[andrewsouthern]

hello all,

I have a little t-amp. I like it's sound, and it is all nice and broken in. However, I think I'd like to upgrade to something with real binding posts, rca jacks etc. I have searched the forums here and found A LOT of great reviews and comments on the Clari-T. I am convinced this is one hell of an amp.

I would pay $500 if it's really excellent, and I dig the built in battery. But I also like the idea of DIY. Has anyone tried to just put the t-amp in a new box, a la Art Taylor's enclosure? Or is it better to have an amp made by a pro?

My question to you all is this - given your expirience, if you were to do it all again would you:
a) rebox your original T-Amp
b) get a Clari-T
c) get a customized Clari-T
d) get some other sort of mod, like Best Audio Mods T-Amp? ( i know a lot of you already dislike this guy...)

Also, I am planning using Totem MITE speakers and AudioQuest speaker wire for this system. Has anyone had a chance to hear the MITES, are there any other loudpspeakers for around $750 people would recommend?

Any all all comments are appreciated, as I'm looking to gather a bunch. I'd also love to buy a used one if the battery was good. Thank you.

Andrew

[DeadFish]

Hi Andrew!

Welcome to A/C and the place of many answers...and more questions.
 
I had questions such as you, and real high efficiency speakers, and in spite of several tubed amps, bought that little "inexpensive" T-amp to play with.
I thought of rebuilding it in new case, but decided to get something with a little more power for my purposes, leaving the T-amp project on hold until I felt like fussing with it.
Well, I've just plain moved on to more with a modified Teac and more tubes.
Have heard the Clari-T and it is definitely a move forward from the stock thing I had.  A little searching might reveal some folks that did get ClariT's couldn't leave well enough alone and went for modded ones.
I imagine, that once Vinnie makes his new signature amp available, some of the ClariT owners might be looking to 'unload', if the prospect of 2nd hand appeals to you as much as it does to me.  (I just hate that loss of $$ as soon as you drive out of the car-lot!)
Afraid I haven't heard the speakers you refer to, but a little time spent reading here in such places as the Omega and The Horn Shoppe as well as others, might reveal you to some real winners for high efficiency.
Good luck on your path.  There are no bad choices, only longer roads.
Best regards,
DeadFish

[andrewsouthern]

thanks for the welcome!, I am in new york, so I'm going to cruise the New York Rave forum too. But my first stop has to be here, because I really want to get something going. I put some binding posts on my t-amp just so I could listen with some good speakers.

As for a used amp - I'd only be concerned with the battery stuff, it's always question of when will it stop holding charge, right?. I wouldn't mind being able to listen to the amp with a SMPS too - maybe Vinnie can make that happen for me, not sure if that runs entirely contrary to the Clari-T philosophy.

[lonewolfny42]

I have a little t-amp. I like it's sound, and it is all nice and broken in. However, I think I'd like to upgrade to something with real binding posts, rca jacks etc.

In that case....watch for Vinnie's new Sig. 30 amp....coming out soon. Seems a few members of AC have gone to the Montreal show....watch for their comments on what they thought of it. Good luck !! [/list:u]

[JLM]

Andrew,

Welcome!

The Totem Mites are very inefficient, and therefore a very poor match for any 6 wpc amp, even the Clari-T.

I've never heard any of the Totem speakers, but have read that they can sound very constipated (so much worse to pair with a flea sized amp).

If you're looking into DIY and less than say 95 dB/w/m speakers I'd look into gainclone chip amps (simplier to build and can do 40 wpc).  Check out diyaudio.com.