DIY Aiyma TPA3255 8 Channel

[RoundsToThree]

Hi!
This is my first post so i hope it's in the right place, I thought I'd just share my thoughts on this amplifier setup here as this forum was so helpful for my first setup in researching.

First a bit of context:
I needed at least 8 channels for a multiroom project at a workplace I'm at, initially I tried BalenaSound for a spotify client which went through those cheap fake texas instruments amplifiers on ebay and that kind of worked till two catastrophically failed in smoke and a bit of flames.

In the end I settled on the Aiyma tpa3255 (but the 8 channel version) after hearing such glowing reviews from ASR members on their A07. I also used a new Meanwell LRS-600N2-36 which is a 600W nominal but 1200W (5 minute surge iirc). I picked 36V as one of the reviews here mentioned less THD at 32v on 4 ohm speakers.

This amplifier worked absolutely amazingly, I mean the speakers it was driving were only 40W each but they were running at absolute max without any popping, clipping or distortion. I didn't check the chip on board but I'm pretty sure it'd original, the capacitors are branded Nichicon and it all looks well built except for maybe some thick wires jumping traces underneath the board (sorry I didn't take a photo)

For the software I used a project i put together on GitHub (although it's unstable currently its called Librespot4Pi) and it's a multiroom, multi user spotify client with in wall touch screens, it was meant to run on a raspberry pi however I ran into problems with usb bandwidth so it's now running on a lenovo tiny pc with 3 Apple USB DACs (I also tried a cheap ebay one and it was better till it overheated. I also tried the Dingshine 32bit one but it was too bulky and had poor software compatability). I was trying to keep cost down as much as possible and the apple dacs were a great value for money.

For the audio cable to each sound card, I used a shielded vga cable and it worked better than I could have hoped - absolutely no audible hissing or buzzing. And lastly for a case i gutted an old cisco poe switch, it was a perfect fit.

The system replaced an old NuVo system which already had these banana plugs in the wall.

Thank you all for your contributions to this forum, it helped me out so much!

 

[surroundman]

Welcome and well done! I too keep an eye on this 8-channel board, glad to see it in use!

 

[RoundsToThree]

Thanks, I took a bit of a gamble on it because I couldn't find any references to it being used anywhere but anyone wants any details or measurements/scopes of it I'll be happy to share

 

[DWPress]

Welcome to ASR! Great little project to share right away too.

 

[MCH]

Thanks for sharing! I wish more of these multichannel boards get measured, and I think a 4 channel one from aiyima was measured here in the forum with decent results. I bet some of these are great value.
Two questions/comments:
It is difficult to see, but seems the cables from the PSU to the amp are a bit too thin (?). If your system is multi room (4 x stereo simultaneously) it means at a given moment these cables might be passing a lot of current.
I see you have not left a vent where the fan of the PSU sits, and the enclosure doesn't seem very tall. Do you think there is room enough or are you assuming the fan isn't going to start often?

 

[RoundsToThree]

Thanks for sharing! I wish more of these multichannel boards get measured, and I think a 4 channel one from aiyima was measured here in the forum with decent results. I bet some of these are great value.
Two questions/comments:
It is difficult to see, but seems the cables from the PSU to the amp are a bit too thin (?). If your system is multi room (4 x stereo simultaneously) it means at a given moment these cables might be passing a lot of current.
I see you have not left a vent where the fan of the PSU sits, and the enclosure doesn't seem very tall. Do you think there is room enough or are you assuming the fan isn't going to start often?

The cables are probably not rated for this tbh, but the speakers will rarely hit even 50% as its more background music, they are 2 pairs of what must be something like 18 gauge, I think they are raged for somewhere between 2-6A each pair. Might be something I have to replace If it becomes an issue. For the psu fan, I did drill some holes above it but admittedly they don't line up super well. I did want to install some fans but thought I'd first see how thermals went before getting a step down converter to 12v for the fans. The aiyma doesn't get very warm at all, even at full volume and same with the meanwell, I haven't yet seen its fan come on yet.
There really isn't much height clearance in this build, I'm using this old network switch as it's the only metal enclosure I have that fits the footprint and just barely. The amp, pc and power supply all exactly touch the top of the case its that close a fit, although it almost seemed perfect with the psu when it slotted perfectly into the markings and metal indenrs for the old integrated delta power supply that was in the switch previously.

[Edit: I looked at the photos again and yes, absolutely right, the photo is a test version and those cables are rated for 200mA, the new ones are much thicker than that but still could be thicker]


I would love to take measurements on this board for future reference and I think I have the equiptment to do so but don't really know how, if it's something not too hard to learn it could be fun to try one weekend.

 

[DWPress]

Having in the past stuffed some 4ch Sure amps into an old CD player for low power use I can guess you won't have too many problems but if you can find an enclosure (hit the thrift shops) a little taller it may go a long way towards durability. That 4ch Sure just died last week, haven't opened it up yet to look for problems but suspect it's thermal related. It lasted almost 10 years of infrequent use though.

 

[RoundsToThree]

Having in the past stuffed some 4ch Sure amps into an old CD player for low power use I can guess you won't have too many problems but if you can find an enclosure (hit the thrift shops) a little taller it may go a long way towards durability. That 4ch Sure just died last week, haven't opened it up yet to look for problems but suspect it's thermal related. It lasted almost 10 years of infrequent use though.

That's a shame , 10 years is still impressive.
But for sure will be looking for a bigger enclosure, especially because I still need to fit 6 more channels in!