AIYIMA A70 Stereo Amplifier Review

[bennjude19]

Anyone who have the A70 who already replaced the op amp with Sparkos 3602? Is there enough space in-between boards to accommodate the sparkos? What's the clearance between the 2 boards?

 

[Schlippwhip68]

Anyone who have the A70 who already replaced the op amp with Sparkos 3602? Is there enough space in-between boards to accommodate the sparkos? What's the clearance between the 2 boards?

 

[Schlippwhip68]

I wouls hazard a guess at about 1 cm more than the width of the 63v cap...

Anyone who have the A70 who already replaced the op amp with Sparkos 3602? Is there enough space in-between boards to accommodate the sparkos? What's the clearance between the 2 boards?

I would hazard a guess and say about 1.5cm above the 63v cap...

 

[Pausi]

Anyone who have the A70 who already replaced the op amp with Sparkos 3602? Is there enough space in-between boards to accommodate the sparkos? What's the clearance between the 2 boards?

Yes they fit well in the case. Didn't use the extra sockets but they fit and sound well in the A70. Not a very big difference from the original maybe some better soundstage but that might just be psychology. The biggest difference is a better bass. But not worth the extra cost in my opinion. Have fun with a nice, clean sounding and small class d amp.

 

[MCH]

Yes they fit well in the case. Didn't use the extra sockets but they fit and sound well in the A70. Not a very big difference from the original maybe some better soundstage but that might just be psychology. The biggest difference is a better bass. But not worth the extra cost in my opinion. Have fun with a nice, clean sounding and small class d amp.

Hey @Pausi is yours the current version withe the "anti pop" improvement? If yes, could you please post a couple of full pictures? Thanks!

 

[Pausi]

Sorry I have just closed it after putting in the Sparkos. But yes this is rev. 03 24 just arrived via Audiophonics with the 48V/10A PS. Might post some more photos at a later stage. Zero pop turning on or off. I'm using trigger in via Wiim Pro Plus. Chassis gets lukewarm at around 70 dB SPL. Can measure it later under 80 dB and with laser thermometer. Hard to distinguish overall sound and quality compared to my Fosi Audio ZA3 without PFFB circuit.

 

[Schlippwhip68]

Yes they fit well in the case. Didn't use the extra sockets but they fit and sound well in the A70. Not a very big difference from the original maybe some better soundstage but that might just be psychology. The biggest difference is a better bass. But not worth the extra cost in my opinion. Have fun with a nice, clean sounding and small class d amp.

I agree, the differences really are marginal between most opa amps when carefully selected to remain within similar operating specs, but those differences are audible with the trained ear. In regards to the Sparkos and the more high end chips Burson etc, it just seems to always be a minimal improvement at maximum cost which isn't always ethically cohesive with the purpose of a budget amp for some or economically appreciated and can more often than not lead to buyers remorse or just plain disappointment and regret. For me personally on these amps I budget around the £3-8 mark for an op amp and usually try and find the most extreme difference within the price group. opa2604, opa1656, opa1622, Muses 8890, Muse 8820 etc...all decent op amps and kept within reasonable economical balance considering the price of the amplifier and components utilized within said product but, yep another but...there is no reason not to experiment if you have the means and strength of character to push on through if it doesn't work out as expected. I have a pair of A07 Max here and currently have no desire to roll the opa amps at this point and if I do then it will be as mentioned within a relative economical equilibrium to the desired accents of taste concerning these little chips. I hooked the AO7 Max up to a Wiim Pro Plus and sending the signal to a pair of Q acoustic 3030i using Airplay and it sounds very acceptable indeed! I am only running one amp at the moment till the other arrives in the post but the single amp in stereo mode it is doing a fine job on it's own and with the stock op amps (NE5532) driving a pair of 6 ohm speakers!

I recently won a lottery on Aiyimas Facebook page, a Ceramic volume knob which is nice but I will running monoblocks when the second amp arrives so it will probably sit elsewhere at some point. There really isn't any need to improve anything with this current set up, it's a good all round system match as it stands at stock value, very easy to listen to.

 

[Schlippwhip68]

Sorry I have just closed it after putting in the Sparkos. But yes this is rev. 03 24 just arrived via Audiophonics with the 48V/10A PS. Might post some more photos at a later stage. Zero pop turning on or off. I'm using trigger in via Wiim Pro Plus. Chassis gets lukewarm at around 70 dB SPL. Can measure it later under 80 dB and with laser thermometer. Hard to distinguish overall sound and quality compared to my Fosi Audio ZA3 without PFFB circuit.

To be honest I didn’t think there would be much difference in sound quality and according to some articles on a PFFB amplifier it’s not even a necessity in Europe due to the EU regulations concerning domestic electrical power and its delivery to the home….

 

[TonyJZX]

somneone posted this in the other A70 discussion

i mean this who demeanour of this is like a guy reviewing the latest toaster or mousetrap

yes it toasts bread, it does it well, it does it as well as $100 toaster

there are many like it but this is the one i'm reviewing now

 

[Schlippwhip68]

60watt @ 8ohm per channel clean, good enough for me.

 

[Laserjock]

somneone posted this in the other A70 discussion

i mean this who demeanour of this is like a guy reviewing the latest toaster or mousetrap

yes it toasts bread, it does it well, it does it as well as $100 toaster

there are many like it but this is the one i'm reviewing now

ABX tested vs March Audio P501 Monoblocks $1500 x 2

 

[Jon L]

ABX tested vs March Audio P501 Monoblocks $1500 x 2

True blind ABX testing will surprise a lot of people.

However, it doesn't matter to me personally, because I never listen to music to enjoy while blind-folded, not knowing which equipment is playing. So what's the point..

 

[gwing]

True blind ABX testing will surprise a lot of people.

However, it doesn't matter to me personally, because I never listen to music to enjoy while blind-folded, not knowing which equipment is playing. So what's the point..

Does it also matter to you personally how much distortion a device has or how much power it puts out as you never listen to a distortion meter or a sound pressure meter?

 

[Guddu]

True blind ABX testing will surprise a lot of people.

However, it doesn't matter to me personally, because I never listen to music to enjoy while blind-folded, not knowing which equipment is playing. So what's the point..

We don't listen to music keeping SINAD, frequency response and other measurements, which you see in ASR review all the time, in front of us as well..... So what's the point in even doing any of this!!!

 

[Jon L]

We don't listen to music keeping SINAD, frequency response and other measurements, which you see in ASR review all the time, in front of us as well..... So what's the point in even doing any of this!!!

Use-case scenario has to guide our choices. If I am choosing equipment to play clean 120+ decibel levels in a large hall for parties, I will absolutely choose amps that can put out a known amount of power to generate that volume through chosen speakers which have to be capable of that output without obvious distortion.
If I am choosing equipment to enjoy my jazz and vocal recordings in a typical room in a house at 80dB levels, something like this Aiyima's output would be fine. Rather than absolute frequency response linearity or high SINAD, I would concentrate more on equipment's synergy with my speakers/room more. My personal tastes would override most numbers here, as I am the one who has to like the sound signature created. Depending on the person, this doesn't rule out the possibility that high SINAD equipment will be what one prefers...

 

[Ktacos]

Complaining about load dependency made the amp makers care about it.

Next thing to complain about is a lack of high-pass on the speaker outputs when sub out is used. Should be easy and cheap to
implement.

 

[Deleted member 68267]

@amirm - In regard to the subwoofer output you wrote under the graphic: "I don't know how this is useful for anyone...."
Did you mean the graphic itself or the subwoofer output?
Apologies if this question is a bit silly

 

[amirm]

I meant subwoofer output. You need the corresponding roll off in the mains.

 

[Deleted member 68267]

Thank you!

 

[Guddu]

@amirm
Seems like this (Aiyima A70) amplisier isn't added to the review index yet.