3e Audio A5 Stereo Amplifier Review

[valerian]

You do know that Erin found a glaring 700Hz resonance in the driver & exaggerated output >10kHz in the Dynaudio Emit 20? (Among other FR variations.) You have at least a chance to tune these flaws out with PEQ esp. if you have a mic and free measurement software. (PS -- I'm pretty sure the slight peak at 5kHz would be really annoying with a lot of recordings.)

Dynaudio Emit 20 Speaker Review

Dynaudio Emit 20 Speaker Review

www.erinsaudiocorner.com

Yes, I saw Erins review and the boosted highs on Emit 20. As I already said the problem with Wiim amp Pro is no XLR inputs and there is now way that the amp inside Wiim Amp pro is as good as A5/A7 or PA7 . With getting an amp and wiim pro seperately I would still get the same parametric EQ but with an advantage of having a better amp and XLR inputs. Even better than Wiim EQ is probably Sound ID from Sonarworks.

Btw guys I got a discount on PA7 from 511€ to 405€. I think I will order both A5 and PA7 and see if I can tell them apart.

 

[Roland68]

Yes, I saw Erins review and the boosted highs on Emit 20. As I already said the problem with Wiim amp Pro is no XLR inputs and there is now way that the amp inside Wiim Amp pro is as good as A5/A7 or PA7 . With getting an amp and wiim pro seperately I would still get the same parametric EQ but with an advantage of having a better amp and XLR inputs. Even better than Wiim EQ is probably Sound ID from Sonarworks.

Btw guys I got a discount on PA7 from 511€ to 405€. I think I will order both A5 and PA7 and see if I can tell them apart.

A very interesting comparison, not only in terms of performance and different manufacturers, but also TPA3251 versus 3255. I'm curious.

 

[valerian]

A very interesting comparison, not only in terms of performance and different manufacturers, but also TPA3251 versus 3255. I'm curious.

I just ordered A5 (got an email today that it's back in stock on audiophonics so I pulled the trigger) and PA7. But I will try them with Emit 10 which I have connected to Fosi za3. I don't have Emit 20 yet, I got Emit 10 and za3 this week and I'm thinking of exchanging them with Emit 20 which I originally planned to buy. Emit 20 was not in stock and still isn't, comes in a week or two so I tried Emit 10 in the mean time to see if I even like these speakers and I do but for just 95€ more per speaker I rather have Emit 20 because they are quite bigger so I expect them to sound even better.

Btw both A5 and PA7 have TPA3251, A7 has TPA3255. I guess you misread A5 as A7. But I have Za3 with TPA3255 so it will be interesting to hear the differences. I read some reviews and owners' experiences which claim that PA7 is better sounding than ZA3 and that A5 and A7 are far better sounding than ZA3 while some people say they barely hear any difference, so weird.

 

[SMen]

I just ordered A5 (got an email today that it's back in stock on audiophonics so I pulled the trigger) and PA7. But I will try them with Emit 10 which I have connected to Fosi za3. I don't have Emit 20 yet, I got Emit 10 and za3 this week and I'm thinking of exchanging them with Emit 20 which I originally planned to buy. Emit 20 was not in stock and still isn't, comes in a week or two so I tried Emit 10 in the mean time to see if I even like these speakers and I do but for just 95€ more per speaker I rather have Emit 20 because they are quite bigger so I expect them to sound even better.

Btw both A5 and PA7 have TPA3251, A7 has TPA3255. I guess you misread A5 as A7. But I have Za3 with TPA3255 so it will be interesting to hear the differences. I read some reviews and owners' experiences which claim that PA7 is better sounding than ZA3 and that A5 and A7 are far better sounding than ZA3 while some people say they barely hear any difference, so weird.

You surprised me with stating that the PA7 has the TPA 3251 - are you sure? I was pretty sure the lower powered PA5 was 3251 ... and the PA7's were / are single and dual 3255's,

Like the 3e A5 vs A7 ... slightly explaining the choice of '5' and '7' by 3e after the 'A'.

My sources sound different through the A4 vs the 3255 Fosi V3 Monos which are 3255 ... but the circuits are obviously v different, while the two 3e's have the same circuits to the best of my knowledge.

 

[Roland68]

I just ordered A5 (got an email today that it's back in stock on audiophonics so I pulled the trigger) and PA7. But I will try them with Emit 10 which I have connected to Fosi za3. I don't have Emit 20 yet, I got Emit 10 and za3 this week and I'm thinking of exchanging them with Emit 20 which I originally planned to buy. Emit 20 was not in stock and still isn't, comes in a week or two so I tried Emit 10 in the mean time to see if I even like these speakers and I do but for just 95€ more per speaker I rather have Emit 20 because they are quite bigger so I expect them to sound even better.

Btw both A5 and PA7 have TPA3251, A7 has TPA3255. I guess you misread A5 as A7. But I have Za3 with TPA3255 so it will be interesting to hear the differences. I read some reviews and owners' experiences which claim that PA7 is better sounding than ZA3 and that A5 and A7 are far better sounding than ZA3 while some people say they barely hear any difference, so weird.

You surprised me with stating that the PA7 has the TPA 3251 - are you sure? I was pretty sure the lower powered PA5 was 3251 ... and the PA7's were / are single and dual 3255's,

Like the 3e A5 vs A7 ... slightly explaining the choice of '5' and '7' by 3e after the 'A'.

My sources sound different through the A4 vs the 3255 Fosi V3 Monos which are 3255 ... but the circuits are obviously v different, while the two 3e's have the same circuits to the best of my knowledge.

The Topping PA7 definitely has two TPA3255s; the TPA3251 couldn't be operated with 52 volts.
At 38 volts, the PA5 II and A5 already use the maximum voltage for the TPA3251.

The Topping and 3E Audio amplifiers also show how stretched the TPA3255 and 3251 are.
Both TPA3255 amplifiers, PA7 and A7, have a SINAD of 102, while both TPA3251 amplifiers, PA5 II and A5, have a SINAD of 105.

The TPA3251 is also considered the quieter and slightly better chip, but the TPA3255 can handle higher power and can also tolerate the higher operating voltage, in extreme cases up to 15.5 V more.

 

[valerian]

You surprised me with stating that the PA7 has the TPA 3251 - are you sure? I was pretty sure the lower powered PA5 was 3251 ... and the PA7's were / are single and dual 3255's,

Like the 3e A5 vs A7 ... slightly explaining the choice of '5' and '7' by 3e after the 'A'.

My sources sound different through the A4 vs the 3255 Fosi V3 Monos which are 3255 ... but the circuits are obviously v different, while the two 3e's have the same circuits to the best of my knowledge.

That's what I read here on audio science but honestly I have no knowledge about this. I'm new to all this stuff so you are probably right that it's 3255. Until now I used only active studio monitors like Adam Audio, Focal... for listening and producing music on my computer and 5.1 receivers like Yamaha and Denon for home cinema. These small amps and all this stuff is new for me.

 

[Alp]

Hi everyone,

I have the FOSI V3 Mono and the PA5 II. The PA5 II seems to drive my Tannoy Glenair 15 (95db sensitivity) just fine, and I don't need more power.

I was wondering if the 3E Audio A5 could offer better build quality, but it looks like it's worse in every category except power compared to the PA5 II.

I want to believe that 3E Audio is a better product, but the measurements say otherwise. Could someone please prove me wrong?

 

[mikessi]

I was wondering if the 3E Audio A5 could offer better build quality, but it looks like it's worse in every category except power compared to the PA5 II.

Not sure I agree but the differences look small, even the power. Forget the 1% power levels -- that's already well into clipping. Into 4 ohms, max output for the A5 & PA5 II is 92W and 71W. Into 8 ohms, 62W & 53W. That's not really audible 99%. If you look at it in terms of dB, it's maybe 1 dB at 4ohms & less at ohms.

No point in making the change from PA II to A5 unless you like collecting audio gear.

 

[harkpabst]

I was wondering if the 3E Audio A5 could offer better build quality, but it looks like it's worse in every category except power compared to the PA5 II.

I'm with @mikessi here. What's your issue with the PA5 II build quality?

 

[Alp]

I'm with @mikessi here. What's your issue with the PA5 II build quality?

The internals of 3e audio looks more solid and more impressive, that's about it to be honest. Also topping is known for poor reliability at least according to my impression.

 

[harkpabst]

The internals of 3e audio looks more solid and more impressive, that's about it to be honest. Also topping is known for poor reliability at least according to my impression.

The A5 and A7 series amps are certainly superbly build and mechanically robust. I highly recommend them.

But if you already have the PA5 II and it didn't fail yet, why not just keep it?

 

[Alp]

The A5 and A7 series amps are certainly superbly build and mechanically robust. I highly recommend them.

But if you already have the PA5 II and it didn't fail yet, why not just keep it?

I was impressed by this little Chinese amps and thought about replacing my extremely expensive A/AB power amp.

PA5 ii and Fosi still within return window, I am definitely keeping one for the tv setup.

I noticed I am getting tired/annoyed while listening to the class D amps on high volume, but can listen to class AB for hours.

It seems like there's something in topping pa5 ii that annoys me, I just don't know what. (I also measured the results with rew and umik, no difference - everything within 0.5db)

 

[harkpabst]

PA5 ii and Fosi still within return window, I am definitely keeping one for the tv setup.

I have the Fosi V3 Mono and the 3e Audio A5 (and the WiiM Vibelink Amp), but not the PA5 II. I definitely prefer the 3e Audio A5 over the V3 Mono in every respect.

It looks like you are in an extensive trial and error period. In that case I would clearly return one if the existing amps and get the A5. That's the only way to find out if you like it in the longer term.

 

[anonyless]

Could anyone please confirm if it's not supposed to be silent with the volume knob turned all the way to the left as well? I thought it would be, but there's still an audible signal.

i can't hear anything with the volume all the way down

 

[JeremyFife]

Just got an A5 and I have mixed feelings for my use case.

It does sound good and I like the newly added option to disable the auto on/off but it seems to be too powerful for my Elac Debut b5.2. I didn't expect this, but I need to have the knob at like 7 o'clock before it starts getting too loud. Volume adjustment in general is really mushy and doesn't feel good at all, and naturally you'd have channel imbalance at the lowest volume settings, so it's really tedious to set the loudness right. I'm not sure if the knob is just not gripping properly and if I can replace it, or if the pot itself is just not that great. It does have a volume bypass feature, but my DAC can't be used as a preamp for volume control via the XLR outputs. Not sure if a dedicated preamp would solve this, although I don't know of any decent affordable ones either.

Could anyone please confirm if it's not supposed to be silent with the volume knob turned all the way to the left as well? I thought it would be, but there's still an audible signal.

There shouldn't be any noise with the volume turned right down - unless you have your ear right up against the speaker drivers. Even so, should be minimal.
You say you can't control volume from your DAC 'via XLR', can you control volume using RCA? If so, try some basic RCA to XLR cables and see what happens - that's as a test of the amp noise and volume bypass, rather that a suggestion for a permanent solution.

You may have a faulty amp. Return unless you are comfortable opening it up and fiddling (I'm no DIY'er!)

 

[Svenimal]

Do you mind also trying the infrared temp measurement again, but with a piece of masking tape on the surface being scanned? Either beige or green will likely work, I'm just curious about the effect of surface emissivity. Masking tape is supposed to be pretty close to 0.95, while anodized aluminum might be a bit more reflective (0.8-0.9). Most infrared thermometers are calibrated against 0.95 emissivity targets.

Sorry for the late reaction.. I measured the temps again, with a piece of matte beige tape on the top center. This time I measured 40 degrees C at the top and 43 degrees C at the ventilation openings at the side. This is after ~1 hour of low volume listening (with amp volume bypassed) connected through XLR, at an ambient temperature of ~24° C.

 

[Svenimal]

Just got an A5 and I have mixed feelings for my use case.

It does sound good and I like the newly added option to disable the auto on/off but it seems to be too powerful for my Elac Debut b5.2. I didn't expect this, but I need to have the knob at like 7 o'clock before it starts getting too loud. Volume adjustment in general is really mushy and doesn't feel good at all, and naturally you'd have channel imbalance at the lowest volume settings, so it's really tedious to set the loudness right. I'm not sure if the knob is just not gripping properly and if I can replace it, or if the pot itself is just not that great. It does have a volume bypass feature, but my DAC can't be used as a preamp for volume control via the XLR outputs. Not sure if a dedicated preamp would solve this, although I don't know of any decent affordable ones either.

Could anyone please confirm if it's not supposed to be silent with the volume knob turned all the way to the left as well? I thought it would be, but there's still an audible signal.

My A5 is fully silent with the volume turned all the way down, but I agree that the knob feels very low quality and there is a lot of play before it "grips". It doesn't really bother me in my use case though, because I use the volume bypass and control the volume through the pre-amp in my DAC.

 

[Svenimal]

What speakers? Surely mine can't be that sensitive. None of my other amps do that, even though this one has more power. I wonder if it's a faulty potentiometer or just a design flaw. I thought a pot should have enough resistance to mute the signal. At least the amp sounds good to my ears at least...

Ehhm, I just checked again, just to be sure, and I in fact DO hear music even with the amp on the lowest possible volume, just like you

I now noticed the same issue you described: When I use the volume control on the amp it is almost impossible to fine tune the volume to a comfortable lower volume, it's either super soft and imbalanced or too loud when I move the pot just a millimeter clockwise.. I'm really happy I can use it with volume bypass.

I'm currently using 8 Ohm Mission 700-2 speakers from the 90s btw.

 

[harkpabst]

None of my other amps do that, even though this one has more power.

It's got nothing to do with power, but with voltage gain (and input voltage).

This is mainly a power amp, the knob is basically for adjusting gain on cases where the input is very hot and the speakers sensitivity is high.

That means a "pre-amp" would help, indeed. It wouldn't have to amplify anything. Quite the contrary, it would provide sufficient attenuation for your use case.

 

[SYJ]

would like to share coupon to ASR member : ASRDIS15

When will 3e Audio Products be available in Thailand? I couldn't even order them from Alibaba.