3e Audio A5 Stereo Amplifier Review

[Sokel]

It's a common problem with barrel power connectors. My former boss killed a few thin client computers before realising he was using a 19V supply (from another model by the same manufacturer) not the 12V they needed.

The problem is not the connectors, the problem is cutting corners with these pre-certified (I hope) PSUs so the companies can get away with it and be able to sell them to western countries without the need of certification which would be mandatory if the PSU was internal.

Fair or not for the others who make them with internal PSUs or by the need of small size (at the expense of thermals) is for anyone to judge for itself.

 

[mikessi]

One of the 5se amps is running right now. No issues. I hope the 2nd one is the same...

Unfortunately not. The 2nd amp does power up but the various LEDs all light on/off continuously, with clicking of relay(s) inside going on/off too.

Does someone from 3e Audio monitor this thread? No idea how to get in touch with this company now.

 

[Sokel]

Unfortunately not. The 2nd amp does power up but the various LEDs all light on/off continuously, with clicking of relay(s) inside going on/off too.

Does someone from 3e Audio monitor this thread? No idea how to get in touch with this company now.

Toast.
Disconnect everything from it before it damage speakers too.

 

[somebodyelse]

Unfortunately not. The 2nd amp does power up but the various LEDs all light on/off continuously, with clicking of relay(s) inside going on/off too.

Does someone from 3e Audio monitor this thread? No idea how to get in touch with this company now.

@3eaudio would be the one to ask. If nothing it might prompt them to add some protection to future runs to stop it happening more often - assuming it's not caused by protection having tripped.

 

[Jimster480]

Lower power adapter though shouldn't blow out the amp?

 

[3eaudio]

OMG!!!! Unbelievable.

Just checked & realized I'd been using the 48v/5a power supplies for my A7 Mono amps, which are idle at the moment.

One of the 5se amps is running right now. No issues. I hope the 2nd one is the same...

Thanks for the quick pickup, @Sokel In my defense, the 48v/5a and 38v/5a power supplies look identical.

they are no identical,a basically their surface it different.
48V won't work at A5(se),they will turn off immediatelly after LED flashed as a warning.

 

[morillon]

The problem is not the connectors, the problem is cutting corners with these pre-certified (I hope) PSUs so the companies can get away with it and be able to sell them to western countries without the need of certification which would be mandatory if the PSU was internal.

Fair or not for the others who make them with internal PSUs or by the need of small size (at the expense of thermals) is for anyone to judge for itself.

indeed...quite...
The interest of this type of manufacturers, especially in a globalized market, is obvious...


but for all that...
, all the more so with low-cost solutions, the switching power supply part being one of the most often fragile, even with planned obsolescence in many cases, the idea of easy replacement in the event of a problem may be welcome... (a few years later, this type of product would not be repaired, nor taken care of etc. would be trash, right?)
;-)

 

[Jimster480]

indeed...quite...

but for all that...
, all the more so with low-cost solutions, the power supply part being one of the most often fragile, even with planned obsolescence in many cases, the idea of easy replacement in the event of a problem may be welcome... (a few years later, this type of product would not be repaired, nor taken care of etc. would be trash, right?)
;-)

You have a point just like with laptops where you might have to replace the power brick, but the laptop will be fine. I actually have a couple laptops where my charger's broke and I just replaced it.

 

[mikessi]

they are no identical,a basically their surface it different.
48V won't work at A5(se),they will turn off immediatelly after LED flashed as a warning.

Please note:

The 2nd amp does power up when powered by the correct 38v supply but the various LEDs all light on/off continuously, with clicking of relay(s) inside going on/off too, and no sound from speaker.

Is this a protective circuit loop? Can I reset the amp? Or is it broken & unfixable?

Please advise!!!

 

[SMen]

they are no identical,a basically their surface it different.
48V won't work at A5(se),they will turn off immediatelly after LED flashed as a warning.

I taped my connector with yellow tape to make sure I did not use a higher power one by mistake.
To read the A5 has overload protection is very welcome to read.

 

[AudioX3]

Any comments on how the 3e a5 or a7 would compare vs my Adcom GFA-545 ii. I have no issues with the vintage Adcom but am curious vs one OF these amps.

 

[mikessi]

Any comments on how the 3e a5 or a7 would compare vs my Adcom GFA-545 ii. I have no issues with the vintage Adcom but am curious vs one OF these amps.

The most obvious difference would be noise. The 3e audio amps have virtually none. None of my older AB amps were as quiet.

 

[Old_School_Brad]

Any comments on how the 3e a5 or a7 would compare vs my Adcom GFA-545 ii. I have no issues with the vintage Adcom but am curious vs one OF these amps.

It's highly unlikely you'd hear any difference or gain any sonically advantage by replacing your (very well-built) Adcom amplifier.
The Adcom is transparent and faithfully amplifies the signal without adding any coloration.

Here’s a link to a set of measurements that support this:

ADCOM GFA-545 II Review

Unless you're noticing any noise from your speakers or there's a major issue with the unit, I'd absolutely stick with the Adcom.

 

[mikessi]

Here’s a link to a set of measurements that support this:

ADCOM GFA-545 II Review
Unless you're noticing any noise from your speakers or there's a major issue with the unit, I'd absolutely stick with the Adcom.

uh... have you taken a close look at your linked review? It's hardly confidence inspiring. There's obvious cut-paste errors from other reviews that have nothing to do with the Adcom, and it remains incomplete 14 years after first posting.

@AudioX3 --
The parts in your amp that likely have worn since it was made over 3 decades ago are the electrolytic power capacitors, and contacts on all the switches and connectors. The latter you can probably refresh with some suitable cleaner; elcaps, however, always wear, and don't have to leak or bulge to lose their capacity*. I can honestly say both of these issues -- aging caps & degraded contacts have been the primary causes of problems in any of the electronics I've used in the past 50+ years.

Will these make your amp sound perform worse than new 3e Audio amps? We can only say for sure they'll be quieter... but you'd have to compare directly to know whether any improvement is relevant (ie, audible) to you. OTOH, there's little doubt your amp does not perform as well as it did when it was new.

*Do the research on electrolytics -- some even advise replacing electrolytic capacitors in critical equipment every 7-10 years to insure reliable continuous performance.

 

[Old_School_Brad]

uh... have you taken a close look at your linked review? It's hardly confidence inspiring. There's obvious cut-paste errors from other reviews that have nothing to do with the Adcom, and it remains incomplete 14 years after first posting.

I focus on the lab reports and measurements rather than the written reviews -and the data shows it's a flawlessly performing amplifier. There is no evidence suggesting that the measurements were taken from anything other than the Adcom amplifier in question.

The parts in your amp that likely have worn since it was made over 3 decades ago are the electrolytic power capacitors, and contacts on all the switches and connectors. The latter you can probably refresh with some suitable cleaner; elcaps, however, always wear, and don't have to leak or bulge to lose their capacity*. I can honestly say both of these issues -- aging caps & degraded contacts have been the primary causes of problems in all the electronics I've used in the past 50+ years.

Will these make your amp sound perform worse than new 3e Audio amps? We can only say for sure they'll be quieter... but you'd have to compare directly to know whether any improvement is relevant (ie, audible) to you. OTOH, there's little doubt your amp does not perform as well as it did when it was new.

*Do the research on electrolytics -- some even advise replacing electrolytic capacitors in critical equipment every 7-10 years to insure reliable continuous performance.

That’s why I mentioned that if it’s working well, I’d definitely hang on to it.

Even if it develops issues, I’d still consider getting it repaired, odds are it could keep going strong for another 25–30 years.

In terms of performance, there’s nothing about the Adcom that would make it audibly inferior to other amplifiers. And there’s a reason these older units have such a long lifespan -they were built with durability in mind. Some may still measure as well today as when they were new.

As for the advice about replacing electrolytic capacitors every 7 years -frankly, that’s an exaggerated claim. Skilled technicians typically don’t recommend replacing capacitors that are still within spec and performing well. If it sounds good and isn’t showing any problems, there’s no reason to replace parts that are still functioning properly.

At the end of the day, if it’s not broken, there’s no reason to fix it. Only the owner of the Adcom -the one who asked the question -can truly know if there are any issues with their unit.

 

[mikessi]

At the end of the day, if it’s not broken, there’s no reason to fix it. Only the owner of the Adcom -the one who asked the question -can truly know if there are any issues with their unit.

And I said nothing about fixing it, only about the things that could impact its performance. Virtually nothing I know that's man made goes 30 years without degradation.

 

[Alannn]

And I said nothing about fixing it, only about the things that could impact its performance. Virtually nothing I know that's man made goes 30 years without degradation.

The good news is that after 30 years, typically all else besides caps, are ok on a power amp stored or used in a sensible environment.
When comparing replacement of a vintage amp with new, even if the original caps are still ok, the cost to replace these caps down the line is pertinent, just as is the market value of that vintage amp. When the owner can do this replacement himself, it's not a problem of great significance.

 

[mocenigo]

I'm not sure if there's an additional import tax on items from China when shipping to the US, but in Europe, we definitely have to pay extra for anything exceeding 150 EUR.

It’s been quite a while since the 150EUR limit has been removed. Now we pay import duties (usually about 4%) starting with the first cent.

 

[Old_School_Brad]

And I said nothing about fixing it, only about the things that could impact its performance. Virtually nothing I know that's man made goes 30 years without degradation.

That’s true -but does it actually matter? -And is it audible?

All designs account for some degree of component drift -they have to. Even brand-new components typically have a +/- 10% tolerance, yet the performance is expected to remain consistent within that range.

This built-in tolerance works in our favor. It's part of the reason why so many 30-year-old amplifiers still perform just as well as they did when new -and many of those haven't even been serviced. That’s pretty impressive, isn’t it?

And if a few capacitors need replacing due to leakage, or the unit needs a bit of cleaning and attention to switches or pots, so be it. Once that’s done, the amp usually runs solidly again. That's minor work for a quality product.

 

[AudioX3]

That’s true -but does it actually matter? -And is it audible?

All designs account for some degree of component drift -they have to. Even brand-new components typically have a +/- 10% tolerance, yet the performance is expected to remain consistent within that range.

This built-in tolerance works in our favor. It's part of the reason why so many 30-year-old amplifiers still perform just as well as they did when new -and many of those haven't even been serviced. That’s pretty impressive, isn’t it?

And if a few capacitors need replacing due to leakage, or the unit needs a bit of cleaning and attention to switches or pots, so be it. Once that’s done, the amp usually runs solidly again. That's minor work for a quality product.

My biggest concern is protecting my speakers as the Spatial M4 woofers would be impossible to replace. I know the risks w the Adcom and it just got me queezy in a dream. But I do not know how, reliable these 3e douk topping smsl are both in lasting and speaker protection