Topping TP20 tripath 2020 amplifier (versus NAD C320BEE)

[maniac_2004]

Maniac, Nice to know you are enjoying the tp20.

yes ... this little thing just opens up everything .. so far everything i hv thrown at it is coming out really good( detailing , separation etc) .. Now to find matching speakers and complete the full circle .

im also curious can I plug in a sub somehow in this stereo setup ?

 

[srikarkav]

Hi,

@maniac-Yes it does seem to have some burn in period.The difference between the initial days and now is very perceivable.


@iaudio-Yes i did try it with my Wharfies.But the amp kept short circuiting (don't know if this is the correct way of putting it) one of the speakers.I mean the volume from one of the speakers goes low after a few seconds.But in the few seconds i can clearly see the difference wharfies make to the sound from the Topping. If any one can say why this happens i can correct it and try again with the Wharfies..


cheers,
sri

 

[newnikonian]

Hi Friends, Been lurking in this forum for quite a while. Ordred my TP20 today. Let me know where can I get the power supply in chennai. I need to get a pair of book shelfs as well. Will be considering warf 9.1s any place in chennai for a better deal?
Maniac 2004's review have pushed me over the edge I think
But Sri's shorting issue makes me wonder. Will be watching what others have to say on this keenly.
Have a Great Day

 

[ajinkya]

Hi,
@iaudio-Yes i did try it with my Wharfies.But the amp kept short circuiting (don't know if this is the correct way of putting it) one of the speakers.I mean the volume from one of the speakers goes low after a few seconds.But in the few seconds i can clearly see the difference wharfies make to the sound from the Topping. If any one can say why this happens i can correct it and try again with the Wharfies..
cheers,
sri

Sri,
Could it be that the +/-wires connecting the Wh 9.2 to the Topping are touching somewhere? Did you try swapping the two speakers to see if the problem is with the speakers or the Topping channel? This seems like a problem where one of the speakers is giving a very small resistance to the amp. Does the amp itself shut down after a few seconds?

 

[iaudio]

sqvare, The tp20 you bought had power supply included?

 

[asliarun]

Hi Friends, Been lurking in this forum for quite a while. Ordred my TP20 today. Let me know where can I get the power supply in chennai. I need to get a pair of book shelfs as well. Will be considering warf 9.1s any place in chennai for a better deal?
Maniac 2004's review have pushed me over the edge I think
But Sri's shorting issue makes me wonder. Will be watching what others have to say on this keenly.
Have a Great Day

Second that question.. does anybody know where and how the power supply or adapter can be obtained? I tried calling some power supply vendors in Mumbai, but they seemed to be interested in larger and more expensive orders.

On a personal front, I'm trying to go the DIY route with my speakers so it will be some time before I can contribute to this thread with my listening experience.

Edit: I am trying to get a Meanwell SMPS power brick, as recommended by others.

 

[sqvare]

sqvare, The tp20 you bought had power supply included?

Yes, all of them had adapters included. Made sure of that before ordering

 

[sqvare]

Second that question.. does anybody know where and how the power supply or adapter can be obtained? I tried calling some power supply vendors in Mumbai, but they seemed to be interested in larger and more expensive orders.

On a personal front, I'm trying to go the DIY route with my speakers so it will be some time before I can contribute to this thread with my listening experience.

Edit: I am trying to get a Meanwell SMPS power brick, as recommended by others.

Did you try Lamington Road? There used to be little shops in the back gullies that would make a power supply to your specs in a couple of hours, cheap. Needed to vet the parts first, so as not to get crappy connectors/cable.

Talking about several years ago, though... lots of shops have faded away. Most missed was one hole-in-the-wall shop named Madhu Sound (I think) - used to do *excellent* speaker repair.

 

[sqvare]

Hi,
what are your impressions about the sound?

I have asked my friend to order it for me. If he does that,i should get my piece by month end.

Haven't tried them yet; stretching out the sweet anticipation. I just like to take em out and gloat over them from time to time :licklips:

Kidding! Haven't because I have to fix up my speakers first. Still waiting for tweeter delivery. More anticipation...

 

[asliarun]

Did you try Lamington Road? There used to be little shops in the back gullies that would make a power supply to your specs in a couple of hours, cheap. Needed to vet the parts first, so as not to get crappy connectors/cable.

Talking about several years ago, though... lots of shops have faded away. Most missed was one hole-in-the-wall shop named Madhu Sound (I think) - used to do *excellent* speaker repair.

Thanks a lot, sqvare. Lamington Road in Mumbai clearly seems to be the go-to place for most things electronic. In my case, I am in Pune, and my trips to Mumbai are usually infrequent. I'll try trawling the old city areas in Pune for electronic shops that sell adapters.

The power supply I have zeroed in is the Meanwell GS60A12-P1J. This SMPS has an output rating of 5A at 12V, which I think should fit the bill for the Topping TP20 amplifier.

The datasheet PDF can also be downloaded from the URL:
Meanwell Power Supply Products

Can anyone please review the model and let me know if this will be suitable for the amplifier?

Does the quality of the SMPS power supply matter all that much? Or, can I just go for any brand? Basically, is the extra effort to procure a Meanwell SMPS worth the effort?

Incidentally, when I spoke to a lady over the phone to inquire about the SMPS, she got very confused when I referred to the product as a "power supply". She referred to the product as an adapter. Apparently, the term "power supply" is reserved for bigger, badder, and more serious stuff; and our humble "adapter" need not apply to this club

 

[psychotropic]

@srikarkav. be very very very careful about shorting the amp. It will fry in seconds. Have you tried swapping around cables and the speakers in each channel. Should be worth a try.

@asliarun - the better the power supply the better off you'll be. I have no idea about Meanwell, but the fact that they have bothered to publish a datasheet puts them above most similar options you'll get locally so i guess it may be worth going for it. And yes "power supply" is actually in incorrect name for it. It is an adapter/transformer AFAIK, but 'power supply' is just common usage. the one i got from my topping vendor is pretty good. I've listened to it on a high-end setup in a treated room and haven't heard any noise (but then i have sloping sensorineural hearing loss, so don't take my word for it )

 

[prash2k01]

Thanks a lot, sqvare. Lamington Road in Mumbai clearly seems to be the go-to place for most things electronic. In my case, I am in Pune, and my trips to Mumbai are usually infrequent. I'll try trawling the old city areas in Pune for electronic shops that sell adapters.

The power supply I have zeroed in is the Meanwell GS60A12-P1J. This SMPS has an output rating of 5A at 12V, which I think should fit the bill for the Topping TP20 amplifier.

The datasheet PDF can also be downloaded from the URL:
Meanwell Power Supply Products

Can anyone please review the model and let me know if this will be suitable for the amplifier?

Does the quality of the SMPS power supply matter all that much? Or, can I just go for any brand? Basically, is the extra effort to procure a Meanwell SMPS worth the effort?

Incidentally, when I spoke to a lady over the phone to inquire about the SMPS, she got very confused when I referred to the product as a "power supply". She referred to the product as an adapter. Apparently, the term "power supply" is reserved for bigger, badder, and more serious stuff; and our humble "adapter" need not apply to this club

Hi asliarun.I think you have not gone thru the complete thread before placing your order.

anyway you can use airtel DTH adapter @300 rs... It is 12V DC adapter.

it is mentioned in the thread that

 

[gobble]

Thanks a lot, sqvare. Lamington Road in Mumbai clearly seems to be the go-to place for most things electronic. In my case, I am in Pune, and my trips to Mumbai are usually infrequent. I'll try trawling the old city areas in Pune for electronic shops that sell adapters.

The power supply I have zeroed in is the Meanwell GS60A12-P1J. This SMPS has an output rating of 5A at 12V, which I think should fit the bill for the Topping TP20 amplifier.

The datasheet PDF can also be downloaded from the URL:
Meanwell Power Supply Products

Can anyone please review the model and let me know if this will be suitable for the amplifier?

Does the quality of the SMPS power supply matter all that much? Or, can I just go for any brand? Basically, is the extra effort to procure a Meanwell SMPS worth the effort?

Incidentally, when I spoke to a lady over the phone to inquire about the SMPS, she got very confused when I referred to the product as a "power supply". She referred to the product as an adapter. Apparently, the term "power supply" is reserved for bigger, badder, and more serious stuff; and our humble "adapter" need not apply to this club

PSU makes a lot of difference to SQ. Please go for audiophile grade PSU if you can find one. Maybe you can ask someone to make a linear PSU box with a high quality audiophile grade tranny instead of SMPS.

Regards

 

[sqvare]

For all those Topping prospectors who'd like a peek at the goodies, here are some (no, your eyes are fine, they're horrible grainy phone-cam) pics of what the friendly neighbourhood postman brought me:

The parcel, unwrapped The boxes, shelled

Covered & uncovered Almost free now...

 

[asliarun]

Hi asliarun.I think you have not gone thru the complete thread before placing your order.

anyway you can use airtel DTH adapter @300 rs... It is 12V DC adapter.

it is mentioned in the thread that

Hi Prash,

Thanks, I think I went through most of the posts in this thread. As I have written in an earlier post, in my case, I wrongly assumed that the power supply would also be shipped (based on the image posted on the ebay page which showed the amplifier along with the adapter). I mostly learn my lessons the hard way, and I guess this was one such example

Yes, the Airtel DTH adapter was mentioned earlier (I guess because the Airtel adapter has the same volt/amp rating as the Topping's requirement). However, the Meanwell adapter/power supply was also recommended in this thread as it is supposed to make good power supplies (less noisy and with better tolerances and specs, I assume), so I was trying to procure it as a first choice.

As gobble has also mentioned, a linear power supply would be even better. I will need to find out about this some more, although the SMPS brick tempts me very strongly because of its sheer convenience and size.

 

[jaudere]

hi Asli Arun,

you know there is this strange similarity between Lamington road and Budhwar peth area of Pune. Till 8 pm , they are electronics markets of the city and after 8 pm, they become red light areas

By mistake( before I knew this fact about lamignton road),once i went to get my LED panel from a shop at 8:30 pm. boy, I was surrounded by people telling me about "modern maal". it took me few seconds before i understood what they were talking about. I drove away from there without looking back

by the way, where do you stay in pune?
do let me know of you get linear power supply.

 

[asliarun]

hi Asli Arun,

you know there is this strange similarity between Lamington road and Budhwar peth area of Pune. Till 8 pm , they are electronics markets of the city and after 8 pm, they become red light areas

By mistake( before I knew this fact about lamignton road),once i went to get my LED panel from a shop at 8:30 pm. boy, I was surrounded by people telling me about "modern maal". it took me few seconds before i understood what they were talking about. I drove away from there without looking back

by the way, where do you stay in pune?
do let me know of you get linear power supply.

Hi Jaudere,

Your reply brought a smile to my face I will try to wind up my wandering about early in the day, lest I end up finding a different kind of "hifi maal".

I will also keep you posted on my hunt for a linear power supply. I live in Kalyani Nagar, by the way (near Koregaon Park).

On a side note, I recently purchased a pair of Fostex FX120 drivers, and I am currently researching an appropriate cabinet design for these lovely drivers. I'm currently leaning towards building a stock double bass reflex (as specified in the Fostex website) built with 1" marine plywood. I will also need to find a good carpenter who will work with me to build the speakers.

 

[jaudere]

Hi Jaudere,

I recently purchased a pair of Fostex FX120 drivers, and I am currently researching an appropriate cabinet design for these lovely drivers. I'm currently leaning towards building a stock double bass reflex (as specified in the Fostex website) built with 1" marine plywood. I will also need to find a good carpenter who will work with me to build the speakers.

where did you buy them? at what price? I would love to have their 6" drivers.Are they available locally?

My parents stay on pashan road. I visit Pune twice in a year. Seems that you stay close to Sonosphere who is on forum. I think he stay in Tingre nagar

 

[asliarun]

where did you buy them? at what price? I would love to have their 6" drivers.Are they available locally?

My parents stay on pashan road. I visit Pune twice in a year. Seems that you stay close to Sonosphere who is on forum. I think he stay in Tingre nagar

Thanks for the info.

No, I didn't buy them locally. I bought them on a recent visit to the US - purchased it online from Madisound. Paid the list price for them.

URL: Fostex FX120, 5" Full Range from Madisound

I also had my eye on the FE127 but unfortunately, Fostex has recently discontinued this model.

Overall, I was very happy with my Madisound experience. They also do international shipping, but I am not sure about the rates.

Anyway, I'll stop now as I don't want to take this thread off-topic.

Back on topic: Can anyone recommend suitable wiring for the Topping? I remember reading that a thinner wire is better (probably adds some resistance/impedance, which reduces the current load on the amp) for Tripaths. Is this true?

 

[maniac_2004]

Thanks for the info.


URL: Fostex FX120, 5" Full Range from Madisound

I also had my eye on the FE127 but unfortunately, Fostex has recently discontinued this model.

Overall, I was very happy with my Madisound experience. They also do international shipping, but I am not sure about the rates.

Hi,
could you tell me more about the fostex sound and also how you have proceeded with the drivers(cabinet build etc). Heard a lot regarding these drivers wanted to know more.

Thx