Dmason and his endless hyping of the Clari-T tripath amp

Bemopti123 · « **Reply #40 on:** 17 Feb 2005, 03:19 am »

Cjr888, which of the amps do you have? the SI or the ClariTamp? In what ways do you find the amp lacking in comparison to your present amplifier?

The open baffle Fertin speaker set up, do you use a subwoofer with it?

gary · « **Reply #41 on:** 17 Feb 2005, 03:54 am »

Quote from: cjr888

Would be interesting to maintain a single, constantly edited 1st post that tracks all the speakers people are using with the Clari-T or SI. Also curious to hear impression other than Dmason's of those with multiple speaker sets -- curious to hear not what does match, but what doesn't match and how/why..... Example - the single driver folks seem very happy -- I'm curious to see if they weren't so happy with other designs.

Well, my speakers were Onix Ref 1's, 2-way monitors that are only about 88dB/W... fairly inefficient. The sound astonished me, to the point where I never would have considered upgrading speakers if I knew they would sound anything like this with the Clari-T.

I should also note that a big part of why the sound is so damn good is the battery-powered dac. Anyone who buys one of these amps seriously needs to have Vinnie put together a Scott Nixon dac for them just like I did. The synergy with the pair is not like anything you've ever heard before. I don't expect anyone to believe me (and I don't much care if they do), but I can't imagine any other front end and amp could touch the sheer purity that I'm hearing now. Regardless of price. I'm going to Paris soon, and I'm bringing these things in my suitcase so I can take them to Triode, Inc. (the french Audio Note distributor) and see the look on the salesman's face when their megabuck gear is humbled by my two little black boxes.

Gary

Bemopti123 · « **Reply #42 on:** 17 Feb 2005, 04:04 am »

I wonder how they will curse in French, of course, under their breath.

Merde! C''est tres fantastique!

Zero · « **Reply #43 on:** 17 Feb 2005, 04:08 am »

I wonder how difficult it would be to add an additional set of outputs to the Clari-t.

audiojerry · « **Reply #44 on:** 17 Feb 2005, 06:03 am »

Gary, keep us posted on your France experience.

I've been following the threads on Vinnie's amp, and there are several posters whose opinions I would respect regarding the Clari-T. I will soon be putting in my order to Vinnie.

I'd love to see a headphone jack on it, though.

In a nutshell, can anyone describe what Vinnie is doing to turn this T amp into such a magical entity?

GHM · « **Reply #45 on:** 17 Feb 2005, 09:39 am »

No real time smear..some amplifiers lose the small details of the music.
I guess some call this micro and macro dynamics.
No grain..some amplifiers do not have the speed to reproduce the highest highs without becoming glary or etched.
It takes some of the most complex music and unravels it without mushing it together or turning it into a mass of sounds.
No noise..only noise I hear is on the cd itself. For example the air that rushes over the recording mics. You can tell when the engineer has the sensitivity of the mics turned up..maybe to high in some cases.
Bass ..again very realistic without overblowing it to the point it doesn't sound natural.
Ambience..you can really hear the echo or the room of the recording venue on really well recorded music. Not just the artist or musicians
in the soundstage.

Body..string instruments have a body..no stridence like some amplifiers I've had. You can follow the plucks from the time they start to they come to an end.

Dynamic contrast..the difference between the volumes of the instruments relative to their positions to the microphones.

I'm sure someone else can think of some other strengths of the ClariT.

GHM · « **Reply #46 on:** 17 Feb 2005, 09:39 am »

Double print

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #47 on:** 17 Feb 2005, 10:16 am »

Get out your SLM's....wondering at what level are you listening at ? Thanks !

JLM · « **Reply #48 on:** 17 Feb 2005, 11:40 am »

The Clari-T is a classic example of achieving 90% of state of the art at 10% of the cost. It's limitations are single input and low power. So speaker selection is key. Easy to drive single driver speakers work best, but have limited frequency range. Note that with a single driver what you have in effect is an active speaker design. Adding a powered sub would help.

As far as what sound pressure levels folks listen at, my experience is that it's around 75 dB average, maybe 80 dB for intense listening sessions. For a 95 dB/w/m speaker like a Cain & Cain Abby (the ballpark that the Clari-T should be used with) that allows for about 25 dB peaks around 103 dB in say a 12 x 20 room, a very reasonable range.

cjr888 · « **Reply #49 on:** 17 Feb 2005, 11:53 am »

Quote from: Bemopti123

Cjr888, which of the amps do you have? the SI or the ClariTamp? In what ways do you find the amp lacking in comparison to your present amplifier?

The open baffle Fertin speaker set up, do you use a subwoofer with it?

The Fertins are a project that has yet to happen, despite the simplicity of getting an open baffle together. Complete lack of time combined with complete lack of tools has contributed to this. Have a power supply, but the drivers have sat in their custom crate since purchase.

Only other amplifiers left are a 6sn7/300b and 6sn7/ux-226/45 amplifier -- currently addicted to the 45.

Short on time, but the quickest way I could describe is the difference between feeling like you're listening to music vs. listening to a recording, regardless of of how nice you can make the recording.

gary · « **Reply #50 on:** 17 Feb 2005, 01:52 pm »

Quote from: A6M-ZERO

I wonder how difficult it would be to add an additional set of outputs to the Clari-t.

Vinnie did just this for me as I needed volume controlled line level outs to feed the powered subs in my Prometheus speakers. Price was perfectly reasonable too, IMO.

Gary

gary · « **Reply #51 on:** 17 Feb 2005, 01:56 pm »

Quote from: GHM

No real time smear..some amplifiers lose the small details of the music.
I guess some call this micro and macro dynamics.
No grain..some amplifiers do not have the speed to reproduce the highest highs without becoming glarer or etched.
It takes some of the most complex music and unravels it without mushing it togetheror turning it into a mass of sounds.
No noise..only noise I hear is on the cd itself. For example the air that rushes over the recording mics. You can tell when the engineer has the sensitivity of the mics turned up..maybe to high in some cases.
Bass ..again very realistic without overblowing it to the point it doesn't sound natural.
Ambience..you can really hear the echo or the room of the recording venue on really well recorded music. Not just the artist or musicians
in the soundstage.

Body..string instruments have a body..no stridence like some amplifiers I've had. You can follow the plucks from the time they start to they come to an end.

Dynamic contrast..the difference between the volumes of the instruments relative to their positions to the microphones.

I'm sure someone else can think of some other strengths of the ClariT.

Awesome way to describe what this amp does. Your comment about the mics is spot on... Removing the a/c grunge from the source takes it to the next level too, and gives you what I'd say IS the state of the art in music reproduction.

Gary

GHM · « **Reply #52 on:** 17 Feb 2005, 02:51 pm »

I agree Gary!
I'm going to pick up a SPL meter today and see exactly where my listening levels are.I'm guessing around 80 to 85db. But I will test to make sure.

KT · « **Reply #53 on:** 17 Feb 2005, 03:49 pm »

Gary,

What a turn of events, getting such great performance for so little. I was wondering if this day would ever come!

About your Scott Nixon Dac, what model is it and did Vinnie do any sort of mods/parts swapping on it?

I'm assuming it's the non-tubed DacKit (or Chibi Saru for the assembled version), since the TubeDac requires an AC source and can't run directly from a battery.

I'd like to hear more about it as I just recently built a SN DacKit that I had lying around for about 3 years. I like it alot. At that time, Scott sold it with an upgrade parts package that included some BlackGate caps. I'm running it with an SLA, as well.

Best,
KT

gary · « **Reply #54 on:** 17 Feb 2005, 03:56 pm »

KT

Mine's the stock DacKit, the one Scott sells for $150 assembled. I just had Vinnie put it into one of his enclosures with a battery, I didn't have him upgrade any of the components although I might well do that in the future. For the most part, it sounds like our dac & amp are pretty much identical.

Gary

doug s. · « **Reply #55 on:** 17 Feb 2005, 05:50 pm »

a coupla speakers for these amps:

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1113787843
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1113783050

doug s.

Dmason · « **Reply #56 on:** 17 Feb 2005, 06:09 pm »

Other very good bets.

www.pispeakers.com
www.bastanis.de
www.jblpro.com
www.radianaudio.com
www.klipsch.com
www.monitoraudio.com
www.tannoy.com Professional coaxial monitors

These all offer good multi-driver solutions at various pricepoints representing outstanding value.

JeffB · « **Reply #57 on:** 17 Feb 2005, 06:24 pm »

One of my reservations with the Clari-T is the low power output. This isn't really a problem with the right speakers, but I have some questions about choosing the right speaker. I think I like my music a little louder than most people on this forum so I am looking for something with a very high sensitivity rating. The Omega 8s have been said to work well with this amp and are 96db. However, I think I might like something even more sensitive, and I think I might like a super-tweeter. However, I don't want a super large speaker. I also need a narrow speaker. Klipsch makes the RF-7.
http://www.klipsch.com/product/product.aspx?cid=362&s=specs
102db sensitivity, 32Hz - 20kHz.
These figures would seem perfect, but I know there is more to it than that. I have heard that these speakers really sound best when given a lot of power. I hear the cross-over is fairly complex and can suck the life out of a low powered amplifier. I know that low bass needs more power. So, I doubt that the Clari-T will drive this speaker down to 32Hz with authority. This might explain why they like lots of power. All in all though I am confused with respect to Sensitivity numbers, power requirements, low frequency reproduction, etc.

So could anybody tell me why the Klipsch would or would not work with Clari-T?

Anybody know of something else that would work well?

I am also somewhat confused with sensitivy numbers in general. Since the human ear does not have a flat frequency response, we don't like highs as loud as the bass. This opens the door for using a lower sensitivity speaker for the higher octaves and using a subwoofer for the lower frequencies. Maybe I don't really need a super high sensitivity number after all. And maybe speakers with high sensitivity, that develop the high number through bass output, still need a lot of power.

If the sub-woofer route is the way to go does anybody have any thoughts on where the cross-over point should be. What I am really wondering is whether the Omega 8s would really be a good choice. If the clari-T can't drive the deep bass with authority(purely speculation), then maybe it is best to buy the Omega 4" speakers and let the sub handle the lower frequencies. Any thoughts at what low frequency 5 watts become insufficient.

JeffB · « **Reply #58 on:** 17 Feb 2005, 06:41 pm »

Wow, these look cool.
http://www.bastanis.de/bastanis/prometheus.htm
Too bad I don't speak German.

gary · « **Reply #59 on:** 17 Feb 2005, 06:46 pm »

Quote from: JeffB

Wow, these look cool.
http://www.bastanis.de/bastanis/prometheus.htm
Too bad I don't speak German.

Yeah, they even look cooler sitting in my basement, and they'll look cooler still when I get them assembled tomorrow...

Here's a link to the US distributor

Gary