Y.C.,
Wahhh no wonderlah you are 'sold'..
At RM6.50 from Farnell, I think its a 'steal'..
For the pot, I can't help much as I don't use them at this point of time

Further update:

I took xtorm advice and remove stock caps from the 'virgin' second T-Amp board...
Bear in mind, this second board has 0(zero hours) burn in..
Plug in the board and... voila!
My jaw kinda dropped! Now the low end frequencies are somewhat 'heavier' and almost full bodied.. it definitely sounds better than my first T-Amp that has clocked 11 hours of burn in... Is this the same T-Amp?

I think the problem is the polarised 1uF input caps that came with the T-Amp.
I will remove the polarised caps only on the 1st. T-Amp and re-connect the two big yellow unpolarised caps in parallel, we'll see whats gonna happen next...

Here's the moded second T-Amp:

This post has been edited by jazzy939: Aug 16 2008, 03:05 PM


Attached thumbnail(s)

It's EPCOS. Taken from my Yulong's PCM58 DAC board. That board no longer have any input caps

Yes. I think its a 12V 4A battery. Definitely can power the TA2024 T-Amp!

Y.C.
Your patience will be worthwhile! The blue 'gigantic' EPCOS cap was recommended by my son as he says, that cap received rave reviews about it's sonic performance, and I concur!!
It is definitely better! Best part is, it cost me nothing!

Using premium parts will be worthwhile here as we're trying not to reduce a 'super duper' amp performance.
I'd say if you can afford it, BUY IT. Don't regret not buying it later..

I am running my PSU at 12.5 VDC max.. I did try 13VDC, there's a touch of graininess.. just. 12VDC would be the absolute minimum!

Hi mysghooi,
yes. all batteries are DC Your EX5 battery included!
Yes.. you can connect the battery terminal wires to the T-Amp, observing the correct polarities...
Nope, will definitely NOT lower the performance!


This post has been edited by jazzy939: Aug 16 2008, 06:00 PM

See attached picture for reference.

The RED wire on the right is the positive, ie "+"
The BLACK wire on the LEFT is negative or GROUND, "-"

These will be clearly marked on the T-Amp board. Don't mess up, otherwise the board/chip will be permanently damage!



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Bro March,

My son is my second set of ears as he is much more critical listener than I am..
also my eardrums at this age has definitely deteriorated.. Too much exposure to good 'noise'

It would be interesting to know if these mods would also improve your TA2022.. time to plug in your soldering iron, eh?

This post has been edited by jazzy939: Aug 16 2008, 06:29 PM

Y.C.,
Don't believe what you read 'there'.. it's to confuse the enemies
BTW, He just completed his Diploma in Mechanical Engineering. Guess he chose to be just like his dad

xtorm,
Initially I was plannng to take the SMPS path, but after reading Red Wine's philosophy's on why they're using SLA in their design, it make more sense to me!
I also believe in minimalization, therefore LESS is MORE

However I have NOT finalized the power supply part yet. I have to complete the burn in session first.
Then the audition would be more meaningful.

I have 2 SMPS on standby..

yes, you definitely need a charger, either built-in with the assembly or separate external one. Like Red Wine's unit, a rocker switch will put the amp either in 'battery power mode' or 'battery charging mode'. RED LED: Battery charging; GREEN LED Battery fully charged.
It is not that 'hard' to include such a circuit.. only added 'cost'.

I chose my spare DIN55 battery as I already have the charger for it

Red Wine's unit one should last between 4-6 hours of continuous usage.
Then again it all depends on the discharge current against the battery capacity. The bigger, the longer!

Bro March,
Back to KISS ya!

The charger will NOT be energized when the battery is used during normal operation.. well that is what the Red Wine's unit was designed.
In fact the charger is an external unit, to be plugged in when you're done listening until the next session. It takes roughly an hour to fully charge that SLA...

BTW, how much would an SLA costs?

This is one of a simple SLA charging circuit..




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Definitely not!
If I have all the parts.. 17 minutes, maybe!

This one may...



This post has been edited by jazzy939: Aug 16 2008, 07:11 PM


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Bro March,
I acknowledged your concerns.. that is why I opted NOT to take that path.
4-6 hours is kinda long listening time to me.. Do you spend that long listening ya?
Then a second backup battery is a good option! While the second battery is good for another 4-6 hours, within the hour the 1st battery will be fully charged.. ready to replace the second one... sounds good eh?

Rm40? RM80 for 2..thats not bad..

I had my DIN55 for 1/2 that said price.. now NOT doing anything, might as well use it for this purpose! No additioal cost incurred!
Did I mentioned that I also have a charger for that?

And if you connect it in parallel, you should get an operational time of: >30 hours!

WOW! We just exceeded 100 postings!

This post has been edited by jazzy939: Aug 16 2008, 07:28 PM

Not to worry bro March,
There's always more than one way to 'kill' a cat...
(NB:I am NOT a cat hater.. )

Attached, is the offending caps that came with the T-Amp...

Have removed the polarized 1uF from the assembly, will try connecting the two 1uF NP yellow caps in parallel which should give a total of 2uF for the input caps, dunno how the sound would be.. planning for late night operations...




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ongbs,
am just wondering. how did you measure the current drain?
sure ah, not a 'fluke' reading? (pun intended! )

late night is the best time to do critical audio listening..

This also just came to my mind. Since the amp can be driven into clipping quite easily.. why not incorporate a 'clipping indicator'? This will help the user not to 'overdrive' the little fella... :

additional notes:
I found one circuit that uses 12VDC working voltage.. will update if found to be suitable for our purposes... need to scrutinized the circuit.

Found this instead. Simple and workable.

Audio Clipping Indicator

This post has been edited by jazzy939: Aug 16 2008, 08:49 PM

That is good. I'll accept your current drain figures without doubt! Good work bro!

The item highlighted is easily done! I'll try that out first! Remember KISS & KIC?

add. notes:
I have checked the datasheet. pin 19 will not work here


This post has been edited by jazzy939: Aug 16 2008, 08:57 PM

xtorm,
I noticed the same too in my set ups.. on both boards!

Have downloaded the eval. board pdf.. will have a look soon!

The soft clipping indicator will be just an optional add-ons.. KIC, remember?

that's gabanyayaya's Keep It Cheap!

btw the clipping indicator is no major issue,right? We have good ears for that!
I'll KIV it first

This post has been edited by jazzy939: Aug 16 2008, 09:23 PM