Author Topic: cheap and cheerful  (Read 12646 times)

Offline JLM

  • Obsessively Audiophilic
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Re: cheap and cheerful
« Reply #30 on: October 25, 2009, 04:28:38 AM »
I tried 7 wpc Clari-T battery powered T-amp years ago with my 91 dB/w/m full range speakers in an 8 ft x 13 ft x 22 ft room.  It was surprisingly good, but I listen at moderate levels.  I got sucked into trying the amp out of fascinating about the new technology, the size, and the ideals of battery power.   I say "sucked" because I know the math for sizing amps to speakers based on efficiency, room size, etc. and this was obviously a stretch.

But I moved onto my current Channel Island VMB-1 chip based 40 watt monoblocks and wow!  My polite, well behaved dinner guests (speakers) turned into a cross between James Bond and NFL linebackers in tuxedos.  More dynamics, more control, no more snoozing, lots more detail, better imaging.  Size the amp to keep a commanding grip on the drivers.

BTW the battery thing was pointless for me.  I also tried a battery powered SB3 that had AC bypass and couldn't hear a difference (either could some other users).  IMO power issues are site specific.  I've heard the effects of power aberrations, but never where I lived (horrible old house or ideal new).  And the batteries required vendor swap out.  During shipping the heavy batteries twice broke loose and caused serious internal damage that the vendor would not cover.   :x