Sonic delights

Just wanted to record my praise for the Sonic Inpact combo of T amp, cardboard 'nxt' speakers and carrying case: a snip at about £60. CarlEast, of hifichoice forum, did the research and buying for whch many thanks.

I demo'd it as small surprise to Shrink and Dunkyboy and they were amazed at what this little box of tricks could do when fed mp3 from my MuVo memory stick. Not a total replacement for the active ATC 20s, but much lighter to carry and mains independent.

It's allows detail to come through, with great general timing and very airy too. It can do bass but its a bit boomy and lightweight. But this is picky for an amp that weighs less than the 8 AA batteries, some really naff speaker wire and a pair of cardboard cones - actually there are not conical as they have three vertical sides but I cant remember the mathematical term trip**loid?

Quite incredible, as in 'unbelievable'.

'spose I should have put this in Reviews but its more of a Note. If there's anyone who has given this combo a testing and can add 'Review-like' comment, then pl chime in.

 

I bought one of these recently for a second bedroom system. Was thinking of buying a cheap valve amp but chose this instead.

I went for :
Sonic Impact T-amp (£26 off ebay)
Wharfedale Diamonds 8.1 (£60 off ebay brand new)
Bought some Kimber 4PR speaker kable in the RA sale.

It has my MP3 jukebox as the source connected through some QED minijack interconnect.

I couldn't agree more with the comments above - this little amp makes music and for less than £100 I have an enjoyable little bedroom system.

 

Have you got a link to the speakers?

I'm doing some experimentation using Fane MicroPro NXTs in parallel with my main speakers (but at about 5dB lower volume). I'd like to check out other NXTs.

 

I'll have to ask Carl about the speakers - they were suppiled as a oner: carry-case containing T-amp, ready-wired, and T-amp (batteries not included!). As long as you show no trailing wires (in these worry-days), its a neat picnic addition. Only threat is rain! as this would do the speakers no end of harm!

 

just had a thought! I have an active sub for AV duties, the Velo VX-10 baby sub. If I put it between the sonic T and the speakers, using the speaker wire connectors, should this add the bass authority?

 

Are the speakers "SoundPax" which are nxt's own brand?

http://www.nxtsound.com and search for soundpax

Andy

 

Indeed, those are they!

Specs:
Frequency response : alarmingly good
Sensitivity : deeply felt
Power handling : loud enough to dance to
Impedance : 8 Ohms
Recommended amplifier power : ideally 10W-50W continuous but can be less
Power rating : 6W according to IEC 268-5
Material : Acoustic Fluted Composite (AFC)
Height : 720mm, Depth : 450mm, width: 540mm, Weight : 0.9kg

WARNING: EXCESSIVE SOUND PRESSURE LEVELS CAN BE GENERATED BY SOUNDPAX LOUDSPEAKERS - BE PARTICULARLY CAREFUL IF PLACING YOUR HEAD INSIDE THE BOX (DITTO FOR PETS).

That warning is also in the instructions!

 

other blurb says:

A world first in home audio is being officially unveiled today in the UK ~ SoundpaXâ„¢ Speakers ~ the first full range, hi-fi quality, ultra lightweight cardboard loudspeakers.


Fun, lightweight and easily transportable, SoundpaX speakers come flat packed and can be pulled out and set up in just seconds. Connectable to any standard amplifier, they are the perfect audio accessory for outdoor events such as BBQs and parties and are loud enough to dance to.


The height of your average traffic cone (70cm) and weighing the same as a bag of sugar, these pyramid shaped speakers are the result of months of research and development by scientists based at the British audio technology company, NXT in conjunction with European packaging manufacturer DS Smith Packaging.


The SoundpaX speakers are expected to retail for about £30 per pair. Whilst the initial product has the image of a traditional speaker printed on it, the design potential is limitless. They could for example, carry the image of a favourite football player, pop idol, or cartoon character, or even be disguised to blend in with your wallpaper.

<with update stating:>

SoundpaX: Update

*

*





NXT has signed an exclusive licensing deal with Sonic Impact Technologies for the North American distribution of the company's innovative SoundpaX flat-packed cardboard loudspeakers.

Ideal for outdoor use, these are the world's first full range, hi-fi quality cardboard speakers. They are light, easy to transport and can be set up in a few seconds. 'This is a very exciting product,' says SI Technologies president Robert Cotton. 'For $29 we'll be selling a set of speakers that sound as good as those that cost 10 times the price.'

<regretably, I get no commission!>

 

Forgive me, but here's some more blurb from that URL/search:

Triangular strength

"Thinking outside the box has resulted in the NXT scientists coming up with some different approaches to loudspeaker shapes. Triangles, held by Principal Patent Engineer Paul Burton and ellipses, in the hands of Chief Scientist Neil Harris have proved to work particularly well"

"An unexpected outcome of this work was the discovery that a triangular panel can perform better than a rectangular one, a finding that has resulted in new patent filings. Just as in the rectangular case, certain combinations of dimensions give the best results by providing the most even modal fill.

'There are several triangles that are particularly good and the same is true of ellipses,' says Paul Burton, NXT's Principal Patent Engineer. 'Ellipses are a little more difficult, though, because they approach a circle, which is rather like a bad square in terms of modal fill. But in the automotive sector in particular, ellipses are important. That was part of our drive. It wasn't a particular licensee who prompted this work, it was a sense within NXT that licensees were going to need to use non-flat and non-rectangular panels, so we'd better understand how they work and how to optimise them. Our whole thrust is that we can provide design solutions that allow our partners to determine and control modal activity, as opposed to doing it by trial and error.'

Multiple choice
"So is there a prospect that triangular panels might become the norm in future? 'It's possible, but the industry is proving to be quite fond of rectangles,' says Burton. 'A second patent application deals with multi-panels, which take these ideas further. This is where we look to make three-dimensional objects, like SoundpaX speakers, and consider the coupling between the different panel elements.'

"Triangles are beneficial, so we thought, why not join together two triangles of different characteristics to make a rectangle? 'Then you can either drive them separately or introduce a hinge or other coupling between them so you can transfer energy from one to the other to exploit their different modal shapes and interleave their modal frequencies,' says Burton.

'We built both flat and three-dimensional demonstrators to show this capability. I don't know of anyone who has begun commercialising it yet but I'd like to think that they will as it does provide added design freedom.'

 

I've been trying the Sonic amp & speakers with a Velodyne VX-10 sub in between. With a bit of adjustment, setting at 100Hz and not too much volume on the sub, the result is very pleasing. A v.good bedroom set-up.

 

You wait till the t-amps break in !

They are a serious threat to some top end stuff......

my pair of modded T- Amps sounded better than the 8000P [that I sold last night to a nice chap in Belper]. He's now got a Pair of near matched serial numbers !

Still no sign of the cheque but its early for posty.

The T-Amps need a good 12v 2-3amp psu to sign consistantly. so keep your eyes open for one [unless you speak to me, as I have a spare It been running my pair happily since I modded them. Though its only 1amp, but it has an opamp in the rectifiying stage like the super regs].....

 

pl tell me more about the psu. Is it still battery powered? It seems to me that the isolation from the mains supply is one of the sonic attractions.

 

Clari-T

I have to say, I heard a Clari T yesterday (Modded one & battery powered) most Ok to these ears

 

furtherspecs of SoundpaX Portable speakers (from thinkgeek.com)

* Frequency response: 79Hz - 20kHz
* Impedance: 8 Ohms
* Recommended amplifier power: ideally 10W-50W continuous but can be less
* Power rating: 6W according to IEC 268-5
* Material: Acoustic Fluted Composite (AFC)
* 19" tall

So they obviously benefit from a sub, though unless its on wheels dont expect welly-bass on your picnic!

Have been checking out the reviewson the Clari-T, and that seems a considerable step-up on the Sonic-T, when you're finished with your's Wm, you may have a s/h sale already lines up! What speakers have you been trying it with, and how critical have you found the nominal speaker sensitivity?

It would be interesting to consider these amps for AV duties, but would they have what it takes for the crash/bam/wallop? If they did they would tidy up the living room.

 

Speakers were Meadowlark Kestra 2's 8 ohm nomial 89Db sens (Unmodded)

 

if you email me I'll send a pic or three.

Its mains but ............

 

I've just ordered a T amp from eBay to run my new room ambience enhancement system.

Can anyone suggest a source for a suitable power supply - preferably not too expensive. I was thinking of a 13.8V, 3amp supply from Maplin (£14.99). Would that work or is it too many volts? I don't want to go to the trouble of a car battery and charger for this application. Plug in and forget is what I have in mind.

Thanks.

 

13.8v is too high ...........there is no difference in sound with my lab psu set at 12,13,13.8vs 13.8v is the max allowable on the data sheet. I've had maplin psu that were 5% off that would be enough to damage the chip. For me its just not worth it, go for a 12v 0.5-1amp jobie.

 

Thanks for that, zanash. I've gone for one of these:

12V, 1.5A from Maplin