Lyngdorf TDAI-1120 questions

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Inside

 

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The white round donut on the input board, top right corner, is that a ferrite?

 

[mika91]

I received my 1120 a few days ago, and I'm in love with this amplifier!
It's the perfect compact size all-in-one amplifier for my family living-room setup (TV, upnp, spotify)
I have owned/tested several amp in this category( NAD D7050, Yamaha wxa-50, Naim Atom, HK Citation Amp, RME DAC + ncore...), and the Lyngdorf is by far the better one.
OK it's expensive, but after one year of intensive google/forum readings to find the amp I was looking for, I'm pretty sure it will be my final amplifier for the decade (and a lot of time saving)

The main advantages over other amps:

• software integration
  
  - fine volume control with streaming app: not only 5 or 6 increments, but a very precise control
  - volumes and input knobs
  - auto standby after streaming sessions
  - auto lights-off (except Lyngdorf logo!)
  - web browser settings: clean but powerfull
  
  
• room correction
  
  I often read that room correction is the second system sounding factor (after the speakers) and easiest way to improve its setup, but I have to admit that I was not excepting so much !
  I have finally retrieve the bass/low-midrange I was looking for, after an easy (non tech-guy) 20 minutes calibration process.
  Pretty sure I never heard any real differences between my different dac/amp, but with roomPerfect the change is almost as big as changing speakers.
  And if you want to "tweak" more, you can apply some pre-made 'voicings', or even create yours (until 8 filters among bypass/lowpass/highpass/lowshelf/highshelf/parametric)
  
  I plan to make some measurements to compare with/without roomPerfect, and be sure that the bright sound was due to my licing-room (and not any defect in my speakers filtering)

I have only see minor drawbacks until now

- Lyngdorf logo that is always lighted
- sound increment of 2db using Harmony remote (used to 0.5db steps with NAD/RME/primare units)
- lack of 'dynamic' loudness (even if I don't feel the need right now)

I didn't test the HDMI CEC implementation, I'll do it next week.

 

[mika91]

Regarding calibration, the first step asks me to set my amp to -9db, but couldn't go above -23dB (too loud for my ears after)
Expect lesser ambient noise filtering during set-up test frequencies, does it have any impact ?

In pure theory, does the sound level impact the room correction (maybe the room frequency response is not the same at different noise level)

 

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sound increment of 2db using Harmony remote (used to 0.5db steps with NAD/RME/primare units)

I’m not sure, but if you hold the volume up/down does it step 0.5 then? I like that it’s 2 so I don’t have to click so much. Maybe an option could be a feature in the next firmware release.

 

[Steve356]

Regarding calibration, the first step asks me to set my amp to -9db, but couldn't go above -23dB (too loud for my ears after)
Expect lesser ambient noise filtering during set-up test frequencies, does it have any impact ?

In pure theory, does the sound level impact the room correction (maybe the room frequency response is not the same at different noise level)

I posted this in the other section on Lyngdorf and RoomPerfect, but here it is again in case this is a better thread......

You shouldn't have to go up to a level that is intolerable. At the start of RP, the Lyngdorf should give a recommended volume level, but if that's too loud, just dial it down to a level that is tolerable. I have a 3400 and when I run RP, it recommends a volume level of around -11dB. I don't find that overly loud, but then I don't have efficient speakers. I have also calibrated at lower levels before now without any issues, so just do it at a comfortable level for yourself and all should be fine.

 

[Tron01]

Inside

I noticed in other amps like the Naim Atom, there are large transformers. Why does this seem to not have one?

 

[Steve356]

I noticed in other amps like the Naim Atom, there are large transformers. Why does this seem to not have one?

Is the Naim a Class AB amp design, whilst the Lyngdorf is a Class D?

 

[Tron01]

Is the Naim a Class AB amp design, whilst the Lyngdorf is a Class D?

Yes Naim is AB, Lyngdorf is technically class D (it's all digital, they call it something else). The rogue sphinx v3 is a tube hybrid class D that also utilizes a large/medium size transformer. The Cambridge Azur 851a which is class xd has one as well.

 

[Steve356]

Yes Naim is AB, Lyngdorf is technically class D (it's all digital, they call it something else). The rogue sphinx v3 is a tube hybrid class D that also utilizes a large/medium size transformer. The Cambridge Azur 851a which is class xd has one as well.

Didn't know that about the other class D amps. I don't think any of the Lyngdorf stereo amp designs have large transformers. I have a TDAi 3400, but given how light weight it is, I doubt there is any sizeable transformer in it.

 

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NAD M10 does not have a large transformer either. A lightweight unit, only 3.3kg.

 

[Tron01]

NAD M10 does not have a large transformer either. A lightweight unit, only 3.3kg.

Interesting. I've been told and have read multiple times that amps with larger transformers and that are heavy are a sign of good bulid quality. Not sure how true that is.

I'm choosing between a barely used Atom (around the same price as tdai-1120) and the Lyngdorf. I can't audition either. Pairing them with Triangle Comete Ez (first hifi unit). Attracted to the Atom for it's AB class, functional and stylish design, and quality. The only reason I'm considering the Lyngdorf over it is for RoomPerfect. I have really large mirrored closet doors that I cannot cover in a way that doesn't look terrible and afraid it'll affect the sound. The mirrors would be to the side of the speakers with one smaller one in front but in a corner. The downside for me for both is they're all digital meaning the signal from the vinyl player will be converted to digital.

 

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Sorry, I don’t have any experience with the Atom. Back in the days I had a Cambridge Audio 840 and I believe that was a AB amp. I did test the NAD M10 for a week but it went back. Not much help but I do prefer the tdai over the Cambridge.

I do think that Darko dude on YouTube did a review of the atom vs NAD M10, maybe you can get some points there.

 

[mika91]

I'm choosing between a barely used Atom (around the same price as tdai-1120) and the Lyngdorf. I can't audition either. Pairing them with Triangle Comete Ez (first hifi unit). Attracted to the Atom for it's AB class, functional and stylish design, and quality. The only reason I'm considering the Lyngdorf over it is for RoomPerfect.

I owned the atom before the Lyngdorf.
The Naim has an astonished build quality, and quite the same features as the lyngdorf (except room correction + voicings)
The main drawbacks:

• Poor UX with front panel buttons
• volume wheel on top -> could be problematic depending your cabinet
• LCD screen -> oled would have been a better choice for gorgeous fanart/info display
• no way to keep screen on for streaming input (and see fanarts), and auto screen-off for other inputs
• not compatible with Logitech Harmony remote

So for me, it looks beautiful but lacks some UX features for a living room setup.
And it misses room correction !

 

[JackFrost]

I can share some loose thoughts after using and listening to it for one week:

Pros:
- all in one device: Roon Ready, AirPlay, BT, DLNA, Phono stage, Analog in, Optical in, USB in available so you can playback your music in pretty every possible and easy way
- 5Ghz wifi!
- great EQ options and preloaded EQ presets (voicings)
- room perfect calibration
- web panel and android/ios for unit control (apps are good but not perfect)
- optional IR remote support (I use it with OFA Streamer Remote
- design and built quality, included microphone and a tripod for calibration

I am very happy with the unit, playing music from it and listening is so pleasant I do it every day while working. I can doi it from the pc I work on via Roon/Foobar with DLNA or from webpanel playing flac from connected USB or by using the android/ios official app.
Both Roon and Foobar turn on the unit if it is in stand by mode so that is great. Same goes for AirPlay or android/ios app. Great device.
I was actually planning on buying a Yamaha 803D and just stumbled on Lyngdorf - price was a real pain for me but oh well, I don't plan to be the wealthiest dead guy among others lying in their graves so I bought it. Lyngdorf seemed more refined, better supported and "newer" in terms of technology used comparing to Yamaha.
I am very happy with my decision and now I am enjoying my music collection with delight and ease.

There are thing that I do not like personally:

- No before/after frequency graph in RoomPerfect calibration to check how much RoomPerfect had to kick in and adjust the EQ.
- black color - would like to see silver or white color option (maybe an e-ink display?)
- wasted display opportunity - more of a design feature than functionality? I personally do not mind that it is icons only and I do not look at it too often (I cant make out the icons anyway with my sight). It just makes the first appearance close to the smartphone that it could present many data, maybe album artwork, EQ parameters, some visualization etc. And it turns out that the entire glass ares is reserved only to some icons, often we have like 3-4 only lit up at the same time.
- web panel/smartphone control app lacks in terms of browsing functionality and UI regarding USB/DLNA input. Having only 1/3 of the vertical screen area for browsing files over USB/DLNA is bad
- no remote in the box, should be bundled in even if it is not great
- precise volume adjustment only via web/Lyngdorf app. Remotes usually turn up/down via 2dB

So far that is it for first week impressions for me using the device.

 

[Tron01]

I owned the atom before the Lyngdorf.
The Naim has an astonished build quality, and quite the same features as the lyngdorf (except room correction + voicings)
The main drawbacks:

• Poor UX with front panel buttons
• volume wheel on top -> could be problematic depending your cabinet
• LCD screen -> oled would have been a better choice for gorgeous fanart/info display
• no way to keep screen on for streaming input (and see fanarts), and auto screen-off for other inputs
• not compatible with Logitech Harmony remote

So for me, it looks beautiful but lacks some UX features for a living room setup.
And it misses room correction !

This is really helpful, thank you! And thanks @JackFrost . How does the sound compare to the Atom? Similar?

I heard with class D and digital amps you start to hear flaws after sometime. Again I'm a noob, so I have no way of knowing this. I have one pair of heaphones that I love with great detail and imaging, looking for and amp that does a similar job. I like hearing where an instrument is when it's being played & having separation between vocals and instruments. I do listen to some singer songwriter so I don't want anything that makes the vocals too grating. My editing headphones (audio technica ATH-M50x) do my head in after a few hours especially with vocals. The rest of my music is garage rock, indie, pop, and classical Arabic music (orchestra heavy).

My goal is to get a system that will last me for a long time. I don't want to keep upgrading. If anything I might add a cheap analog or tube amp along the way for vinyl (nad 356bee possibly) then upgrade my turntable, but that's about all the upgrades I plan on doing for sometime.

 

[JackFrost]

@Tron01
I do not have any comparison to other amplifiers and it also depends more on the speakers used with it. What I can do is confirm that various resellers here in PL treat as as a HQ and neutral and precise sounding. It does have an EQ so you can tune the sound to your liking as I did with my speakers.

As for my Bowers 606 Anniversary speakers, people say they are bright sounding and can be even harsh. Either I am already deaf @35y or they are not and they are in fact pleasing for me. I listened for 5 days without Room Perfect in neutral and other voicing and I had to add a bit bass to them and they sound sweet with vocals for me but again, I am not experienced listener that had an option to compare it with various amplifiers and speakers. I bought my rig totally blindly (I did it on purpose). I also do not listen at loud levels, I do not go over -30max on the volume scale having concerns about my neighbors - I live in an apartment and the setup is in my other room/small office.

 

[Steve356]

@Tron01 -- I've owned my 3400 since May 2020, but had both 3400 and 2170s for extended home trials on and off for around 9 months before that, first with Spendor D7 floormount speakers and then with ATC SCM19 standmount speakers supported by a M&K X10 subwoofer. My listening room is a challenge a little similar to yours in that I have a double width patio door at one end of the room and a two glass panel doors to one side of the room.

I had previously tried to get Dirac working in the room (spent nearly 3 years) and whilst I could get decent surround sound performance, I could never get stereo music to consistently sound good, with emphasis being on consistency. My yardstick for sound performance was also headphones in that I could get very consistent and pleasing performance from my Sennheiser headphones and really just wanted to replicate that performance as closely as possible from my speakers. In my frustration, I tried Audyssey (via a Denon 8500 AVR) and ARC Genesis (via an Anthem 1120 AVR), but they were no better than Dirac in all honesty.

Enter Lyngdorf and RoomPerfect with the 2170 and 3400 (the 1120 didn't exist at this time) and in my room/system, it was a revelation. Without messing around with room curves (all I seem to be doing with Dirac), almost immediately I got great results and to this day, I not only continue to be very happy with the sound quality I get, I continue to be amazed at its consistency, a goal I didn't think I could achieve. Previously I've had Arcam, Linn, Naim and Meridian components all of which had sounded good, but not great, something that most likely can be blamed on the room. AS the room is a lounge, I have no desire to put in room treatments that may or may not work. For me, RP has provided me with the solution I was looking for and since may, all I do is listen to music, no messing around with with curve design and constant REW measurements.

It is more difficult for you if you can't get a home trial, but hopefully my experience might give you some ideas at least. I've certainly not heard any of the flaws you mentioned with respect to D Class amps, instead continuing to enjoy the amp immensely. BTW, in case you were wondering, the only reason for the extended loans of the 2170 and 3400 was my indecision as to whether I would really do any streaming. I decided to err on the side of caution and surprisingly (to me), I actually stream quite a bit now with Roon/Qobuz, so glad I made that choice. Obviously that is a non-issue with the 1120 as it was always designed as streaming capable.

Hope this is of benefit to you.

 

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@Tron01 With the TDAI 1120 I hear more detail and imaging compared to NAD M10.
But what do you mean by “hear flaws after sometime”? That’s new to me.

 

[samysound]

@Tron01 -- I've owned my 3400 since May 2020, but had both 3400 and 2170s for extended home trials on and off for around 9 months before that, first with Spendor D7 floormount speakers and then with ATC SCM19 standmount speakers supported by a M&K X10 subwoofer. My listening room is a challenge a little similar to yours in that I have a double width patio door at one end of the room and a two glass panel doors to one side of the room.

I had previously tried to get Dirac working in the room (spent nearly 3 years) and whilst I could get decent surround sound performance, I could never get stereo music to consistently sound good, with emphasis being on consistency. My yardstick for sound performance was also headphones in that I could get very consistent and pleasing performance from my Sennheiser headphones and really just wanted to replicate that performance as closely as possible from my speakers. In my frustration, I tried Audyssey (via a Denon 8500 AVR) and ARC Genesis (via an Anthem 1120 AVR), but they were no better than Dirac in all honesty.

Enter Lyngdorf and RoomPerfect with the 2170 and 3400 (the 1120 didn't exist at this time) and in my room/system, it was a revelation. Without messing around with room curves (all I seem to be doing with Dirac), almost immediately I got great results and to this day, I not only continue to be very happy with the sound quality I get, I continue to be amazed at its consistency, a goal I didn't think I could achieve. Previously I've had Arcam, Linn, Naim and Meridian components all of which had sounded good, but not great, something that most likely can be blamed on the room. AS the room is a lounge, I have no desire to put in room treatments that may or may not work. For me, RP has provided me with the solution I was looking for and since may, all I do is listen to music, no messing around with with curve design and constant REW measurements.

It is more difficult for you if you can't get a home trial, but hopefully my experience might give you some ideas at least. I've certainly not heard any of the flaws you mentioned with respect to D Class amps, instead continuing to enjoy the amp immensely. BTW, in case you were wondering, the only reason for the extended loans of the 2170 and 3400 was my indecision as to whether I would really do any streaming. I decided to err on the side of caution and surprisingly (to me), I actually stream quite a bit now with Roon/Qobuz, so glad I made that choice. Obviously that is a non-issue with the 1120 as it was always designed as streaming capable.

Hope this is of benefit to you.

How does RoomPerfect do with subwoofer integration? Does it automatically adjust volume and phase/delay?