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3e audio TPA3255 260-2-29A Amplifier Review

Rate this amplifier (kit):

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 2 0.7%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 5 1.8%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 55 20.2%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 210 77.2%

  • Total voters
    272
it is not an easy things just switch the pad:facepalm:
Thank you for your reply! After taking a closer look at the PBLT boards, I noticed there are indeed more components and changes compared to the BLT setup. So, you’re absolutely right—it’s not as straightforward as I initially thought.

Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction!
 
This is a review and detailed measurements of the 3e audio 260-2-29A TPA3255 chip based stereo amplifier. It was sent to me by the company as a complete unit even though they only sell the amplifier modules.
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As you see, it is a generic box which is something you can easily build yourself. I don't know what power supply is in there. Will fill in when I know. Cost is US $109 for the stereo amplifier module.

Back side of the reference design:
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The differentiation here is implementation of "PFFB" which stands for post-filter feedback design. Without this, the required output filter will interact with speaker load, varying the frequency response of the amplifier. High cost amplifiers from likes of Hypex and Purifi have this but budget amplifiers usually do not. I am told there are other optimizations to extract best performance out of this class D IC.

This testing is for the stereo module. I was also sent a mono amp which I will test soon. Mono review is out now: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?reviews/

3e audio TPA3255 Stereo Amplifier Measurements
As usual we start with our dashboard:
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Wow, I wasn't expect such good performance! Distortion is below threshold of hearing at nearly -120 dB. Noise performance then sets SINAD to 102 dB which easily lands the amplifier in our "Excellent" bucket:
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Zooming in:
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SNR is great for 16 bit content even at 5 watts and approaches state of the art at full power:
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Frequency response shows the effect of PFFB:

View attachment 332201

Multitone shows that distortion in low to mid-frequencies is great but there is some degradation at upper end of hearing range:
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This is reflected naturally in our 19+20 kHz test as well:
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Crosstalk is better than average:
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There is plenty of power on tap:
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Notice the very low noise floor above competing with "big boys" of class D amplification there!

As noted, there is some weakness at higher frequencies:
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There is no standby switch so I had to fully power cycle the amp to get the on/off noise:
View attachment 332209

Conclusions
I am amazed and pleased to see how much performance is extracted out of the TPA3255 class D amplifier IC here. Clearly a good designer is at work here. Noise and distortion are kept at a minimum while producing lots of power. There is some increased distortion at higher frequencies but that is a small consideration in the context of this class of amplification.

I am happy to recommend the 3e audio TPA 3255 amplification kits and products.
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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
But luckily when Topping B100 blew up I had a "spare" actually way better DIY power amp based on, also reviewed by @amirm whom I really thank for measuring DIY amp modules and this one is cheap and measures THD as good as Purifi Nad amps (check out SINAD figure ASR) is a amplifier module (board ) called 3E Audio PFFB tpa3255 stereo. We did with linear PSU (yeah with SMPS some say is better bla bla... Its my taste)and at the end actually it sounds as detailed and high resolution, it's , perhaps of being DIY module, more robust and durable, sounds warmer (perhaps with the high capacitance internal Canare wiring I chose, perhaps because linear power supply, perhaps it's my mind) it measures great and it's great with all speakers and my transformer resistor-less passive preamp.
 

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But luckily when Topping B100 blew up I had a "spare" actually way better DIY power amp based on, also reviewed by @amirm whom I really thank for measuring DIY amp modules and this one is cheap and measures THD as good as Purifi Nad amps (check out SINAD figure ASR) is a amplifier module (board ) called 3E Audio PFFB tpa3255 stereo. We did with linear PSU (yeah with SMPS some say is better bla bla... Its my taste)and at the end actually it sounds as detailed and high resolution, it's , perhaps of being DIY module, more robust and durable, sounds warmer (perhaps with the high capacitance internal Canare wiring I chose, perhaps because linear power supply, perhaps it's my mind) it measures great and it's great with all speakers and my transformer resistor-less passive preamp.
I agreed with you that linear power supply sounds better to my ears. Switching PS tends to gloss-over the sound with less micro dynamics.
 
I agreed with you that linear power supply sounds better to my ears. Switching PS tends to gloss-over the sound with less micro dynamics.
In reality the pulse width modulation (SMPS) power supply has tighter voltage regulation and as the amp circuitry only sees voltage and current and does not care what kind of power supply is used they will both sound the same to the ear. To differentiate between the two is a bit fantastical. In some ways both are advantageous but in todays modern world the PWM supply is more efficient and as mentioned tighter regulation.
 
In reality the pulse width modulation (SMPS) power supply has tighter voltage regulation and as the amp circuitry only sees voltage and current and does not care what kind of power supply is used they will both sound the same to the ear. To differentiate between the two is a bit fantastical. In some ways both are advantageous but in todays modern world the PWM supply is more efficient and as mentioned tighter regulation.

SMPSs are not necessarily regulated and some bad ones are very noisy. So, if the amplification circuit has poor PS noise rejection the combination can be worse. But a proper SMPS with an amplification circuit with good noise rejection will be indeed good sounding AND more efficient than with a linear PSU.
 
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