TPA 3116 vs the tripaths

I installed the CM shown above on top of the Volt+D amp this a.m. It looks a little funky but we'll see if the juice is worth the squeezing. There were no instructions but stand-offs came in the box so I attached them through the pre-drilled vent holes. Could only anchor the CM on one side without drilling new holes and drilling plexiglass is way too risky. One thing I've learned with the Volt amps is not only do they use odd sized power inputs but the stand-offs included are not standard.

If the CM is used to reduce the noise from a cheap lap top PS who's to say if it would be necessary for a higher quality power supply like the Astron? My Astron sells for more than the Volt+D.
 
One other tweak for increased SQ according to allo is to "connect the ground of DC to earth". Now the +D's power brick does not have a grounded plug but I do have another 19V that is grounded that I'll try. Hard to believe that would increase SQ?

Allo recommends 2-3 days for the D+ to reach it's optimal SQ. I assume that would be continuous playing time? If so I'm not close yet but what I'm hearing is very impressive.
 
Proper grounding has a big influence on sound quality. Unfortunately, a lot of home outlets, especially older homes, aren't properly grounded, so whether one uses a three prong plug doesn't solve the problem.
I don't know if it's been discussed here, but I do wonder whether Allo looked at going to the tpa325X series, before they did the Volt+D.
 
One other tweak for increased SQ according to allo is to "connect the ground of DC to earth". Now the +D's power brick does not have a grounded plug but I do have another 19V that is grounded that I'll try. Hard to believe that would increase SQ?

Please keep us posted Poultrygeist. Would love to know what you come up with the grounding.
 
My volt+d just came from India. It took 6 days to get to the east coast of the U.S. , sort of amazing. As Poultrygeist mentioned, it comes extremely well packaged in a very well sealed box and wrapped in lawyers of foam with a layer of a straw like substance in the bottom of the box. I didn't receive any capacitance multipliers. I know that Poultrygeist posts a lot more than I do, so maybe they were expecting him to write a more extensive review.
The amp is much larger than I expected. It totally dwarfs my volt+ (board with no case).
I have it hooked up to an Astron 12BB ($15 via Craigslist) which only puts out something like 13.6 volts. Initial sounds are very promising, though I'm only listening through Spotify (Mozart string quartets) while I get a sense of the thing. It does very clearly have more output than the Volt+ . My speakers are probably 88 to 89 DB and the extra power may work better with them, though not sure how much that matters at 13.6 volts.

I have this tendency to do things backwards, so I hadn't checked in about alternatives to the TPA 311X series until I ordered the Volt+d. I happened to find a used fxpro TPA 3250 amp for cheap and it should be coming soon. I should be able to report on how a maxed out TPA 3118 compares to the 325x in enough to function form.
 
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I didn't receive any capacitance multipliers
As far as I can tell there are two [one for each channel] already on the Volt+D board.
The extra one PG received is meant to used with the original Volt which didn't have the circuit.
That's how they market it....as an add-on for the Volt.
It was added to the board when they introduced the Volt+.
 
I have it hooked up to an Astron 12BB ($15 via Craigslist) which only puts out something like 13.6 volts. Initial sounds are very promising, though I'm only listening through Spotify (Mozart string quartets) while I get a sense of the thing. It does very clearly have more output than the Volt+ . My speakers are probably high 88 to 89 DB and the extra power may work better with them, though not sure how much that matters at 13.6 volts.

I'm also sitting on a large 13.5 volt DC power supply. I know that with that kind of voltage, the difference in output between the Volt+ and Volt+D will be middling. Still interested in hearing your subjective take on audible difference or lack thereof.
 
I wonder if my not receiving the extra capacitance multiplier had something to do with my ordering through Volumio instead of directly from Allo.
 
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Here's a picture of the Volt+ D with the capacitance multiplier attached to the top. Outstanding SQ with the 19v power brick and not sure it could be improved with the Astron linear but I plan to give it a try. The small amp below left is a 3116 that drives the woofers in this bi-amped system. The space where the Volt+D sits is usually occupied by a Bottlehead 2a3 SET.

P1010006.jpg
 
As far as I can tell there are two [one for each channel] already on the Volt+D board.
The extra one PG received is meant to used with the original Volt which didn't have the circuit.
That's how they market it....as an add-on for the Volt.
It was added to the board when they introduced the Volt+.

No that's not the case as two CM's are to be connected in series to further reduce any noise. Only one CM is present on the standard Volt+D board.
 
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There is a guy on the Allo forum that claims he gets best results with an old Toshiba power supply. He claims it is 15v 4a and sounds better than 19v 3a.
 
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There are so many variables, especially with the computer type power supplies, that stated volts and amps are often the least of it. With my own stuff, I often get very invested in a result. After all, no one wants to spend money on something that didn't work. IT's quite possible that a lower voltage but higher amperage power supply sounded better, but it could be for lots of reasons that have nothing to do with the amperage/voltage.

I've wound up using the Astron a lot, but for a kind of siilly reason. The Astron has a power switch and my other power supplies don't. I've thought a 19 volt 4.5 Amp laptop power suplly sounded surprisingly good with the Volt+, but my two regulated linear supplies sounded better, especially with lower frequencies.
 
I remember him saying it was an old power supply and on the heavy side. It might have better quality parts. With my laptop power supply, it gets carried around a bit and they seem to last about two years before something gives out. Maybe the old adage "they don't make them like like they used to" applies here too.
 
Allo understands the importance of a quiet PS with their amps. Through use of the capacitance multipliers they obviously want the cheap power bricks to sound their best and this can be an advantage given the price of power supplies for the TPA325x amps.

I was close to buying one of those higher powered TPA325x amps but not now as the Volt+D has more power than I could possibly use. Given it's high build quality and the parts used I'm thinking the +D would hold a sizable advantage in SQ.

I have one of those heavy Toshiba 19v power bricks ( much larger and heavier than the stock Volt+D power brick ) which I haven't tried yet. So many things to switch around and experiment with but hopefully a long weekend will help.
 
IT's quite possible that a lower voltage but higher amperage power supply sounded better, but it could be for lots of reasons that have nothing to do with the amperage/voltage.

Alot of the switched mode supplies can be noisy with alot of electrical noise on both the +ve and gnd lines.
 
The Volt+D reminds me of this kit I built as a kid. Remember?

Visible+Man+a.jpg
 
I received the TPA 3255 amp (five days from South China), so I'll have a take on how the Allo Volt+D compares in a week or so. I hooked up the TPA 3255 for a bit with a 24 volt linear regulated supply (the manufacturer specs 30-50, but TI's specs suggest that 24's okay). It sounds pretty darn good.
 
And we all could use a TPA 32xx to drive those hard to control woofers. Another step up for us OB users bi-amping.You will hear a difference.
 
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