Sonic Impact - Class T Amp

[sardus_pater]

Noone would give this poor looking plastic amp any credit... but hey my brother read some incredible reviews for a 39$ amp.

They basically said that this little thing equals the quality of high level amplifiers priced thousands dollars.

Well, for that sum my bro ordered 4 of them from the USA... and I few days ago got to have one...

Well... WOW. This poor little plastic box pratically destroyed my old Proton amp. It plays beautifully, lots of dynamics, perfect sounds. 39$!!

My suggestion, for that price you have to check it. YOU MUST.

Review
http://www.tnt-audio.com/ampli/t-amp_e.html

Among many unusual reviews (here on TNT-Audio) this one will stand out, not because it is somehow "different" from our previous ones, rather because the product is DIFFERENT.

It is so different than the rest that I dare to call it a real revolution. I'm talking of a sub-30$ (no typo!) integrated amplifier that embarasses the competition. Which competition, you may ask! There are no integrated amplifiers below, say, 150$!!! Indeed, the Sonic Impact T-Amp finds its natural competitors in a price range that is 100 times its price. At least. Now relax and read on.

This is NOT an April's Fool, a bad taste joke or a test to see how many of you blindly believe in what we say. No, this is the first part of a series of articles devoted to the most insane piece of equipment I've ever come across during the last 25 years of HiFi addiction. A battery-operated 6 watts per channel IC-based integrated amplifier that is so damn good sounding to cause harassment to many expensive products.

Sonic Impact website
http://www.si-5.com/frontEnd/cm_productDetail.jsp?productID=18

http://www.si-5.com/admin/commerce/images/catalog/18_image_big.jpg

[sardus_pater]

Another review
http://www.sixmoons.com/audioreviews/sonicimpact/t_3.html

Now, here's the deal: If I blindfolded you and had you listen to the amps in my collection right now -- the Almarro EL84 SEP stereo integrated with its punchy pace & rhythm and slightly dark & warm but naturally detailed soundstage; the emotive and musical Fi 2A3 SET monoblocks with their open, relaxed, dynamic and detailed sound; and the Yamamoto 45 SET stereo amplifier with its clean, clear, spacious, über-detailed and artfully musical sound -- and if after that, I slipped the T-amp into the mix and asked you to comment on its sound... what do you think you'd say? I guess it'd be close to what Bill said: "Its sonic signature reminds me most of the Yamamoto 45. It is clean-sounding with lots of detail and decent rhythm and pace. Not quite as smooth and musical but very good." When I told Bill and Pete that the T-amp cost a mere $39, they were flabbergasted. After I placed the T-amp into Bill's hands so he could "look" at it, he burst out in a marvelous laughter over its combination of light weight, small size and heavyweight performance.

(...)

The biggest praise I can heap upon the T-amp is that when it's playing music, I forget about it as an audio device and get lost in enjoying the music. That's really the ultimate praise that one could bestow upon any piece of equipment. The fact that this piece is only $39 makes things rather mind-boggling.

The Bottom Line

I'd say Srajan nailed the Tripath signature sound when he described the eVo 2i: "Crystalline transparency; a tube-like midrange purity, naturalness of timbre and monster soundstaging without the bloom of valves; wonderful bass; and very extended yet silky treble that's never grating or dull but just right." Srajan was describing a $3200 integrated but the amazing thing is that those same words also pretty much describe the sound of the Sonic Impact T-amp integrated.


The Almarro, Fi and Yamamoto all play music wonderfully well, sound terrific and are relatively expensive. The Fi costs almost 100 x what you can buy a T-amp for over the Internet. Yet the little T-amp is not put to shame by any of them in its sound quality and ability to play music. I almost hesitate to confess that because I predict that some people will find it hard to swallow. But that's the way it is. The T-amp is not perfect and, with its cheap plastic case and budget Tripath chip implementation, a far cry from the build quality of the Almarro, Fi or Yamamoto. The spring connectors are flimsy and having only a single 1/8th inch stereo jack input is a nuisance for audio nuts.

The proof is in the listening, however. And there the Sonic Impact T-amp is an absolutely brilliant piece of equipment that revolutionizes sound quality performance at a true budget price. Prior to the T-amp, a great-sounding $39 amplifier was unheard of. That makes the Sonic Impact unparalleled. Heck, even for $390, it would be unparalleled - it's simply a really great little amplifier. The li'l Sonic Impact T-rex just took a big bite out of High-End's pudgy fanny.

ah and it's 29.87$ at amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00009W44B/002-1519761-3088812?v=glance

How can a low-priced amp possibly sound this good. This is the best kept audio secret of all time. I have mine connected to a SACD player through a ASL passive (tube)pre-amp. I turn the volume control on the SI all the way up and adjust volume with the pre. The sound that comes out of my high-efficency Horn Shoppe Horns is nothing short of amazing. Wide soundstage, incredible imaging and totally no audible noise. I own two and I'm looking for a third to hot-rod. Caution: If you are going to use in a home stereo rig, the speakers should have an efficiency of 90 or better to get the sound levels you'll want. Amazing!