[OzarkTom]

OK. will do.   thanks.

You can also check with TBI, they make a special adapter also.

[roscoeiii]

So does Van Alstine. A speaker selector with a headphone jack, IIRC.

[sugbob21]

First i need to check if any of the headphones i mentioned are a good match for the amp. Otherwise it may not be a good idea.

[OzarkTom]

First i need to check if any of the headphones i mentioned are a good match for the amp. Otherwise it may not be a good idea.

Any of the planers will work

[raysracing]

I don't think 3-dimensionality are the Lore's greatest strengths.  They do so adequately, and image well if set up well, but they excel most in their combination of sheer presence and dynamics combined with tone.  There's an energy to the sound that sounds like "live" music, which is harder to find in other more "audiophile" speakers.  I agree the TBI amp does an amazing job for the price.  I wish I had a chance to try out 24V when I had it in for a visit - might have addressed some of my reservations about it compared to my current setup.  I still might give it a shot in monoblock configuration on 24V.

I finally hooked up the Pioneers as the TBI is gone tomorrow (very sad). The difference in imaging, space, height, depth is truly startling. I was listening to Diana Krall on the Lore's then switched and it was as if Diana was standing in the room.

But you are so correct, the Lore's musically are so full. I guess I need to find some speakers in my price range that combine a bit more of the holographic imaging without giving up too much of the Lore precision.

[genjamon]

Has anyone here been able to compare the TBI to any of the DAC Cherry amps?

[Letitroll98]

Amp arrived Tuesday, however work intervened and it wasn't installed until yesterday.  Very early so nothing conclusive being written yet, but OMFG.  I tried the wall socket hookup for comparison and warmup, very nice amp, nothing spectacular, but doing a very commendable job cold out of the box.  Then I switched to battery power and the magic button gets turned on.  It did take just a few minutes for warmup, but easily the best amp for musicality in my system.  Definitely hits a headroom issue louder than even moderate volumes with the Maggies, I'll try some of my easier to drive speakers soon.  More later. 

[raysracing]

If you can swing 24v do it! A couple SLA's from a battery store and connecto and wire from The Shack.

I only wish it had two inputs. Phono in one and my DAC in the other. That is all I would need.

Ray

[roscoeiii]

Yeah, I wish I could've heard the TBI with 24V of battery power. Wonder if that would have brought things a little more forward. I'd love to hear from folks who tried 24V battery vs the 12V vs the AC.

[OzarkTom]

I was at Rex's place over the weekend and got to play audiuophile a lot with some suprising results. One interesting mod Rex had done with his Pioneer RL22 speakers really opened those up with better focus. The TBI Millenia sounded great with the stock wall wart playing the Pioneers. Next came the King Rex PSU which improved the sound some more with better focus and more openness.

Next we tried the 24V battery supply. It was very close between the battery and the King Rex, too close to call. For the price difference the battery is definitely the way to go. The King Rex was not the latest $500 MkII version, so the results could have been different.

Then came the surprise of the day. Rex had bought a Ten Tec model 937 12v linear power supply for his shortwave radio about 10 years ago for $89. Rex handed me the unit which weighed as much as a heavy brick. Rex had not tried the unit, so he double checked the polarity on the plug. We were worried that it would not work.

It was lights out for all of the other power supplies. The Ten Tec made the amp sound fuller, more open, and the best focus of the day. Roscoeili would love the sound of this power supply and the TBI, the forwardness that he is looking for. The improvement was so great that I immediately went to Ebay and bought a used one for $90. Sorry fellow AC'ers, I got there first.

I guess if this Ten Tec had the word audio on it, the price would be $500 or more. This is definitely the heaviest 12v power supply that I have ever held. As soon as mine comes in this week, I will give an update to see if the results are the same at my place.

[rodge827]

Tom,
Looks like Rex and you had some fun with power supplies over the holiday. 
I did a little looking around and was wondering if a variable linear bench power supply could do the trick?

Something like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/MASTECH-HY3005M-TOUCH-PANEL-LINEAR-DC-POWER-SUPPLY-REG-VAR-0-30-VOLTS-0-5-AMP-/121137011574?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c34541b76




Yes a unit like this is a little big but it could be hidden in a decorative box?

Chris

[wisnon]

Chris, here is a great discussion thread for Linera PSUs:

http://www.stereo.net.au/forums/index.php?/topic/51187-linear-psu-suggestions-for-caps3-zuma/?hl=%2Blinear+%2Bpower+%2Bsupply

also a big UK recommendation for the HY3005 above here:

http://www.itemaudio.com/index.php/power-supplies/linear-psus/detail/28-linear-psus/flypage/217-variable-linear-psu-3a.html?sef=hcfp
"Yes, this is a mass-produced, off-the-shelf laboratory bench power supply, not a svelte audio trinket. It's no oil painting. That's why it's so much cheaper than 'bespoke, audiophile' offerings. Shut it in a cabinet.
 
However, we have auditioned our way through a number of candidates over a long period to arrive at this recommendation: we believe it's the best performing, best value, tool for the job. It's well engineered where it matters, with a large, high quality toroidal and sophisticated regulators. It also runs silent, with passive cooling via heatsinks on the rear – most supplies of this type deploy one or more fans in this role which create undesirable acoustic and electrical noise. With ripple and noise figures quoted at less than 1mV (RMS) this is one of the cleanest linear supplies we've tried.
"

[OzarkTom]

also a big UK recommendation for the HY3005 above here:

http://www.itemaudio.com/index.php/power-supplies/linear-psus/detail/28-linear-psus/flypage/217-variable-linear-psu-3a.html?sef=hcfp
"Yes, this is a mass-produced, off-the-shelf laboratory bench power supply, not a svelte audio trinket. It's no oil painting. That's why it's so much cheaper than 'bespoke, audiophile' offerings. Shut it in a cabinet.
 
However, we have auditioned our way through a number of candidates over a long period to arrive at this recommendation: we believe it's the best performing, best value, tool for the job. It's well engineered where it matters, with a large, high quality toroidal and sophisticated regulators. It also runs silent, with passive cooling via heatsinks on the rear – most supplies of this type deploy one or more fans in this role which create undesirable acoustic and electrical noise. With ripple and noise figures quoted at less than 1mV (RMS) this is one of the cleanest linear supplies we've tried.
"

 

That one looks like a much better buy than the Ten Tec with the variable controls and it is even heavier, 15 lbs. I will order that one in a couple of weeks and compare it to the Ten Tec.

[rodge827]

Chris, here is a great discussion thread for Linera PSUs:

Thanks Norman,
I was hoping there was some info out there concerning this type of linear power supply for use in audio. I think that the "green" trend will produce more high quality end gear, and low consumption linear power supplies will be the way to go. Heck there are a few of this type of company (TBI,Dspeaker,iFI) creating some serious buzz on AC right now! 
My thought was to do exactly that, hide it somewhere. I'm not too much into "audio jewelery" as much as performance.
I don't care if something is ugly, as long as it sounds good, think Altmann Attraction Dac. 

 

That one looks like a much better buy than the Ten Tec with the variable controls and it is even heavier, 15 lbs. I will order that one in a couple of weeks and compare it to the Ten Tec.

Hey Tom, slow down and leave a few for the rest of us! 

Very interested to hear what your findings are. 

[brother love]

Good stuff guys! I think the adjustable voltage would lend itself greatly to the TBI Millenia MG3 MKII since it can operate 12- 24v @ 3 amps.  Who knows, maybe 18v turns out to be the sweet spot ....   I guess Tom will be the first guinea pig.   

http://www.itemaudio.com/index.php/power-supplies/linear-psus/detail/28-linear-psus/flypage/217-variable-linear-psu-3a.html?sef=hcfp

Thanks for the link.  It looks like the one shown in the link is the Digimess HY3003D: 0- 30 volt & 0- 3 amp.  the HY3005D is a 0- 5 amp version.  They also offer dual & triple output versions for mono amp set-ups!  I checked & Amazon also carries these PSUs, but rebranded MasTech or Kaito.  Cheapest price I found for the 3 amp version was $96 w/ free shipping.

[rodge827]

Good stuff guys! I think the adjustable voltage would lend itself greatly to the TBI Millenia MG3 MKII since it can operate 12- 24v @ 3 amps.  Who knows, maybe 18v turns out to be the sweet spot .... 

Exactly what I was thinking. 
To go with a dual output unit for mono blocks, with one input on the amp shorted to increase wattage output, sounds pretty cool to me!
One could dial in the voltage output for some serious system synergy!

[Audioclyde]

Good stuff guys! I think the adjustable voltage would lend itself greatly to the TBI Millenia MG3 MKII since it can operate 12- 24v @ 3 amps.  Who knows, maybe 18v turns out to be the sweet spot ....   I guess Tom will be the first guinea pig.   

Thanks for the link.  It looks like the one shown in the link is the Digimess HY3003D: 0- 30 volt & 0- 3 amp.  the HY3005D is a 0- 5 amp version.  They also offer dual & triple output versions for mono amp set-ups!  I checked & Amazon also carries these PSUs, but rebranded MasTech or Kaito.  Cheapest price I found for the 3 amp version was $96 w/ free shipping.

So, which would be best to get if just powering a single TBI--3 amp version or 5 amp version?

Thanks,

Randy

[OzarkTom]

So, which would be best to get if just powering a single TBI--3 amp version or 5 amp version?

Thanks,

Randy

I would say at least 4 amps since the fuse is 4 amps. Since it is variable, i will try all the settings.

The Ten Tec is an 11 amp power supply.

http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/2764

[brother love]

So, which would be best to get if just powering a single TBI--3 amp version or 5 amp version?

Thanks,

Randy

Tom would know better than I, but I based the 3 amps from the TBI website:

"The MILLENIA MG3 is guarded from abuse from bad power supplies and reverse power connections. While it will operate best from a 24V – 3A regulated power supply such as the one supplied, the MILLENIA MG3 will perform amazingly well with any regulated DC supply between 12 and 24 volts using proper termination. While 3 amps are required for full peak RMS output, lower rated supplies will work as long as you don’t use excessive volume"

http://www.tbisound.com/dsp_products_millenia.asp

[OzarkTom]

This power supply is also called Sinometer HY3005D which is on Amazon for $115 and free shipping. Would anyone here know what kind of wires I would have to have to connect to the TBI?

http://www.amazon.com/industrial-scientific/dp/B000E14F56