I performed surgery on my $30 TA2020 T-amp

Two days have gone by since I got my TA2020, $30 amplifier. Today I decided it was best I had a thorough look inside to see what's what. What it was, was pretty good, but improvable.Here are my mods so far:

The coil inductor housings were just plastic, so I covered them in tin foil to provide at least a bit of shielding.

I got rid of the lousy electrolytic input caps and replaced them with some fine MKP caps. The originals were 2.2uf and the MKPs I had at home were only 1uf, so I am ordering some 2.2uf soon so I can have the rest of my bass back. The capacitors are connected by wire to the pcb so they will tuck away and fit under the lid. Or so I thought. The darn things are too big.

Also the copper path from the audio input all the way to the volume pot was so so thin and slim in the PCB. Something like a 10cm stretch of 1mm wide PCB copper is not good audio cable. I soldered some wire between the two to make sure the precious sound gets there in one piece.







To come: Philips electrolytes for the power input are replacing the noname ones, more optimized input caps (2,2uf instead of 1uf)... Something else you can come up with?

The results this far: To me, the sound has opened up a bit, it's clearer, less muddy and all in all easier to listen to. Much of it is probably my imagination, but even so I am still a bit surprised of the SQ of this little thingee.

Interesting........

Very cool! I like where this is going...

Would be tempting to get one if you created just a list of replacements components for one of those things and steps to get everything sounding top-notch. A upgrade "kit" list for that would be sweet.

rifftrax said:

Very cool! I like where this is going...

Would be tempting to get one if you created just a list of replacements components for one of those things and steps to get everything sounding top-notch. A upgrade "kit" list for that would be sweet.

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Good idea! I am researching every component possible right now to find out what component fits best where. It's tricky for a guy with almost no in-depth knowledge of amplifiers, but I'm getting there :thmbsp:

I have just ordered components for around $30. Some different types of capacitors, high quality resistors, fine silver solder, a desoldering pump... The list goes on. Do you want me to post pictures when I get the parts and get to work with them? :scratch2:

marcusekner said:

I have just ordered components for around $30. Some different types of capacitors, high quality resistors, fine silver solder, a desoldering pump... The list goes on. Do you want me to post pictures when I get the parts and get to work with them? :scratch2:

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Sure......i love posts like this.............

Cogsinister said:

Sure......i love posts like this.............

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+1 great idea :thmbsp:

Cogsinister said:

Sure......i love posts like this.............

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rifftrax said:

+1 great idea :thmbsp:

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Thank you both I just ordered a little bit of silver (probably silver plated copper though) wire while I was at it, just for the heck of it. Most of the things should be here in a week or so.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. The volume knob has a LED backlight that makes a ring around the base of it. It's blue right now, but I've just ordered some nice and cozy orange LEDs to replace the blue.

marcusekner said:

Something else you can come up with?

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Upgrade the power supply from a wall wart to a linear regulated supply.

hypertone said:

Upgrade the power supply from a wall wart to a linear regulated supply.

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The PSU is a 14v Samsung AC adapter, used for laptops and monitors and alike. But I'm guessing it is a switched one. What are the benefits from using a linear regulated PSU?

marcusekner said:

The PSU is a 14v Samsung AC adapter, used for laptops and monitors and alike. But I'm guessing it is a switched one. What are the benefits from using a linear regulated PSU?

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I was also just wondering the same thing... :scratch2:

rifftrax said:

I was also just wondering the same thing... :scratch2:

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Perhaps little to none, based on application. Switching regulators are more efficent, using less watts for more output, and less heat. This comes at a cost of more noise on the line, and less regulation overall. Switching regulators are less "pure", although completely normal, and if designed well, good enough for most applications. The noise introduced is from the switching itself, much like diodes can do.

you'll find linear regulators are easier to build, harder to cool, but otherwise are rock-solid if designed well, they hold voltage really well, as do many switching, but linear, from several standpoint is "better".

Hook it up to a 12v battery, this should improve the sound quite a bit.

As they say, with enough money you too can turn a Chevy Vega into a Corvair. With having more the $60 into the amp would it not have been better to buy a good vintage amp? Yes, I know, there is nothing like popping the top and being an audio surgeon and the satisfaction of improving the results of an enginer and production team can be very satisfying.

33&athird said:

Perhaps little to none, based on application. Switching regulators are more efficent, using less watts for more output, and less heat. This comes at a cost of more noise on the line, and less regulation overall. Switching regulators are less "pure", although completely normal, and if designed well, good enough for most applications. The noise introduced is from the switching itself, much like diodes can do.

you'll find linear regulators are easier to build, harder to cool, but otherwise are rock-solid if designed well, they hold voltage really well, as do many switching, but linear, from several standpoint is "better".

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When would I then experience a noticable noise from the power supply I am using right now? I have tried turning the volume knob up to max with no audio input and the speakers are dead quiet. Would that qualify as noiseless?

Brian said:

As they say, with enough money you too can turn a Chevy Vega into a Corvair. With having more the $60 into the amp would it not have been better to buy a good vintage amp? Yes, I know, there is nothing like popping the top and being an audio surgeon and the satisfaction of improving the results of an enginer and production team can be very satisfying.

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Exactly, I could get a nice vintage amp, but where I live they are extemely rare. Besides, I have two very good vintage amps and they are really complicated to me. I am liking the fact of knowing exactly what the components are doing in the amplifier and I find the process of researching and selecting the best parts for it very enjoyable.

marcusekner said:

Exactly, I could get a nice vintage amp, but where I live they are extemely rare. Besides, I have two very good vintage amps and they are really complicated to me. I am liking the fact of knowing exactly what the components are doing in the amplifier and I find the process of researching and selecting the best parts for it very enjoyable.

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The benefits of knowing how to tweak internals on stuff like that IMO is invaluable though. I honestly think after $60 worth of tweaks that it will likely exceed the sound of something you could buy for around $100 used as well...

I know $10 worth of well placed speaker tweaks usually equates to about an extra $100 that I could spend on a 'better' used set to be comparable in value/performance.

rifftrax said:

The benefits of knowing how to tweak internals on stuff like that IMO is invaluable though. I honestly think after $60 worth of tweaks that it will likely exceed the sound of something you could buy for around $100 used as well...

I know $10 worth of well placed speaker tweaks usually equates to about an extra $100 that I could spend on a 'better' used set to be comparable in value/performance.

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I agree, I think it would be very hard to find anything that sounds as good as this for double what I've paid.

Those are some impressive numbers, I can imagine they are pretty exact aswell.

I am thinking of trying a tube preamp (like the one in the 'Say "hello" to my little friend' thread) with it aswell, and see if I like the sound even more. I would love to bring a piece of vintage technology into the mix, I am already running with alnico midrange drivers.

There are some other threads about these. For certain models a popular upgrade is to bypass or replace the op-amp they use for tone control.

marcusekner said:

When would I then experience a noticable noise from the power supply I am using right now? I have tried turning the volume knob up to max with no audio input and the speakers are dead quiet. Would that qualify as noiseless?

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Good question, I don't know how you could tell if there was noise from the power supply without test equipment. the test you did is a good one though, as that implies a well-designed amp. In all honesty, if you are using something similar to a laptop charger, they are so over-designed abd over-regulated that I wouldn't think you would find much different. As one member mentioned, a 12 volt battery would be the same thing, perhaps even better. Probably more trouble than it's worth. If you can't hear noise, and everything operates, just enjoy:thmbsp:

as a note; I typically find that if something needs better regulation, then it's usually recommended somewhere, or by the company, as regulation is pretty cheap these days, so there is little reason to not have good regulation.

33&athird said:

Good question, I don't know how you could tell if there was noise from the power supply without test equipment. the test you did is a good one though, as that implies a well-designed amp. In all honesty, if you are using something similar to a laptop charger, they are so over-designed abd over-regulated that I wouldn't think you would find much different. As one member mentioned, a 12 volt battery would be the same thing, perhaps even better. Probably more trouble than it's worth. If you can't hear noise, and everything operates, just enjoy:thmbsp:

as a note; I typically find that if something needs better regulation, then it's usually recommended somewhere, or by the company, as regulation is pretty cheap these days, so there is little reason to not have good regulation.

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As the amplifier runs best at around 14v, I think I will keep the power supply I am using right now. As you say, batteries would be a "clean" power source but there are other complications to them (such as charging, buying, carrying...) I would like to avoid

Writing from Germany now btw, it's hot and the hotel room's air-con is not working well. :thumbsdn: