Temple Audio taking over...

[tpbholm]

I bought a Temple Audio Bantam T Amp around October last year and was pleasantly surprised by how good such an inexpensive little amp could sound. Up until then I'd been using a Fatman iTube in the Sonos based hifi in my living room. The Bantam was far superior to the Fatman and it got me thinking - maybe I should consider upgrading other components in the system as well as giving some attention to my Linn LP12 vinyl based system in my project studio. That thought led to a bit of a revolution..

I initially bought a new Amptastic Mini 1 to compare to the Bantam. It was an improvement but not night and day. I then got an Audiolab M-DAC and fed it with my Sonos Connect, Pro-Ject CD Box, Sony Blu-Ray and Liv Zen Vortex Box - big improvement!
At the same time I invested in a couple of Temple audio Monoblocks and a passive pre-amp from The Custom Hifi Cable Company for my vinyl system. Again a definite improvement. Things were settled for a while but then I got to wondering how my vinyl might sound if I partnered the Monoblocks with a Temple Audio XC3 pre-amp - unfortunately the Temple web-site showed them as out of stock. An email to John at Temple and he kindly said he'd build an XC3 for me. A couple of weeks later and it arrived. The sound I'm now getting is a revelation - I'm spending many happy hours rediscovering my vinyl as well as buying more. Everything just feels more involving and musical.
Having got such a great sound with vinyl I just had to get a Bantam Gold to try in the living room. It's been connected up for a couple of days and I'm loving it. Now it's a debate as to which system I listen to - they both sound great although the vinyl does have the edge.

If anyone is considering trying the Temple Audio kit I can highly recommend it. As well as providing quality sound at a bargain price the amps are very solidly built and look lovely. They are a definite step up from a T Amp and in my opinion they are easily superior to more mass produced kit from mainstream hifi manufacturers which cost considerably more.

[wee tee cee]

Trevor glad you are enjoying the Temple amps. Check out the battery powered t amp thread, The improvements to be had are very cost effective on all the amps.

[John]

Yes worth putting a battery in them makes another difference to SQ

[Ali Tait]

+2 on that.

[tpbholm]

I'm using linear power supplies from the Custom Hifi Cables Co with the Bantam Gold (DC1) and the Monoblocks (DC2). The XC3 came with a linear supply. My phono stage is a Graham Slee Relex M with the upgraded PSU1 linear supply.
I had considered trying a battery but have to admit I'm not confident about the connection - I'm pretty clueless when it comes to wiring more complicated than wiring a plug!

[Conan]

I'm using linear power supplies from the Custom Hifi Cables Co with the Bantam Gold (DC1) and the Monoblocks (DC2). The XC3 came with a linear supply. My phono stage is a Graham Slee Relex M with the upgraded PSU1 linear supply.
I had considered trying a battery but have to admit I'm not confident about the connection - I'm pretty clueless when it comes to wiring more complicated than wiring a plug!

And what speakers are you using?

[tpbholm]

And what speakers are you using?

Opus3 Credo's with the XC3, Monoblocks and LP12. B&W 685's with the Bantam Gold, Sonos etc.

[John]

My DIY Skills are basic but had no issues wiring a battery in No need to solder as the battery end you can crimp and at the DAC input if you PM me your address I send you a connection you can just screw in as have a few spare lying around
If you get a battery remember you will also need a charger

[StevenZ]

Trevor, do you think the XC3 was a huge step up in performance with the monoblocks? John is building an XC3 for me and am very anxious to hear it. This is the only user experience I have found on the entire Web that has even mentioned the XC3 in use. If you could elaborate more on it I would appreciate the feedback.

Thanks,
Steven

[Haselsh1]

I have been considering a pair of Temple Audio monoblocks to use with my Croft Micro Basic preamp and phono stage. I currently use a very old pair of bridged and mono'd Rotel RB850 power amps and wondered if the Temple mono's would indeed be any better...?

[Audio Advent]

Don't forget to put an in-line fuse when connecting to a battery - it's amazing the current which can be put out by high capacity batteries if they are shorted out accidently. Even small ones can be tens of amps, some of the medium sized ones into the hundreds of amps.

Put in a fuse less than the current capacity of the wire used and a little above the max current draw of the amp, or in other words make sure the wire you use wouldn't burn out before the fuse would!

[brian2957]

The Temple Audio monoblocs are excellent Shaun and should drive most speakers . It's also worth trying the Amptastic Mini-1 with the volume control disabled . Both can be powered from a 12V car battery or their own linear PSUs.
I use one of these for mine http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/30W-DC12V-HiFi-Linear-power-supply-Regulated-PSU-for-DAC-headphone-amp-CL-215-/111544612626?hash=item19f893b712 . These PSUs can be adjusted from around 5V to 20V and so will be suitable for either amps .
These are also supposed to be very good http://www.custom-hifi-cables.co.uk/home/power-supplies/dc-power-supplies . However never tried them myself .

[Arkless Electronics]

Don't forget to put an in-line fuse when connecting to a battery - it's amazing the current which can be put out by high capacity batteries if they are shorted out accidently. Even small ones can be tens of amps, some of the medium sized ones into the hundreds of amps.

Put in a fuse less than the current capacity of the wire used and a little above the max current draw of the amp, or in other words make sure the wire you use wouldn't burn out before the fuse would!

Very sensible from a safety POV but not the best for sound quality.... An ideal PSU should be a perfect voltage source with zero output impedance. The fuse and fuse holder will add probably around 0.1 Ohm (R) to the power supply impedance. This may not seem like much but is a considerable amount in the context of PSUs! With a swing of 1A of current draw that will generate a voltage of 100mV across the fuse and holder (V = IR). This 100mV is unwanted error voltage/distortion etc (I'm simplifying here to avoid getting too technical...). For the same reasons it's very important to use thick cable of as short a length as feasible between the PSU and the unit being powered. Avoiding a power connector at either end by hard wiring is highly recommended for yet the same reason. As far as safety goes well a linear PSU can be built to have current limiting which activates in the case of a short circuit but has no effect upon circuit operation or sound when it is not in operation!

Very good though a lead acid accumulator (battery) can be, a good linear regulator (or even a good linear regulator after a switch mode supply) can be considerably better still in terms of low output impedance and low noise, which are the two performance aspects that really matter.
How good can a linear supply get? Well one I'm developing for a phono stage at the moment but which is typical of the current state of the art has an output impedance of around a micro Ohm (0.000001 Ohm)! Noise is less than a battery, if not by a huge margin compared to the very quietest battery. Different battery types and technologies have different noise outputs and some can in fact be fairly noisy!
Obviously this low an output impedance is so low that even an inch of wire is going to have considerably more resistance! This means that different parts of a circuit, or more than one channel, can be powered from the same supply and in theory will not "see" or effect each other as the cable to each channel or sub-circuit seems like an isolating resistor compared to the super low output impedance of the regulator. This is why the best linear supplies are a good thing ;)