Tascam PA-20b and other Tascam power amps

J

jzin

New member
Hello,
This will be my first post on this BBS, but I am thankful to have had this forum as a valuable resource in the past. I am a big fan of Tascam gear, in particular - from my first four-track that I used in college to the M320 board that is currently the centerpiece of my home studio.
My question involves a Tascam PA-20b amplifier. The problem is that it is simply amazing, yet underpowered (and I fear for my monitors if I turn it up too high). I cannot find another amplifier that sounds as good. I recently purchased a Hafler P1500, with the hope that it would do the job, but it sounded cloudy in comparison. My monitors are Yorkville YSM-1 (original, not i or p). Sometimes I still use the AR18s that I had before purchasing the Yorkvilles. The amplifier's positive qualities are apparent when using either set of speakers. Besides the Hafler (which I have since sold), I have also tried various NAD consumer amps and a Sansui 7070 (plenty of power but not very clear). None of them is as nice. To my ears, the little Tascam simply destroys all of them in the clarity of the midrange.
Does anyone have any experience with the PA-20B? If so, am I crazy? Would you be able to recommend something which sounds similar, yet has more headroom for the various accidents and dynamics of multi-track recording?
I am also interested to see if anyone has experience with other Tascam amps. In particular, the PA-150 seems a very good prospect. However, I am uncertain as to whether it will have the same qualities as the PA-20B. Also, it seems to be very rare. I have scoured the internet and ebay and cannot find a single example.
I appreciate any advice that you may have regarding this amplifier and my other questions. Thank you in advance for your responses.
 
I am no where near being an amplifier guru but I have learned that watts is not everything in an amp. Slew rate and dampening rating can and are just as if not more important then watts.
Ask yourself just how loud does have to be. If you have to keep the volume down so what if it sounds good it is good. ;)
 
Thank you for your advice. Perhaps I should just not worry so much. I can turn the volume up to very reasonable listening levels, and I hear no distortion. On a couple of occasions (when the volume was slightly higher than normal), the protection circuit has tripped, and the amp shut itself off. Strangely, though, I heard no distortion at all prior to this happening. Perhaps the protection circuit is extremely conservative. I assume that the wattage rating is 20wpc, as is suggested by the model number. In this case, the 135 watts that it requires from the wall (as printed on the unit) should leave some headroom for unexpected transients.

I have also thought about the possibility of looking for another one just like it, and running them each in bridged mono mode. However, I fear that this could be harmful to the amp, as the Yorkville monitors are rated at 4 ohms minimum, 6 ohms nominal. Everything that I have read about bridging amplifiers seems to warn against lower impedances than 8 ohms (because the impedance is halved).

If anyone else has any Tascam power amp, I would appreciate any information you may be able to contribute. To my knowledge, Tascam has made the following amps:

PA-20B - This is what I have. I assume it to be 20 watts per channel. It is very small (1/2 rack space) and is densely arranged inside. It has both balanced XLR and RCA connections on the back. Judging from its appearance, I believe it to have been manufactured in the early to mid eighties. It came with a very small set of speakers (model CM-4) which are much better than I expected them to be. Both the amp and speakers were manufactured in Taiwan.

PA-20 mk2 - a one rack space amp, presumably similar in design and specifications to the amp that I have.

PA-30B - a very strange looking amplifier, with an odd looking mounting bracket on the bottom. Presumably 30 watts per channel. There is currently one on e-bay, if you would like to see a picture (it is listed as an "input output" - very strange.)

PA-30 mk2 - similar to above, I would assume. Just like the PA-20 mk2, this is a one rack space unit.

PA-150 - This seems to be very rare. There is information available on the internet, which dates it 1996, and gives specifications of 115wpc at 8 ohms, and 150wpc at 4 ohms. It is a two rack space unit. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find one for sale.

Anyway, I hope that this information is useful to others. Perhaps someone else has first hand information which would illuminate the discussion.
 
curious.... do you maybe have a link to something on these amps??? i dont remember tascam ever producing amps... there were a couple of guitar amp with a cd built in kinda things and some active monitors.... i'ld be interested in checking them out a bit... amd surprised you find them better than hafler and nad.... both of which i find to be exceptional amps.... BTW if your tripping protect circuits... you've got serious problems.... as to the comment on slew and damping factors... slew is an indication of an amp being able to reach it's rated output quickly (somewhat simplified) and would indicate to some degree freq response... damping factor is an indication of an amps ability to resist the EMF coming back from a speaker and as a result stopping the cones movement... both of these things while important haven't really been a problem with most modern amps....
 
Here is some information that I have found on the PA-20 mk2 and PA-150. I'm sorry, but my previous post was slightly incorrect on the specifications:

http://www.tascamcontractor.com/ftp_resources/files/brochure/PA-20mkII_PA-150_TECHDOC.pdf

And here is the PA-30b that is on e-bay. It almost looks homemade, but it isn't. I've seen this same model before in other listings:

http://cgi.ebay.com/TASCAM-MODEL-PA...ryZ41480QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

I'm sorry, but I can find no pictures of the PA-20b that I have. If it might be helpful, I can try to take a picture and post it. Is it possible to do that in a post?

As far as my comparison with other amplifiers is concerned, please note that my opinions are subjective. So I hope that no one who owns the other gear I have mentioned is offended. I purchased the Hafler because of the many positive reviews by others on forums such as this. And the Sansui served me very well, always with perfect reliability and composure despite its age, for many years. My only experience with Tascam amps is the PA-20b, so it is very much a mystery to me as to whether the other models sound similar (a mystery that I would very much like to solve). It is quite possible that my ears are tuned slightly differently than others. I think that everyone probably has a slightly different internal reference which grounds them while analyzing a mix.

Thank you for the advice concerning the protection circuit. I will proceed with caution in order to not hurt my speakers or the amp.
 
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