#mini amplifier

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Earlier today we received a review from one of our customers who picked up his Mini-1 just before Christmas. In contrast to John C's review, Karl was looking for a good alternative to the many high price, poor sound quality sound bars currently on the market. Thanks Karl!

After a month with the Amptastic Mini-1, I thought I would share my thoughts: My TV application is slightly different to the majority who probably use it as a component in a high end stereo audio system.

I have the Mini-1’s input connected to the headphone output of my Toshiba TV and the Mini-1 output connected to a brand new pair of Q-Acoustic 2010i bookshelf speakers placed either side of the TV. I have a Humax YouView DTR-T1000 and a Toshiba BDX-1100 basic Bluray player both connected to the TV using HDMI. The TV’s headphone socket volume is adjustable using the TV remote control too which is a practical bonus.

I’m using a very modest 3.5mm to RCA lead I had kicking around and about 1.5 meters of QED Performance XTC cable to each speaker, terminated with 4mm plugs. The speaker cable was kindly donated by a friend.

My objective was to improve the sound quality for TV and movies without going to a 5.1 system nor having a sound-bar and I think the Mini-1 does this comfortably. There is no lip sync problem between picture and sound either.

My lounge is approx. 4 by 8 meters with fairly low 2m ceilings and the Mini-1 has absolutely no problem filling the room to volume levels I would think are well above and beyond normal. There is no hint of distortion until I push the volume well past 80% ish on the amp by which time passers by will be listening too. The Mini-1 and 2010i speakers give fantastic sound for all TV and movie dialog and of course they do an amazing job with music.

I would say that after about a month the sound has gradually improved, the sound seems fuller and warmer than it did when brand new. I’m very happy with the Mini-1 and would recommend its consideration for use in a TV listening role as well as a regular HIFI component.

Karl Ely, Cambridgeshire, UK

We get loads of feedback on our Mini-1 Class T amplifier, as we pride ourselves on honest audio, here is a review from one of our UK customers, John C of London. Thanks John!

The Mini-1 is a Tripath amplifier using the TA2020 chip. A lot of research and development has gone into improving the board.

I am using the amplifier with open baffle speakers to power the mid and treble. The speakers are quite sensitive 96db. The bass is separately powered.

I have used a lot of amplifiers in my system from Japanese vintage to big valve amplifiers and tend to be quite demanding with my expectations. I have also used a variety of Class D amplifiers.

So how does it sound? Pretty fantastic to be honest ..... The first thing I notice is just how big the soundstage is. I then start to notice that the bass seems to be stronger and more defined (in my system bass is pretty good already) but always nice to take it another step forward. The amplifier is very detailed, it really takes me into the music I want to be immersed in the music.

Some listening tests:

Kate Bush - Waking the witch Can hear the Church bells chiming demonstrating good micro detail.

Lenni-Kalle Taipale Trio - Sami-Imas Clean bass lines full sounding piano capture's the pace and timing of the track.

Surinder Sandgu - Avi's Theme Captures the attack time changes and complexity of the track everything making sense.

I guess for me it's how musical my system sounds now, I can listen for hours and feel emotionally engaged the system now seems to catch the flow of the music.

Bottom line true high end sounding amplifier in my system without the high end price.

I am using a battery rather than the power supply. I also use a separate preamp.

I think what it shows is what the amplifier is capable off in the the right system.

For the past year we have been developing a new product to directly replace the well known Amptastic Mini-T amplifier. Excitingly, we can finally announce the 2014 edition Amptastic Mini-1 amplifier.

After spending time pondering our own features, listening to customer feedback and researching existing products. We wanted to build the best quality mini audio products money could buy, without breaking the bank.

Our mission would be to provide amazing sound quality at typical 'listening levels' and not compete on power output like many retailers choose to.

We initially set about designing the swiss army knife of mini amplifiers but rapidly realised that not everyone would require such an integrated solution, we therefore decided to split up the design into several models. This allows customers the choice to fit the product to their system and not spend more than they need to.

The first and most straight forward product is the Mini-1, it is similar in some respects to the previous Mini-T, it has a single stereo RCA input and is powered by a Tripath TA2020-020 chipset. We have improved over the Mini-T in many areas:

Significant enhancement of the internal circuit layout, our design features were copied by rival producers.

On-board advanced power management solution: by adding this to the main circuit board we ensure that we are no longer relying purely on an external PSU to deliver constant smooth power to the amplifier (often 100cm+ away). The amplifier itself can monitor and cope with very large demands and stores power reserves right next to the TA2020 IC. We couple this with a low noise Amptastic PSU with ample capacity down the wire to give far superior sonic performance across the whole frequency range. Especially the low-mid range. 

Beautiful industrial design and finish that you'd expect on high end technology products. We've gone for a high end finish and minimal screwless front panel design that looks great in any setting. The look and feel of the product is much improved in comparison to the Mini-T. We've used much higher quality materials, including gold plating and gold screen printing on the rear of the unit. The speaker connectors are much easier to handle compared to the old model too. 

Genuine hand picked quality components which are sourced locally where possible. We’ve observed that some lower priced products seem to use ‘grey’ or low quality components. We only supply 100% genuine Tripath chips from a known source here in Europe, and new audio grade components from known sources.

Custom made copper 'Air Core' output inductors to ensure that the amplifier has very low harmonic distortion and gives a crystal clear pure sound quality. The output filter is a key portion of the design, we've benchmarked and tested many different inductors and found that any amount of ferrite causes unwanted distortion. We found that standard 'ferrite' wound inductors in a Tripath circuit will therefore be inferior to our new components (as found on the old Mini-T and many of the competition). It doesn't stop there, we've spent a long time selecting the best quality 'Air Core' output inductor to provide better than Tripath datasheet performance in some areas. This audiophile approach is normally an 'add on' but we include it as standard as part of our dedication to our mission statement.

Assembled in the United Kingdom to very high standards, made with love and care and we are helping the local economy to grow where ever possible. We can keep a very precise control over production and quality. All taxes are paid and goods are stored in UK/EU warehouses ready to go.

Volume control/pot bypass using on board jumper settings. Using a very simple procedure the customer can turn the amplifier into a stereo power amplifier by changing jumpers on the circuit board. Ideal if you want to run a valve pre-amplifier stage before the Mini-1, or if you want to run a bi-amp setup.

Power LED de-activation mode for those that want to run the amplifier 24/7 and not be distracted by the blue LED. Again this is a very simple procedure by setting a jumper on the circuit board. This is another example of our commitment to adding useful features.

Many more small tweaks and changes to improve the overall product.

We know you're all keen to see what the internals look like so here they are on a pre-production prototype, significantly different to other producers, this is a new generation design:

The Mini-1 is priced at £99 which we feel is well justified by UK production, better quality circuit design, casing, components and all the R&D that has gone into the product.

We are still developing more exciting audio amp products, designed around your feedback and based around some of the technology you see in the Mini-1.

We wouldn't be able to build audio products with such love and dedication without the fantastic community that exists in the hi-fi world, so thanks to you all!  Contact us direct to order your amplifier today...