Topping PA5 measurements )

[Walter]

This is fine. However 10% is definitely not fine.

As the main advertised rating, no. The mistake I made earlier was in thinking that is what they had done. But do you truly think that just listing it in the specs--with the distortion amount clearly specified--is a bad thing? T.I. does so in their specs on the chip itself, and I certainly don't think that is unreasonable.

 

[pma]

>As the main advertised rating, no. The mistake I made earlier was in thinking that is what they had done. But do you truly think that just listing it in the specs--with the distortion amount clearly specified--is a bad thing? T.I. does so in their specs on the chip itself, and I certainly don't think that is unreasonable.

Yes I think it is a bad thing. Tube amp distortion with H2 -20dB (10%), H3 -40dB and >H4 <-60dB may be still acceptable. 10% of solid state clipping is unacceptable, regardless classAB or classD. Sounds like a sawtooth. So unless you know the distortion spectrum, 10% THD is a bad parameter to show.

 

[JSmith]

Amir's review is up, seems to generally match Prof Wolf's earlier measurements;

Topping PA5 Review (Amplifier)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Topping PA5 stereo desktop amplifier. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $349. PA5 enclosure looks like their standard DACs and such: Hard to imagine that an amplifier can fit in the same size but here we are. There are large...

www.audiosciencereview.com

JSmith

 

[Streamc]

PMA720 is total shit. Can`t control bass. And lack of highs. It sounds shitly with Debut B6.2

 

[Streamc]

What the micro it use?

 

[Yevhen]

I went through the datasheet, if they use the linked Merus IC, the amplifier cannot compete with Hypex.

Infineon has done an excellent job with their latest MCMs, so I would give all the credit for low THD to INFINEON designers team. Still, Topping is a great integrator.

Unfortunately, their feedback loop is not covering filter inductors and cannot compete with Hypex/Purifi at high frequencies...

 

[beren777]

A $ 350 amplifier that does not take up space and does not heat up, with a sinad of 105 and a power of 50 watts at 8 ohms and 80 at 4 ohms, I think it is the best amplifier that has been made this year. to understand the hatred of this product. The work that has gone into making an amp at this price with ultra-low distortion is impressive, just to give an example Amir just reviewed a $ 2000 Hegel amp which is the dream of many audiophiles and nowhere near the performance of the PA5. ...

To be fair, it measures about the same as the H95 once you get to around 10-15kHz and the distortion profile of the H95 is more consistent. If they were both $350 I'd have to think about it, but I can't hear above 10 kHz anyway.

 

[Shiva70]

Before we jump to @restorer-john 's premature "No," we should ask what your application is. In other words, why are you looking to replace your NAD amp, and what components do you have connected to it?

Tmtomh
my system:
NAD c 320 bee
NAD c 525 bee
Raspberry pi 3 with volumio
Cambridge dacmagic 100
Nas qnap with my flac library
Rcf mytho 3

I am absolutely satisfied

And here's the kicker...

I'm fascinated by class d

It's been almost 20 years since I bought the nad....

The idea of reducing the number of components,
The space occupied,
Listening well to music... And..
Also satisfying the desire for change

Of course I am aware that by staying on a low budget the risk of worsening the listening quality is high.
Especially considering the mytho 3.

I could buy on Amazon, try and eventually return.... But honestly it doesn't seem right to me, it is a convenience to be used only if really necessary

 

[redjr]

It measures bad :

Test Amplificateur stéréo intégré Yamaha A-S301 : esprit rétro

Le Yamaha A-S301 complète les caractéristiques de l'ancien A-S300 et s'offre un DAC qui lui ouvre la voie du numérique. Il a donc été conçu dans le but d'offrir de jolies performances tant en analogique qu'en numérique. Voyons, à travers ce test, comment il se comporte en pratique...

www.lesnumeriques.com

But that's only in french. In english, it measures much better!

 

[Prana Ferox]

Read through the thread mainly for the IEC 60320 discussion.

This is a neat product. I've been looking for something a step up from a TDA7498E desktop amp and my major complaint with most of the Hypex nCores has been lack of a volume knob, so this is right up my alley. And I just picked up an E50. Now if only there was an obvious way to integrate a subwoofer.

 

[Rottmannash]

Read through the thread mainly for the IEC 60320 discussion.

This is a neat product. I've been looking for something a step up from a TDA7498E desktop amp and my major complaint with most of the Hypex nCores has been lack of a volume knob, so this is right up my alley. And I just picked up an E50. Now if only there was an obvious way to integrate a subwoofer.

I was thinking maybe a Y splitter but not sure that would work with balanced outputs.

 

[Prana Ferox]

I was thinking maybe a Y splitter but not sure that would work with balanced outputs.

I considered the same, and thought the same. Plus splitting the sub out before the volume control rather negates the point of getting the volume control.

 

[Rottmannash]

I considered the same, and thought the same. Plus splitting the sub out before the volume control rather negates the point of getting the volume control.

One could always buy a sub with speaker level inputs.

 

[Yevhen]

To be fair, it measures about the same as the H95 once you get to around 10-15kHz and the distortion profile of the H95 is more consistent. If they were both $350 I'd have to think about it, but I can't hear above 10 kHz anyway.

This would be an excellent amp for bi-amping: Merus class D for the midwoofer and class AB for the tweeter

 

[Walter]

This would be an excellent amp for bi-amping: Merus class D for the midwoofer and class AB for the tweeter

There is no confirmation whether this is based on a Merus or T.I. chip, or something else altogether.

 

[Yevhen]

There is no confirmation whether this is based on a Merus or T.I. chip, or something else altogether.

@amirm Are we allowed to open this unit?

 

[amirm]

@amirm Are we allowed to open this unit?

Sure.

 

[restorer-john]

Sure.

We might have to get back to grinding off part numbers and potting things in epoxy like the good old days.

 

[Doodski]

We might have to get back to grinding off part numbers and potting things in epoxy like the good old days.

Oh JoY! lol... The last time I saw that being done was with illegal VideoCiphers for satellite TV and audio reception. Very shady stuff going on at the time. Organized crime stuff.

 

[restorer-john]

Oh JoY! lol... The last time I saw that being done was with illegal VideoCiphers for satellite TV and audio reception.

There was an expensive preamp with some black epoxy potted "opamp" style gain stages, built around through hole components with flying leads embedded in the epoxy block. Can't remember the brand. A long time ago. Made reverse engineering impossible- until the schematic leaked...

Burmeister had some potted modules in their gear at one point.