[Folsom]

Not everything from China is good, even when they use fancy parts. Sometimes their circuits sort of overlook what makes something actually good. But they try really hard. Luckily somethings they can make you can't really screw up.

Probably better than the Dayton and anything else under $100 complete. The marketing is mildly gimmicky with the "look at the fancy parts" but truth is T-amps are stupid simple so having good parts matters more than anything besides the fact of a good chip (the 2021 is reputed as sound great).

Alps isn't the blue beauty... But still, for the price, HELLO non-listening space superb cheap ass option! This is my new go-to cheap hi-fi recommend amplifier! I bet bypassing the Alps would make it competitive for even someones main system if they battery powered it.

This has got me curious. How good could that little guy be? They really went to the effort to take the steps that can make a good design sound really nice. That thing is meticulous, but I can't see the schematic so who knows?

Bonus. Does it work? I'm not sure how to filter DC with a couple dozen capacitors? It looks nuts at least 

[mcgsxr]

The amp looks nice, and if you can live with 7wpc into 8ohm, it appears to be nice.

I know it produces more than that, but the distortion looks to creek in above 7w.

The DAC appears to be leveraging nice casework to triple the cost of what is inside the case though.

All worth considering!

[srb]

That's a very clean looking circuit layout, "indeed".  But why call it a 25W amp?  25W (4 ohm) / 14W (8 ohm) is at 10% distortion.  10% is unacceptable, but .1% is great, so in reality it's more like  a 12W (4 ohm) / 7W (8 ohm) amplifier.

Figure around 9.5W for a 6 ohm load and that sounds like it might work really well with the Pioneer SP-BS22-LR 6 ohm / 85dB speakers for desktop or near-field use.  Even for greater listening distances of say 8 ft., it should still be able to reach 90dB levels.

Steve

[Folsom]

People rarely complain about the distortion from T-amps. Apparently it just doesn't sound that bad (like tube amps!).

Those pioneer speakers are my go-to speaker recommendation at the moment too. They are too inefficient for this amplifier, however. The cheapest amplifier I know of to power the Pioneers is the Hlly.

The sad part is I don't know of a truly cheap source. My best recommendation would be a USB-SPDIF converter, then a china made 1543 DAC powered by a battery. Kind of a bit of a stretch for the average user but... that or buy the correct Ipod I guess?

[srb]

Those pioneer speakers are my go-to speaker recommendation at the moment too. They are too inefficient for this amplifier, however. The cheapest amplifier I know of to power the Pioneers is the Hlly.

My calculation for near-field use (3 ft.) without boundary reinforcement is ~ 98.5dB with 9.5W and ~ 92.5dB at 6ft.  So if it's for desktop use I think the combination could be entirely adequate, but it might even work for greater distances depending on your SPL requirements.  (Thankfully the Pioneers are 6 ohms instead of 8 ohms, because at this low power level, every watt counts!)

Steve

[Folsom]

If you can't crank it a bit or use it in the garage, I can't recommend it so much unless the situation is just perfect.

Cheap good speakers are like the most impossible thing ever...

[S Clark]

This might be just the thing for a cheap single driver speaker.  I've got a pair of Zigmahornets that will absolutely scream at 7-10 watts.  I may pick one up for a garage setup. 

[Folsom]

Fostex kits from Madisound for the 126en would be ideal. You'd truly be in the high end audiophile world if you can make your source be something decent.

[wushuliu]

Going to be cynical and say for the t-amp an important question is whether those components are genuine. If the caps, resistors and coils are genuine, then great but Chinese ebay audio is notorious for using fake and/or poor quality parts. I have used an Indeed product before and it actually wasn't bad, but it's a concern nonetheless. As for the DAC, for that money now you are taking any of several ESS/ES9023 based options that may outperform for same price and less, including the Audio-GD Compass now w/ ES9018 and the new Hifimediy dacs.

[Folsom]

Going to be cynical and say for the t-amp an important question is whether those components are genuine. If the caps, resistors and coils are genuine, then great but Chinese ebay audio is notorious for using fake and/or poor quality parts. I have used an Indeed product before and it actually wasn't bad, but it's a concern nonetheless. As for the DAC, for that money now you are taking any of several ESS/ES9023 based options that may outperform for same price and less, including the Audio-GD Compass now w/ ES9018 and the new Hifimediy dacs.

I have a hard time imagining that it is worth it to make fake parts.

To me it always seems like they fail to fully remake the circuits that they are trying to advertise. They look like them, but often aren't the same and there for not that good.

[wushuliu]

I have a hard time imagining that it is worth it to make fake parts.

To me it always seems like they fail to fully remake the circuits that they are trying to advertise. They look like them, but often aren't the same and there for not that good.

Fake capacitors, ICs, you name it. Google it and there will be enough posts on diyaudio alone on counterfeit components. Not saying your examples are, but one has to be careful. There's no free lunch. The Indeed looks like a good buy - even more importantly, you are buying direct from them/him and not a third party vendor or look-alike versions like Bravo (which PE is now carrying! Dumb!).

[geowak]

Line Magnetic Audio is an example of a more upscale company who design and make audio out of China.
They make good stuff based on old American Western Electric engineering.
But the cost is not super cheap, just better than say a Shindo, Leben, ARC, or Cary etc.

[rollo]

Whats to quibble for $40. If it doesn't thrill ya can it.



charles

[raysracing]

My first Tripath was the one from Think Geek.  It still runs my Paradigm Atoms. With my DACMaguc inline it is stunning.

I bought my dad one from Dayton and preferred that one though he ended up having to solder a loose connection. Then I bought two plate amps (no cases) from Sure. Mixed feelings on them, though mostly very positive.  I wouldn't mind trying one with a case again and with the larger  caps and other features I am very interested in the Indeed one. Thanks for the heads up.

[Bemopti123]

Don't know about you guys but the forever search for a deal, even though it is dirt cheap, buying or looking for hi end in a $50 amp....It is almost like trying to search for Waterford crystal at a 99 cent store.  I have bought many of the latest and the greatest Davids against Goliaths in audio and most of the time, I realized that I simply bought into the mentality of if it is that cheap, it cannot be that bad....and if it is, can it.  Don't know how many bricks I can collect even if I spend $40 per audio brick.  hahahah. 

I am pretty sure that people can get a decent, really hifi integrateds for 10x the amount you pay for one of these PROC super dupper specials and if that is the case, why not? 

Of course, we can throw $50 to run a garage boombox setup but for Hifi?   

[Letitroll98]

I was looking at some of the cheaper Valab DACs and the specs and build looked okay.  I was thinking of trying something in the $100-150 range, single chip and transformer models.  For $340 I might search out some internet postings before purchase, even tho I can see why the cost is higher, it's still higher x2, which gets me into the "I'd like to know a little more" territory.  These models seem to be offered by a host of different sellers and resellers from China, doesn't inspire near the confidence that you get from a company like Audio GD, where there's a long history of purchase and the owner/designer is responsive to emails.  You pay a little more for this, but not all that much.  Here's a nice forum review http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f6-dac-digital-analog-conversion/valab-dac-x-dual-wm8741-11939/