3k on amps for a reason.
i dont know. perhaps it IS revolutionary, but batt-driven is already enough to put me off it...

[psonic]

I actually bought one...happened to be at my local Target store and saw the kit with case and speakers on clearance for $35, it also has an adaptor to run it off a portable CD player. You have to buy the adaptor to connect to a standard CD / DVD player. I can at least get some use out of it when we travel and needs tunes. At any rate, currently I only own Dynaudio Audience 60 towers, hardly the speaker to use on a low powered amp like this. But defiantly, I connected it to my Rotel CD player and Dane 60s. From what I read, digital amps are happy with low impedances. I played it for about 3 hours straight and here are my thoughts - this amplifier is more powerful than it looks! It easily drove the Danes to fairly loud levels without distortion at all, not bad considering it's an 86db 4ohm speaker. One caveat though, it was not able to muster bass out of this speaker. What it was able to do is give a purity of sound, no SS grain, separation, and clarity that easily surpasses my Rotel separates (and my past SS amps) - quite a feat. I wonder how much better it will sound once run-in <cough> for a few hundred hours and on very sensitive speakers. They may, surprisingly sound like the reviewer described - scary.

Actually batteries can have a definate advantage in having no transformer noise. Secondly, he ran the amp on some very very sensitive speakers, as would be run by SET amps usually. Also if you noticed, the amps chipset is the same as what is in a $3000 Class T digital amp. This amp just puts a super-cheap case and parts around the chip, sparing the power supply also. It is very possible that it sounded remarkably well on the right speakers, considering what I heard on my dynes.

[Kaboom]

considering its a digital device i am inclined to think u might not get any advantage from wearing it in. Am i wrong?
so with this little wonder gadget on the market, should i even consider buying a 500$ Rotel RA01? will there by any performance difference between the two?

[psonic]

Yea it won't rock the house or match the bass output and it needs very very sensitive speaks to give any bass and sound full. You can alawys buy one and try, it's kinda like running a little single ended tube amp. Only way cheaper...

Oh yea, and I meant to put a (cough!) next to run-in! Hehe, really I have never had a new amplifier so I don't know about run-in...I question it also.

[niknik]

Nice :-D

I wanna try one! For the price it would a nice experiment!

Anybody knows where I can get it other than Target Online? -they do not ship Internationally....

[psonic]

Where are you? Try this for starters...I have seen them all over the web....

http://www.google.com/froogle?q=t-amp

[niknik]

thanks psonic!

I couldn't find a dealer that shipped internationally -but the 4th one in your link does -so I'm in for trying this little creature out ;-) It's gonna run my Kef 104.2's -they are 4ohms 92dB -

I look forward to try this little thing out, quite funny I must say! :-)

Did you do any mods to it?

As Jeff Day writes:

"What if with a few hot-rod tricks, one could improve upon the T-amp's minor -- and I emphasize minor -- shortcomings? What if one could gain a little more bass slam? What would it sound like if one ditched the cheap volume pot, added a beefier power supply, some good RCA inputs and decent binding posts? Would it give it a deeper soundstage and the bloom of valves? What if you added a visually stunning wooden Cain & Cain chassis? Oh Terry, have I got an idea! Stay tuned........."

Interesting :-D

[psonic]

I have not done any mods to it but I'm sure the sky is the limit, so to speak. I just want to hear it on sensitive speakers for starters! The T-Amp instructions claims it puts out more power when using the AC power adaptor, so adding a nice beefy 13V transformer may be a good start. And I'm sure the volume control on it is only worth about $.50! The list goes on and on! Actually, Teac makes a 3 channel amp based on this chipset that goes for $100-200 online. The main difference being build quality and built-in power supply.

http://www.tommytube.com/Teac-tripath/a_tour_inside_the_teac_a.htm

[RGA]

Anyone know if they sell in Canada - I will buy one and compare it to Set amps at m dealer through my speakers or the AN E's which are both very easy to drive easy impedence speakers.

[Feanor]

This little $39 digital amp is said to sound like expensive low powered tube amps...
I may have to try one at that price :D
I am loving it though. And it does put out 120 watts vs. 15.

[psonic]

RGA, you are welcome to borrow mine for a review. You have great speakers for it. I have no use for it through the next few weeks as I have no speaks to really use it with yet. It would be nice to get your opinion (and other audiophiles here with capable speakers) before I go buy sensitive speakers for it. It only weighs ~2lb so shipping would only be a few dollars. Or maybe you will buy one online and review it? That would work also...

[Feanor]

Anyone know if they sell in Canada - I will buy one and compare it to Set amps at m dealer through my speakers or the AN E's which are both very easy to drive easy impedence speakers.
I'd look forward to your review. Also, versus your Sugden amp as well as the SETs.

[niknik]

RGA, you are welcome to borrow mine for a review. You have great speakers for it. I have no use for it through the next few weeks as I have no speaks to really use it with yet. It would be nice to get your opinion (and other audiophiles here with capable speakers) before I go buy sensitive speakers for it. It only weighs ~2lb so shipping would only be a few dollars. Or maybe you will buy one online and review it? That would work also...

-nice offer psonic!

Let's continue to have this ball rolling ;)



I'd look forward to your review. Also, versus your Sugden amp as well as the SETs....

Me too! :)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I wrote Jeff Day -the reviewer at 6moons- an email -he was kind to reply me and he gave me this link:

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=41846

Excellent.......!

[corwin99]

I have one, and its already in Nanaimo :p

[RGA]

I figure for $40.00 or less you can't go too wrong. I should think it would work better on my speakers than most - while I do have this skepticism of it - what the hell - i was skeptical of the Little RAT phono stage too and it's a stonking good little phono amp. And hey the AX Two is 1/4 the price of a lot of other speakers and IMO is clearly better - price and quality don;t always go hand in hand and this thing - well if they;re trying for a SET sound --- IMO that;s the RIGHT sound to be going after --

2.5 lbs regular mail I should not get hit for duty - is there anywhere I can buy it online? I'm currently evaluating a Skylan turntable base so that comes first but school is piling up too.

My Wharfedales are 95db 8 ohm beasties too - and I would not mind getting rid of that Marantz 4300 which is a giant dust collecting paper weight. Why do I not take my own advice and NOT buy a receiver *shakes heads rolls eyes.* Oh well two years left on the warranty I should be able to offload it. Hell if this Class T amp is ONLY as good as the receiver it would be worth it at 1/10 the price.

[corwin99]

I wasn't as impressed with the amp as everyone else seems to be... If you want you can borrow mine. I am using a 12v 1000mA wall wart from Partsexpress to power it.

It definately doesn't power my mirages very well, but your AN's might be good with it. I noticed that it clipped real early and there was no bass. But then maybe that's what SET's sound like. :confused:

There was no where i could find selling them in Canada, i had to order it direct from the manufacturer... and he shipped it without me getting snagged for customs, but i had to pay full retail. You might want to get someone to relay it to you from the US.

[RGA]

Yeah - I'm not wholly convinced by the review - as I'm unfamiliar with the reviewers - No the reason SET or any low powered amp has trouble with bass is that generally bass and upper treble on an electrostat are very difficult to drive and quite basically need MORE power(as the impedence tends to dip. A 5 watt am - which from the review seems to be what these things really are when driving a meium efficiency speaker 88-90db 8ohm speaker can do the job but if the bass of the speaker dips to 3ohms then the amp needs to provide more power - it can't so instead it flabs or simply ignores it(some tube amps seem to deliberately frequency limit the bottome end so you don't get much bass.

SET amps are generally low powered - The Audio Note OTO for example is rated aat 9 watts so expect 6 watts. I compared it to a high powered Bryston set-up - on a properly designed higher efficiency easy impedence load speaker like mine or the bigger more sensitive E the OTO killed the Bryston. You would not have known it was a tube amp if you judged bass and treble extension.

On less efficient tough impedence(and I don't really get why anyone would want either attribute in a speaker as to me it seems like sloppy design) the OTO would be sucking wind like a 400lb guy running the Boston Marathon. But the SET amps are more linear without notch distortion and without feedback.

here's the problem MOST speakers cannot be properly driven by low powered SET amps properly - if that's the speaker you own then SET is not for you. It's a preference after all and I'm not ttring to convert anyone to it. This is just a reason for why people gfo with SET.

This is from a design team and staunch supporters of SET:

"all transistor amplifiers sound poor for the simple reason that transistors are inferior amplifying devices. The word “semiconductor” really means what it says and it says it all, “half”-conductor, sonically this could be translated to mean half the signal! Which is really what it sounds like. Pure and simple, transistors are highly un-linear and need a lot of correction (feedback of some sort) to have a bandwidth wide enough to be able to reproduce any music signals, they are not natural voltage amplifiers. Likewise both the pentode or tetrode requires corrective feedback to lower the load sensitivity and improve bandwidth, they are less un-linear than transistors being high impedance devices that require matching from an output transformer. Thus they sound better when used well, especially when used single-ended or in pseudo triode mode by connecting the grids together. Pentodes and tetrodes are more efficient (give higher static power) and much cheaper than triodes, this price advantage is paid for in poorer linearity and therefore overall open loop power bandwidth and load stability, nature always gives with one hand and takes with the other!

Directly heated triodes on the other hand are highly linear amplifying devices, the directly heated triode is the original voltage amplifier, the first, only and still the best, it responds well to better circuits, components and materials, but they are less efficient and more expensive than pentodes and tetrodes. Thus they require efficient speakers, with power output being at a premium price."

Having heard it in real life I agree 100% with what they say - HOWEVER and it's a huge however - you NEED the speaker that suits them - otherwise thay can be truly HORRIBLE sounding - and I mean horrible.

I found a few places on the selling em for $29.99US. So if I get em to ship regular mail i might give it a try - but I'm asking around for more opinions first. I'm not sure I like this idea that one is supposed to use a portable cd player - this would imply the reviewers don;t think you can do better than portable cd players - so they are suspect IMO. Still the portability of the thing is kinda of nice in itself and if it's no better than $30.00 well hell - hook some getto speakers to it and take it to the beach.

[corwin99]

I hope you find someone to send you it cheap. Right now i am using it to power a pair of DIY Tang Band full range drivers i slapped together as computer speakers. I tried it with almost all the speakers i have (about 5 pairs) and it seemed to work the best with the Klipsch RB5's, which are 96db sensitive, but can hit 3ohms of impedence. Digital amps handle it well, SETs don't. Maybe we can melt some transformer coils :D

Its doing okay with the Tang Bands. Does image very well though, and has pretty good detail... something i wish my main amp had more of. Time to change.. but car audio has taken precedence for the moment.

The only SETs i've heard are some really expensive Cary ones in Hong Kong earlier this year. They were hooked up to these MASSIVE horns. I wasn't able to compare the sound to this little sonic impact. I did open the sucker up and its got like nothing in it. Most of the space is Battery compartment. Reminds me of the TEAC Legacy Digital amp. After hearing what the Teac can do i somewhat regret this purchase. I could have gotten the Teac for $100US at jr.com which is really reasonable.

[psonic]

I have one, and its already in Nanaimo

HUH? Not sure what you mean by this, corwin99.


RGA, you can get a 1/8" phono (diskman jack) to L R RCAs adapter at Rat Shack. I have one, so I can use any player. I had it running off my Rotel CD ;) You seem unsure about spending the ~ $40 for the T-AMP plus the adapter needed. Send me a PM and we can discuss shipping it to you for review. It would be cool to spread the word about it...if it's only half as good as the review says it is.

All interested, Rat Shack 1/8" to RCA adapters:
http://www.radioshack.com/search.asp?find=1%2F8%22+rca&hp=search&SRC=1

[corwin99]

HUH? Not sure what you mean by this, corwin99.

What i meant is, I own a Sonic Impact T-Amp, and i live in Nanaimo, where RGA is, and I could lend it to him if he wanted to try it out, rather than have you ship one out to him.

[psonic]

My bad corwin99, I completely missed your earlier post. Small world out here on the WWW...I am probably 4000 miles away, though! Very generous of you. This seems like the easiest way for him to audition one. Reading his reviews and considering his speaks, he is a perfect candidate. Do you have the RCA adapter?

As for your sound quality, the amp is supposed to have a 1500mah transformer (see http://www.si-5.com/). I have mine hooked to an 800mah (to save batteries) and I notice it clips too, just driving the included little speaks. It may need 1500? It does not clip with batteries.

RGA, you have a friendly neighbor here! Why don't you see if you can arrange pickup so we can get some feedback on it running the AN speaks...

[corwin99]

dang.. 1500! no wonder. I never bothered trying it with batteries... I figured 1000mah would be enough, not to mention it was the largest one i could find on Partsexpress without going to a more expensive actual outboard power supply. Maybe i will re-evaluate it with some Batteries.

I actually have lots of those 1/8" to RCA adapters.. i dunno how i ended up with them, but i have 3. I had a passive Preamp from CIAudio hooked up to it for a while, but i think there was better tonal balance using the internal pot, even tho it was lower quality. I'm in the process of building my own passive preamp with a Noble Pot and Tantalum Resistors at the moment, but i still need to order the case/chasis for it. I'll want to try that with the Sonic Impact.

I'm on the site looking for the specs as to the mA required for the Powersupply and i can't find it.. where did you see it? I do seem to recall Alkalines don't do so well drawing current... but that's compared with NiCD and NiMH rechargables used in RC Cars that can output up to 30Amps! Talk about a hot battery O_O

[psonic]

Yea some NiMH would be nice. They have over 2000mah, thats another good idea. Looking around the web, the 1500mah adapters are almost as much $ as the amp!

T-Amp adapter (actually says 1.5a)
http://mindfireis.com/cgi-bin/PnGC/PnGC_print.pl?mid=si_technologies&page=product_category

[corwin99]

Problem of course with NiMH is the voltage is only 1.2v per cell.. less voltage drop at high current though.

This one could work:
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=120-1135

Only about $20US and its 13.5v... should give it a bit more juice too. The max is 13.8v right?

[psonic]

Yes, I would think that part work, but the T-Amp adapter is the same price so tough call...

Did RGA contact you about your amp loan offer? I'm very much looking forward to his feedback on it...RGA, you still following this thread?

[corwin99]

He did not... however i have another interesting peice of news. I will be getting a pair of Radii KT88 15Watt SETs next week... I will be able to compare the two.

[niknik]

That's cool corwin99..!

What would be the most solution for powering the SI T-amp?
How many Volt? mah? Battery or power supply?

-a guy on headfi says that it would probably be the best to power it from batteries - rechargeable car-batteries as the best?

[corwin99]

A Car battery would certainly provide Stable, clean, hi current power... Might be a bit impractical though.

I don't know what method would be best, since i have only tried using a 1000mA Transformer. I have not even tried the batteries yet! :)

[niknik]

A Car battery would certainly provide Stable, clean, hi current power... Might be a bit impractical though.

I don't care.. I would just place it in my kitchen-closet next to the computer :D

any news?

I just recieved a couple of t-amps -for the price I am really impressed........................!

[corwin99]

Nothing new here.. When i get the Monoblocks i will compare. Are you powering the SI's with a car battery?

[niknik]

nope.. not yet anyhow... I managed to fry on up though -used it with an old power supply I had lying around. Should have been ok though -I just think i jammed it up too much maybe.. I didn't clip though -suddenly it was just dead.. I've got 2 more though -so I'm ok for now ;-)

On headfi a guy have tried with 3 different power supplies -but fresh batteries was still the best result soundwise..

[corwin99]

nope.. not yet anyhow... I managed to fry on up though -used it with an old power supply I had lying around. Should have been ok though -I just think i jammed it up too much maybe.. I didn't clip though -suddenly it was just dead.. I've got 2 more though -so I'm ok for now ;-)

On headfi a guy have tried with 3 different power supplies -but fresh batteries was still the best result soundwise..

hmm.. interesting. Yeah you can fry it with too much voltage from the power supply. I will have to try batteries for sure.

[niknik]

I plugged the Power supply into where the batteries was connected to start with.. Was that a mistake? I guess not? From what I can see on diyaudio -the guy that modded it there seems to be doing the same (of what I can see in the schematics he made -and the picture of the modded unit itself..)

[vr6ofpain]

I figure for $40.00 or less you can't go too wrong. I should think it would work better on my speakers than most - while I do have this skepticism of it - what the hell - i was skeptical of the Little RAT phono stage too and it's a stonking good little phono amp. And hey the AX Two is 1/4 the price of a lot of other speakers and IMO is clearly better - price and quality don;t always go hand in hand and this thing - well if they;re trying for a SET sound --- IMO that;s the RIGHT sound to be going after --

2.5 lbs regular mail I should not get hit for duty - is there anywhere I can buy it online? I'm currently evaluating a Skylan turntable base so that comes first but school is piling up too.

My Wharfedales are 95db 8 ohm beasties too - and I would not mind getting rid of that Marantz 4300 which is a giant dust collecting paper weight. Why do I not take my own advice and NOT buy a receiver *shakes heads rolls eyes.* Oh well two years left on the warranty I should be able to offload it. Hell if this Class T amp is ONLY as good as the receiver it would be worth it at 1/10 the price.

3 things I am curious about:

1) This Class T amp
2) "Little Rat phono stage"(is it cheap?)
3) Those stick on speakers @ Target

[vr6ofpain]

Is this "Rat phono stage" the one you find if you search "phono preamp" on radioshack's site?

also, I have a 12.0V 4.0ah sealed lead acid in my closet. I bought it to power my custom road bike light, a 20watt MR16 spot bulb.

Do you think this would fry the bastard? 4.0ah = 4000mah right...?

[corwin99]

Is this "Rat phono stage" the one you find if you search "phono preamp" on radioshack's site?

also, I have a 12.0V 4.0ah sealed lead acid in my closet. I bought it to power my custom road bike light, a 20watt MR16 spot bulb.

Do you think this would fry the bastard? 4.0ah = 4000mah right...?

The Rat Phono Stage is indeed the unit from Radio Shack.

As for whether the 12.0V 4.0ah battery will fry the bastard-- if you are referring to the Sonic Impact T-Amp, no it should not. The 4.0ah (or 4000mah) refers to the amount of charge it holds, which does not affect the amount of voltage. The voltage is what you have to worry about 12V will be fine.

[vr6ofpain]

do you think the 12.0V's is a little less than ideal? Didn't someone say that the adapter runs at 13.8V?

though if it runs off of 8 AA batteries(1.5V), isn't that 12 volts...?

[Bill K Davis]

What are the speaker connectors on this amp, and can anyone recommend decent, cheap, efficient speakers for it? I have a super mini-system in mind.

[corwin99]

Yeah.. it runs off 12V but it can go up to something like 13.8V or so if the supply is tightly regulated. The Speaker connectors are spring terminals. Crappy small dinky ones.. as far as recommending anything for it, i still am not that impressed with it, so i will hold off any recommendations... of all my speakers, the Klipsch RB-5 MKII's sounded the best with it. Sensitivity of 96db.

[vr6ofpain]

went to my local target. they didnt have it. the only thing they were selling was a two piece speaker system with somekind of an amp. it was a set for $19. the only thing was that the speakers were not the ones you mount on to anything, but premade ones, cardboard squares. and i assumed the smaller in line amp wasn't as nice as the 15watt one. I almost bought it for $15, but then decided not to.

i will pick up at least a couple of those stick on pads if I find them.

[RGA]

Yeah.. it runs off 12V but it can go up to something like 13.8V or so if the supply is tightly regulated. The Speaker connectors are spring terminals. Crappy small dinky ones.. as far as recommending anything for it, i still am not that impressed with it, so i will hold off any recommendations... of all my speakers, the Klipsch RB-5 MKII's sounded the best with it. Sensitivity of 96db.

I would not mind borrowing this from you if I may. I can;t for the next week or so because I have tons of homework - but perhpas I could meet you some place like Chapters.

Even though speakers can be sensitive some speakers have deeper impedence swings - my J's are an easier load than the E's so despite the fact that the E's are more sensitive they may actually be tougher to drive as the frequency esponse of the E has a 3.6ohm dip from 80hz right through the midbass to 200hz. Ie; a low powered amp would have trouble with the bass.

[vr6ofpain]

FEATURES • Class-T architecture • Single Supply Operation • “Audiophile” Quality Sound 0.04% THD+N @ 9W, 4. 0.18% IHF-IM @ 1W, 4. 11W @ 4., 0.1% THD+N 6W @ 8., 0.1% THD+N • High Power 15W @ 4., 10% THD+N 10W @ 8., 10% THD+N • High Efficiency 81% @ 15W, 4. 88% @ 10W, 8. • Dynamic Range = 102 dB • Mute and Sleep inputs • Turn-on & turn-off pop suppression • Over-current protection • Over-temperature protection

[vr6ofpain]

why not just pick up the t-amp there too!

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=300-952

[psonic]

went to my local target. they didnt have it. the only thing they were selling was a two piece speaker system with somekind of an amp. it was a set for $19. the only thing was that the speakers were not the ones you mount on to anything, but premade ones, cardboard squares. and i assumed the smaller in line amp wasn't as nice as the 15watt one. I almost bought it for $15, but then decided not to.

Are you talking about the set that comes with the triangle cardboard speaks, the amp & the bag? This is the 15w T-Amp in this kit, regular price should say 49.99...

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=2-2/qid=1098981364/ref=sr_2_2/601-4938893-8364100?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B00009W44A


RGA, glad you are going to audition it, looking forward...

[corwin99]

I would not mind borrowing this from you if I may. I can;t for the next week or so because I have tons of homework - but perhpas I could meet you some place like Chapters.

Even though speakers can be sensitive some speakers have deeper impedence swings - my J's are an easier load than the E's so despite the fact that the E's are more sensitive they may actually be tougher to drive as the frequency esponse of the E has a 3.6ohm dip from 80hz right through the midbass to 200hz. Ie; a low powered amp would have trouble with the bass.

Yes, the Klipsch RB-5's have a a similar dip at the low frequencies... Sure, no problem. Chapters works for me.. very close to my house. Send me an email at corwin at island dot net and we'll arrange something.

Damn i wish i knew that was selling at partsexpress i could've bought it there for much less money.

[vr6ofpain]

Are you talking about the set that comes with the triangle cardboard speaks, the amp & the bag? This is the 15w T-Amp in this kit, regular price should say 49.99...

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=2-2/qid=1098981364/ref=sr_2_2/601-4938893-8364100?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B00009W44A


No they had this one for $17.99(same price as online, I dont know why I quoted two prices in my first post?? :) ), but it was clear/red....UGLY!!
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=2-3/qid=1098983392/ref=sr_2_3/602-8784837-0119819?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B000087H9W

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000087H9W.16._AA384_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

[psonic]

No they had this one for $17.99(same price as online, I dont know why I quoted two prices in my first post?? :) ), but it was clear/red....UGLY!!
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=2-3/qid=1098983392/ref=sr_2_3/602-8784837-0119819?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B000087H9W

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000087H9W.16._AA384_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg



OK, that is the wrong one. Are there any other Targets nearby? Maybe you could give them a call, or just order online...

[vr6ofpain]

OK, that is the wrong one. Are there any other Targets nearby? Maybe you could give them a call, or just order online...

Wow. Well I guess your memory doesn't serve you well.
I will quote the post that you originally replied to:


went to my local target. they didnt have it. the only thing they were selling was a two piece speaker system with somekind of an amp. it was a set for $19. the only thing was that the speakers were not the ones you mount on to anything, but premade ones, cardboard squares. and i assumed the smaller in line amp wasn't as nice as the 15watt one. I almost bought it for $15, but then decided not to.

i will pick up at least a couple of those stick on pads if I find them.

So yes, there is one, but as I already said, I went to my "local" one, and they didn't have the t-amp of speaker pads. But instead they had the one set that I posted a picture of.

[corwin99]

Asking you if there are any other Targets around is a completely valid question, dood... he probably is thinking that other Targets might carry it. You need to chill dood.. dunno why you are so worked up.

[psonic]

Wow. Well I guess your memory doesn't serve you well.
I will quote the post that you originally replied to:

Yes, I read and remember what you stated about your local Target. You stated that you visited one. I asked you if there are perhaps other stores nearby, IE I have 3 targets within 20 miles. It seems maybe you misread or forgot what I posted....


As for powering the T-Amp, see this thread: http://www.pesupport.com/cgi-bin/config.pl?read=188397

It states:
"The Sonic Impact amp uses a Tripath TA2024 chip. Absolute maximum voltage to the chip is specified at 16 volts. Anything above that and “damage to the device may occur.” Under operating conditions, the voltage is specified at 8.5 v minimum, 12 v typical and 13.2 v maximum. This is a pretty tight range and most wall-warts have little if any regulation built in. I’m keeping my eyes open for a little 12 v, 2 amp switching wall-wart or cord-wart as they have far better regulation. Tapping 12 volts off of the computer power supply for computer applications is also an excellent way to go."

[vr6ofpain]

Yes, I read and remember what you stated about your local Target. You stated that you visited one. I asked you if there are perhaps other stores nearby, IE I have 3 targets within 20 miles. It seems maybe you misread or forgot what I posted....


As for powering the T-Amp, see this thread: http://www.pesupport.com/cgi-bin/config.pl?read=188397

It states:
"The Sonic Impact amp uses a Tripath TA2024 chip. Absolute maximum voltage to the chip is specified at 16 volts. Anything above that and “damage to the device may occur.” Under operating conditions, the voltage is specified at 8.5 v minimum, 12 v typical and 13.2 v maximum. This is a pretty tight range and most wall-warts have little if any regulation built in. I’m keeping my eyes open for a little 12 v, 2 amp switching wall-wart or cord-wart as they have far better regulation. Tapping 12 volts off of the computer power supply for computer applications is also an excellent way to go."


No I knew what you said, I just don't think it was that clear. I guess I didn't really look at the "other" part. My bad. What you said about the voltage is good. As I stated, I have a sealed lead acid, 12V 4.0ah battery that would probably work very well with this thing.
It would also give me the portability, and I could use it indoors too. Plus i think the voltage would be pretty stable for the most part. That is until the battery starts to get low.

Does anyone know what exactly was meant by a previous post about transformer noise? If this is valid, every amp has this problem. Honestly I have never heard of anyone mentioning this, but I'm not saying this is wrong. I'm more curious if this is a very minimal problem, if a problem at all.

[vr6ofpain]

if there are perhaps other stores nearby, IE I have 3 targets within 20 miles.

I checked the Target back in the bay area while I was there this weekend. They also only had the smaller amp/square speaker combo, but in silver. Maybe they don't carry the t-amp and soundpads in stores anymore, but only online?

[uzibear]

what would be some good cheap speakers to use with this guy? i mean around the $200 mark or so. i'm thinking of using this in my home system connected to my ipod through line out because my funds are seriously lacking at them moment

[uzibear]

someone suggested i use some jbl control 1 speakers with this little guy. what do you guys think?

[corwin99]

They are rated at 87db sensitivity so they probably aren't ideal but they do have a 4ohm impedence so you will get the more power out of the amp. Just look for a speaker with high sensitivity (over 90db) and 4ohm impedence.. and above all, make sure it sounds good.

[uzibear]

any ideas of speakers that fit the bill under the $200 mark?

[corwin99]

Under $200? no.. not really. There aren't a whole lot of 4ohm speakers in general and even less in the under $200 zone i would think, since most budget amps can't handle 4ohms.

If i were you i'd get myself a sweet pair of component speakers for cars or something like a pair of JL Audio VR Series and put them in an MDF box... or go to partsexpress and get a nice pair of full range speakers that are 4ohms.. I purchased the Tang Band ones that are 90db.. 4" and $23 each... mounted them inside an MDF box, they didn't turn out fantastic and i'm sure the JBLs probably sound better, considering how crap i made the boxes :) but they image like crazy and it was fun. They probably costed about $70US after all the materials. I used some really nice binding posts in the back.

these are the ones i got:
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=264-828

They appear to be the same drivers used in the Omega Minuet Speakers, except the minuet uses 2 of them at 8ohms. These drivers dont need crossovers as they are full range. Again remember i'm not a speaker engineer and my box was crap and they don't sound that great they way i have 'em, but they can be made to sound good.

[uzibear]

well, i'm already bidding on the jbl's, for a very good price. so hopefully they will work out. we'll see. i'll let y'all know

[psonic]

Maybe something very sensitive like this? I see them used for less money too...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=71569&item=5728905940&rd=1