Modifications For the TBI Millenia Amp

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Danny Richie

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Re: Modifications For the TBI Millenia Amp
« Reply #40 on: 14 Apr 2013, 01:34 am »
Okay, OzarkTom sent me his amp and I have spent a little time with it.

Usually when an amp comes in for me to listen to there is always some setback or some negative quality that stands out. I usually notice it right away and it is hard for me to get past. I am just used to some really nice amps and it is hard for me to go back to average or typical. However, this one was different. Hmmmm... okay... wait a minute.... really?  Hmmmm...

I had a pair of Serenity Acoustics Super-7's burning in so it was no problem to drop this amp in. I had no idea what this amp really was or even what the power rating was. I just dropped it in and turned it on. These speakers have 97db sensitivity and the amp only drives them from 200Hz and up. The lower ranges of these speakers have their own servo amps.

I hooked the amp up using the supplied small battery.

Funny thing is not a whole lot changed for me. I took me a while to let it soak in that this was a different amp. Critical listening noted differences from the tube amps that I am used to. But the differences weren't night and day or buzz kill differences. Nothing really great stood out to me, but nothing was really wrong either. The amps were pretty smooth, real balanced, had good detail levels, and a good vocal range. Even the dynamics were real good. I had no idea it was only an 8 or 10 watt amp.

A little back and forth with my little Dodd Audio, battery powered, 30 watt mono blocks, with some selective music revealed what one would expect. The little MG3 lacks some of the lushness in the mid-range. It was not quite as musically involving as my tube amps either, but it was no blow away. My tube amps also had better imaging and sound stage size, but not by a lot.

This is a great sounding little amp. My only real gripe was a little bit of buzz or hum. It was clearly louder than my tube amps (they are very quiet) and could be heard from the listening position. On a speaker with 90db sensitivity or less it might not be heard. But on a speaker with 97db sensitivity the humming needs attention. If that humming noise floor were dropped out then I'd really like it.

I also couldn't help but wonder how much better it would sound if I put it on my big 100 amp hour battery? Being battery powered is a great thing. AC power and noisy AC lines are pretty rough on these digital amps. The last set of digital mono blocks that came through here were really finicky about power cables and power conditioning. They needed a good $1,500 worth of conditioners and cables ahead of them for them to reach a reasonable sound. This little MG3 amp was plugged into about a $16 battery.  :lol:

I also noted it sound better with the volume knob pulled back a little from wide open. Usually these cheap little pots sound best all the way up. This usually puts less resistance in the path, and sounds better. Not so with this one. And the hum was a little less too. It might sound better if this pot were removed too. I controlled the volume with my Dodd Audio battery powered pre-amp.

My whole system is off the grid except for the amps powering the servo subs. So this amp fit right in.

Two thumbs up for this little amp.  :thumb:  :thumb:
« Last Edit: 12 Jun 2013, 02:31 pm by Danny Richie »

Freo-1

Re: Modifications For the TBI Millenia Amp
« Reply #41 on: 17 Apr 2013, 12:37 am »
Danny, very nice write up.  Considering your reputation for "calling it as you see it", this is high praise indeed.  The fact that this amp is under 600.00 shipped is icing on the cake. 

Even die hard SET owners should at least audition it, as it could be a good spare amp to keep around in case the tube amps decide to play up (as they occasionally are known to do).

abernardi

Re: Modifications For the TBI Millenia Amp
« Reply #42 on: 17 Apr 2013, 04:10 am »
I also noted it sound better with the volume knob pulled back a little from wide open. Usually these cheap little pots sound best all the way up. This usually puts less resistance in the path, and sounds better. Not so with this one. And the hum was a little less pulled back some too. It might sound better if this pot were removed too. I controlled the volume with my Dodd Audio battery powered pre-amp.

I noticed the same thing.  With the volume knob wide open it almost seemed as if it was causing the amp to drive too hard, but when I pulled it back a little, the sound relaxed.  This was also w/ a Dodd battery pre-amp.  I'm waiting to get mine back with the latest upgrade, can't wait!

sugbob21

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Re: Modifications For the TBI Millenia Amp
« Reply #43 on: 29 Apr 2013, 12:02 pm »
hi Ozark Tom.... can u recomend a tube preamp to use with the Millenia.  A Dodd tube buffer was one recomendation. can u recomend something else that would be a good value on a limited budget ?    thanks.

underdawg

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Re: Modifications For the TBI Millenia Amp
« Reply #44 on: 29 Apr 2013, 02:11 pm »
a very good inexpensive tube preamp to try is the bottle head quickie. here is a link www.bottlehead.com the select forums or look at what they have for sale. the preamp is 99.00 plus shipping. we have compared to preamps costing thousands and it did well and better than most.

sugbob21

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Re: Modifications For the TBI Millenia Amp
« Reply #45 on: 29 Apr 2013, 03:10 pm »
hi underdawg.....the bottlehead looks nice and the price is right but i am all thumbs and am not inclined to try and put one of those together....i would probably blow it up.. lol

roscoeiii

Re: Modifications For the TBI Millenia Amp
« Reply #46 on: 29 Apr 2013, 03:49 pm »
hi underdawg.....the bottlehead looks nice and the price is right but i am all thumbs and am not inclined to try and put one of those together....i would probably blow it up.. lol

You might be able to find an AC DIYer who could put the Bottlehead together for you for a fee. I think quietglow might be interested in potentially doing this, since he could then hear the Bottlehead in his system before shipping it off to you. He and I just grabbed some nice audiophile solder...

jtwrace

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Re: Modifications For the TBI Millenia Amp
« Reply #47 on: 29 Apr 2013, 03:51 pm »
just grabbed some nice audiophile solder...
What?  You do know that there is no such thing right?

roscoeiii

Re: Modifications For the TBI Millenia Amp
« Reply #48 on: 29 Apr 2013, 03:59 pm »
What?  You do know that there is no such thing right?

Well, $10 for 20ft of stuff that at the very least is praised as being easy to work with was money I was happy to spend.

abernardi

Re: Modifications For the TBI Millenia Amp
« Reply #49 on: 2 May 2013, 04:07 am »
What?  You do know that there is no such thing right?

  I know this is slightly OT, but now that it's been brought up (and I'm not interested in a flame war, I'm just looking for some education on this).  Cardas makes Quad Eutectic solder, and I've heard other solders with a higher silver content should make for a better connection and better sound.  True? False?

roscoeiii

Re: Modifications For the TBI Millenia Amp
« Reply #50 on: 2 May 2013, 04:27 am »
  I know this is slightly OT, but now that it's been brought up (and I'm not interested in a flame war, I'm just looking for some education on this).  Cardas makes Quad Eutectic solder, and I've heard other solders with a higher silver content should make for a better connection and better sound.  True? False?

I have no idea. This question is likely better suited to a DIY forum.

wushuliu

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Re: Modifications For the TBI Millenia Amp
« Reply #51 on: 2 May 2013, 06:39 am »
  I know this is slightly OT, but now that it's been brought up (and I'm not interested in a flame war, I'm just looking for some education on this).  Cardas makes Quad Eutectic solder, and I've heard other solders with a higher silver content should make for a better connection and better sound.  True? False?

Higher silver content usually means higher temperatures needed. If you are not experienced with soldering stick w/ the Cardas - it melts like butter. That said you can buy small portions of Mundorf Silver/Gold solder on ebay to experiment for <$15 IIRC.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MUNDORF-MSolder-Silver-Gold-Solder-/200917043699?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ec796c9f3

victor_cc

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Re: Modifications For the TBI Millenia Amp
« Reply #52 on: 10 May 2013, 07:08 am »

Hi there,

I got the Millenia a few weeks ago and I wanted to try the fuse replacement. I am not used to DIYing but I thought that the replacement would be a piece of cake so I opened up the case and I was a bit disappointed as I could not access the fuse easily, in fact I did not see the fuse at all. I saw the other fuse, the one used by the battery compartment, but not the "interesting" one.

It would be great if somebody could try to explain me how to get access to the inner part of the Millenia "easily". So far I only go to this (image borrowed from another post):




Cheers,
 
   Victor.

Danny Richie

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Re: Modifications For the TBI Millenia Amp
« Reply #53 on: 10 May 2013, 02:06 pm »
Seeing that picture reminds me of why I don't use binding posts anymore.

victor_cc

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Re: Modifications For the TBI Millenia Amp
« Reply #54 on: 11 May 2013, 09:55 am »
Why?  :?

Danny Richie

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Re: Modifications For the TBI Millenia Amp
« Reply #55 on: 11 May 2013, 06:32 pm »
Why?  :?

A binding post inserts a large metal mass into the signal path. Binding posts do not allow for an internal crimped connection.
Binding post are extremely hard to solder to as they are like soldering to a heat sink. So often soldered connections fail do to poor solder joints. Binding posts have to be used in a given length depending on the depth of the cabinet material and nearly all binding posts can only be used in up to a 3/4" thick material. Binding posts require access to the inside of the enclosure for mounting.  Many loudspeakers have limited or no access internally to the binding posts making it nearly impossible to get any tool into the inside of the cabinet to tighten them up. It can be difficult to seal the internal connections with heat shrink with some binding post, and I never leave bare wire exposed on a joint like the one pictured above. Another problem with some binding post is the difficulty in getting the internal nut started onto the threads of the binding post because a spec of solder got on a thread while soldering to it or the heat shrink did not shrink down far enough to get the nut over it.

DaveC113

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Re: Modifications For the TBI Millenia Amp
« Reply #56 on: 11 May 2013, 06:53 pm »
Yeah, the Pomona binding posts might be better suited to that amp... Cardas makes nice stuff but those binding posts are way too big/chunky IMO...

Pomona 3770 are gold plated tellurium copper, small size, low mass, easy to solder to, and relatively cheap at $8.86 each. They made a big difference in my system. They aren't as pretty as the Cardas units but I'd bet they sound better.

http://www.pomonaelectronics.com/pdf/d3750-3760-3770_101.pdf

http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Pomona-Electronics/3770-0/?qs=yih5jomMvb3Uhbdu3XO/Ag==


Ric Schultz

Re: Modifications For the TBI Millenia Amp
« Reply #57 on: 14 May 2013, 02:38 am »
Please check out http://www.tweakaudio.com/EVS-2/amp_pics.html for a large pic of my binding post bypass system (using the binding post as a wire to wire or wire to spade clamp).  Sonically better than anything and you can use inexpensive binding posts.  Even slightly better sonically on the speakers is to make the clamps out of wood or plastic.

mikeeastman

Re: Modifications For the TBI Millenia Amp
« Reply #58 on: 26 Nov 2013, 09:53 pm »
Got my amp yesterday, have AMR fuses on order and will be swapping RCAs for Cardas. Just finished binding post mods using Ric Schult bypass method , using nylon bolts and nuts.







gilesw

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Re: Modifications For the TBI Millenia Amp
« Reply #59 on: 28 Mar 2015, 01:12 pm »
Does anyone have a photo of the internals of their tbi? I got half way through my mod and now have no idea of the wiring for the audio connection:-

https://www.flickr.com/photos/29025989@N00/16761558959/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/29025989@N00/16334487893/

With regards to the fuses one is 2a and one 4a. Do you guys replace both with these?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AMR-Audiophile-Gold-Hi-Fi-Fuse-32mm-x-6-3mm-3-15A-T-/231261018044