Sounds like I need to pick up a couple of T-amps.    I've been meaning to try one on my PC, but I"ve never gotten around to it.

What is even more amazing is... "For the comparisons it (Sonic Impact) was run off of an inexpensive Radio Shack wall wort."

Yea, that little T-amp is a gem.

I normally have it hooked up to my computer too.

It really does sound better than a lot of very expensive amps. It really sounds just as good as the front end.

I remember when we got down to those last three amps and Russman said something about going with which ever one of these three was the cheapest. It was hard not to smile, thinking little does he know that one cost $20.

Brian asked me once durning the event if I could give them a cost range of all the amps and I just couldn't do it. It would have blown the whole deal if I would have said, yea the range is $2,600. to $20. I don't think that would have slipped by. I had to tell him that I couldn't. There was a reason why I couldn't and he'd just have to wait.

What is even more amazing is... "For the comparisons it (Sonic Impact) was run off of an inexpensive Radio Shack wall wort."

Yea, it clearly sounds even better on batteries.

I was surprised to see the scores on the Exodus UCD 400 amplifier.

I believe Kevin is working on a new power supply that might step it up a few notches. Keep in mind that the only difference between it and the Dodd amp that everyone liked was the power supply. Gary Dodd bought the modules from Kevin and they were stock modules.

Thanks very much, Danny.  As a very happy Nuforce (8.02) owner, I was disappointed to see them pull out.  I must say I am puzzled by your experience with the Nuforces, as I have never experienced any white noise or the other issues you mentioned.  Last summer, I auditioned a battery-powered Sonic Impact t-amp against the Nuforces, and came away with the Nuforces.  The Sonic Impact seemed very thin from the mid-range on down.  Example: Greg Brown and other deep male voices had little "depth;" Joni Mitchell's voice even lacked a certain depth.  The upper frequencies, however, were magic. The Nuforces, by contrast, had it all, from bottom to top.  Speakers are the venerable GR-Research Paradox 3's, 91.5 db (I was one of the first purchasers/builders of these, and have hung onto them ever since -- btw, thanks again, Danny, for a great pair of speakers).  Preamp is the Don Allen custom tube linestage.  Thanks again for the review, fun reading.

I am curious if you/anyone has tried the Sonic Impact Amp with low efficiency speakers and how well they perform? Buying 3 of these would be perfect for HT in an apartment

I used a Sonic Impact to power the Jordan JX92S for a while.  The JX92S is rated 88 db @ 1 watt.  The little Sonic Impact amplifier plays plenty loud and sounds very good with these drivers.

i'm amazed at the results from the event. the sonic impact amp is a true gem, especially for the money. i have used one for about a year for a portable system and been very impressed. i guess all the amp designers should have one as a benchmark, when they get a better sound they will have something. hopefully the price of the higher power digital amps will start to drop as well.

I might well own the three best non-tube amps in the world....Sonic Impact, TEAC A-L700p and Odyssey Khartago

Hi Chair Guy

Would that include the Van Alstine you posted about a while back?

Thanks
Bill

Nice work, Danny!

To those commenting on the T-amp, keep in mind that one reason that it worked as well as it did was that Danny's speakers are 91 dB efficient with a nominal 8 Ohm load.  When auditioning it, we also didn't play tracks that were especially bass heavy or otherwise demanded a great deal of current.  In addition, the subwoofer modules on the speakers were turned off once the comparisons started.

(Toward the end of the afternoon, we played the Burmeister Chinese drum track on the other two generally preferred amps, but Danny declined when I asked him to play it on the T-amp.... I didn't realize why until after he identified the amps for us.  When playing that track, the other amps had the guts to make Danny's living room plant sway in the breeze emanating from the speaker ports, but I have no doubt that the T-amp would have been a smoking hulk! )

I suspect that lows and even mids would definitely sound anemic when pushing a T-amp past where it wants to go, but that is a most likely a limit imposed by the power output of the amp rather an intrinsic sonic quality.  Even with efficient speakers, 6W can only go so far.

That said, I'd like to see a Tripath based active setup at some point.  Battery powered 6W Tripath on the tweeters... battery powered 30W Tripath (ala Vinnie) on the mids... maybe a power conditioned UcD180 on the woofers...  That would be quite a system!

In the mean time, I'll definitely be watching the evolution of Hypex and TACT based solutions as I consider amps for my own 85 dB sensitive speakers.  The core technologies of both solutions show a lot of promise, with clear benefits to be had from good power supplies and plenty of room left for further tweaking.

One additional, unrelated comment... I wish we had had enough time to go back and test some of the amps when plugged into a power conditioner.  While all of the other AC powered gear was plugged into a Dodd 1.5kVA power conditioner, the decision was made to plug the amps directly into the wall so as not to mask the abilities or limits of their respective power supplies.  This was a valid approach, and usually recommended for high current amps, but the differences would have been interesting nonetheless.

(Of course, there are apartment buildings in NY that probably have more residents than Danny's town, so clean power may not have been a problem for him! )

hello, from my understanding gary's amp has a built in balanced power conditioner/supply. since the others were not hooked up to a balanced power conditioner(supply) was/is this an unfair advantage for the dodd amp?