T-Amp Questions

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UMASS

Gawd
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Jan 17, 2008
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Hi All: I noticed from many of the threads here that many of you are using T-Amps. Seems like you like them overall. I was looking @ this "Sewell Silverback AMP @ 50 WPC @ 8 ohms.

Link:

http://sewelldirect.com/Sewell-Silv...r-50-WPC.asp?gclid=CJ-Sn8SB770CFaVQOgodPjwA7Q

It appears as I've been poking around that this amp is the same as many others. Just different aesthetics. Dayton Audio looks to be the same item here:

http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-dta-120-class-t-digital-mini-amplifier-60-wpc--300-3800

Most likely made by the same Chinese company? Any difference? Also...Do you like the sound from T-Amps? Seems like you cannot hook-up a sub, if you're using a splitter/3.5mm cable to the computer's soundcard. They look awful attractive for their price point.
 
can't find much info on that sewell it might be a clone of the DTA-100A but it might also be using an entirely chip (the DTA-100A uses the TK2050 not sure what that sewell uses

it seems like it comes with a lot of stuff for the price... could be good but haven't heard it so can't say for sure .. The DTA-100A is certainly a much more of a known quantity with reviews galore.


My T-amp is a rather modest output rated (25Watts 4ohms or 13~ @ 8ohms) SMSL SA-S3 i have been pleased with it ... if you want to use a sub with these you either need a sub with speaker level inputs or a splitter

if you look on ebay sure electronics has a class D (TDA7498) amp with sub out (haven't heard it so ??) also not sure what the deal is with the crossover don't see a control for it ..so not sure if it adjustable??

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-X-100Watt...mplifier_Parts_Components&hash=item20e424f33d


here is a video showing my SMSL SA-S3 + some vintage Realistic Minimus 77 speakers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs1-fSNoi9c&feature=youtu.be

of course these types of video's are of dubious use as it depends on the gear capturing ..etc .. just cap'd this with my little samsung point and shoot dig camera...

in general I am quite pleased with the sound quality my t-amp has provided... there are others out there that are less enthusiastic about these chipamps certainly...
 
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I have a smaller generic t amp that i have been very happy with. Allows me to run speakers that are in an entirely better class then multi media pc speakers. I run a set of book shelf speakers and could not be happier to regain all the space i was giving up to a receiver prior to the t amp.
 
Atarione: Thanks for your insight. Amazing that 50 WPC can be that small. Last night I took a little time to understand what makes the T-Amps work (Tripath's chipset) I'm going to try that Sewell version & see how it sounds. Right now I'm using an older (large) HT Marantz receiver. It sounds wonderful, but takes up a lot of desk space & doesn't look right sitting on my desk. I can do s splitter via my soundcard for the sub as you mentioned. I understand why so many people like them (inexpensive & small footprint)
 
I am totally ignorant on this subject and this seems a good thread to ask: I'm looking for a budget amp similar to the DTA-100A — I purchased a pair of Micca MB42X bookshelf speakers, a Polk PSW10 subwoofer and I'd like to eventually purchase a med/high end pair of headphones—something like Sennheiser HD600's to use with this device. Would the DTA-100A suit my needs?

I'm thinking, 2 x 3.5mm Y-splitters; one from amp to sound card, the other from sub to soundcard should work, yes?
 
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I'm using a Topping TP20Mk2. I really love it; the sound quality is amazing (and they can be comparable to much more expensive setups from what I've read). The thing I noticed is that thanks to my sound card having a small bit of amping on the headphone jack (Creative Z series), I don't have any trouble driving these Paradigm V3's; it's very loud even at 10% volume knob. If I connect this amp to most other devices though, I have to jack up the volume a decent amount (especially for my Surface Pro).

So the main thing with these T Amps I think is that you need a sensitive pair of speakers, but they do sound good. Something with low wattage requirements. I think there were some... I forgot their names, but Cambridge something or others? I think people were saying these T Amps went well with those. They're a tad expensive though. I'm also not sure if all of these T Amps can withstand being connected to another amp, too.
 
Just received the Sewell Silverback T-AMP. I must admit, it sounds pretty damn good! Perfect size & I love the brushed silver aluminum faceplate. Looks great. All for $65.95! I think it's a complete match to the Dayton DTA-120 & costs $33.85 less.

Also...I discovered these 12 gauge Silverback speaker wires that are already terminated with nice gold-plated banana plugs for short money.

http://sewelldirect.com/Silverback-...e-Copper-259-Strand-Count-6-ft-Terminated.asp

I purchased 2-6' & 2-3' sets. These are excellent & not expensive @ all.

Plugged-in my 80GB Zune (get a god laugh! Yes...I still own one) Looks like this will set on my desk & I'll move the Marantz somewhere else.
 
Scyles said:
I am totally ignorant on this subject and this seems a good thread to ask: I'm looking for a budget amp similar to the DTA-100A — I purchased a pair of Micca MB42X bookshelf speakers, a subwoofer and I'd like to eventually purchase a med/high end pair of headphones—something like Sennheiser HD600's to use with this device. Would the DTA-100A suit my needs?

I'm thinking, 2 x 3.5mm Y-splitters; one from amp to sound card, the other from sub to soundcard should work, yes?
Click to expand...

Use a 3.5mm mono adaptor here:

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=104&cp_id=10429&cs_id=1042902&p_id=7146&seq=1&format=2

And a subwoofer cable here:

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=102&cp_id=10236&cs_id=1023603&p_id=2680&seq=1&format=2

There are different lengths for the sub cable. I assume you have an LPF input? If not, you'll need this in addition:

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=102&cp_id=10236&cs_id=1023603&p_id=6261&seq=1&format=2

Hope this helps.
 
I personally don't like the sound from my T-amp. It is thin, sounds like a receiver.When I switch it with a dedicated amp there is a big difference.

They are cheap, small and often good enough, it depends on your purpose. TV and gaming they are fine, but I don't like mine for music at all.
 
dandragonrage said:
I cannot recommend an adapter like that. Get a cable that does the adapting (or an adapter with cable in it, however you prefer to think about it).

3.5mm jacks are extremely weak and you should not put any more torque on them than absolutely necessary.

Personally I recommend to NEVER use ANY kind of hard adapter like that.
Click to expand...

Dandragonrage: Works for me. Please provide a link if you want people to understand. Takes a second to do! BTW....If you bought a NAD D3020 amp, your only fitting for a subwoofer is a 3.5mm. Can't find many 3.5mm/sub terminated cables out there. The adaptor works fine. Relax.

NAD D 3020 Manual Link:

http://nadelectronics.com/products/digital-music/D-3020-Hybrid-Digital-Amplifier#heading-downloads
 
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UMASS said:
Dandragonrage: Works for me. Please provide a link if you want people to understand. Takes a second to do! BTW....If you bought a NAD D3020 amp, your only fitting for a subwoofer is a 3.5mm. Can't find many 3.5mm/sub terminated cables out there. The adaptor works fine. Relax.
Click to expand...

What do you know - what I recommended is indeed rare. Very common in stereo, not at all in mono. You can use a stereo adapter, using either or both wires (using both would just put the wires in parallel, which doesn't offer any particular advantages, but if you happen to buy stereo cables you may think it looks neater to use the whole cable).

I'd probably just make my own adapter for this, but aside from that, I'd easily sooner recommend the stereo version and just ignoring one of the RCA connectors. Nothing will get shorted out this way as long as nothing touches the inside of the RCA connector that you don't use, but you could tape it off or something. Actually, even that one has pretty heavy cable. A short adapter like that can and probably should use thinner, more flexible cable. Call it a port saver if you will.

Still, using a stereo adapter for mono is still better than taking a significant risk in using a hard adapter. And yes, I've seen multiple 3.5mm ports break from hard adapters just like that. 3.5mm jacks are some of the weakest.

You could also get a 6" 3.5mm to 3.5mm extension cable and plug your hard adapter into that. This is what I do with my PC keyboard - I bought a 6" PS/2 extension cable. Into that I plugged my keyboard's USB->PS2 adapter, and then the USB cable from the keyboard. This way the hard adapter is in the middle of my cable and not directly putting torque on my motherboard's PS2 connector. Another example is in DVI to VGA or HDMI adapters. Never use a hard adapter for that purpose, either.
 
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UMASS said:
The sound isn't affected by the adaptor, so what's the trouble? I don't pull it out ever. Don't get any "crackling" from it. How is it going to break? Help please.
Click to expand...

Your adapter is fine for audio quality; it's just that adapters like that apply a lot of torque to a connector like a lever. RCA cables are typically much thicker and heavier than 3.5mm audio cables, and I've seen adapters like yours physically break the 3.5mm jack multiple times. I think I had it happen to me twice before I swore off adapters like that.

When we still had a lot of monitors hooked up via DVI to VGA adapters at my work, some of our users would break the adapters by shoving the PC tower up against the side of their cubicle for whatever reason. I didn't see any of those people actually break a GPU, though I've seen the DVI slots on the GPUs become looser/weaker (but still functional).

With an adapter like that, make absolutely certain that the RCA cable is not pulling on the adapter or your 3.5mm jack WILL break. If you're careful, it could give you years of service. If you forget and you're rewiring some audio stuff and you accidentally pull on the RCA cable even just slightly in the wrong direction, snap.
 
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