Monitor 7 with Tripath amp

WesC

Wondering if anybody has any experience driving monitor 7 or smaller with a Tripath amp
- am looking at the Topping tp60 for a small room setup..

Mystery

I've tried some low power vintage stereo receivers from 12w - 35w and they'll work but not enough juice to crank without distortion.
I suggest getting a cheap used a/v receiver instead.

But wait for others who may have used that T-amp.

inscrutable

First watt the most important. Originally drove mine with a 45 W JVC integrated, but those are biased into Class A and sound good at low power. That said, if you listen to recordings with good dynamic range, you will want a reasonable amount of power in reserve for the peaks. Preferred them with my big Citation and Plinius amps.

mikemokr

I just hooked up a Lepai LP-2020A+ to my 1978 Monitor 5s and I must say it sounds a helluva lot better than something that cost $18 has any right to. This is in a home office (source is a laptop/dock) so it's nearfield but there is plenty of headroom; not hearing distortion when I crank it up. I do hear hiss & hum if I have music muted and turn the Lepai volume dial past 1 o'clock, haven't looked into that yet (this was open box - saved another $5! - but I also can't rule out an issue with my quick hookup & placement).

I've also hooked up a Topping TP-20, which also is built around the TA2020 chip, for a second zone out of my main HT (replacing a dead old Onkyo integrated amp) and that too does all it needs to do. Currently driving M3IIs with that but now scheming to replace those with my 1983 Monitor 4s and move the M3IIs into the garage. The TP-20 cost $65 for supposedly better components than the Lepai (aside from the amp chip); I'll need to do some testing for audible benefits.

Just wanted to mention initial impressions. Not an HT solution but this approach can really solve some lesser problems quite inexpensively - like my problem of having a few pairs of vintage Monitors going unused :-)

cnh

Monitor 7s on a Tripath? You're not going to get a lot of punch from that. It will probably work at lower volumes, but why bother. Remember, those Tripaths distort very quickly once you PUSH them. Even if they're rated for 50 watts x 2, you're lucky if you don't get distortion at 15-20 watts? They're great with very Efficient speakers! But larger Monitors do better with more power.

Be better off going TOTAL vintage. Getting a GOOD vintage integrated of 50 watts x 2 or more (even an old receiver will work).

I run Monitor 5s off a 40 watt x 2 JVC (Dynamic Super A). Plenty of power for them. Would go a little higher for 7s.

cnh

mikemokr

This may be a bit apples:oranges for the OP, who was talking about a Topping TP-60, which costs about 10x the Lepai LP-2020Ax and is rated at roughly 4x the power. But thought I'd post what I'm finding anyway for anyone else wondering if Tripath amps might have useful application in the right circumstances.

A couple hours ago on initial testing of the Lepai through the Monitor 5s, I was hearing distortion beginning beyond about the 100 dB level on more complex music, more like 110 db for simpler stuff (I'm using Beck "Sea Change" CD right now, wide range of complexity, from vocal + acoustic guitar to full electric band + string section). Now as I continue testing it seems the threshold for distortion even for complex passages is closer to 110 dB. Further testing required to see if amp burn-in is a factor - this unit only has 5-6 hours of use at this writing. Things definitely start getting unpleasant up around 115 dB no matter what, though there was no clipping - but that beyond my usual listening volume anyway.

For comparison I went back to the Klipsch Promedia 2.1 I've used through the same computer setup and that system may have slightly more tolerance (about an extra 5 dB?) before distortion sets in. But though those are very nice speakers for what they do, the Monitor 5s definitely are sweeter, even without a sub :-)

Next test will be to put the Topping TP-20 in this rig, to see what differences there may be aside from the TA2020 chip (which it also uses) - still much lower rated power than the TP-60 though.

Also, in my post above I mentioned hum and I've eliminated that, but with source muted and volume at max I do get 3-5 dB of hiss. No hiss audible when music is playing.

In my view it all comes down to fitness for purpose. I can see a Tripath amp being a perfectly fine option for bedroom, garage, kitchen zone etc.

I like the vintage amp idea but that may be a better option if you're adept with electronics (I'm not) so you can fix things that go wrong with age. If you have to pay for service you're not in the realm of inexpensive anymore (which, to be clear, might well be a worthwhile investment nonetheless - just more of an investment).

The compact size of the Tripath amps - the footprint is roughly the size of my hand - also may be a plus depending on your circumstances.

As an aside this is the first time I've been able to really listen to the old Monitor 5s, which I bought off CL for $60 about a year ago - awesome, even with this tiny amp. Yay Danish Peerless!