# The HLLY TAMP-90 : TA2022 tryout



## patrick_bateman

Here is the last but one review about the HLLY amplifiers.
 Sorry about the delay, i had a lot of work recently, but here it is ! 
 So this review will be about the TAMP-90.

 Built around the TA2022 chipset, this amplifier differs from the others Tripath chipsets by the power it delivers: 45 watts under 8 ohms against the 6 watts of the TAMP-10 or TAMP-20.
 The TAMP-90 is much more massive than his younger brothers, but it remains small and easily movable because of his shoebox size.
 Façade is made with brushed aluminium, the ON/OFF button lights in blue when the amplifier is functioning. A very nice blue, maybe a little too strong. 
 Not a big concern anyway.
 The volume button is brushed too.
 The back of the amplifier is uncluttered but nicely made with strong speaker connectors, much bigger than the ones of the TAMP-20 or TAMP-10.
 Obviously this little buddy is designed to drive bigger speakers than the others amplifiers from the HLLY line.
 The classical coaxial connectors and power supply cable input are also on the back.
 The power supply is integrated to the amplifier, which differs from TAMP-10 and TAMP-20.
 Amplifier is driving my Infinity Alpha 40 and my source is a Philip cd 723.
 My listening room is 40m² big.



 Here is some technical datas about the TA2022:

 • 100W @ 4Ω, 1.0% THD+N
 • 90W @ 4Ω, 0.1% THD+N
 • 60W @ 8Ω, 0.1% THD+N
 •0.015% THD+N @ 70W 4Ω
 •0.015% THD+N @ 45W 8Ω
 •0.10% IHF-IM @ 25W 4Ω
 •Dynamic Range = 102 dB 
 •Single ended outputs 
 • Linear voltage regulator for VN10 and V5 supply
 • Dual sides components arrangement.
 •Over-current protection
 •Over-temperature protection
 •(note1): Can be modified to operated in bridged mode and get more output power.
 High Efficiency
 92% @ 88W 8Ω 
 87% @ 125W 4Ω 



 First switch ON of the amplifier: I can clearly hear a little white noise in the tweeter.
 It’s light, but it’s here. One meter away from the speakers, I don’t hear it anymore, but knowing it’s here will probably bother some people: for me, it’s not a big deal, but I must advise you against the use of this amplifier in a small room with high sensitivity speakers, it could become really annoying.
 By luck, with the power it delivers, this amplifier is designed to be used in larger room.
 Nevertheless, it’s powerful enough for my room.
 Just remember that this amplifier should be used for speaker below 92db.
 On my Klipsch RB2, I prefer to use the TAMP-20 which is quieter.

 So let’s start the listenings with the album Low Estate from 16 horsepower. 
 It’s an acoustic recording with some fabulous track like the beautiful covers of Leonard Cohen, the Partisan.











 On this recording, double-bass sounds fine, with a subtle bass rendering, and the banjo offers a very natural sound, without twangy tune. David Eugene Edwards voice’s perfectly melts in the soundstage without being in the background or deadened.
 TAMP-90 like his brother sounds great on acoustic musics, with a very smooth rendering, never forced, closer at this level from the TAMP-20 than the TAMP-10.
 Globally, I would say that the TAMP-90 offers the same softness than the TAMP-20, but with a better rendering in the lower frequencies. 
 Main dynamic is not really more impressive than the one from the TAMP-20 – this latter being particularly good in this area- but the TAMP-90 offers more strength and a main volume which can go much further without distortions.

 Next album, a classic from Bjork, Homogénic, brilliant recording, with a lot of strings and electronic sounds.











 On this recording, higher frequencies can fastly become a problem is the amplifier tends to major this part of the spectrum.
 On the track Joga, sound goes high in the room, wide soundstage, great spatialization, sound is moving with ease and smoothness.
 On the track Bachelorette, gifted with a loud rythm, everything is clear and the dynamic is very well marked until the final crescendo.
 And what about the famous track All is full of love and its deep basses ?
 Well, they sound better here than with my Kora 90 which renders a much more fattier sound. TAMP-10 and 20 sounded drier.
 Again, TAMP-90 is going lower than TAMP-10 and 20.

 After higher frequencies and strings, I put on the last recording from the metal band, Disturbed, the grandiloquent Indestructible.
 Viking singings, dryness and rage are the best ways to describe this blacksmith band.












 On the track Enough, TAMP-90 follows the drums with rigidity and mastery, besides, it’s going lower than the TAMP-10 or TAMP-20.

 On this kind of track, additional power is obvious: impacts are louder and the bassline is way more noticeable.
 Even on a loud track like this one, TAMP-90 is never overwhelmed. 
 It never gets hot, either.
 Façade, last track of the record, gives birth to an impressive wall of sound.
 TAMP-90 drives the Alpha 40 pretty well.

 After that, I give a try to my favourite recording to test lower frequencies, the track 2 of the Himalaya soundtrack.
 I immediately feel that the TAMP-90 goes deeper thant the TAMP-10 or TAMP-20.
 Sound takes place in the whole room, and the soundstage is wider than the TAMP-10 or TAMP-20. 

 Next record, a nice LP from Chris Garneau, Music for Tourists, a delicate acoustic recording.










 Not really demanding, this recording is mainly about piano and voice, not he most easy sounds to reproduce.
 The whole thing sounds just great, breathings can be heard despite the white noise, and tunes sound with a great fidelity.

 When the voice goes up, the amplifier follow, without harshness.
 Then, you forget the analyse to just listen how great this recording sounds.
 And when the LP is over, you just realise that you’ve passed one hour without any technical considerations: everything was just in its right place.



 Conclusion: 


 By discovering the TAMP-90, I feared that the additional power would destroy the subtle rendering of the Tripath chipset.
 It’s nothing like that.
 By gaining power, TAMP-90 gets stronger in the lower frequencies without damaging the great qualities of the Tripath chipset in the trebles.
 The weak Sound/noise report can be annoying, and that’s a data that need to be considered if you plan to buy one.
 The amplifier is well built and there’s nothing to criticize about the way it’s made. Seems solid.

 This HLLY line of amplifier TAMP-10-20-90 is interesting: it will be difficult to specifically advise a model, it’s a very complementary line of amplifiers and choice will highly depend of your source, room, and speakers.
 You will say: “ Sure, but it’s always like that…”
 Of course.
 In this case, we are not talking about a “type amplifier“which -because of the selling price- would have been improved or amputated: they are three different amplifiers with proper qualities. 
 These tripath amps are great but my personal favourite is the TAMP-20 which offer a fabulous sound on my Klipsch RB2. ( 92db)













 The whole HLLY amplifiers line can be found on EBAY ( Boutique eBay - FM TRANSMITTER SELLER : HDMI Cable, Audio AMP, HeadPhone ) or on their website ( fm transmitter-HLLY Electronics )

 Thank you for reading me, and sorry about the spelling errors i unavoidably commited.

 If you have questions, just ask.


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## manaox2

Two questions. What is your relationship with the company and why should anyone rely upon your opinions here? 

 (I found the answer. You bought an amp from them, wrote a review in multiple languages and posted it on several forums, and now you've bought two more amps because the manufacturer cut you a special deal after the first review).

 Roughly five of your seven total posts are reviews or replies about this or the companie's other two models of... speaker amps? I see you've been warned about this before... being spammy.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/hll...5/#post5402792

 I think something should be done about it as I don't see any interest in this community, only an interest in that company which you glowingly rate three of their speaker based products before breaking ten posts. Please get a MOT tag if you represent them.

 EDIT: I reported this as spam.


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## Evan55

anyone getting a loud pop when they turn off their TAMP-90? (either by switch or by unplugging)

 What could be causing this?


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## mplee79

This guy is such a spammer. It makes me lol...

 The funnier thing is if you look at all their ebay auctions, it's always one or two bidders that bump the price up to outrageous highs. Interestingly, these bidders usually have very little to no feedback.


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## leeperry

so he gets them from China, makes a 300% markup and spams forums w/ broken english...way to go!


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## taiping

Further to the review by Patrick Bateman of the HLLY TAMP-90, I have just received the amp from China. Fast delivery using EMS mail which could be tracked on the China postal system and also locally in Thailand. The package weighed 4.6 Kg.

 On switch ON, and with or without any inputs, I could hear a low volume but definite hiss from the tweeters. I could hear the hiss up to 1-meter away from the speakers, and it seems to be independent of the volume control settings. My speakers are old Mission speakers and not particularly sensitive, which is why I upgraded from an older T-AMP. I am 63 years old so my ears do not belong to a spring chicken !!

 I asked HLLY ELECTRONICS about this and had an email correspondence with their Sales Manager Zhiyong Gao, who responded immediately to my questions.
 I was told the slight hiss was "normal" if I could not hear it at a distance of 2-meters from the speakers (I could not).
 I asked if there was anything I could do to upgrade the amp to get rid of the slight hiss, but apparently the upgrade on the HLLY web site at fm transmitter-HLLY Electronics to install a 20-47 pF capacitor across resistor R7 has already been done for the amp shipped to me. Although not mentioned by HLLY, I presume a capacitor should also be installed across R5, the other input.
 Since HLLY had no other suggestions to reduce the hiss they did offer a full refund, which I declined because I'm satisfied with the amp. Except for the slight hiss problem it sounds great to me with plenty of power and with full bass and clear treble.
 I am slightly disappointed with this because I had seen some reviews about the amp which mentioned the hiss but said the problem had been rectified on later models. HLLY confirmed this to me before I bought the amp.

 Just one other important note. The HLLY TAMP-90 for 220 Volt 50 Hz supply comes with a mains power lead with moulded plugs. I had to cut off the mains plug to fit my own only to discover that they had used a three colour lead YELLOW, BLUE, and GREEN, and although it was connected OK in the moulded lead/plug combination, they had actually used the GREEN wire as the LIVE lead, and the YELLOW wire as the Earth lead. Might cause you to be electroluted if you change the plug !! I have informed HLLY about this and they will look into it. Be warned !!

 If anyone knows how to get rid of the slight hiss on the HLLY TAMP-90, then please post to this forum.[/SIZE][/FONT]


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## patrick_bateman

Well, i've just seen the multiple answers i missed before...

 Well, just to be clear, first, i'm french, this explains the broken english, anyway, you just understood me, so it must not be soooooo broken.

 Then, i'm not a spammer, i'm just a happy customer: i rarely find time to do some hardware reviews, even if i love to. 
 I found HLLY products being really good for the price they asked, and i'm not the only one to be happy with.

 I'm not glorifying a bad product, they sell cheap and good products and there are enough good reviews of their products to reassure you that i'm not telling crap. 

 I actually listen to their USB amplifier linker to their TAMP-20 on klispch B2 speakers, and the result is great for a ridiculous price.

 By the way, i'm a well known forumer on the french forum 

homecinema-fr.com &bull; Source de Passion

 , go and ask people there, they will tell you that i'm just a hifi lover and not a chinese bot.

 Now, why don't you try to listen to their amps instead of talking about what you don't know ?


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## manaox2

I do know that I read this same review on multiple forums and that you don't show up here for anything but to shill it or other HLLY products it would seem. 

 I will say that I like T-amps in general and that I am glad that HLLY got rid of the hum problem.


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## patrick_bateman

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *manaox2* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I do know that I read this same review on multiple forums and that you don't show up here for anything but to shill it or other HLLY products it would seem. 

 I will say that I like T-amps in general and that I am glad that HLLY got rid of the hum problem._

 


 Well, maybe that's because i usually write on HCFR ( the french forum), mainly because it's easier for me. 
 Nevertheless, T-amp community is bigger on Head-fi so it seemed obvious that i had to post that review here too.

 It took me time to write this review and i hoped to get some reactions, but suspicion wasn't part of what i expected.


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## ford2

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *patrick_bateman* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Well, maybe that's because i usually write on HCFR ( the french forum), mainly because it's easier for me. 
 Nevertheless, T-amp community is bigger on Head-fi so it seemed obvious that i had to post that review here too.

 It took me time to write this review and i hoped to get some reactions, but suspicion wasn't part of what i expected._

 


 Why not do a review of the HLLY amp that is a rip off of the Little Dot,even advertised as having a LD warranty.



 This link will take you there: HLLY MK III Vacuum Tube Headphone Amplifier Pre Amp - eBay Integrated Amplifiers, Amplifiers, Home Audio, Electronics. (end time 17-Nov-09 01:20:19 AEDST)


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## patrick_bateman

Well, i don't have this one, i use their cheap USB amp...

FM transmitter-HLLY Electronics

 I will write a review of this one as soon as i can.


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## LingLing1337

The shill(s) in this thread alone have really turned me off of HLLY...


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## spookygonk

Quote:


brsanko said:


> _Unhappy verbage..._


 
  Thanks for that. Consider us well & truely told.


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## dcpoor

Quote:  





> ... So all you ignorant naysayers out there go home and listen to your Bose Wave radios (after all Readers Digest said it was great) and leave us real audiophiles alone.


 

 Head-fi, land of Bose Wave radios. you really have a great grasp of this community, nice 1st post.


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