Teacs for $100 available

DeadFish · « **Reply #40 on:** 4 Jun 2005, 08:36 am »

So, I might be painfully displaying my ignorance here at this late hour, but if I understand correctly, the middle channel is on a separate board in this amp.
Were one to take a stock Teac and use say the Left and Center channels, one would get discrete amplification from two boards, not unlike 'dual mono' with minimalization of cross-talk possibilitites.
Yes?
Ignoring any particular channel by not hooking it up is no problem?

Is that doable in a modded Teac, Vinnie?
I noted that in your mods you removed the middle channel board as part of your method, but would much be gained running the two boards as described? Of course, now that I think on it, it would take double the parts and work to upgrade both boards, rather than just mod one and remove the other.
Opinions if this would be worth the expense, from those in-the-know about dual-mono tripath?

Thanks again folks!
Regards,
DeadFish

Vinnie R. · « **Reply #41 on:** 4 Jun 2005, 02:26 pm »

Quote from: DeadFish

So, I might be painfully displaying my ignorance here at this late hour, but if I understand correctly, the middle channel is on a separate board in this amp.
Were one to take a stock Teac and use say the Left and Center channels, one would get discrete amplification from two boards, not unlike 'dual mono' with minimalization of cross-talk possibilitites.
Yes?
Ignoring any particular channel by not hooking it up is no problem?

Is that doable in a modded Teac, Vinnie?
I noted that in your mods you removed the middle channel board as part of your method, but would much be gained running the two boards as described? Of course, now that I think on it, it would take double the parts and work to upgrade both boards, rather than just mod one and remove the other.
Opinions if this would be worth the expense, from those in-the-know about dual-mono tripath?..

Hi Deadfish,

Yes, there are two separate stereo boards. One of them uses both channels (L and R), and the other only uses one channel (Center).

If one were to use one channel from each board, this would NOT be considered dual-mono because both boards still share the same power supply.

In the mods that I do, I remove one of the boards completely (no sense it keeping it hooked up, as it draws some power, takes up some space, etc).

If I were to keep it in place and so one channel of each board was used, this would require that both boards be modified equally, and yes, this would bring up the cost. Without using separate power supplies for each board (as I do for the Custom Dual-Mono Clari-T-Amps), I don't think this is worth it, IMO.

tubeytubeamp · « **Reply #42 on:** 4 Jun 2005, 03:41 pm »

The stock Teac is really intriguing me, especially with the fact that it can be modified by Vinnie down the line. I currently have the JVC rxes1sl and the lack of usable inputs is really driving me crazy(there is really only one decent input and that is the dvd-multi). If I sell the JVC and buy the Teac, I'm going to need a good "cheap" remote control preamp with at least four inputs and a decent phono input. I'm considering a used Parasound HALO p3.

Vinnie, are there any plans such a preamp?

Being poor sucks!

Dennis

Vinnie R. · « **Reply #43 on:** 4 Jun 2005, 08:26 pm »

Quote from: tubeytubeamp

The stock Teac is really intriguing me, especially with the fact that it can be modified by Vinnie down the line. I currently have the JVC rxes1sl and the lack of usable inputs is really driving me crazy(there is really only one decent input and that is the dvd-multi). If I sell the JVC and buy the Teac, I'm going to need a good "cheap" remote control preamp with at least four inputs and a decent phono input. I'm considering a used Parasound HALO p3.

Vinnie, are there any plans such a preamp?

Being poor sucks!

Dennis

Hi Dennis,

I have no plans for a remote control preamp at this time. There is a remote control kit for the DACT CT2 stepped attenuator, which I can install, but I'm not sure if this is in your price range. I believe Welborne Labs is coming out with a relay based remote volume control and input select as well...

It will be a lot cheaper to install a stepped attenuator and input select, without the remote control option, and you'll get more exercise this way

DeadFish · « **Reply #44 on:** 5 Jun 2005, 02:43 pm »

Thanks for the reply and consideration, Vinnie!

That was about the answer I thought I'd hear, but given the 'inspiration' hit me at 4 in the a.m., I had serious doubts about thinking it through.

Trusting my tracking numbers to assure me my Teac delivery tomorrow, I guess I'll have to break this badboy in and listen, before figuring where to go from here. (I've been fidgitting/waffling about a dual mono ClariT for about a month now I guess...)

Thanks for propelling your end of how to develope this incredulous style of amplification from 'cheapskate lunatic fringe' to some really valid answers for our listening pleasure.

Best regards,
DeadFish

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #45 on:** 8 Jun 2005, 06:31 am »

The stock Teac A-L700 arrived Tuesday, and all in one piece....thank you Needle Doctor and UPS

. Unpacked and in place...and silly me...thought I'd use my "fancy" Ridge Street speaker cables (with spade ends)....nope

....not a regular binding post....sent me hunting for some zip cord....

DeadFish · « **Reply #46 on:** 8 Jun 2005, 12:25 pm »

Yowsa, LW!
It showed up monday and all was well.
Damned kind of NeedleDr. to double box!
I moved it right up into the attic and cranked 'er up.
I already had 20g ratshack solidcore in place for the SI amp.
Do you think these folks go looking for goofy binding posts?

Out of the box, I had a lot more 'ass' out of the Altecs than the SI brought forth, but after sampling about 3 cds for aural extremes, I put it on 'repeat' and went away. I'll have 48 hours on it by noon, but I figure by the weekend it will be worth going up and gettting a little critical on it.
At first, I hooked up the tubed Clarinet in front of it just for a listen, but removed that for the burnin so as not to wear down the tubes. That was definitely a downgrade, taking out the preamp, making it a bit more shrill.
But being one who definitely believes in burnin, I'm "workin' for the weekend'.
Oh what "affordable" (or as I call it CHEAP) fun to experiement!
Looking forward to Dmason's eventual review of his hot-rodded one!

nodiak · « **Reply #47 on:** 8 Jun 2005, 04:36 pm »

Mine is scheduled for delivery today. For binding posts on the SI I used a few inches of small gauge wire on the stock terminals to a speaker input cup so I could use any cables. Sounds like the stock Teac can use this set up too. Anxious to hear it. Don

Dmason · « **Reply #48 on:** 8 Jun 2005, 05:14 pm »

Abit off topic but my balls-to-the-walls Teac has arrived from VinnieWorld, is set up and playing.

The only first impression I can offer is that it bears almost no resemblance in presentation to the stock AC one. The highs suck just as expected of new Tripath chips so at least that aspect is the same, and I have ameliorated this to an extent by using cheap Home Depot zipcord interconnect to grind off the edges and mask it by adding some horror of its own. BUT, with the Phat AuriCaps and battery power, even completely UN-broken in, it has the grunt and crunch capabilities of something along the lines of a Bryston 3BST. In other words, the TA2050 done this way completely throws out the book on what "30 watts" means.

I have no idea how it will compare ultimately to the TA2024 ClariT which is near-magical at times, and mine sounds like Russian 6c33c transmitters to me, -often; a very hard act to follow, biases notwithstanding.

miklorsmith · « **Reply #49 on:** 8 Jun 2005, 05:38 pm »

Mine just showed up. Nice packing indeed! Man, the case looks empty enough to house 15 more channels. I don't understand why manufacturers think they need a certain size case to appear presentable.

Let the break-in commence!

Vinnie R. · « **Reply #50 on:** 8 Jun 2005, 06:19 pm »

Quote from: miklorsmith

I don't understand why manufacturers think they need a certain size case to appear presentable.

It is as if they somehow knew that I was going to implement the SLA battery conversion (let's leave extra room in there for Red Wine audio)

lcrim · « **Reply #51 on:** 8 Jun 2005, 06:50 pm »

I thought I was reading year old posts in this thread but no these are from this year so I went back and read the entire thread.
I have had a Vinnie moded TEAC in my system for a very long time. By the time Vinnie opened Redwine I had already invested in the power conditioning that the switch mode power supply seems to require that it made very little economic sense to have the battery powered mod done.

I have been supportive of both Vinnie and Redwine and have also called Dr. Dan an audio friend, we began corresponding a long time ago about digital amplification. It seems that the TEAC thing is suddenly back in vogue again.

I've always enjoyed this forum and many of those that post here but this whole battery power mania is giving me one huge PITA. The Tripath boards in the TEAC offered me a low cost path to high quality sound. My personal experience is that tube preamps and their relatively high gain make a nice match. I had speakers that I still like and didn't really want to change to single drivers. I have enjoyed this system a great deal and unless I win the lottery soon I will continue to make small improvements bit by bit to improve it. The TEAC stays for now. Nobody is sending me any free amps to try out.

mcgsxr · « **Reply #52 on:** 8 Jun 2005, 09:27 pm »

As a brief aside, the reason the Teac has enough room to build BOOKSHELVES inside of it... is that chassis is shared with several other components, and is meant to match up with them, externally, physically.

It is simply a great happenstance that it also promotes TONS of modding potential!

Vinnie R. · « **Reply #53 on:** 8 Jun 2005, 09:57 pm »

Quote from: mcgsxr

As a brief aside, the reason...

Hi Mark,

I don't know if there is an "aside" on this thread...it has taken all sorts of twists and turns.

Parts came in today to handle the volume of battery-Teac mods, packages from Needle Doctor arrive on my doorstep, and I'm burnin' the late-night solder. Ahhhh those flux fumes are so relaxing, man

Dmason · « **Reply #54 on:** 8 Jun 2005, 10:34 pm »

Hey Vinnie

Question: can I use the Teac to jump start my 914?

I have a feeling that could actually work.... I could then pitch it onto the passenger seat, and would it then be car stereo? Schnitzer/MB Mark Levinson/Lexus and Red Wine/old Porsche

To my amazement it is sounding much better today, after being left to play on its own for the last seven hours. Hopefully break in will move along faster than I fear. Hopefully. But I doubt it.

mcgsxr · « **Reply #55 on:** 9 Jun 2005, 01:18 am »

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=11728&highlight=teac is probably what lcrim is talking about... lots of great ideas for DIY in here, and in the end, Vinnie's DC mods are providing lots of folks with a powerful little toy!

Have fun fellow Teac explorers!

Vinnie R. · « **Reply #56 on:** 9 Jun 2005, 01:48 am »

Quote from: Dmason

Question: can I use the Teac to jump start my 914? I have a feeling that could actually work

Try it if you must, Dmason, but you'll void my warranty!

To be honest, I don't know the max current that the two 12V SLAs in the Teac running in parallel (during charge mode) can source for a brief amount of time, but I bet it is pretty high

nodiak · « **Reply #57 on:** 9 Jun 2005, 02:03 am »

I like that battery power is a good way to avoid AC problems in the first place, instead of adding more parts and connections with conditioning. I bought a filtration unit right before finding to Red Wine. I've decided to sell it and go battery. Don

Dmason · « **Reply #58 on:** 9 Jun 2005, 02:34 am »

"I like the way that battery power is a good way to avoid AC issues in the first place."

Thanks for that Don, what a concept. What a result.

Mine is burning in quickly and beginning to reveal itself to be a very, very powerful little amp with a TON of control. The visceral impact of bass passages is truly impressive. Vinnie has scored with this thing. I should add that the workmanship is extraordinary, fine, and the sense of craft and expert execution was evident upon inspection of the innards. I really like this amp. How does it compare to the RealiT, too early to say by about three months, but it will be different, because the T chip IS different.

nodiak · « **Reply #59 on:** 9 Jun 2005, 03:01 am »

I'm very curious about this bass control. I'll try the Teac in place of my ss bass amp soon. Don