Sonic Impact Technologies T-AMP 2-Channel Amplifier

Sonic Impact : T amp.

i got mine from amazon.com many months ago.

Conclusion first :
BUY IT. Think later.
This amp will blow your mind ONLY
if : you have the ears for it, and you use at least
very decent INPUT and Output equipment and
a WELL RECORDED CD,
and DECENT wires and cables.

DO NOT DARE TO USE BATTERIES...USE A SEPARATE
ANALOG POWER SUPPLY or at very least, a good ANALOG
wall unit providing VERY CLOSE TO 12.0 to 13.2 V DC
and at least 1 AMP DC continous capability.
( Most times, if you measure
while moderately Loud music plays, this T amp
draws about 300 to 700mA peaks../oscilloscope/ )
It is NOT unusual for you to spend more than 60 dollars
on the power supply if need be.

DO NOT THINK OF USING A SWITCHING POWER SUPPLY
FOR ANYTHING IF YOU CAN help it, in this lifetime.
the center pole on the amp is POSITIVE.

Please use a Digital Multi Tester to make sure
of these DC input voltages, as this is the MOST
CRITICAL THING.

ONE more thing,
even after the standard 100 hrs burn in.. you might
notice ( as with your other amps..) that the minute
you turn on this thing you do not get Gold. No...

you might still have to wait upto 30 mins or more
for things to warm up and sound Real Nice !
so be patient please.

THIS AMP WILL GIVE YOU A CLEAN 1-3 WATTS ONLY.
a pretty good 5 WATT and a TERRIBLE
DEATH KNELL AT 15 Watt.
IN other words, DO NOT CRANK IT UP.
YOUR ears will tell you when it's more than enuff !

use EFFICIENT SPEAKERS IF YOU WANT LOUD Sound,
Otherwise, MOST DYNAMIC SPEAKERS WILL WORK Nice
AT LOW VOLUME, yes, even those that are Rated
only at 86 dBa/w/m efficiency!

i call LOUD SOUND (SPL ) at least 85 dBA or more,
at 1 meter.
MODERATE SPL for me is about 75 dBA at 1 meter.
LOW VOLUME (SPL ) for me is about 65 dBA or so,
again, at 1 meter.

GET A RADIO SHACK DIGITAL SPL Meter.
the thing is cheap and is quite accurate for
non critical measurements !

in OTHER WORDS,
DONT WORRY ABOUT LOUDNESS too much.
it is LOUD ENOUGH and more importantly,
it is VERY VERY PLEASANT to listen to !

if your intention is just to attach a Sony walkman
and plug in some chinese speakers, may i suggest
a cheaper amp in Walmart or less ?

Next Conclusion : I am going to get at least 2 more
of these amps because something went WRONG.

The first 4 days, as this thing warmed up
and burned in, about 6-8 hrs
a day, things were sounding TOO GOOD to be true…
to the point one can hear the delirious laughter in the dark of a madman ( me ! ) who is getting
Pretty close ( as least in some Aspects !)
to Hi End Audio Resolution and Dynamics
and Tones and Frequencies that do NOT intermesh
and destroy each other…

YOU will DEFINITELY NOT sell your Hi end amp, fersure...
ITS NOT AS GOOD AS A KRELL mind you , ok.

BUT if you are using any solid state amp,
receiver, etc that cost you less than usd 500,
watch out ! you might just find this amp
to be MORE ACCURATE !

Drums will sound like real drums IF YOU HAVE
GONE TO A CONCERT and sat UPFRONT.
in fact, most all instruments sound CLEAN
and VERY CLOSE to the CD intentions and original
recording.

AGAIN, make sure you get a GOOD, FIRM, and accurate
CD player or LP record player and a DECENT
clean speaker to fully utilize the clarity
of this little guy.

OF course, this unit has ONLY ONE STEREO INPUT
and ONE STEREO OUTPUT . you will not be
able to switch between sources, etc.
its not a receiver.

This little amp will really give you plenty
to think about , and listen carefully in disbelief,
at what that internal Tripath chip is doing !
and the final product is being given at retail
for usd 30 !?

but

ladies and gentlemen,
at least ,
on MY AMP…. something went wrong.

very wrong. and not too subtle either…. no .

from day 5 to day day 20, i noticed immediately
an abrupt LOSS of RESOLUTION and detail…
Plus some ringing.. and HASH.
all that MAGICAL CLARITY was going away !
This was its single biggest advantage, too !
CLARITY !

i have no clue to date, why this is happening,
as i never pushed this amp
beyond the 10- 11 o'clock position and i play
mostly at 9 am position…
( if you go by the volume control position ) .
THis happens to be
loud enough for my ears, and for this quiet apartment.


i tested with over 100 CDs, MANY are by
Reference Recordings and also NARADA RECORDINGS,
as well as CHesky, and MA recordings ,
as well as the average labels ....
and used many cables and wires…
and the lowest grade CD player i used was
the Marantz 6000 OSE , and the lowest grade
Speakers i used were
the Yamaha NS 10 MMT ( micro ) . Do note that i did use many
more HI END equipment on this amp too.. many many more.. too ( many borrowed too )

Please note, that within those first 4 magical days,
even the lowest grade
( Marantz 6000 ose, and micro Yamaha 10 MMT )
combination brought tears to my eyes,
and snot to the nose.
THis was NOT a TOY and indeed,
and i could understand the likes of
reviews by others…

but i have not a clue..
what factored into making the sound go so
dilute and watery on me, Over this short time.

Usually , in all well made equipment,
or even a cheap AIWA, one expects
todays sound to be same as yesterdays or tomorrows…
or in some higher end equipment.. the sound actually settles and improves.

Somehow in my one particular unit,
the sound settled and went smeary and
down many notches. Today, there is hardly any difference between this amp and a decent usd 200
JVC mini compo. ( still not a bad thing ! )

i am getting 2 more of these amps..
to retest all factors at even lower power levels…
( this time, raise the Height placement of this amp
abit, to allow ventilation)

and the 2nd amp.. i will use my own ideas
as well as ideas from the likes
of smart people like : http://www.michael.mardis.com/sonic/news.htm
who have seen the same prob as me…
perhaps a few surgical
procedures will bring the magic and more , back ?

it is cheap enuff to experiment on….

if i find someone who can sell me just the Tripath chip,
i can completely
redo the design around it.. that would be more fun and better to understand things.

ANyways, at least for those first few days, i , too,
experienced the magic that
many rave about all over the internet…
perhaps your unit will not give out and maintain the
magic forever. The one thing that has NOT disappeared yet
is the WIDE SOUNDSTAGE. yup, that wont go !


oh, impedances play a Huge part in these kind of cheapie designs.
For example, on the Marantz 6000 ose,
it has on the remote, an Output Volume level control.
PLAY WITH THIS , Toghether , WITH the volume control
on the sonic impact amp.

For example, if your cd output is max,and
the amp is at 8 or 9 am.. .. does this sound better to you, or
the other way around,
with CD player at min. output level and
the amp at 12 noon or more ?

if you do get any new insights, POST them on epinions.com
so that all the world can see, my friend.

This amp is not to be ignored, that's for sure.
It has caused so much
stir already… Funny.. tho.. the chip company ,
Tripath, is not doing too good
it seems.. but perhaps they are ok now ?

i hope.

hoping to resolve the problem… and if i do..
will repost as update too.

UPDATE !!
i replaced the analog regulated power supply
with a different brand, and voila...
things are quite a bit better again !
perhaps more things yet need tweaking.. too.
but it is much better now !

thanks

and dont forget the main thing : HAVE FUN
dudes and dudettes.