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Which amp would you like to see ? I am ordering 2.

  • Trends TA-10.1 @ $150

    Votes: 7 31.8%
  • Pop Pulse T40i @ $225

    Votes: 8 36.4%
  • Trends TA-10.1 Mini Mod @ $175

    Votes: 1 4.5%
  • Trends TA-10.1 Value Mod @ $235

    Votes: 6 27.3%

The great T-Amp shootout.

19K views 96 replies 22 participants last post by  Putz 
#1 ·
Good morning, after some careful thought, I have decided to do a round robin style T-amp test.

Please see the poll for choices to add to the Gizmo and Sonic Impact Super-T.

For this test, we will use a pair of high quality bookshelf speakers - I have Dana 630's, Ascend 170 SE's, NHT Model 2's, and could probably get a pair of X-LS, too.
 
#2 ·
The Value Mod has the upgraded Caps which make the biggest difference...if your amp can compete with that, then it would show us if the caps in Gizmo are upto par.
 
#3 ·
If you're buying two, I would vote PopPulse and Trends with your choice on which level of Trends.

IMO, there isn't a point to doing the "MiniMod" since it's mainly a QA check and the only change it makes is adding a heat sink. So I think the Trends should either be stock (that's what I own) or Value Mod.

For the speakers, I'm baised towards using the Ascends since I own a pair, but whatever the listeners are most comfortable is best.
 
#4 ·
Considering that at the NJ GTG, the Gizmo compared favorably to dweekie's highly modded Trends w/ the souped up SMPS, I think that the Gizmo will beat out any variation of the Trends that Craig has up here. Now, if you were to take the better modded Trends + the SMPS, that would be very interesting. As for the PopPulse, I haven't heard it, so I don't know. It would be interesting though.

And Craig, if you want one of dweekie's SMPS's for the shootout, I can send one up to you. Works equally well on the Sonic Impact and the Trends. And believe me, it makes a significant difference in dynamics and the soundstage.
 
#5 ·
I talked to Craig about this and other modded t-amps.

He wants to test against stuff that people can buy and plug right in and listen to, not stuff that geeks like us labor over for hours to squeeze every little drop of performance out of.

It makes sense to me, most people buying the gizmo (most mind you) are not going to tear it apart to see its guts within 90 minutes of owning it.
 
#8 ·
I talked to Craig about this and other modded t-amps.

He wants to test against stuff that people can buy and plug right in and listen to, not stuff that geeks like us labor over for hours to squeeze every little drop of performance out of.

It makes sense to me, most people buying the gizmo (most mind you) are not going to tear it apart to see its guts within 90 minutes of owning it.

Oh come now. 90 minutes is far too long to go without tearing it apart.

Seriously though, Craig's position makes a lot of sense. It does surprise me somewhat that some company hasn't put out a reasonably inexpensive SMPS for the Trends or SI T amp (unless I've missed something). Audiomagus has some, but they end up costing more than the amp itself.
 
#10 ·
Seriously though, Craig's position makes a lot of sense. It does surprise me somewhat that some company hasn't put out a reasonably inexpensive SMPS for the Trends or SI T amp (unless I've missed something). Audiomagus has some, but they end up costing more than the amp itself.
Edit/Delete Message
I don't know, Hypex has listened and is designing a SMPS. Most people don't think they can sound good.
 
#14 ·
Maybe we will end up with three. In terms of pricing, the Nuforce will be more money than the "Gizmo-2" ... which will be a 36 (8 ohms) to 50 (4 Ohms) amp... and will include remote, Toslink, Coax, USB, and subwoofer outs.

It would be interesting to hear how $129 Gizmo compares to $249 Nuforce. :)

As both the Nuforce and the Gizmo have subwoofer outputs, this is REALLY looking like a winner.

Who wants to come to Erie for a couple hours of listening ?
 
#16 ·
Maybe we will end up with three. In terms of pricing, the Nuforce will be more money than the "Gizmo-2" ... which will be a 36 (8 ohms) to 50 (4 Ohms) amp... and will include remote, Toslink, Coax, USB, and subwoofer outs.

It would be interesting to hear how $129 Gizmo compares to $249 Nuforce. :)

As both the Nuforce and the Gizmo have subwoofer outputs, this is REALLY looking like a winner.

Who wants to come to Erie for a couple hours of listening ?
I'd come up if I'm free that weekend. When were you thinking of?
 
#18 ·
Me, me, me...I want to be there if I'm free that weekend too. I can transport a pair of AV123 x-ls classics (slightly moded), Swan D2.1 SE, or Rothchilde's (I have to ask Kenny).

If I get invited, I will bring a home-made something for folks to munch on too. :kissass:
I will come depending on the timing. I can get real busy in the warm months with all the relaxing I need to do.
 
#21 ·
Maybe we will end up with three. In terms of pricing, the Nuforce will be more money than the "Gizmo-2" ... which will be a 36 (8 ohms) to 50 (4 Ohms) amp... and will include remote, Toslink, Coax, USB, and subwoofer outs.

It would be interesting to hear how $129 Gizmo compares to $249 Nuforce. :)

As both the Nuforce and the Gizmo have subwoofer outputs, this is REALLY looking like a winner.

Who wants to come to Erie for a couple hours of listening ?
Yeah... the Gizmo-2 is going to be a KILLER piece, I have no doubt. But the nuforce is still a pretty cool little guy (and I also like that it has a pretty competent headphone amp, which for my application makes it appealing, and I can see people in the market for say "$250 and under" that might be willing to consider Nuforce vs. Gizmo and/or Gizmo-2, depending on the overall sound quality. I suspect that the Gizmo will deliver and we'll have a real champion of price/performance on our hands, but I know that there is a lot of interest surrounding these little guys and it would be fun to get the nuforce in there for comparison's sake.

Very cool.
 
#23 ·
I think the big issue is trying to find other amps in the same class, and there really isn't any. The Trends is the absolute closest in price, and it is still $30 more expensive. Kingrex jumps up to $120 higher, as does the Nuforce. The Poppulse is the closest in power but weighs in at $95 above the Gizmo. It's hard to decide where to draw the line. Somebody could throw in a $129 Sherwood receiver from Circuit City to keep things honest, but the number of amps keeps rising...
 
#24 ·
I'm not suggesting adding more amps to this, but I'd be really curious to see someone do a strict comparison with the tripaths and Gizmo to something that is like 10X the price. You guys in ATL already know how tough it is to find some difference within this "family". I expect similar results from Craig's shootout.

Maybe Craig is already planning to sneak his McIntosh gear into this, just to see if anyone has a clue. ;)
 
#26 ·
Is there a reason you're not including the KingRex. It has consistently beaten the Trends in the reviews that I've read.
I talked to Craig about the Kingrex and told him that the amp is a non-issue without the PSU. Unfortunately, with it, the price rises to $389 which is way out of the price league. Stock also costs more than a modded trends.
 
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