[audio newb]

Hi there Vinnie.  Firstly, congrats with all your successes as you continue to expand your line.  You must be doing something right.    Secondly, apologies if these topics have been covered elsewhere, but I couldn't find anything.

My first question probably has a simple answer so I'll go with this one first.  About how long do the batteries last on the new SMART units, specifically the 30.2?  And by this I mean in years rather than for each charge (I assume that like car batteries these will eventually lose their capacity to hold a decent charge).

Second question has a little more to it.  I was just curious as to whether you had played around with using any of the icepower units in a similar manner to what you do with the tripath chips.  I realize that this might be difficult from a cost/supply standpoint or because most of the units are chip and power supply rather than just the chips, but it would seem that the icepower line would also take nicely to the ol battery treatment.  Would this work to yield higher power units?  (And please forgive us audio spectators always looking out for the next bigger, better, whateveritis...although I suppose that drives you to make these things in the first place).

Thanks again, both for the great work and for making yourself available to our constant queries.

[Vinnie R.]

Hi audio newb,

Welcome to Audiocirlce and the RWA forum! 

Hi there Vinnie.  Firstly, congrats with all your successes as you continue to expand your line.  You must be doing something right.   

Thank you!

My first question probably has a simple answer so I'll go with this one first.  About how long do the batteries last on the new SMART units, specifically the 30.2?  And by this I mean in years rather than for each charge (I assume that like car batteries these will eventually lose their capacity to hold a decent charge).

This is a good question, but there is no exact answer.  With SLA batteries (as with car batteries), they do not like to be deeply cycled.  No matter if you play your Sig 30.2 for 10 minutes or 10 hours, you should ALWAY turn it off when finsihed and this will begin the charge process (assuming your charger is plugged in, which it should always be).  Worst case if you forgot to turn off and the battery voltage drops, the SMART module will automatically turn off the unit and begin the charge process for you... so you cannot accidentally kill the batteries.  Because of this, you should be able to obtain at least 2 years of use out of the batteries... most likely longer. 

Yes, in time they will lose their ability to hold a charge.  So maybe you were able to get 18 hours continuously when they were new... and after 12 years, maybe only 12 hours continously.  Are they then bad?  No.. but if you demand more than 12 hours continous playing you would want to change them... otherwise, they are fine.  They only need to be replaced when the Sig 30.2 can no longer play for as long as you would like without the SMART board automatically turning off the unit and charging. 

Second question has a little more to it.  I was just curious as to whether you had played around with using any of the icepower units in a similar manner to what you do with the tripath chips.  I realize that this might be difficult from a cost/supply standpoint or because most of the units are chip and power supply rather than just the chips, but it would seem that the icepower line would also take nicely to the ol battery treatment.  Would this work to yield higher power units?  (And please forgive us audio spectators always looking out for the next bigger, better, whateveritis...although I suppose that drives you to make these things in the first place).

I have played with IcePower units and no matter how I modded them, I can not get them to sound anywhere as good as the lower powered Tripath chips (even with battery power).  I'm not saying that they don't sound good.  Sounding "good" is a matter of taste.  All I'm saying is that I cannot get the sound that I am looking for out of any digital amplification implementations other than my highly modified Tripath implementations. 

Yes, IcePower offers higher power, but the higher power ICE and Tripath and many others I've played with just don't give the sound that I am looking for.  Again, a matter of taste... not right or wrong. 

Thanks again, both for the great work and for making yourself available to our constant queries.

Thanks for your interest and participation here! 

Vinnie

[Randy]

Vinnie, another question that's probably already been answered on another thread, so thanks for your patience. The 30.2, an integrated amp with volume control, I beleive - will it be fully compatible with the upcoming Isabella preamp or will one need the version without the volume control?  Getting close to pulling the trigger on a 30.2, but also want to keep options open for the future.

[Vinnie R.]

Vinnie, another question that's probably already been answered on another thread, so thanks for your patience. The 30.2, an integrated amp with volume control, I beleive - will it be fully compatible with the upcoming Isabella preamp or will one need the version without the volume control?  Getting close to pulling the trigger on a 30.2, but also want to keep options open for the future.

Hi Randy,

Excellent question!

The Signature 30.2 with built-in volume control will work with the Isabella, but it will be redundant to have a remote volume control in the Sig 30.2 since this will already be in the Isabella. 

To those who already own the Signature 30.2 with volume control and want to later purchase the Isabella, I can convert your Signature 30.2 into the power amp version (see pic below). 



Thanks for your post,

Vinnie

[TRADERXFAN]

Now this was very helpful... something I had wondered about for quite a while now... is there something that can be done to put these other higher power designs closer to the level that the RWA products have acheived? Knowing that Vinny already has tried this and not discovered it, puts that curiousity of mine to rest**:

I have played with IcePower units and no matter how I modded them, I can not get them to sound anywhere as good as the lower powered Tripath chips (even with battery power).  I'm not saying that they don't sound good.  Sounding "good" is a matter of taste.  All I'm saying is that I cannot get the sound that I am looking for out of any digital amplification implementations other than my highly modified Tripath implementations. 

Yes, IcePower offers higher power, but the higher power ICE and Tripath and many others I've played with just don't give the sound that I am looking for.  Again, a matter of taste... not right or wrong. 

I did try a competitor's (will remain unnamed) tripath amplifier which is rated for more power at lower price. It has been well reviewed, but it just didn't cut the mustard for me on the sound quality, so I had to return it. There is definitely something SPECIAL** about the Red Wine implementation.

edited to better reflect what I meant**

[Vinnie R.]

There is definitely something different about the Red Wine implementation.

Hi TRADERXFAN,

There are most likely *many* things different  .

The Signature 30.2 uses an output stage design that is unlike any other Tripath-based amp out there.  This is something that took me a long time to develop and it sounds like no other.  

The input stage is also most likely different as well.

The chipset used is definitely different (as I mentioned above, I was never pleased with the sound of the higher powered Tripath chips or any of the other higher powered class-d).

The power supply is different  

Best regards,

Vinnie

[TRADERXFAN]

-need to edit my previous post to better reflect the fact that I meant what was being said as a compliment, and what I found informative about Vinnies comment.

[Vinnie R.]

-need to edit my previous post to better reflect the fact that I meant what was being said as a compliment, and what I found informative about Vinnies comment.

Hi TRADERXFAN,

I did not take your original post the wrong way... I was just adding to your comment about the RWA implementation 

Thanks again!

Vinnie

[pardales]

So, even if one had a 30.2 with volume control, one could still incorporate the Isabella (or most any pre) and just use the 30.2 integrated as a power amp. Correct?

[IronLion]

So, even if one had a 30.2 with volume control, one could still incorporate the Isabella (or most any pre) and just use the 30.2 integrated as a power amp. Correct?

Correct, and I believe there are several people here on AC that do just this with various tube preamps.  As Vinnie has pointed out though, having two volume potentiometers in the signal chain is redundant and in an ideal situation, if you planned on using a preamp with a Sig 30.2 you would have it in the power amp configuration, that is, sans Goldpoint attenuator. 

[R Browne]

While it may be redundant to have a Signature 30.2 with an attenuator when using a pre-amp, there are some instances where it can be useful. Some pre-amps with conventional potentiometers (usually not stepped attenuators) can have channel imbalance problems especially at the lower end of the volume control. Lowering the amp's attenuator from full to half, for example, allows you more flexibility in using the pre-amp volume control to overcome this problem.

Another instance when an attenuator on an amp comes in handy is with a pre-amp with a stepped attenuator where at low volume levels the degree of attenuation between steps is is not fine enough. Here again you can lower the amp's attenuator to allow you to select a higher volume setting on the pre-amp where the degree of attenuation between steps is finer.

So you see, having a volume control on both amp and pre-amp can be useful in some instances. Whether or not you wish to exercise your choice in the matter, providing it is available, is up to you. Nothing to lose sleep over, however.

[Vinnie R.]

So, even if one had a 30.2 with volume control, one could still incorporate the Isabella (or most any pre) and just use the 30.2 integrated as a power amp. Correct?

Correct, and I believe there are several people here on AC that do just this with various tube preamps.  As Vinnie has pointed out though, having two volume potentiometers in the signal chain is redundant and in an ideal situation, if you planned on using a preamp with a Sig 30.2 you would have it in the power amp configuration, that is, sans Goldpoint attenuator. 

Exactly