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Topping PA3 Review (Stereo Amplifier)
- Thread starter amirm
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And surely in the future the specification will be much clearer.
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You gotta trust me on this re UL certification—whatever amount it will cost Topping to get, it will pay back in spades. It is extremely important to insurers—some more than others. I don’t like to go into detail about these types of things, but let’s just say that product liability is my job.
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Lol
Would you please share some more details? I'm very interested.
Tks
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We're waiting on you to bring it to us ;D
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I can’t give advice to non-clients and especially not in a public forum, but I suggest you contact a US insurance broker or US insurance coverage lawyer to discuss. They will be able to go into detail.
Alright.
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I’ll send you a PM.
Hi Guys,
I am completely new on the forum and I have bought the PA3 for my father around 3 weeks ago.
I allready knew that the PA3 amp would not measure well and probably would not be one of the best amps.
However... let's be honest... to get an amp which is a lot better for 95 dollars... which looks like it's reliable and has a good enough sound for purpose?
Let me explain:
In my case, being a high end audio guy, I was not looking to get perfect sound.
I was looking for a good enough match with a Topping D50s and the PA50 linear power supply.
The business case: my parents are 80+ and my father likes to listen music, but did not use his system often.
He uses an old yamaha DVD-receiver and he has around 100 CD's.
And the fun part. He is using this with a pair of old Opera Terza MKII loudspeaker which I gave him years ago.
These speakers are very capable and nice sounding, classical looking and contain 2x13cm woofer and are relatively easy to drive.
I stumbled upon these on a local second hand site years ago for fun. I have tested them once on the VTL 70/70 amp in my office and this sounded very nice. I gave them directly to my father to enjoy. They have a fairly large living room, but these speakers match very well.
My point here: I wanted my father to have an update where they...
- could start using spotify/tidal
- have as little knobs as possible
- could connect their Ipad through bleutooth
- create a nice sound with good enough detail and oomphf!!...which means power in my fathers language... ;o)
That's the reason why I decided to:
- buy the D50s, because the level of quality is good and it is capable of doing more when combined with better equipment.
- buy allready the P50 lineair power supply, because it cranks up the sound.
And...... go for the PA3!
Why:
- it is only 95 dollars, so I expect it to run OK and have at least good quality components and safe to have "on". (owning also the D90 and A90 I known Topping is safe and uses good quality components)
- it has enough power to drive the Opera set. (that was my only guestimate)
- I expected it to sound good enough for me... and perfect for my father!!
- If it would sound really bad I would take it back and use it as a test amp and simply buy him a better one...
The effect after installing it:
- They are completely happy!! Yes... not only my father, but also my mother started listening music much more.
- They now have spotify installed which has good enough quality for them, but gives them millions and millions of great albums to discover.
- The PA3 has a nice volume knob which I told my father to never trun up more than around 14.00hr. Extra protection They simply use the Ipad and D50s for volume.
- In their case classical music, jazz, music, easy listening, pop and ofcourse "old days music" sounds great... So not music which needs a lot of amp power.
- They now listen music every day!
The sound:
As a reference: I my main system I use Modwright 36.5 /VTL Reference DAC with Matrix XU208/Micro Seiki DQX1000 and Hypex in combination with Marten Design Coltrane (DIY) speakers. So I am used to high end and I like detail, full frequency spectrum, very tight low end. I also have a lot of studio gear lying around. I listen a lot of Jazz, Electronic and HipHop. Having said that: I go for ultra tight low end, airy mids and no hiss!
On to the PA3:
- It is really an OK sound. Detail and power is OK and surely enough for an amp this size and price. Bass is as you can expect not perfect, but is rather tight and controlled. When you start playing bass heavy material like Deadmau or other electronic stuff than bass is again good enough
- It does have enough power to drive a 10 inch speaker is what Topping states and driving two 13cm drivers proves this. Check out the efficiency of the speaker to combine it with to at least get a good output.
- It is a good combination if you allready use Topping and just want to add an amp to enjoy music.
I would not use it for monitoring and it is not suitable for somebody who is looking for high end.
However, if you're looking for a "good enough" amp and sound to comply with your set and use for background listening, sometimes turning it up to dance and discovering the world of music..... it is a great addition!! ;o)
4 stars from me for usability, build quality and overall quality. Sound quality and measurements can be better.
5 stars from my father for giving him and my mother a lot of entertainment! They are very happy.
Best regards!
I am completely new on the forum and I have bought the PA3 for my father around 3 weeks ago.
I allready knew that the PA3 amp would not measure well and probably would not be one of the best amps.
However... let's be honest... to get an amp which is a lot better for 95 dollars... which looks like it's reliable and has a good enough sound for purpose?
Let me explain:
In my case, being a high end audio guy, I was not looking to get perfect sound.
I was looking for a good enough match with a Topping D50s and the PA50 linear power supply.
The business case: my parents are 80+ and my father likes to listen music, but did not use his system often.
He uses an old yamaha DVD-receiver and he has around 100 CD's.
And the fun part. He is using this with a pair of old Opera Terza MKII loudspeaker which I gave him years ago.
These speakers are very capable and nice sounding, classical looking and contain 2x13cm woofer and are relatively easy to drive.
I stumbled upon these on a local second hand site years ago for fun. I have tested them once on the VTL 70/70 amp in my office and this sounded very nice. I gave them directly to my father to enjoy. They have a fairly large living room, but these speakers match very well.
My point here: I wanted my father to have an update where they...
- could start using spotify/tidal
- have as little knobs as possible
- could connect their Ipad through bleutooth
- create a nice sound with good enough detail and oomphf!!...which means power in my fathers language... ;o)
That's the reason why I decided to:
- buy the D50s, because the level of quality is good and it is capable of doing more when combined with better equipment.
- buy allready the P50 lineair power supply, because it cranks up the sound.
And...... go for the PA3!
Why:
- it is only 95 dollars, so I expect it to run OK and have at least good quality components and safe to have "on". (owning also the D90 and A90 I known Topping is safe and uses good quality components)
- it has enough power to drive the Opera set. (that was my only guestimate)
- I expected it to sound good enough for me... and perfect for my father!!
- If it would sound really bad I would take it back and use it as a test amp and simply buy him a better one...
The effect after installing it:
- They are completely happy!! Yes... not only my father, but also my mother started listening music much more.
- They now have spotify installed which has good enough quality for them, but gives them millions and millions of great albums to discover.
- The PA3 has a nice volume knob which I told my father to never trun up more than around 14.00hr. Extra protection
They simply use the Ipad and D50s for volume.- In their case classical music, jazz, music, easy listening, pop and ofcourse "old days music" sounds great... So not music which needs a lot of amp power.
- They now listen music every day!
The sound:
As a reference: I my main system I use Modwright 36.5 /VTL Reference DAC with Matrix XU208/Micro Seiki DQX1000 and Hypex in combination with Marten Design Coltrane (DIY) speakers. So I am used to high end and I like detail, full frequency spectrum, very tight low end. I also have a lot of studio gear lying around. I listen a lot of Jazz, Electronic and HipHop. Having said that: I go for ultra tight low end, airy mids and no hiss!
On to the PA3:
- It is really an OK sound. Detail and power is OK and surely enough for an amp this size and price. Bass is as you can expect not perfect, but is rather tight and controlled. When you start playing bass heavy material like Deadmau or other electronic stuff than bass is again good enough
- It does have enough power to drive a 10 inch speaker is what Topping states and driving two 13cm drivers proves this. Check out the efficiency of the speaker to combine it with to at least get a good output.
- It is a good combination if you allready use Topping and just want to add an amp to enjoy music.
I would not use it for monitoring and it is not suitable for somebody who is looking for high end.
However, if you're looking for a "good enough" amp and sound to comply with your set and use for background listening, sometimes turning it up to dance and discovering the world of music..... it is a great addition!! ;o)
4 stars from me for usability, build quality and overall quality. Sound quality and measurements can be better.
5 stars from my father for giving him and my mother a lot of entertainment! They are very happy.
Best regards!
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Due to the low power the Lepai is not really usable, but the Topping is.
Snafu
Active Member
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- Dec 27, 2018
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That's right, (edit
PSU print looks like CE for China Export:
https://support.ce-check.eu/hc/en-u...-Real-CE-Mark-From-A-Fake-Chinese-Export-Mark
When inspecting these, what's printed on device counts, not paperwork (at least here in EU).
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To my eyes, the one on the machine is correct one. The one on the power supply is either wrong or distorted. The gap still looks larger than the one on the right.That's right, item print looks like CE for China Export:
https://support.ce-check.eu/hc/en-u...-Real-CE-Mark-From-A-Fake-Chinese-Export-Mark
When inspecting these, what's printed on device counts, not paperwork (at least here in EU).
liquidlino
Member
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- Dec 2, 2020
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- 49
I own this for my desktop setup. Connected to Dynaudio BM5 passive monitors (about 20 years old or more at this point). Whilst it's not the best little amp ever, it was a huge improvement over the denon receiver it replaced, that really struggled with the 4ohm load and distorted audibly and was a huge power drain. I don't hear any audible distortion on the PA3, but I was very surprised to see the roll off of frequencies - it doesn't sound that rolled off, but I guess I'm getting older anyway, can't hear much above 12-14khz I imagine. Sure, I'm going to replace both the monitors and PA3 at some point in the future, but I'm happy with it all for now, does the job for my little home studio setup learning music production and writing songs for myself.
Again a very poor product with high noise and high order distortion products of high level. Also not very good PSR. This amplifier is of two class worse than the AIYIMA A07 that was tested by Amir and me. And is more expensive. IMO there is no reason to make a choice of Topping PA3.
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DSJR
Major Contributor
You know, the performance of this little amp is actually quite good by the standards of a lot of exalted and expensive 'high end confection' amps and quite spectacular by the standards of many smaller 1970's amps. I think it's incredible that even this level of performance can be achieved from a two input amp for this silly-low price.
I feel nauseous every time I take a curious look in HiFi News magazine and see the prices for so many of the lavishly built products reviewed there (the type that sell in handfuls for mega money and which depreciate quickly some years later). Don't be too hard on this little box please -80dB distortion is par for the mid to high end course I reckon. Just sayin'
I feel nauseous every time I take a curious look in HiFi News magazine and see the prices for so many of the lavishly built products reviewed there (the type that sell in handfuls for mega money and which depreciate quickly some years later). Don't be too hard on this little box please
-80dB distortion is par for the mid to high end course I reckon. Just sayin' 
We live in 2021. Though I am 65 and remember 1970's "little amps" very well, I feel no sentiment. 50years after, we must ask for much better performance. And if there are cheaper and much better performing little class D amps than this Topping, I see no excuses.
BTW, talking about 1970's, I made a reincarnation of Sinclair Z-30 based on modern transistors and small circuit changes and it behaves much better than this Topping.
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