• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

1200AS2 amp / Topping D70S DAC/preamp combo?

Michiel

Member
Joined
May 2, 2021
Messages
20
Likes
14
Hi all,

I’ve always been interested in audio since i was a kid, had loads of different speakers and amplifiers etcetera. A few years ago i have build a dual mono Hypex UCD400HG HXR amp which i am still using. At the moment connected to the pre-outs of a Rotel RA-1570 integrated amp.

2 of the many speakers i owned were the very first B&W 801 (series 80) and the 805 Nautilus, and already for years i was dreaming of the B&W 801N or 802N. My dream became truth and last week i bought a pair of B&W 802D’s after auditioning them in an audio shop using a nice tube amp (Yadis). At the moment playing nicely on the Rotel /UCD combo.

B&W recommends an amplifier of max 500w in 8ohm. The UCD does 240W at 8ohm and 400W at 4ohm. 2 shops i visited both were saying the B&W’s need a lot of power to get them really singing, the more the better, one of them even said that more than 500w is no problem and that even 1000w would not be a problem.

So to get the max out of them and make sure i don’t get a clipping output thrown at my new speakers i like to upgrade to a new amp, was looking at Ncore and Purifi as a step up from the UCD’s but the Icepower 1200AS2 seems to be a lot of bang for the buck. And a lot of people seem to prefer the sound of the Icepower module over the Ncore ‘s although the measurements are a bit worse. The Purifi’s would not fit my power requirements anyway.

What i noticed is that the input sensitivity (XLR) of the 1200AS2 is 5 volt for maximum power, and my Rotel is only doing 1.7v at full output (RCA). This means most likely that i will never be able to use the amplifiers full potential?

It looks like that a DAC/preamp with an xlr output of 5 volt would be a better match?

Planning to make a DIY 1200as2 amp and use the Topping D70S as DAC/preamp combo. Is there any reason these would not work perfectly together?

The D70S in preamp mode has everything i need and the 1200AS2 looks like good value for money.

What about making a dual mono amp using two 1200AS1 boards, will that still be beneficial?

Planning to use a Ghent audio chassis, they are prepared for two boards, but i am not sure if it would add anything with the power reserve the 2 channel board has for the 802D. Any opinions? Do the boards all have exactly the same gain? Don’t like to run into balance problems.


Thanks and regards Michiel
 
Top Bottom