Expert advice

Bi-amp, power amp, new amp – how to upgrade your TDAI amplifier?

You already have a Lyngdorf TDAI amplifier, but you want to upgrade? Thanks to the menu settings, audio signal outputs, and different amp models, it’s easy. But which upgrade path represents the biggest performance step or best value?

Model upgrade

If you own a TDAI-1120 or TDAI-2170, the biggest step up in sound performance, power, and product features is the next model up, the TDAI-3400. It’s also a step up in price, but so would be an additional power amp. It’s an upgrade in many ways:

• The TDAI-3400 offers much higher output power. 400 watts is more than three times the power of a TDAI-1120, and more than twice that of a TDAI-2170. This means more headroom for dynamic music, effortlessly louder playing, filling larger rooms with ease, and better control over your speakers.
• The TDAI-3400 is an upgrade not only in power but in ultimate sound quality, due to several internal component upgrades.
• The TDAI-3400 offers more inputs and more outputs, including a headphone output on the front and a USB-B input. It also allows you to add upgrade modules later.
• The TDAI-3400 has a more informative front display. System settings are also much easier via the Lyngdorf app, especially for TDAI-2170 owners.

External power amp

The SDA-2400 power amp is a great upgrade when using the TDAI as a pre amp. With 400 watts per channel, it’s a substantial upgrade in power to match every loudspeaker, room size, and music style.

• The TDAI-1120 requires that the analog pre out is available. The wider SDA-2400 might look unusual next to the TDAI-1120, but if you have the space in a hifi sideboard, it’s a worthwhile upgrade when nothing but more power is needed.
• The TDAI-2170 allows connection from either the analog pre out or the coax digital out. The digital connection has the advantage of keeping the music signal in the digital domain longer.
• The TDAI-3400 combined with the SDA-2400 as external power amp represents a modest upgrade step, since the power specifications and many components are the same, moreover with an added digital or analog cable connection. A small improvement can be expected from having two separate power supplies, one in the TDAI-3400 and one in the SDA-2400.

Bi-amping

If your loudspeakers are ready for bi-amping, an additional SDA-2400 allows the speaker to be powered by two amplifiers in parallel: one for the bass and one for the mid/high frequencies. The benefit mainly lies in much more overall power and better signal separation, but this requires double runs of speaker cables.

• The TDAI-1120 requires that the analog pre out is available.
• The TDAI-2170 allows connection from either the analog pre out or the coax digital out. The digital connection has the advantage of keeping the music signal in the digital domain longer.
• The TDAI-3400 allows connection from either the analog pre out or the coax digital out. The digital connection has the advantage of keeping the music signal in the digital domain longer.

Additionally, digital crossover and signal delay settings can improve this bi-amping system further. Read the owner’s manuals and FAQ on this website for more information.

Additional woofer

Another upgrade idea is to use the TDAI’s analog pre out for adding active woofers. Ideally, you would add two: one to complement the left speaker, and one to complement the right speaker. This will give you the best stereo image, sound integration, and impulse response. It’s a very worthwhile upgrade – with active woofers, you keep the loudspeakers you already like, improve their performance by redirecting the lowest bass, and increase their dynamic headroom. You will gain a deeper, richer, and more precise bass.

• Use the analog pre-out and connect one or two Lyngdorf BW-2 or BW-3, placed in the left and right room corners.
• Select the BW-2 or BW-3 and a suitable high pass crossover filter matching your loudspeakers in the TDAI setup menu.
• Set the speaker and woofer distance in the TDAI setup menu for perfect signal time alignment.
• Run RoomPerfect™ for a seamless speaker-woofer alignment.

If you have further questions, check our Support section.

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