[Jon L]

No, the Vandys are elsewhere. I am interested in going after bigger game with the Clari-T-Amp, -I really want to hear what a zero noise, ultra fast battery DAC/Tripath amp combo can do with high sensitivity, ultra-musical speakers like Edgarhorns, Orishorns, and some vintage JBL two ways with  15" woofer rigs owned by some acquaintances, so I plan on visiting the owners of these outstanding speakers, SOON. The speed of this thing is unreal fast, and it likely qualifies for waaaay more than a desktop system. ...

Dmason, where in So. Cal are you at?  Do you know anyone around your area who has an AKG k1000 headphones you can try on Vinnie's amp?  

If it works well with K1000, you will instantly have a large potential customers from the head-fi.org K1000 users, me being one of them.

Imagine a portable battery powered, class T, K1000 setup on the airplane!  

If you are near me, I could even offer up my K1000

[Vinnie R.]

Dmason, where in So. Cal are you at?  Do you know anyone around your area who has an AKG k1000 headphones you can try on Vinnie's amp?  

If it works well with K1000, you will instantly have a large potential customers from the head-fi.org K1000 users, me being one of them.

Imagine a portable battery powered, class T, K1000 setup on the airplane!  

If you are near me, I could even offer up my K1000

Jon,

I like your thinking  

I could possibly add a headphone option to these.  I don't know if it would work well with all types of headphones though.  If you can hook up with Dmason and give it a listen, I'd appreciate your feedback.  

-Vinnie

[Vinnie R.]

Have you thought about making two in a monoblock format, A la Gaincard?

This amp would pump out at least 30 watts mono, if I am not mistaken, and it would seriously be a threat to other competition out there!

I don't believe the TA2024 can be bridged to do this.

[Bemopti123]

Oh well, wouldn't that have been nice.  Maybe, you will try higher voltage chips, right?

[geofstro]

This amp sounds like a terrific idea. After the attention the Sonic Impact got on Six Moons and the suggestions made for modding that amp, the Clari-T seems like the logical conclusion (great name BTW).

Presumably it will work well as a power only amp when hooked to an external pre-amp?

On higher powered options, I imagine it takes a fair bit of effort to get that first product out the door (especially as it's something Vinnie is working on in his spare time). Better to concentrate on getting that first product right before looking into others I would think.

The market will, of course, be limited to those people with highly efficient speakers, although the number seems to be growing.

Even highly efficient speakers can sometimes benefit from more power, I think. I had the SI in my system for some weeks driving Eds' Horns then I put the Teac amp back in and the sound seemed much richer. I put this down to the greater headroom on the Teac. OTOH as I recall, the Fi-X also sounded quite rich and that's only a 3wpc amp. There are obviously other factors which come into play that I don't understand.

Good luck with the Clari-T Vinnie. You certainly deserve it.


geoff

[JLM]

geoff,

Can't figure out what a "SI" (amp?) is but low Qts compression/horn loaded drivers/speakers like Ed Schillings The Horns match well to under damped amps (typical of tube amps).  It comparison, solid state will sound anemic.  This is why bass reflex with low Qts drivers (like Omega) are voiced with SETs in mind.  The overall presentation is quite balanced (bass to treble) even though the numbers (at least on the surface) wouldn't suggest it.

High efficiency speakers typically have great dynamics and mate well with many low powered amps, SETs being the classic example.  But there's no free lunch, these drivers have limited power handling abilities and can be quite colored in their presentation.  Finding a fast woofer/sub to blend in with such a high efficiency mid/treble driver can also be a challenge.

Vinnie mentioned above that he doesn't recommend a pre-amp with the Clari-T.  OTOH Wayne from Boulder Cables recommends an active tube pre-amp with his battery Tripath.  YMMV and all other disclaimers.

[geofstro]

JLM,

Thanks, that all makes sense. SI stands for Sonic Impact, the $30 Class-T amp which uses the same board as Vinnies.

Now I'm wondering how the digital amps compare with other solid states amps in terms of the damping factor. It seems to me that in designing a low powered amp for high efficiency speakers it would be desirable to lower the damping factor as much as possible. This is, of course, what Nelson Pass has done with his First Watt amp, also reviewed by 6moons.

I have no idea how much influence it's possible to have over damping factor in these Tripath based amps. Certainly my Sonic Impact sounded anemic; but as I mentioned the Teac actually sounds quite rich. Might is somehow have a lower daming factor?

Thanks again


geoff

[Vinnie R.]

Presumably it will work well as a power only amp when hooked to an external pre-amp?

Good luck with the Clari-T Vinnie. You certainly deserve it.

Hi Geof,

Thanks for the kind words!

You can use an active preamp if you desire, but you will need to turn the volume to its max setting.  

-Vinnie

[geofstro]

Thanks Vinnie,

I was, of course, forgetting that the whole point is to be as free of mains AC as possible.

Do you have anything to add on the question of damping factor JLM and I were discussing?

Thanks again

geoff

[Vinnie R.]

JLM,

Certainly my Sonic Impact sounded anemic; but as I mentioned the Teac actually sounds quite rich. Might is somehow have a lower daming factor?
as much as possible.

Geof,

I also found the Sonic Impact to sound somewhat anemic and less rich than the Teac.

The Clari-T-Amp resolves these issues and demonstrates what the TA2024 is truely capable of sounding like.      It may very well be the best of the Tripath chips...definitely not the most powerful, but the implementation is very simple and direct (just like the Clari-T-Amp's signal and power wiring).  Clari-T is all about resolution, coherence, retrieval of ambient information emerging from a black background,  as well as accurately reproducing the tone of instruments and voices.

Sure, there are those who prefer to use an active preamp with the Sonic Impact, but I believe there are going to be those who are NOT going to want to put anything in front of the Clari-T-Amp except for the source.  In fact, I suggest experimenting with a battery powered DAC to keep everything DC.  I believe Dmason is really enjoying using his battery-powered Scott Nixon Dac with the Clari-T.  

I plan to do a write up on what the Clari-T-Amp sounds like, but right now I'm busy with my full time job and then spending evenings building my batch of 10 Clari-T's.  Once they have owners, I will be looking forward to hearing their comments/reviews about the sound of the Clari-T.    
 
Regards,

Vinnie

[Dmason]

Well, after a week of being played as much as possible, the Clari-T's little universe is beginning to really unfold. The chip and component parts I believe are starting to burn in, and the sound is becoming warmer and far, far more resolving.

 Last night while listening to a new DSD, (Beethoven, Symphony #9, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Telarc 86006) I realized I could hear the bass string section elevated above the floor-level woodwinds, I could hear reflections from a high back wall in the venue used for the recording. There was no mistaking this, as the effect continued with subsequent tracks. This is no gimmick, no audiophool 'trick' -as it adds so much to the overall listening session, in that now I am sitting listening to an orchestra full of individual instruments, placed along the stage exactly where they should be, as opposed to listening to  even an exceptionally well produced --recording--

The soundstage is widening and deepening into the most detailed sonic image I believe I have heard yet from any set up. Part of this is due to the high degree of speaker control exerted by Tripath chips, and in part due to the exceptionally low noise floor. (there is no noise at all with battery amp and source, just blackness) and the portrayal of extremely complex harmonics of woodwinds like oboe are as good as it gets. The Clari-T makes this seem easy by comparison to so many other amps listened to recently.

[JLM]

goefstro,

I've had the recent good fortune of home auditioning several amps.  While they were here I ran a quick warble test to see just how they'd hold up.  Here's the findings with a Fostex full range F200A driver in transmission line cabinets (90 dB/w/m, 8 ohms, 1700 cubic foot room):

Decware Torii (12 wpc EL34 integrated tube amp) - fell apart below 80 dB from 20 - 50 Hz  (BTW bass sounded very "full")

JVC RX-ES1SL (100 wpc digital/hybrid receiver) - better at 90 dB, same frequency range

Rotel (my 6 year old 100 wpc stereo receiver) - perfect

homegrown chip amp (??) - didn't fall apart, but wasn't flat response either

[geofstro]

Vinnie,

If it has the richness of the Teac that I'm hearing through Eds' horns right now, along with the added benefits AC free operation promises, it sounds like you're onto a winner.

Complete AC free operation is a fasciniating prospect; but what to do about the source?

I imagine that as long as one item in the chain is still connected to the mains, then some form of mains pollution wold still make its way through to the speakers. Is anyone offering a battery operated transport?

Thanks again

geoff

[Dmason]

Geoff,

The Teac has more power to be sure, and so would exert more speaker control, (I would think,) though that situation can be ameliorated depending on the sensitivity rating of the drivers used. Though I have not yet tried the "monoblock" trick with the center channel, in my opinion the Clari-T takes the sonic to the next level, what with the careful attention to an optimized topology, direct power supply and audiophool approved component set, there is just 'more' of the Tripath sonic. "Richness" as you describe it, is there in spades, all the more accessible; I think this has alot to do with the chip being directly harnessed to the battery. Tripath amps have a special ability to combine a warmth with a highly resolving nature.

As far as a battery powered transport is concerned, I know some of the portables have SPDIF. I think the next step with this kinda rig would be something like an iPod type player, but what the world and I need now is a battery powered transport.

[TheChairGuy]

As far as a battery powered transport is concerned, I know some of the portables have SPDIF. I think the next step with this kinda rig would be something like an iPod type player, but what the world and I need now is a battery powered transport.

I don't know of a portable with S/PDIF, but the iRiver 550 (now discontinued) is reported to be a pretty good player (much sought after).  It's got an optical output (doubling as a 1/8" line out as some older Sony Walkmen did).  I don't think your Scottt Nixon has an optical input tho (?)

The Nakamichi MF-51 5 disc Car CD Changer does have S/PDIF outputs tho....but you have to run it with a Nak head unit.  I've been trying to wrap my mind around how to use the changer, battery powered, for some time...without the use of a head unit.    Quite intrigued with the prospect.

[geofstro]

Dan,

The search for a battery powered transport is definitely on. All I could think of was a laptop while running off battery; but they all seem so noisy it would probably negate the advantages.

A portable player with s/pdif out is an intruiging idea. Whether it would make a good transport in other respects is another question. There was a portable CD player a few years ago that many were claiming was "high-end" so it could be possible and maybe even more likely these days.

If this amp also had headphone outlets, there'd also be a possibility of high-end audio on the move.

JLM

How did your measurements correlate which listening experience? Do you prefer the Rotel over the others?

Thanks again

geoff

[Vinnie R.]

Dan,


A portable player with s/pdif out is an intruiging idea. Whether it would make a good transport in other respects is another question. There was a portable CD player a few years ago that many were claiming was "high-end" so it could be possible and maybe even more likely these days.

...

All,

There are some choices for a battery powered source.  Let me comment on what I have found:

I believe the battery powered ack!dack's coax digital input ground is NOT tied to the battery ground, so any noise from a source powered by AC power shouldn't pollute the battery power.  Chris Own may be able to comment on this further, but I think his battery powered dAck isolates and preserves the cleanliness of the battery power.  The Ack! uses three separate 5V regulators, and the analog output stage is biased into Class A and uses two 12V SLA's (to make +12V and -12V for the opamp).  

I have used a basic computer CD-ROM drive's digital output to feed the Ack! and I found it worked really well.  You can use a 12V SLA and a 5V regulated 6V SLA battery to power the CD-ROM drive.

The same idea may hold true for the Scott Nixon DacKit if you power it with a 12V SLA.  

Regarding any portable players with spdif output, you should be able to hack into them and covert the optical signal to a coax signal to feed a battery powered dac.  

Regarding portable players' analog output, I have actually had some good luck using a battery powered Sony discman's Line Output into the Clari-T-Amp.  To do this, you need a 1/8" stereo jack to L/R RCA cable (try to keep the cable 3 feet or less).  The sound was surprisingly good as long as I didn't turn on the MegaBass-Distortion feature.  I opened up the Discman and replaced the output caps with Black Gate NX HI-Q nonpolarized caps and it did sound very nice     It was a big surprise.  This gave me a 100% battery-powered system  

I heard the Ipod also has a line out...

There are a number of things to try out with the Clari-T, and this will be part of the fun     I tend to believe that the Ack!dAck and the SN DAC are very good choices.  When I ever get some free time, I want to try putting one of these dacs into the same enclosure type used for the Clari-T-Amp.  This should have a very high WAF  


Regards,

Vinnie


PS: All, thanks for contribuiting to this thread and making it fun!  I have been enjoying all the discussions here, as well as the private questions emailed to me.  

Within the next week or so, I will be posting information on how to order.  I most likely will be using audiogon.  I plan to get set up with Paypal to make it easy for those interested.

[audiojerry]

I'm just posting so I get notified when this thread is updated. I'm very interested, and possibly will purchase. I like what I'm hearing about Vinnie and what he has done. My plan is to install it directly in place of my 200wpc ARC tube amp in my reference system to judge it's sonics. I don't expect it to deliver the power, but I'd like to see if it could handle an 8 ohm load with 87-88db speakers if I used at low volume in a small den.

[TheChairGuy]

Hey, I totally spaced on this novel, portable, battery powered transport I found digging a while back available to all of us at a very down-to-earth price.....

http://www.dynainternational.com/dv-gd1000e.html

It has a coax digital outputs, lighter plug adaptor (easily configurable for Sealed Lead Acid duties) and it's even got a friggin' remote, too.  For $59.00.

So, we got our Sungale transport with remote, running into a Scott Nixon or acK dacK, on into the Clari-T then to your fave high efficiency drivers.  No A/C in sight - all run on some combo of NimH/alkaline or SLA batteries!  Of course, not knowing the transport reliability or playback quality and no re-clocking in either DAC that I know of, you may or may not get superior results.  But, it's dang cheap and interesting for the game ones among us...DrDmason, ya' listening?

They're available elsewhere, but I choose DynaDirect's website because I know they are fairly reputable.

[Dmason]

Ass-Tray Auteur,

That thing looks like a good first round go, I will order one later on, and the price is right. I also like the fact that it will provide subtitles for 32 languages; I have some excellent DVD's in Sanskrit, Toc, Haida, and Aleut.   These are tomorrow's hot and upcoming languages.

Last night I was playing samples, sequences, and tunes through my Muse Research VST- plug in synthesizer, which is pretty serious pro audio, and offers a bit-perfect digital product all in 24/96 splendor. The effect was obvious. I realized that Roland's acoustic instrument samples, and the complexity of alot of their multi-patches was far more musically 'involved' than I had thought. ie: the Clari-T-Amp allowed me to hear my VST soft synths for what they were, and indicates that it is going to be right at home with hi-rez sources.