Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2016 22:09:26 GMT
This amp will be available soon it is based on the TQ Atom with a few changes to give more power and rich sound.
The total cost of parts will be under £200 with careful purchases.
Here is the basic circuit BOM to follow.
Here is the PTH and SMD circuit board,
Recommended case.
uk.farnell.com/hammond/1455t1601bk/case-aluminium-52x160x160mm/dp/1511219
A mini review from Dave on Audiochews.
You may have noticed some changes in my signature file recently. A couple of weeks back Colin (@brain_dead) lent me three little boxes, around the size of my Young DAC, along with some TQ Blue interconnects and an extra set of Ultra Black speaker cables because my set are currently with @jim.
It’s taken a while to run them in, but after Al’s pitch for the Best British Amplifier, I thought I’d better say something about these amazing pieces of kit.
Let’s put this in context. I'm known as being the owner of possibly the UK's only pair of NVA TDS power amps. I've had them for nearly 20 years and haven't heard a single amp that has made me want to move on.
For example, this year at Scalford, I found just one system I thought I could really live with. Andy's system based on Avondale amps, very similar Mac & Young front end and similar two-way speakers was almost as good as mine . A Snell/Audio Innovations system also did some good things, but I'm not about to go to the tube side. The rest? No thanks.
The set-up I’ve been listening to is my Modded White MacBook/Audirvana+, Young DAC and outboard PSU feeding the TQ Listen Pre and then two Atom power amps bi-amping my Royd RR3s with TQ Ultra Black cable on the tweeters and TQ Graphite cable on the bass/mids.
Swapping out the TDSs and Statement pre for the Listen and Atoms has been a revelation. On balance, I prefer the TQs.
I can't tell you how much I wasn't expecting that.
I have to say that these amps are really special, and I think a lot of people will love them, especially because of their size. Imagine having proper high-end hi-fi at the size of a mini-system?
To understand why I think these amps are so great, I think the TQ speaker cables I've been loving are a great place to start. With these amps in the system, all the great things the cables have been doing - detail, stereo image, bass extension, texture, involvement - have been increased.
I must mention the bass range. Some time ago, a man who built our bookcases and had a bit of interest in hi-fi insisted that I had a sub-woofer hidden somewhere when I played him some music. At that stage, there was no TQ gear in the system. Now, I have even more tangible double basses and bass drums. Kick drums and floor toms are a visceral experience - a punch in the stomach even at only moderately loud levels. Electronic sounds shake the room, too.
These things go much louder than I thought they would. And, because the sound is so clean, it's very easy to keep pushing sound levels up until your eardrums are telling you it's getting loud! Shockingly, these tiny amps sound more weighty than the NVAs.
The challenge when using them is not to harm the RR3s, as there are no remaining drive units available.
I have some recordings with treated piano, and you can really hear and feel the strings, metal frame and body of the instrument. Keith Jarrett's stamping on the Koln Concert is shocking in its immediacy.
I don't listen to much classical music, but I'm currently being hypnotised by Anner Bylsmer's performance of Bach's Cello Suites. He's sitting in a wonderfully reverberant acoustic, and the system is finding the odd 'noise off' that only adds to the experience of having a cellist here in the room.
I'm completely bowled over by the stereo image. The soundstage just occupies the whole room, and when the source material is up to it, the speakers disappear. Closing my eyes, it's impossible to hear where the speakers are. I've never felt that soundstaging was a great priority, but having heard what this combo does, it's now up there as a must.
I notice that Joe Akroyd claimed that the RR3s were designed to minimise phase distortion, something that Colin has been stressing with the TQ designs. I think there's some great synergy going on here.
The system, as it stands, is merciless with source materials. Some may not like this, but most of the material I listen to is of good quality (ie there's little 'chart' material , compressed to buggery, on my NAS), so I want as much illumination of what's in those files as possible.
The downside. The one downside, is that they can lack the fluidity of the NVA set-up, making the music sound a bit stiff and mechanical sometimes. They sometimes sound a bit cold (not in the temperature sense). But, in every other way, the TQs win out.
And, with everything else seeming so right, I've been just sucked into the music rather than worrying about coldness/dryness/lack of fluidity.
In being home-friendly, they break the rules of needing huge great power supplies to get the kind of dynamics and grip these things give. I don't know what Colin has done, but he seems to have broken some hi-fi laws with these things.
However, I am a bit disappointed with the exterior design and finish. They're fine inside my cabinet, but if I had them in a room with nice decor I'd like to see some shiny or otherwise special faceplates, and the volume control knob is a letdown both in terms of appearance and feel. I also feel the typography is from a by-gone age.
I think they have a real chance to sell these to enthusiasts who struggle with WAF if they just raise the presentation quality a bit. Even my wife, Sam, who doesn't complain about my gear said how much she likes these little boxes.
I'd also like to hear the Atoms with a TQ passive, designed to pair properly with them and with phase distortion minimised. Alan's Lightspeed gave a glimpse into a world where a little more delicacy exists, but at the expense of stereo image, which collapsed back towards the speakers' plane.
I haven't tried the headphone amp yet, though. Just because I don't have a set of worthwhile cans. Col tells me it’s great because it’s one of his beloved Class A designs.
So, there you are. A real surprise. A set of brilliant amps that just happen to be tiny.
The total cost of parts will be under £200 with careful purchases.
Here is the basic circuit BOM to follow.
Here is the PTH and SMD circuit board,
Recommended case.
uk.farnell.com/hammond/1455t1601bk/case-aluminium-52x160x160mm/dp/1511219
A mini review from Dave on Audiochews.
You may have noticed some changes in my signature file recently. A couple of weeks back Colin (@brain_dead) lent me three little boxes, around the size of my Young DAC, along with some TQ Blue interconnects and an extra set of Ultra Black speaker cables because my set are currently with @jim.
It’s taken a while to run them in, but after Al’s pitch for the Best British Amplifier, I thought I’d better say something about these amazing pieces of kit.
Let’s put this in context. I'm known as being the owner of possibly the UK's only pair of NVA TDS power amps. I've had them for nearly 20 years and haven't heard a single amp that has made me want to move on.
For example, this year at Scalford, I found just one system I thought I could really live with. Andy's system based on Avondale amps, very similar Mac & Young front end and similar two-way speakers was almost as good as mine . A Snell/Audio Innovations system also did some good things, but I'm not about to go to the tube side. The rest? No thanks.
The set-up I’ve been listening to is my Modded White MacBook/Audirvana+, Young DAC and outboard PSU feeding the TQ Listen Pre and then two Atom power amps bi-amping my Royd RR3s with TQ Ultra Black cable on the tweeters and TQ Graphite cable on the bass/mids.
Swapping out the TDSs and Statement pre for the Listen and Atoms has been a revelation. On balance, I prefer the TQs.
I can't tell you how much I wasn't expecting that.
I have to say that these amps are really special, and I think a lot of people will love them, especially because of their size. Imagine having proper high-end hi-fi at the size of a mini-system?
To understand why I think these amps are so great, I think the TQ speaker cables I've been loving are a great place to start. With these amps in the system, all the great things the cables have been doing - detail, stereo image, bass extension, texture, involvement - have been increased.
I must mention the bass range. Some time ago, a man who built our bookcases and had a bit of interest in hi-fi insisted that I had a sub-woofer hidden somewhere when I played him some music. At that stage, there was no TQ gear in the system. Now, I have even more tangible double basses and bass drums. Kick drums and floor toms are a visceral experience - a punch in the stomach even at only moderately loud levels. Electronic sounds shake the room, too.
These things go much louder than I thought they would. And, because the sound is so clean, it's very easy to keep pushing sound levels up until your eardrums are telling you it's getting loud! Shockingly, these tiny amps sound more weighty than the NVAs.
The challenge when using them is not to harm the RR3s, as there are no remaining drive units available.
I have some recordings with treated piano, and you can really hear and feel the strings, metal frame and body of the instrument. Keith Jarrett's stamping on the Koln Concert is shocking in its immediacy.
I don't listen to much classical music, but I'm currently being hypnotised by Anner Bylsmer's performance of Bach's Cello Suites. He's sitting in a wonderfully reverberant acoustic, and the system is finding the odd 'noise off' that only adds to the experience of having a cellist here in the room.
I'm completely bowled over by the stereo image. The soundstage just occupies the whole room, and when the source material is up to it, the speakers disappear. Closing my eyes, it's impossible to hear where the speakers are. I've never felt that soundstaging was a great priority, but having heard what this combo does, it's now up there as a must.
I notice that Joe Akroyd claimed that the RR3s were designed to minimise phase distortion, something that Colin has been stressing with the TQ designs. I think there's some great synergy going on here.
The system, as it stands, is merciless with source materials. Some may not like this, but most of the material I listen to is of good quality (ie there's little 'chart' material , compressed to buggery, on my NAS), so I want as much illumination of what's in those files as possible.
The downside. The one downside, is that they can lack the fluidity of the NVA set-up, making the music sound a bit stiff and mechanical sometimes. They sometimes sound a bit cold (not in the temperature sense). But, in every other way, the TQs win out.
And, with everything else seeming so right, I've been just sucked into the music rather than worrying about coldness/dryness/lack of fluidity.
In being home-friendly, they break the rules of needing huge great power supplies to get the kind of dynamics and grip these things give. I don't know what Colin has done, but he seems to have broken some hi-fi laws with these things.
However, I am a bit disappointed with the exterior design and finish. They're fine inside my cabinet, but if I had them in a room with nice decor I'd like to see some shiny or otherwise special faceplates, and the volume control knob is a letdown both in terms of appearance and feel. I also feel the typography is from a by-gone age.
I think they have a real chance to sell these to enthusiasts who struggle with WAF if they just raise the presentation quality a bit. Even my wife, Sam, who doesn't complain about my gear said how much she likes these little boxes.
I'd also like to hear the Atoms with a TQ passive, designed to pair properly with them and with phase distortion minimised. Alan's Lightspeed gave a glimpse into a world where a little more delicacy exists, but at the expense of stereo image, which collapsed back towards the speakers' plane.
I haven't tried the headphone amp yet, though. Just because I don't have a set of worthwhile cans. Col tells me it’s great because it’s one of his beloved Class A designs.
So, there you are. A real surprise. A set of brilliant amps that just happen to be tiny.
but I don't.
