Y.C., I have been tempted from day one of this thread! But my current limitation in free time, a distinction shortage of loose change (yes, I'm going through a lean time because I have over spent my AV budget this year by a mile), and the worry that I will go DIY crazy made me pull back. The last time I did some DIY..that was with jazzy's DIY variable PSU thread, I actually lost my mind...started thinking I could repair other equipment like my Audio Alchemy DAC....and would have killed it except for bsl's timely interference. Now, I think it is safer for me to sit back and take delight in your delights.

And so, let us not forget about that TT Session.....when, when?

Yes Vincent, I just took another look at my current working setup.....extrapolated back to the prices when they were new, my CDP/Integrated Amp/Speaker Combo interestingly adds up to just slightly under RM10K. Coincidence?

We seem to have quite a number of things in common.

T-amp = TA2022!

I did a DIY speaker in my early days as a white collared newbie...built my boxes out of 18mm chipboard, Isophon KK10/8 tweeters, PSL265 10" woofers and Isophon crossover parts purchased from a DIY shop in Taman Melawati (Total cost = RM350; I still have the receipts!) and promptly sold it to a friend who loved the sound. The megre profit went into a pair of new Heybrooks which are still around, and the T-amp today drives them wonderfully too...hehe. If the TA2024 can drive them just as well.....hmmmm!

And, bsl also suggested putting a `power conditioner' in my system....guess what? His indicated figure to invest in was ~RM2K! That's smack-dab in line with your Richard Gray expenditure! Are you sure you guys are not in cahoots?

Hey, hey hey, next week TT!

Vincent, my TA2022's almost an identical twin to yours.





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According to the `instructions manual' the trim controls are there to adjust the volume and balance between the 2 channels. So I guess it is DC adjustment? If for bias, it would affect the frequency response, right?

Now I have a totally wild thought. Since I'm using a pair of the TA2022 in bi amped mode, I can actually use the trimpots to adjust the relative signal volumes to the tweeters and woofers on each speaker separately....in effect, I can `tune' the sound to increase or decrease the overall brightness, and bass response (within limits, of course). Or am I going overboard with my imagination?

Yes Mr C! I would be most delighted as your office is only a couple of minutes walk from my house! It actually would take me longer to drive as I would have to do some u turns and find a place to park!

I can bring my sandfilled stands if you don't mind the stained paintwork and rustspots. I'll also bring along my battered pair of Heybrooks 'cause if the TA2024 can drive them to reasonable loudness, I'll get one T-amp kit and turn these old speakers into a pair of pc multimedia transducers.

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Added on October 9, 2008, 3:32 pmjazzy bro, you are so uplifting!

But before I start turning them tiny screws, I'd better figure a way of calibrating the levels so that if things don't work out, I can still set them back to the original factory defaults. Any suggestions? I think I will need a constant tone generator, and some kind of meter/oscilloscope to measure/record the output. Can a simple multimeter switched to the AC measurement work for the second part? Would I also need to jury-rig a dummy 8 ohm resistance to simulate a speaker load?

This post has been edited by March05: Oct 9 2008, 03:32 PM

What ho! my guardian angel to the rescue again!

One lesson I've learned from bsl, after all this time, is always to proceed with EXTREME PRECAUTION if you go where angels fear to tread!

And Jazzy bro, you give me encouragement to be ADVENTUROUS (otherwise I'll just go back to my mundane, boring lifestyle).

Between the two of you, I guess I've got all the important angles covered!

But this is one very good (bad) example of the Mr Hyde I become when I get into a DIY mood. I start to run wild with plans without seeing the long term effects.

Okay, back to this screwing...pardon my language, folks. Jazzy bro, these screws are so tiny I need a fine jeweller's screwdriver to turn them. I think the finest marker may be too coarse to be precise. But I'll put the mark there anyway...the advice is good, and it won't cost me a sen.

I would like to play the sophisticated DIYer this time, and purpose-build a meter with that dummy load bsl mentioned. Now the million dollar question is: Who's got a design I can copy and make? The resistor should ideally be 8 ohm, 30W (or higher?) rating, isn't it? What range should the meter be, and measuring AC or DC ? Logic tells me AC, but then, my logic is not infallible.

Can I generate a pure one note, continuous sine wave tone using my pc sound card - just using the MIDI synthesizer should do it, I think....or some other source would be better?

Questions, questions, but I think this will also work with a pair of TA2024s except you do it with volume pots feeding the input....

Done Deal! bsl, I'm older than you, so I can use those words **XXXXXX**, not you, kiddo.

Now you wouldn't happen to have a spare tone generator lying around somewhere in your hidden-warehouse-disguised-as-a-normal-house, would you. Okay, okay, I won't push my luck too much today.

Jazzy bro, I guess your hint says it about the tone generation device...unless I'm reading you totally wrong! Macro pix no problem lah. You're looking at Mr Eagle Eyed March, Photographer of the Month. My compact Casio should do the trick for the time being. My Canon 5D Mark II hasn't arrived yet.

Question again, what frequency is good to use as a reference? 1Khz?

but I wanna use a proper signal generator!

bsl, I wanna use that oscilloscope too!

Oh sh*t, Mr Hyde's loose again!

Y.C., that'll be a great help. Somehow these days I'm not as young as I used to be. It'll also save me the trouble of giving you directions when I hold the turntable -TT session at my place once my CA640P arrives and is fully settled in. But be prepared to do a bit of weight lifting, these Malaysia Boleh! Atacama clones are quite hefty, especially when sandfilled.

ongbs, that's a good idea. I'll implement it as well. I'm not going to miss a trick on this complicated trimpot adjustment.

wui223, you're going bring a modded T-amp after all?

Try this: http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=3.0479488&lo...=18&l=0&m=a&v=2

Just a bit of adjustment...I have placed the cross/cursor right in the box where Hong Leong Bank is. Mouse over it and the name will appear.

This post has been edited by March05: Oct 15 2008, 08:29 PM

For me, I think TT postponed to next weekend is a bit better. But if it is to be tomorrow, I will still be happy to come! Don't know why, suddenly this week ending so busy.......

How's the plan for tomorrow's TT session?

I'm good to go.

Can someone bring along another pair of speakers just in case? My Heybrook HB2s are not very efficient (that's why I want to try them with the TA2024, my TA2022 works fine with them) and it would not be very nice to listen to 3 hours of clipping in the unlikely(?) scenario that the TA2024 can't drive them.....

I think it's just the usual reject(?) quality stuff from JP. I bought a pair of white LEDs for car 12 volt operation. One blew after a a few weeks....the other one's still working fine after months of use - same power supply, a 12 volt SLA.

Ok, my first observation on the T-amp session: 3 hours is too short for this kind of shoot out! We barely scratched the surface running through let's see - 7 or 8 (I lost count of jazzy's mods) variants of the TA2024.

But one undeniable constant stands out - the TA2024 is one heck of a kick-ass performer at this kind of price range. By the latter half of the session, I was more engaged in listening to the music samples brought by the participants rather than auditioning the T-amps - which shows how well this Tripath product translates the material and allows the info through with very little negative impact.

My verdict:
Pros.
well above average detail,
seductive on Female Vocals,
authentic Pianos,
good 3D space.

Cons
so-so on winds
bass is a little woolly and insecure.

However, please take into account that the listening was done in an office environment, and using my well beaten pair of HB2s ... so we're not yet getting near the best of what this little monster is capable of!

My apologies for not staying to the end, but I hope you guys enjoyed yourself all the way through!

Y.C., thanks for being an excellent host, plus the home pick up service!

wui223, I don't think that there's any significant problem with the bass performance of the TA2024 in the first place.

To get better bass, you merely have match it with higher efficiency low frequency drivers.

My HB2s were not the idea speakers to use for exploring the bass capabilities of the T-amp, its bass performance is known to be its weakest feature. But if all you want is bass in quantity, just put the HB2 about 2 feet away into the corners, and it'll rattle all your glass window panes with the TA2024. But then being the ear snobs we are, we have more interest in the bass definition then the volume. That is the main failure of the HB2s - a looseness and poor control in the lower end. This is not the fault of the TA2024.

In our next session, we should try for a pair of full range speakers - some floorstanders, anyone?

you are not alone.

It's just that I feel that the amp itself has less influence over the bass quality than a well recorded source and the transient ability of the drivers to move air.

junchoon, it was nice to have met you for the first time yesterday. I'm sure jazzy can make that adapter for you. QED.

As for opening the casing and turning off the power to the center unit bass modules, I'm not so sure its a good idea. Why? Because you'll be killing one of the best features of the Boomtube EX...it was concept designed to be used as a portable system, and I would say after listening to it, it does that job very well.

However, if it were up to me.....(beware, wild idea coming up): if I really had to open it up for modding, I'd add a mini-jack socket, routing the feed to the bass modules to it first, so that I can hook it up to an external subwoofer! This way, I can easily cut off the signal to the bass modules by plugging in a jack, or leave the internal bass modules active by simply not inserting anything.