Fabulous little Class T (tripath) box, <$100! YOWZA!!!

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #20 on:** 6 Mar 2004, 09:33 pm »

Yeah, at least if you'r running Windows there's like 3 places you have to get into and turn the volume up. It's hard to say just how much degradation there is (it's not like cascading analog volume controls, or at least it shouldn't be). I briefly hooked up a portable while I was troubleshooting it, but that's it. I have a Denon CD player in my room that has a variable volume output, and as soon as I get the ambition I'll connect it to the PowerWave and try it out.

Mathew_M · « **Reply #21 on:** 7 Mar 2004, 12:23 am »

Also remember to avoid plugging the PW into a surge protector with the rest of your computer components. The sound smoothed out quite a bit by plugging it directly into its own outlet on a separate circuit. These switching powersupplies are finicky.

The powerwave is doing such a good job of driving my Apple Pro speakers that I'll probably hold off on upgrading them any time soon.

cjr888 · « **Reply #22 on:** 10 Mar 2004, 11:31 pm »

Any owners out there have or willing to take pictures of the inside of the little Griffin? Curious to see what's inside....

thayerg · « **Reply #23 on:** 13 Mar 2004, 01:26 am »

I got bored with listening to the Pwave and so I took my Swiss Army knife to it.

All surface mount inside. Tiny Tripath chip. Looks like eliminating the bogus speaker connector will be a real bear. Possibly easier to mangle the connector jack in place and solder cable to the exposed leads. Even that will take some skillful work with a Dremel or small file.

The case is destroyed by opening it, FIY.

Zoe · « **Reply #24 on:** 13 Mar 2004, 02:48 am »

Can anyone answer how the powerwave is setup to use an "outboard" powersupply. I get the impression that just any manuf. powersupply will work. Can anyone elaborate on this? Thanks

Mathew_M · « **Reply #25 on:** 13 Mar 2004, 05:23 am »

On a whim today I plugged the PW into my VMPS 626rs. All things being the PW did pretty well. Bass was indistinct and lumpy but it was there. The highs were a bit forward and the soundstage was closed in. Sax sounded excellent however and the most dimensional that I've heard a digital source sound (vinyl still rules here). In the end it was just a novelty, the PW is now back where it belongs plugged into my Mac. BTW I used my Jolida JD100 and AI tube pre. Overall I'd say it was good. OTOH I did notice a lack of detail which is nothing unusual with the Jolida which smooths over the sound a bit much for my taste.

Mathew_M · « **Reply #26 on:** 13 Mar 2004, 05:25 am »

Ouch. Greg won't be happy to hear this since he sent his to Wayne. It sounds like a pretty disposable piece of tech. Still its amazingly good for the money and I don't plan on ripping mine apart. Its good enough as is.

Dmason · « **Reply #27 on:** 13 Mar 2004, 12:46 pm »

How much do you really want to invest in enhancing something that in all probability cost the manufacturer under $25 to produce?

I think everyone should see the PowerWave as a tiny harbinger of future times: BIG performance from small, inexpensive stuff. --I recently noticed a 150GB FireWire HD on sale for $159, it was small and cheap, but with cavernous storage abilities. Amazing value and utility...

Used with reasonably efficient speakers, the PW is to me the mimicking "ventriloquist" of a very good tube amp, a tiny, impersonal, and inert one, -but one I can stick in my back pocket. (It conjures up an interesting mental image, no?) --

Bottom line to me is that this little curiosity does, let's say about 80% of what my absolute all time favorite amp did, (Art Audio Jota,) at 1/65 the cost!!! ......And from about 150Hz down, the Jota did about 50% of what the PowerWave does.

Bwanagreg · « **Reply #28 on:** 13 Mar 2004, 01:28 pm »

What me worry? I sent a second unit to Wayne. My original is intact. Looks like the new case will be mandatory.

I agree that this is only a hint of what is to come. There are two ways of thinking about this - 1) how much do you want to spend on a cheap amp, or 2) given that the base amp is so cheap you now have a larger budget for modifiations. At this stage I'm just interested in seeing what a talented guy like Wayne thinks he can do.

The next question is who will be the first AC manufacturer to do a little inexpensive Tripath-based amp right from scratch? Hmm.

_scotty_ · « **Reply #29 on:** 13 Mar 2004, 02:32 pm »

Unfortunately the inexpensive Tripath amps we have seen so far are the result of economies of scale. If you go to the Tripath website the least expensive EVAL Board is $299. By the time you put it in a chassis and have power supply you are out $650. You now have my DIY AMP and no payment for your labor. I am afraid we won't see a very inexpensive
Tripath very soon because of these factors.

Wayne1 · « **Reply #30 on:** 13 Mar 2004, 03:40 pm »

I do have another case all ready to go for the little Power Wave.

No worries, Greg.

I had been talking to Ed Schilling on another matter. I mentioned to him I was going to be working on a little Tripath amp that "only" has 15 wpc and I wasn't sure I had any speakers it could drive.

Ed was very kind enough to mention that he had a pair of demo Horns out at Pass Labs that they were done with. He called me back a few hours later and said it is all aranged. They will be shipped to me on Monday.

I will be able to report on how the Power Wave works with the HornShoppe Horns and how the mods progress with them.

Maybe I can get the DAM to listen. I think it would make a good photo with the Power Wave and Mike's Stratos Extreme Mono-Blocks

albee · « **Reply #31 on:** 16 Mar 2004, 02:13 am »

Very interested in Tripath developments. Is this all we really need for a good start? 15 watts!

http://www.tripath.com/TA2021B_design_tools.htm