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September 11, 2006 - 5:10pm
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Super-T
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Here's hoping you don't get fed a bitter pill. *clink* cheers.
Hey Monty thanks for the warm wishes.
I assume the pill comment refers to the Super-T review itself.
While I do hope it's not bitter, I am just as excited to see how low cost digital amps measure up, quantitative and subjectivelly. its the disscussion of this amp (in many ways a T-amp), by people with whom I have some knowledge of there tastes and sensibilities, that excites me most.
unlike many of the forum veterans, I am an audiophile greenhorn. I savor those few reviews that make mention of components I own or know well, and thus can make a comparison to my own observations. I enjoy reading about a new Bryston amp, but really don't have the frame of reference to understand what the measurments translate into, or what the reviewer means when they say it's mid-range detail reminded them of some other piece of gear.
I get excited when i read things like JA's comparision of the squeezbox analog out to a Pioneer UDP which I own. It helps me better understand the vocabulary that is commonly used in discussing this hobby.
as for the T-amp, I like it, for a project, for some nice listening, for a super cheap system. However, my modded T-amp is in NH with my fiance in a little Kef coda based system i set up for her (with the pioneer UDP). My "big rig" if you can call it that, is down in MA with me where it is given complete control over the living room.
personally my modded t-amp was a bit bright, a bit harsh. comparitivly solid base, excellent speed, rhythem, detail and imaging. I believe that the harsh bright sound is due to the low cost radio shack capacitors i threw in. someday I will change them out with blackgates or something, and see how/if a capacitor changes what I hear. $addly I don't think any amount of mods will alow it to compete with my larger setup's amp.
Cheers All
Windzilla
A "bitter pill" is a southern term to describe how granny would get rid of stray dogs that would hang around and kill the chickens on the farm. Old granny would stuff a poison pill in a piece of food and feed it to the poor old dog.
So, when you hear a southerner refer to a bitter pill, they are talking about offing a stray. Of course, it can also mean a disappointing review of an audio component
I know whatcha mean about finding high value sound. That stuff is out there and I love stumbling across it as well.
Well, she arrived today, and in a snappy new color combination. I liked it instantly. The October issue just screams to be read with an adult beverage of the plastic unbrella sort.
Drink in hand, I think I'll see what Wes thinks of the T-Amp
Ok, I'm obviously screwing around with ya. PM me if you just can't wait. Otherwise, the issue is obviously in the hands of the guys in the funny jeeps.
Glad you like the cover, Monty. We were all pretty excited about it. I've been anxious to hear what people think.
You have no idea how much that issue will be a welcome respite from the abdominal disection i have been doing all week long (my guy had an actuall condition known as "Mega Colon"). That, and the very substantial kegger us first years are throwing the second years this friday (to show them grattitude for throwing us a kegger after our first round of exams two weeks ago) will certainly start my weekend right.
as an aside, there is a sizable portion of my class interested in High(er) end audio. we are going to start having some listening sessions, anyone in Worcester MA would be welcome to come hang out!
Cheers
Cover Good! Sam Good! Mikey Good! Dudley Good! Despite your excellent efforts (and those of your intern) Rec. Comp. still not worth the space devoted to them. Can never understand why the RC issues are, as JA confirms again, the most popular on the stands. Hell, your blog is far more interesting than the list. Maybe you should try to get it on the stands, at least in NYC.
Gross.
I'm happy that we're part of that healing process. Please have a drink for all of us at Stereophile.
That's great! Have you given yourselves a name? Would you like to post your information on our Audiophile Societies page? Please tell your high(er)-end audio friends we said "Yo."
Thanks so much, Clay. I'm glad you've enjoyed the issue so much.
I'm sure there're lots of reasons. People love lists and ratings.
Ha. Thank you, but these New York City stands are crowded enough. Too many cars, too many bars, too many books, too many bands...
(I don't actually mean this, except for maybe the "too many cars" part. I would love to see my work on the stands.)
I was happy to see a review of the Super T-amp. I like the sound of it a bit better than your reviewer, but obviously opinions are what they are. It is especially nice for matching with the Insignia speakers at Best Buy in a small bedroom system.
Just wanted to give a thank you to Wes, Stephan, JA and the rest for a wonderful issue. I really enjoyed the reviews of the Sonos and Super-t.
Unfortunatelly I find these reveiws of affordable gear to be a double edged sword. Usually the components are so far outside my price range that the thought of purchasing them dosen't cross my mind. Not so with Squeezbox's and the like.
Keep em comming
I also noticed that the Super-T made the recommended list, so maybe they do like it as much as I do.
Oh, I definatly think they enjoyed it. It did for Wes what it has done for many other experianced audiophiles, get the audio "juices flowing" like nothing has in a long time. That has been a great part of the appeal of the T-amp for me as well. It can produce some very nice music, and is extremely amenable to tweaking and testing and just fooling around. $10,000 amplifires tend to be less than amiable when you start doing strange things to them, like running them off a car battery.
That's great to hear. Thank you, and we will keep them coming.
No, it wasn't dumb at all.
Wes certainly had some tweaks, but they were by no means exhaustive. Additionally, given your plain vanilla T-amp they were hardly the tip of the iceberg.
To start the boys at DIYaudio.com have put together a very nice DIY tweaking wiki-web page
.
one easy to do suggestion which wes touched on would be changing your power supply around. Play with it, a 12 volt battery, like those found on cigarette lighter car chargers can be used. arguably this would be about as clean a power source as one could get, certainly for the price. you need 12V and at least 1 amper of power, but most Sealed lead acid batterys have way more amps than that which can be delivered on demand for some good bass impact. You can also try various wall warts you may have around the house. be sure you keep the polarity straight however, the center pin is positive, and use only DC! (somehow after gathering about a dozen wall-warts from around the house, i forgot to check one of them for DC/AC current, and pop, there goes a T-amp)
To my knowledge one of the biggest change sans the reboxing, to improve the Super-T over the vanilla, was the replacement of the input capacitors, the stock units cause an extreme bass roll off.
if you want to get up inside your t-amp, be sure and check out the Micheal Mardas link on the DIYaudio wiki webpage, he has some fantastic instructions, illustrations, and measurments of what can be accomplished by DIY novices.
For a look at what an beginner such as myself can accomplish check out these. pictures of my modified, re-boxed t-amp based system. Be forewarned that if you don't already have the soldering iron on hand, putting this all together will cost about as much as the super-t, but I think its more fun.
cheers and happy tweaking, er listening!