I've been running vintage-ish solid state this and that amps for 10+ years. Even an oddball amp and a tube amp or two. Mostly 70's and 80's Japanese, all the way up to a Nakamichi PA-7. But for the last year or so I've gone in an entirely different direction; I've been seduced by the siren song of Class-D, in particular the TPA series from TI. The entry level was amp boards based on the TPA3116D2 chip, which will give a respectable 30W per channel, and a disrespectable 50W. However, I've since moved up the line, to a TPA3251 based amp. This is not just a board, but a complete plug-n-play amp (Sinewave G3H). Unfortunately, there have been far fewer commercial implementations of the higher power boards, such as the TPA3245, 3250, 3251, 3255.
As far as the sound goes, I was impressed with the TPA3116, but it ran out of steam pretty quickly. My speakers, Vandersteen 2ce, are 86dB sensitive, and need a good bit of wellie to really come alive. So the 3116 setup hasn't seen a whole lot of action here. Not to mention that many of the implementations are plagued with an on/off *pop* that can be a bit unnerving.
However, when I got the 3251 based amp, the game changed. It was clean without being dry, smooth without being slow, and powerful (almost) without limit. More than any other amp I've had, it sounds like no amp at all--just gain. It puts out a very respectable 120W per channel, and up to 150Wpc with rapidly rising distortion. This adequately pushes the Vandersteens, but I feel like there could still be a bit more headroom. Realistically though, I don't listen to music loud, per se, and don't max out the headroom that I currently have. It's just missing that last bit of bass control. It's probably all in my head.
Others have said that these amps sound their best with a tube preamp, and I tend to agree. I'm running a Schiit Saga, which is basically a stepped attenuator with a 6SN7 buffer (0db gain). Because the amp imparts no flavor of its own, it lets the preamp flavor, or lack thereof, shine through.
For what it is? IMHO it's a mind-blowing good value. It cost me a hair above $200 shipped from China, but I think it's competitive (to say the least) with Class A/B amps that cost several multiples of its price. It's definitely changed the way I look at good audio value. I can't afford to play in the "big leagues", and the local used market is very slim pickings (except when @ICTWoody goes on a selling bender
). But I don't feel that I'm missing anything that money could buy, outside of what I noted above.
For the adventurous person who's not afraid to have audio paradigms shattered, I recommend the high power TPA series highly!
Anyone else at HFH playing around with these?
As far as the sound goes, I was impressed with the TPA3116, but it ran out of steam pretty quickly. My speakers, Vandersteen 2ce, are 86dB sensitive, and need a good bit of wellie to really come alive. So the 3116 setup hasn't seen a whole lot of action here. Not to mention that many of the implementations are plagued with an on/off *pop* that can be a bit unnerving.
However, when I got the 3251 based amp, the game changed. It was clean without being dry, smooth without being slow, and powerful (almost) without limit. More than any other amp I've had, it sounds like no amp at all--just gain. It puts out a very respectable 120W per channel, and up to 150Wpc with rapidly rising distortion. This adequately pushes the Vandersteens, but I feel like there could still be a bit more headroom. Realistically though, I don't listen to music loud, per se, and don't max out the headroom that I currently have. It's just missing that last bit of bass control. It's probably all in my head.
Others have said that these amps sound their best with a tube preamp, and I tend to agree. I'm running a Schiit Saga, which is basically a stepped attenuator with a 6SN7 buffer (0db gain). Because the amp imparts no flavor of its own, it lets the preamp flavor, or lack thereof, shine through.
For what it is? IMHO it's a mind-blowing good value. It cost me a hair above $200 shipped from China, but I think it's competitive (to say the least) with Class A/B amps that cost several multiples of its price. It's definitely changed the way I look at good audio value. I can't afford to play in the "big leagues", and the local used market is very slim pickings (except when @ICTWoody goes on a selling bender
). But I don't feel that I'm missing anything that money could buy, outside of what I noted above. For the adventurous person who's not afraid to have audio paradigms shattered, I recommend the high power TPA series highly!
Anyone else at HFH playing around with these?
DSC_2459
