Virtually all those reviews are from when the unit first came out. It was a novelty. A curiousity. It was a product that had the unique characteristics of being small, producing a modicum of decent power, comparatively inexpensive, and reasonably attractive in appearance. People who generally were into very high efficiency horn based speakers picked up on it because, well, you just don't need a lot of power to drive those. As to whether it has the characteristics of something like a tube amp, you can't tell from the specifications. For starters, there's no indication of what the output impedance is. In fact, we don't know what it is across the audio frequency band. If it's high enough, say several ohms, it'll act like some tube based amps simply because into a speaker load, its output won't be linear. Instead, it'll be something like an equalizer whose cuts and boosts are tied to the particular speaker's impedance curve.
You know, some of those sites you mentioned like 6moons review all sorts of things. Crazy things that can't have an impact on sound yet they say they do. They really have no particular editorial standards other than they expect the review to sound reasonably well written. They rely in part on their existence on the fact that if you want to use their reviews (and when have you really read a review that says the product does nothing and the explanation by the vendor is bogus?) you've got to pay them. There's no good, solid, editorial standards that speak to inegrity. It's like going into a store to get something for your headache and right next to the Aspirin is some powdered horn toad skull that also says it's good for what ails you. Virtually everyone that writes can get industry accomodations which in some cases amounts to free products. That is so long as you mention them from time to time.
I've called these amps toy amps because frankly the specifications are not in a format that's easily digestible or conform to any 'standards' of reporting. You don't know what either the input or output impedances are for example. You don't know what the tolerances are for the frequency response. You don't know how much signal you can put into it before there's a problem. And with your TV outputs, unless it's in the manual somewhere, you don't know either. In fact, I'm not sure one even knows anything about the output signal from the TV. Things like FR, +/-dB, etc. I doubt if it's even been subjected to FCC emissions testing assuming the innards have some kind of switching device. However, quite likely, it'll power your speakers and probably give you better sound than you're now getting. But you know, it doesn't take much to do that. At least with the Sherwood that mcnarnus spoke of, you've got an input for your TV, a remote where you can control the volume, and possibly other useful stuff.
You know, some of those sites you mentioned like 6moons review all sorts of things. Crazy things that can't have an impact on sound yet they say they do. They really have no particular editorial standards other than they expect the review to sound reasonably well written. They rely in part on their existence on the fact that if you want to use their reviews (and when have you really read a review that says the product does nothing and the explanation by the vendor is bogus?) you've got to pay them. There's no good, solid, editorial standards that speak to inegrity. It's like going into a store to get something for your headache and right next to the Aspirin is some powdered horn toad skull that also says it's good for what ails you. Virtually everyone that writes can get industry accomodations which in some cases amounts to free products. That is so long as you mention them from time to time.
I've called these amps toy amps because frankly the specifications are not in a format that's easily digestible or conform to any 'standards' of reporting. You don't know what either the input or output impedances are for example. You don't know what the tolerances are for the frequency response. You don't know how much signal you can put into it before there's a problem. And with your TV outputs, unless it's in the manual somewhere, you don't know either. In fact, I'm not sure one even knows anything about the output signal from the TV. Things like FR, +/-dB, etc. I doubt if it's even been subjected to FCC emissions testing assuming the innards have some kind of switching device. However, quite likely, it'll power your speakers and probably give you better sound than you're now getting. But you know, it doesn't take much to do that. At least with the Sherwood that mcnarnus spoke of, you've got an input for your TV, a remote where you can control the volume, and possibly other useful stuff.
), Digital inputs, 192/24 DAC's, a Recognizable brand. But guess what now where close to 2.5 times as much as the t-amp and I can't stick it on my shelf.
