iaudio
Well-Known Member
Heard the Tp20 today and yes I am convinced.
Topping TP20 tripath 2020 amplifier (versus NAD C320BEE)
- Thread starter psychotropic
- Start date
psychotropic
Well-Known Member
hey iaudio. please elaborate!! That was a great session today though. Lovely. I will post in detail perhaps tomorrow.
ashishkesarwani
Well-Known Member
After reading psychotropic's Review I couldn't resists but to order one for myself, the amp costed me around 72$ after using the 10% Discount coupon code from ebay. I ordered the same 10 days back and recieved it on 5th June. Connected the same with my Polk Rti A3 book shelves and Beresford with the Onkyo Digital Ipod dock.
The first impression being that its an absolute steal for its price and drives BS speakers to the descent SPL levels.
But there are few shorcomings too i.e the Power Supply which I recieved didn't work straight out of the box so I had to open it with Hammer and Screw Driver to find out that the mains wire was de-soldered from Inside, and I has to fix that myself.
The amp gives ample detailing to the music played through it and I also noticed that it also brings to your notice the flaws in recording and in case of MP3 music it gets noticed immediately, which is a very surprising element from this piece of electronics and more surprising when you look at its pricing.
The detailing and separation is excellent but sometimes it also tends to get a little on the bright side and gets more emphasis to the top end of the music.
Otherwise its a fine piece of equipment to start with.
I have connected the same with a Subwoofer which was lying idle with me through the line level inputs and I don't feel any part of the sound spectrum missed while listining to music.
I would surely recommend this amp to anyone looking to get descent sound quality on a budget.
The first impression being that its an absolute steal for its price and drives BS speakers to the descent SPL levels.
But there are few shorcomings too i.e the Power Supply which I recieved didn't work straight out of the box so I had to open it with Hammer and Screw Driver to find out that the mains wire was de-soldered from Inside, and I has to fix that myself.
The amp gives ample detailing to the music played through it and I also noticed that it also brings to your notice the flaws in recording and in case of MP3 music it gets noticed immediately, which is a very surprising element from this piece of electronics and more surprising when you look at its pricing.
The detailing and separation is excellent but sometimes it also tends to get a little on the bright side and gets more emphasis to the top end of the music.
Otherwise its a fine piece of equipment to start with.
I have connected the same with a Subwoofer which was lying idle with me through the line level inputs and I don't feel any part of the sound spectrum missed while listining to music.
I would surely recommend this amp to anyone looking to get descent sound quality on a budget.
spirovious
Well-Known Member
Congrats,
Can you post the link from where you got(or similar)?
Is output 20w?
Can you post the link from where you got(or similar)?
Is output 20w?
ashishkesarwani
Well-Known Member
I brought it from this user on ebay.com MINI TOPPING TP20 MK2 TP-20MKII TA2020 STEREO Amplifier - eBay (item 110505044887 end time Jun-07-10 19:54:16 PDT)
On paper it says that it gives output of 23 watts x 2 at 4 ohms and 88% efficient. With the kind of SPL and authority of the sound I am sure its capable of producing close to the published ratings.
On paper it says that it gives output of 23 watts x 2 at 4 ohms and 88% efficient. With the kind of SPL and authority of the sound I am sure its capable of producing close to the published ratings.
spirovious
Well-Known Member
In that case in larger rooms,it may not be enough power.
ashishkesarwani
Well-Known Member
I first played it in my Living/ Drawing room which is on the Largeish side and I didn't find it lacking in power then. It was easily able to fill that big a room with sound and the volume knob at 12'o clock position.
spirovious
Well-Known Member
mine L shaped with 11 X 14 with 5 X 4 a side area.I hope it shld work with Tannoy F1.
psychotropic
Well-Known Member
hey spiro....realistically, the power from the amp is about 13w into 8 ohms. But these watts are plenty if you have the right speakers. If the sensitivity is good (like > 90dB) you'll get good listening levels even in a larger room. It went plenty loud with the Lyrita Harmony Ones. In a smaller room of course you have the freedom of choosing from a wider variety of speakers including 86 dB ones like my Usher S520.
spirovious
Well-Known Member
Thanks psychotropic,F1 has 87 & hence worried.
iaudio
Well-Known Member
Spiro, trust me its got ample power. Yesterday we played it in a 12*13 room and never found it lacking drive. Unless and until you have a very hard to drive speaker in a very large room, tp20 would be sufficient.
psychotropic
Well-Known Member
11 X 14 and 87 dB should be fine. how loud do you listen to music?
spirovious
Well-Known Member
not much,not load to tsrain my ears.With old kenwood(50w),I go upto 9O'clock.Dont like loud sound,just enough to feel it.
Last edited:
psychotropic
Well-Known Member
then this should be more than enough.
Topping TP20 tested with MA RS1 silver speakers
I have been looking for a good strereo system for some time. But could not afford one that I liked. Suddenly came across this thread, and plunged into topping TP20. Already got it delivered in good condition, cost ~4K with adapter and shipping.
Yesterday, I went to a local shop here and listened for some time to Marantz CDP + NAD 326BEE + MA BR1. Its really a good setup, enjoyed the music, though I am not an audiophile, but just love to listen to music. Next I asked them to replace NAD 326BEE with my MA BR1 in the above setup. They were very reluctant to do that as they have not seen any amp so small. I had to lie them that I tested it earlier with wharfedel speakers, so it does emit some sound. After some persuation they agreed. The result ...
TP20 sounded little more "open" (dont know if this is exact word) and was driving the speakers very nicely. The sound is enough to fill a reasonable size room without any distortion. I could not notice much difference in the vocal, but instruments sounded slightly better in NAD. Overall, its a little wonder at 4K. I am very satisfied indeed. My friend accompanying me could not believe the sound from this small amp. Thanks psycho for this wonderful thread.
Now which speakers for this? Budget is 20K. Do you recommend psycho to pickup your ushers for sale? Personally I want to check with wharfedel and lithos noa1. Both within my budget. ALso, planning to get CA DVD99 as a source. Comments are welcome.
I have been looking for a good strereo system for some time. But could not afford one that I liked. Suddenly came across this thread, and plunged into topping TP20. Already got it delivered in good condition, cost ~4K with adapter and shipping.
Yesterday, I went to a local shop here and listened for some time to Marantz CDP + NAD 326BEE + MA BR1. Its really a good setup, enjoyed the music, though I am not an audiophile, but just love to listen to music. Next I asked them to replace NAD 326BEE with my MA BR1 in the above setup. They were very reluctant to do that as they have not seen any amp so small. I had to lie them that I tested it earlier with wharfedel speakers, so it does emit some sound. After some persuation they agreed. The result ...
TP20 sounded little more "open" (dont know if this is exact word) and was driving the speakers very nicely. The sound is enough to fill a reasonable size room without any distortion. I could not notice much difference in the vocal, but instruments sounded slightly better in NAD. Overall, its a little wonder at 4K. I am very satisfied indeed. My friend accompanying me could not believe the sound from this small amp. Thanks psycho for this wonderful thread.
Now which speakers for this? Budget is 20K. Do you recommend psycho to pickup your ushers for sale? Personally I want to check with wharfedel and lithos noa1. Both within my budget. ALso, planning to get CA DVD99 as a source. Comments are welcome.
psychotropic
Well-Known Member
CA DVD99 is a great idea. It's an excellent universal player. As far as speakers are concerned, I do personally prefer the Ushers to the Wharfedale Diamonds, I haven't heard the Lithos speakers so I have no idea about them, but it would be great if you could post your listening impressions. Do listen to as many speakers as you can before making up your mind. the beauty of the Topping is that you can carry it around everywhere and connect it to speakers to listen to them. Listen to the PSB Alpha B1, the Paradigm Atom and Monitor Audio BR2 as well.
Of course if you want to be irrational and buy my speakers without listening to all these, who am i to object?
(i can wholeheartedly recommend the combination though).
Of course if you want to be irrational and buy my speakers without listening to all these, who am i to object?
(i can wholeheartedly recommend the combination though).
ajinkya
Active Member
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2007
- Messages
- 507
- Points
- 43
iaudio,
I think the topping has its power limitations, which are quite apparent in extended listening sessions. I'll post a detailed review in a while but just responding to the discussion on power:
I've listened to the TP20 with CA s30 speakers at a friend's desktop PC based setup. Earlier, he used to have a vintage Pioneer SX-650 ( an entry level model for that series) driving the s30s (90 db sensitivity). The Topping plays reasonably loud and has a good sound for 4K. However, compared to the 650 (35 watts), it clearly lacked the grip that the Pioneer had on the speakers. It was as if the tp20 sent music to the speakers and allowed them to do what they wanted. The SX caught hold of the speakers and literally orchestrated the sound. For want of a better description, it was like riding a horse gingerly, lightly holding on to the reins (topping) vrs. catching hold of its flowing mane and riding it steadily and with authority (sx-650). The topping sounds decent for the price but I am convinced that it will struggle with demanding speakers. The body, heft, and slam of the pioneer was just not there with the topping, even though the bass was more detailed. I would describe the topping as being 'leaner' overall in sound, the sx being more full-bodied.
So, in conclusion, the topping is excellent value for a desktop system or a very small bedroom system. However, it is not the best choice for floorstanders, large rooms or even as the amp for your main system. At the end of the day, 7 watts is 7 watts.
iaudio
Well-Known Member
Ajinkya, I get you perfectly. 'Grip' is the perfect word! Yes, it wont have the grip that a much higher powered amp will have. But what it does it does beautifully. As I said we just switched it at thevortexs place in place of the Lyrita amp and the lil guy held his ground quite well and trumped the tube amp when it came to control over bass. For such a low powered amp it shows excellent control over bass. But all this applies to sensitive speakers in moderately sized rooms.
kanwarsation
New Member
Wow, i'm reading this expert talk in wonderment. And agreeing with much of it.
So I finally dragged some 2 decade-old Akai floorstanders and hooked them up, expecting complete fall-flatness. (I had tested the topping with Wharfedale 9.1s or the QA 2010s at Alliance 4, very unimpressed with the outcome).
But then I blew my mind out. Even with the evident power limitations that ajinkya mentions, the little fella managed to perform very well across music, tv, dvd, leaving me epically slack-jawed.
There will be no shame in using this as the go-to amp in my study. I just need to find space-saving, highly efficient speakers that can move the bottom of the sound as much as the rest.
I'm grokking from ye experts that the Tannoy Custom F1 and the Cambridge Audio S30 are my options.
So I finally dragged some 2 decade-old Akai floorstanders and hooked them up, expecting complete fall-flatness. (I had tested the topping with Wharfedale 9.1s or the QA 2010s at Alliance 4, very unimpressed with the outcome).
But then I blew my mind out. Even with the evident power limitations that ajinkya mentions, the little fella managed to perform very well across music, tv, dvd, leaving me epically slack-jawed.
There will be no shame in using this as the go-to amp in my study. I just need to find space-saving, highly efficient speakers that can move the bottom of the sound as much as the rest.
I'm grokking from ye experts that the Tannoy Custom F1 and the Cambridge Audio S30 are my options.
Join WhatsApp Channel to get HiFiMART.com Offers & Deals delivered to your smartphone!
