3e Audio A5 Stereo Amplifier Review

[ziggurcat]

I planned on getting one from Amazon yesterday. Planning to use a RAW MDA1 for volume control.
Ended up ordering a PA5 II instead. The turn off pop was a huge concern. My speakers are efficient, the tests indicated turn off pop is audible. Do you get a pop when turned off?
The auto off was a big plus. Hate forgetting to turn amps off.

In my tests, with an A7, there is no audible pop when the amp powers on, and the faintest of pops when it powers off. With my PA5 II, there is no audible pop when it powers on, and a faint pop when it powers off. The PA5 II's pop is louder than the one that I heard from the A7 amp, but with the PA5 II it is mostly masked from the sound of the front switch clicking. I only noticed when I didn't flip the switch to the off position as hard.

 

[howard416]

I guess it may have been an issue with the unit tested by Amir. Look on page one of this thread. The turn off voltage spike is 10x higher than the tested Topping PA5 II.
My speakers are over 100 dB efficient. Repeated pops may damage a DE-120 compression driver.
So already got remorse, if no remote I wanted auto off.

A B&C DE120? It can sustain peaks of way higher than 40 W+...

 

[somebodyelse]

A B&C DE120? It can sustain peaks of way higher than 40 W+...

Hence my question about how 15mV spikes would damage it. You'd be hard pressed to find a headphone or IEM damaged by 15mV.

 

[ziggurcat]

Yeah it did sound like that, although just one pop. Didn't occur with my other amps, so I have no idea. It's mostly gone now, at least it doesn't appear every time after I pause my audio. I just very rarely get a lighter crack here and there. I am waiting on new speaker cables to arrive, even though my current ones didn't give me issues before, despite being cheap.

I did enable the bypass and swapped to an unbalanced connection, so I can control the volume through my DAC though, because the volume control on the A5 is borderline unusable. I was gonna see if I can replace the janky pot, but I can't really find one with the same functionality that I know for a fact will be a direct replacement and also wont be terrible.

On a side note, I'm waiting for a pair of supersonic v2 op-amps from virtualhifi. I wonder how much hotter they'll run and what else would change. The amp already gets pretty warm.

It is reassuring to know that it is not unique to my setup.

 

[Punchy_Power_Cat]

So I wanted to buy this amp for 230 bucks. I thought it was a steal. Then they made a big summer sale @aliexpress and it went down to ~190 Euro. When I ordered the cart changed to ~159 Euro. It said that it excluded the import tax to the european union for me in advance to pay it at a later stage. Remember, anything billed >150 Euro must be taxed (19%+). How nice of them to exclude this for me I thought. After a many week long strange journey through multiple european countries that usually aren't involved logistically, I finally got the amp a few days ago and it sounds superb. No tax collector reached out to me. So I got this amp for a ridiculous price. In fact it is the cheapest amp I ever bought and the most sophisticated both in terms of engineering and build quality.

Thank you 3e Audio für dodging european law and committing import tax fraud on behalf of your customers.
中國千禧年

 

[SMen]

So I wanted to buy this amp for 230 bucks. I thought it was a steal. Then they made a big summer sale @aliexpress and it went down to ~190 Euro. When I ordered the cart changed to ~159 Euro. It said that it excluded the import tax to the european union for me in advance to pay it at a later stage. Remember, anything billed >150 Euro must be taxed (19%+). How nice of them to exclude this for me I thought. After a many week long strange journey through multiple european countries that usually aren't involved logistically, I finally got the amp a few days ago and it sounds superb. No tax collector reached out to me. So I got this amp for a ridiculous price. In fact it is the cheapest amp I ever bought and the most sophisticated both in terms of engineering and build quality.

Thank you 3e Audio für [an excellent service] on behalf of your customers.
中國千禧年

I also bought on Ali Express and had the same thing, though to the UK. I am waiting to see if I am charged by customs.
Sometimes you just get lucky ... so maybe removing the bit about dodging and well, I will just say etc. in the hope that you can edit that line, because it may well be completely unfair and contentious, and not doing 3e or us other punters any favours

 

[SMen]

So I wanted to buy this amp for 230 bucks....
中國千禧年

I noticed actually with this sale that it just stopped well ahead of schedule, with no apparent relation to stock ... usually as items go out of stock they are just blanked out. It may well be that there was a processing issue. My previous purchase through 3e' ali express handled the VAT exactly as one would expect. Again a reason to avoid anything contentious ... who knows, maybe 3e had to absorb the error? For that you would need to examine your package labels (maybe).

 

[Punchy_Power_Cat]

Sometimes you just get lucky[..]

Maybe, and maybe it's the way aliexpress operates. They seem to somehow obfuscate the true billing of items by cutting it down just below the tax threshold probably via relabeling, maybe even repacking at different hubs across europe.

 

[SMen]

Maybe, and maybe it's the way aliexpress operates. They seem to somehow obfuscate the true billing of items by cutting it down just below the tax threshold probably via relabeling, maybe even repacking at different hubs across europe.

Interesting ... that would be at a higher level than 3e mind you, they would buy into the system I suppose - given the way we understand China might operate and the climate of tariffs etc.

I'll report back what happens with mine. It is currently in Holland.

 

[ziggurcat]

Another random issue I found with my unit. My power went out for a few hours and when it came back the amp just turned on and stayed on by itself when it's supposed to turn on and off only with the button.

That seems normal. When you plug the unit in for the first time, it powers up, for example. Unless you have disabled the auto sensing, it should shut itself off after 20 minutes.

 

[harkpabst]

That should not be normal at all.

It is the documented behavior, so yes, this is absolutely normal. Don't disable the auto-off and it will go into standby again, just as you left it sitting there.

If you intend to leave the house for two weeks without disconnecting your electronics (no, I'm not talking about your freezer) from the mains grid, this is not normal at all.

 

[ziggurcat]

That should not be normal at all.

I've definitely had things turn on after a power outage before. Not just amps.

 

[harkpabst]

Ok, it's bad design then. I don't need to disconnect my other devices, because they have on/off switches that work.

You cannot be as stupid as you make look yourself now. Which part of the A5 shuts down automatically (unless you explicitly disable this feature) didn't you understand?

You not only need to switch off your other devices when leaving home for 2 weeks. You must disconnect them from the power grid unless you prefer a lightnings stroke to kill them. Sorry, but such childish behavior is hard to understand.

 

[SMen]

Ok, it's bad design then. I don't need to disconnect my other devices, because they have on/off switches that work.

I think the design for you would be better if by default it just switched on and off, and then users could decide to enable any auto on-off features.

What I am not understanding though, is if you are saying that the unit started up even though you have automatic shut down disabled, after a power outage.

I hope I am not acting superior! And nobody asked me anything in the first place ! Just curious.

 

[harkpabst]

What I am not understanding though, is if you are saying that the unit started up even though you have automatic shut down disabled, after a power outage.

Where or when did @Gothrocker ever say that?

 

[SMen]

Where or when did @Gothrocker ever say that?

My inference ... trying to understand the issue ... it's a big 'if'...

 

[harkpabst]

My inference ... trying to understand the issue ... it's a big 'if'...

Yes, I got that, of course. You see, this former member appeared to be a bit difficult to deal with.

the amp is garbage

No.

it turns on and off by itself

No.

it pops

Only when playing Gothrock.

the volume pot is garbage

It works as specified.

it's not useable with a balanced conncetion

No. It is well usable.

Welcome back, Gothrocker. Opening a new account after your original one has been deleted is just another break of forum rules. Bummer.

Edit:
Too late. The new account has been removed again and rightly so.

 

[SMen]

Yes, I got that, of course. You see, this former member appeared to be a bit difficult to deal with.


No.

No.

Only when playing Gothrock.

It works as specified.

No.

Welcome back, Gothrocker. Opening a new account after your original one has been deleted is just another break of forum rules. Bummer.

Edit:
Too late. The new account has been removed again and rightly so.

I only dipped in so I missed all of that ...

I also tried a little gentle "irony" which I hope you picked up on also. We are after all, only trying to help.

 

[Punchy_Power_Cat]

the volume pot is garbage

It is actually very sturdy and seems aluminum made just as the case. I was surprised. I was expecting a flimsy plastic knob. There is a little play when you turn it tho which gives it a rather unprecise feel. If you like to pin point a certain volume, you'd probably be better off using a preamp/Dac as volume control.

it pops

Very unlikely with a post feedback control. The amp surveilles its own output. If you hear cracks or pops you should check your DAC first and make shure it is isolated from the mains.

 

[anonyless]

Only when playing Gothrock.
It works as specified.

let me wipe my black makeup and test this
update: blasting some Sisters of Mercy (my neighbors thank you). no pop