Another Great Low Cost Amp Choice for Omega Speakers

Bwanagreg · « **on:** 17 Nov 2004, 12:14 am »

I though this was worth a cross-post here since not everyone visits the Digital Domain looking for amp ideas. Don't be put off by the concept of a battery powered amp. With Fostex drivers these amps have all the power and drive you need and they sound great with Louis' speakers.

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=14587

mcgsxr · « **Reply #1 on:** 17 Nov 2004, 01:08 am »

There certainly seem to be some fantastic, highly affordable options these days, in the digital world. Some folks are loving the digital receivers, others the JVC hybrids, still others the Teac Tripath goodies, and still others are using Tripath boards built up with battery power, such as Bolder's, or VinnieR's.

No excuses not to have great sound now!

BTW, I add my congrats to Lou for the positive S'phile coverage.

ludavico · « **Reply #2 on:** 17 Nov 2004, 02:58 pm »

"The speed of this thing is unreal fast, and it likely qualifies for waaaay more than a desktop system. -That is underemployment with an amp like this, IMHO." -Dmason

So I am not hallucinating then....

Phew.

That speed can be addicting.

John

Bwanagreg · « **Reply #3 on:** 17 Nov 2004, 04:36 pm »

I hear the same thing with my Bolder-built amp. This is a lightning fast combo. The interesting thing is the way it balances warmth with speed. I used to think that was mutually exclusive - not true.

ludavico · « **Reply #4 on:** 17 Nov 2004, 05:09 pm »

Greg,

Are you using the new Bolder Exodus amp with the replacement for the LCAudio chip? Is the new chip a Tripath or Hypex or something else?

I am really interested in a review of these babies.

John

Bwanagreg · « **Reply #5 on:** 17 Nov 2004, 05:28 pm »

No, this is a one-off Tripath amp that Wayne built for me (although he did offer to build a few more). Here is my review:

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=13518

Dmason · « **Reply #6 on:** 18 Nov 2004, 06:09 pm »

I have to say I am completely amazed at the synergy between the battery Tripath and Fostex 8". The speakers are breaking in along with the amp, and listening to atmospheric music like Jon & Vangelis, in the dark last night, the ambient reverb cues put me in this cavernous "venue" the sheen of sustained crash cymbals was better than I recall hearing it, with that vague oscillation in timbre....Piano is done about perfectly, I could identify this one as a Yamaha semi grand, no doubt.

This is one near perfect combination, and it is only getting better.

Bemopti123 · « **Reply #7 on:** 19 Nov 2004, 01:05 am »

Gosh, I am drooling at the possibilities and also at the cost, for just $400....paired with my 8" Fostex in a read loaded horn....and a 800 watt class D BASH sub. Boom.

JLM · « **Reply #8 on:** 20 Nov 2004, 04:18 pm »

Dmason,

Is that the 90 dB/w/m F200A 8 inch Fostex you're talking about?

Thanks to Mark in Canada I got a good chance to hear the JVC RX-ES1SL with my F200A based speakers and it sounded very good (especially after the 300 hour mark).

How would the Boulder modded Tripath compare to the JVC I heard? Would it be loud enough? (I'm not a head banger, but like my response down to 30 Hz or lower.)

I'm picking up a slightly used Sony S7700 DVD for use as a transport and looking at the Ack dAck! DAC which is also battery powered. Wow, that could be good, eh?

thanks

mcgsxr · « **Reply #9 on:** 20 Nov 2004, 05:29 pm »

Jeff, just to clarify there are two options available here being discussed, in terms of Tripath battery amps.

Wayne's Bolder unit, and VinnieR's Clari-T amp.

I am not the guy to go any further with comparing the sounds of the JVC etc, heck, I look forward to comparing the JVC with my Teacs.

I am sure that Dmason can shed some light on this for us.

JLM · « **Reply #10 on:** 21 Nov 2004, 02:00 pm »

Bemo,

My experience with tube versus solid state would suggest that most tube amps exhibit poor bass damping. With horn/compression loading this works well, but with higher Qts drivers in other cabinets low damping factors lead to exagerated bass. Conversely solid state amps with horn/compression loading sound anemic, but tight/controlled in higher Qts/cabinet type applications.

This is partially why Omega speakers sound balanced (not lacking of bass) even though they're only rated down to about 55 Hz (after all they're designed with tube amps in mind).

Mark,

Please let us know how the Boulder modded Tripath compares to the JVC when you get them both in the house. The smaller battery Tripaths may be a stretch with my speakers, but its still most intriging. OTOH I may still pick up a JVC F10 while this stuff settles out a bit (and later move it over to my HT system/room).

Dmason · « **Reply #11 on:** 21 Nov 2004, 10:04 pm »

Just noticed this. I'm not going to attempt to differentiate between the battery Tripath's sound vs the JVC. But, I can tell you that the Vinnie Rossi amp is the quickest, most amazingly dynamic amp I have ever heard, and the effect is totally addictive. Bwanagreg willingly concurs. The JVC somehow reminds me of a good tube amp, but with balls and lots of speaker control. I do not prefer one over the other.

Dynamics as they should be, and with the battery Nixon DAC, this is a completely noiseless system, the effect being more than noticeable, it seems to make ALL the difference. The Nixon DAC offers a warm, musical approach and it is like hand-in-glove with the warmth and resolving nature of the Tripath sonic. The amp has a whole lot of juice for what it is and punches waaaaay above its weight. We watched "Attack of the Clones" last night and it was plenty loud. The soundtrack was fabulously musical.

The 8" Fostex I was referring to JLM, were the FE207E, the paper whizzers, which are nothing like the old Norelcos of the past. Anyone who still fears whizzers needs to hear these things, and I can now see why the Omega Grande 8 is such a success. I have not yet used the BatTery amp with the 90db F200A because the sensitivity rating is abit lower than what I would want.

Bemopti123 · « **Reply #12 on:** 21 Nov 2004, 10:52 pm »

Dmason, still, wouldn't it be interesting to see how this battery powered digiamp would sound, even if the F200As were not necessarily powerhouses? The FInal Music 6 I have is barely rated at 10 watts, but it was measured at 17 watts at clipping. I have heard of someone who ran my amp with a Merlin TSM and it really drove them well. The TSM is rated at 87-88db per watt? The same person told me that his Wavac SET at 20 watts sounded anemic in comparison to the Final 10 watts. So, nothing to lose, maybe just a charge. How long does the charge last in this amp? How long does the charge take and what is supposedly the life span of the battery? PS: What cabs do you use with the F200as?

JLM · « **Reply #13 on:** 21 Nov 2004, 11:16 pm »

Dmason,

Please do try the F200A with the battery Tripath. Wayne at Boulder thinks it's doable in my 2200 cubic foot room with transmission line loading at most any reasonable listening levels. I agree that it's less than an ideal mating from a power standpoint, but the alternative might be a JVC F10. BTW Wayne rates his battery Tripath at 10 wpc and 8 ohms. I had a 12 wpc tube amp here a couple of months ago and it was plenty loud enough for me.

Wayne believes in using an active tube amp. The new Decware CSP could be just the ticket for $600 (good impedance match, powerful, and a wonderful balance between the best of traditional tubes and solid state).

Dmason · « **Reply #14 on:** 22 Nov 2004, 08:23 pm »

I will get around to using the Clari-T-Amp with the F200A, (which are in 25L B/R boxes that were built to house FX200,) and are crossed over at I think 95Hz, to a VBT sub, using the excellent DSP of the JVC. Wayne qualified his opinion with the transmission loaded factor which should jack up the overall efficiency of that system. Mine is far less than optimal for that driver, but works perfectly for how I have all this new stuff implemented. (And won't be changing anytime soon.)

The only things that have been stopping me are time allowance, and how good Vinnie's amp sounds with the F207E. An amazing synergy there. Someone mentioned damping factors, tubes, SS, and C/D horns, which is the case with the Radian 508 tweeter, an Al horn, and the Tripath works well, not behaving sonically like one would expect from a SS amp; this had been established some time ago on Audiogon that the Tripath works better than SS amps with CD horns.

I am planning a trip to visit an acquaintance who has the big vintage JBL Jubal? two ways, and also Edgarhorns, because Dr Bruce lives nearby. The Edgars also use the Radian 8" in the mids. The Clari-T-Amp is a fantastic candidate for full range, over 92db speakers. I am becoming more and more impressed with it as time and burn in go on. It reeeelly has some moments.