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3e Audio A7 [TPA3255 PFFB Stereo] Finished Amplifier - User Impressions | Owner's Thread

Don't know how to calculate Naturalness, but overall its balanced and nothing feels out of the place.

Time to time I can't escape the feeling that the mid and lower base is now better than before, low volume listening wasn't this good with other amps for me in the same setup.
For me after like 15h listening that feels like something I can second.

The biggest difference vs the WiiM amp it replaced for me is that low listening volumes are definitely better and (maybe not surprisingly) likely thanks to the higher power output it holds up better at really high volumes, but both of these can of course also be due to me changing to a Wiim Ultra at the same time so it's not a great review situation I'm in.

Overall I'm super happy and felt like a good upgrade and something that matches my speakers (Polk R500) a lot better than the WiiM amp even if I'm still mighty impressed with that little device.
 
I want to use op-amp Burson V7 Vivid pro (dual) on A5. 3e Audio wrote me "you need to set voltage to.30V. PLEASE see manual"
Manual say: Op-amp supply voltage equal or lower 30V, a dedicated setting(J30) is MUST to set supply voltage to
30V, refer to below picture.

But I can't find J30 on the board through the window (only J6). I guess I must disassemble device.
1. How to disassemble it?
2. If somebody use Burson V7 Vivid pro?
J30 is located in the side of the board,you need remove volume knob first,then the screw on bottom(3pcs) and back(left+right) side, then you can pull out the board.
 
The biggest difference vs the WiiM amp it replaced for me is
The biggest difference is the performance of the power supply unit.
The WiiM has a built-in power supply and is not designed for the maximum performance of the amplifier chip used.
 
***same as sound stage.

Regarding the depth of the sound stage, I don't agree that it is "the amplifier has nothing to do with it, it's speaker and placement w.r.t. sitting spot".

Once one of my friends came to my apartment with his newly bought PS Audio S300 (it's a class D power amp) and - in my audio setup, with the same speakers, with the same speaker positioning, with the same (acoustically treated) room, with the same sweet spot, with the same source (DAC) - we swapped my amp (it was the power section of NAD C320BEE integrated amplifier) for his PS Audio S300. We played the same tracks and compared.

And it immediately became apparent to me that the sound stage depth made by PS Audio S300 was more shallow (less echeloned).

And there were many other differences as well, in other aspects of the sound.

After that testing and comparison, I lost interest in class D technology. But it was many years ago, so I wonder where class D amps stand now as regards the depth of the sound stage.

Thank you for sharing your impressions.
 
actually the components of trigger are not populated yet,so it is hard to do that,also making a hole on the back panel won't be so easy.
If we could get a BOM and schematics for the trigger circuit, could we DIY it ourselves? Or does it need a firmware update as well?
 
J30 is located in the side of the board,you need remove volume knob first,then the screw on bottom(3pcs) and back(left+right) side, then you can pull out the board.
Thanks. Please also advice how to remove volume knob. Pull it on yourself?
 
Thanks. Please also advice how to remove volume knob. Pull it on yourself?

This guy swaps op amps in a preproduction A7 -- without changing power supply voltage to the op amps because he's using 36v max replacements not 30v max -- so, if you're not sure how to pull of the know or which screws to remove you can see it here.

 
I don't agree that it is "the amplifier has nothing to do with it, it's speaker and placement w.r.t. sitting spot".
Your agreement is irrelevant to reality.
 
Regarding the depth of the sound stage, I don't agree that it is "the amplifier has nothing to do with it, it's speaker and placement w.r.t. sitting spot".

Once one of my friends came to my apartment with his newly bought PS Audio S300 (it's a class D power amp) and - in my audio setup, with the same speakers, with the same speaker positioning, with the same (acoustically treated) room, with the same sweet spot, with the same source (DAC) - we swapped my amp (it was the power section of NAD C320BEE integrated amplifier) for his PS Audio S300. We played the same tracks and compared.

And it immediately became apparent to me that the sound stage depth made by PS Audio S300 was more shallow (less echeloned).

And there were many other differences as well, in other aspects of the sound.

After that testing and comparison, I lost interest in class D technology. But it was many years ago, so I wonder where class D amps stand now as regards the depth of the sound stage.

Thank you for sharing your impressions.
It's impossible to compare in this way - I have no experience with those models you mention - however for whatever reason I was drawn to the 3255. I have still a week to go before I get to try my 3e A5. Here on the owners thread people get to stick their heads above the parapet a bit with sound opinions, and all signs are that both the speaker drive-ability, and the transparency of these units are so high, that pulling the trigger and trying one of these has few downsides... the ability of your sources and speakers to reveal sound stage will be maximized ... especially at the price.

Personally I went for the A5 because it should drive pretty much anything and 3e in a way stuck their own heads above the parapet with this 'over engineered dual 3251' in addition to providing models with the higher powered 3255 ... I'll be comparing with Fosi V3 monos.
 
The biggest difference is the performance of the power supply unit.
The WiiM has a built-in power supply and is not designed for the maximum performance of the amplifier chip used.
The biggest difference is that the WiiM Amp is not a power amp, but an all-in-one box. :)

The WiiM Amp digitizes it's one and only analog input, so the comparison is between a pure power amplifier with (optional) volume pot (3e Audio) and an ADC, DSP, DAC and power amp section. It's still a valid comparison, of course, if you only have one analog source and a pair of loudspeakers. But that's not what one should have brought a WiiM AMP for.

Also, the WiiM Amp uses a single TPA3255 in BTL, no PBTL. It also lacks PFFB. It's designed to never let the powr section go into clipping with whatever of its inputs you use maxed out. If this is due to limitations of the built-in PSU is speculation, I rather suspect this to be a design choice by WiiM.

Both are great devices (the WiiM Amp Pro is even better than the WiiM Amp), just not designed for the same task. But the 3e Audio A5 and A7series definitely bis a fantastic companion for the WiiM Ultra (even if you cannot make use of its balanced inputs).
 
I think this is a fair comparison, - same chip, same DAC, and same price (Wiim Amp Pro vs. A5 + Wiim Ultra).

I faced a similar dilemma about which one to go for.
In terms of convenience, the Wiim Amp Pro definitely has the edge, and sound-wise, there’s likely no real difference (same amp section, same DAC).

That said, I still went with the combo—for the fun of it, for future-proofing, for the bit of extra power,
and the ability to swap out individual components. The Wiim Ultra also offers a slight advantage with more inputs and album display.

As for sound, my subjective opinion is that the amps do sound different. The A5 is a sweet, and the more I listen to it, the more I enjoy it. It’s transparent and clean, with no coloration at all. However, it does have one major downside—poor-quality sources are very noticeable and not enjoyable.
You’ll want to use Tidal/FLAC/HI-res files so it pleases your ears.
 
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I think this is a fair comparison, - same chip and same price (Wiim Amp Pro vs. A5 + Wiim Ultra).

I faced a similar dilemma about which one to go for.
In terms of convenience, the Wiim Amp Pro definitely has the edge, and sound-wise, there’s likely no real difference (same amp section, same DAC).

That said, I still went with the combo—for the fun of it, for future-proofing, for the bit of extra power,
and the ability to swap out individual components. The Wiim Ultra also offers a slight advantage with more inputs and album display.

As for sound, my subjective opinion is that the amps do sound different. The A5 has a sweet character, and the more I listen to it, the more I enjoy it. It’s transparent and clean, with no coloration at all. However, it does have one major downside—poor-quality sources are very noticeable and not enjoyable.
You’ll want to use Tidal/FLAC/HI-res files so it pleases your ears.
Yeah, I actually choose between adding a Wim Amp pro (replacing the Wiim Amp) or getting separate components. As I know I like upgrading things gradually I went with the Ultra + A7 instead. About €150 more than a Wiim Amp pro, but at the same time quite a lot more power than the WiiM Amp Pro. (The Wiim Amp was now degraded to bedroom duty together with a pair of ProJect Speakerbox 5 s2 which is a really good combo for the money. )

I have actually swapped a fair bit between Spotify and Tidal this weekend as I'm testing out if Tidals interface and recommendations have improved enough to warrant a switch, and the sound quality is definitely noticable, especially with hi-res material, but I wouldn't say that I "dislike" Spotify as a source. But maybe I'm not picky enough. :)
 
3E Audio, congratulations! Your mono amplifiers sound almost the same and no less interesting than some Audiophonics on Purifi 7040 modules, which costs almost 2000€.

I would be very interested if you released mono amplifiers in maximum high-end quality, which affects not only the case, but also electronic components, the quality of the printed circuit board, power supplies, etc. It is desirable to have no volume control, since I would like to place the amplifiers directly near the speaker systems, in class D the length of the speaker cables plays a huge role!
 
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I purchased Ultra during Black Friday so deal was good.

IMO, Spotify still provides good audio quality. My wife often plays her favorite radio station, and its stream quality is lower than Spotify’s—you can notice the difference right away. That said, I used Amazon Music before, and think Tidal have the best quality overall.
 
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in class D the length of the speaker cables plays a huge role!
As i know, with class D it is not that a Problem like with class AB and Others, because Class D have very high Damping Factor, right!?
 
Does anyone know where I can get an A7?
If you are in certain European continental countries Audiophonics, otherwise aliexpress - it looks like their first batch has sold out completely on aliexpress but they are now available from Audiophonics. I had a message from 3e over Christmas saying that they were working on a new batch for February.

Not sure if @3eaudio can comment on next batch for distribution in non-continental Europe?
 
If you are in certain European continental countries Audiophonics, otherwise aliexpress - it looks like their first batch has sold out completely on aliexpress but they are now available from Audiophonics. I had a message from 3e over Christmas saying that they were working on a new batch for February.

Not sure if @3eaudio can comment on next batch for distribution in non-continental Europe?
I’m in Australia. I’ve already sent them a message on Aliexpress enquiring when they’ll have more stock.

Would you recommend an A7 or 2x A7 Mono’s for my setup? I have a Wiim Ultra as source which would go into an A7 or 2x A7 Mono’s which would power my Elipson XLS 15 passive speakers. Speakers are rated 200W @ 6ohm 92db sensitivity (dropping down to 3.2ohm). Not entirely sure what the benefits of running 2x Mono’s would be over a Stereo, other than better channel separation
 
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