Aiyima A80: DAC(ESS9038Q2M) + Amplifier(TPA3255 PFFB) - User Impressions | Owner's Thread

[daniboun]

Fake news. The soundstage literally changes. I know what I have heard back to back, I don't care what measurements show. That linked test was done with one particular product that compared 2 OpAmps, I have no idea how good that Douk is but have the Sparkos and NE5532 and OPA828/627 on the A80 - It's very obvious there is a difference on the A80 which seems to make good use of the OpAmps with loads of power on tap,. The 828 is too narrow in soundstage making music sound too central and annoying, the 627 solves that and the SS3602 goes one step beyond the 627.

Really ? You are a victim of confirmation bias, which leads to cognitive dissonance. Science before impressions for me....

 

[DjBuzz]

I am running mine with the 48v 5ah power supply. I have a pair of klipsch rp-600m second Gen and a pair of Wharfedale D320. It sounds very good with both. It has a clean transparent and open character compared to my other amps especially after changing the op amps into opa1612 s. It became even cleaner and the highs and lows sound more "correct". I also tried the opa828 like some people here but I didn't like them. I feel that the sound of the dac improved significantly too with the opa1612 s. Now I am waiting for a set of opa1656 and a set of muses01 to test. The only thing that I feel like is missing a bit, is bass, compared to my other amps, especially compared to the Denon. I also tried it with the 48v 10ah aiyima power supply that I had for my Aiyima a07 pro, hoping that it would give it some more bass but I didn't notice a difference since my speakers are relatively easy to drive. Lately I had some issues when listening through its dac. I don't know if anyone else has faced it. The sound would suddenly become very distorted and weird and the only way to bring it back right, is to unplug the power supply for a while. I am suspecting that it is caused by the 10ah supply because it started having this issue when I started using it with that supply. Has anyone else faced the same issue? And if so, any ideas why this is happening? It only does this via usb.
I also tried it with other dacs and interfaces and I did see a difference, but after the opa1612 swap, I don't feel so much the need to play it with other dacs and I am perfectly happy to listen wirh the internal dac.

Dear FMs,

Putting up this thread Aiyima's new A80 DAC + Amplifier - User Impressions, feedback/issues & observations.
Product Details: AIYIMA's Portal

Quick Summary technical components inside Aiyima A80:
- Amplifier: TPA3255D2 with PFFB ckt
- DAC used: ESS9038Q2M
- Digital volume control, input control and tone control: NJW1194
- Bluetooth: QCC3040 - supports AAC, SBC, aptX, aptX-LL, APTX-HD
- USB Controller: SA9137L - supports 32bit/384KHz transmission
- OPAmps onboard: OPA1656+NE5532

I have been using A80 unit from about 2 weeks now, Here I mean to summarize:
> what I get as a buyer or user of Aiyima A80 amplifier
> aspects other than measurements that you might be interested in
> testing features & functions to see if there are any issues and how could get around those, if any
> I also hope that this thread could provide some information as to "what to expect" while you look to buy one for yourself

Price: Amazon had listed price of 229.99$ when I ordered in Nov2024 and seems like the first batch is sold out or delivery isn't available.

View attachment 425164

Case Work
- The case is solid aluminum, not so heavy through
- Smooth matt-ish black finish with curved edges
- Pics don't really justify the aesthetics but it looks much better in person than pics
Note: I have used some pics form Aiyima's portal to have some additional details
- Sides and bottom have decent vents

** It comes with a simple remote which works well.
View attachment 425170

Front has simpler look:
- Long Press the front knob - ON/OFF
- Short and multiple Press for menu with various options like input selection, bass/treble controls, display style and display light options
- Nice display which can run VU meter
- Display also shows current input and bitrate, but its too small to see form 2 meters or so.
*I, personally, am not fan of ON/OFF/Input merged to a potentiometer but its responsive and easy to work with.

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Back panel of the amplifier:
- Analog Inputs: Balanced TRS and single-ended RCA
- Digital Inputs: Optical, Coax, USB (USB C) and Bluetooth
- 12v trigger: Input, ***product page says it doesn't support WiiM??? WEIRD!
- Output: aux out will full signal, and speaker out with the same better connectors as A07 Max/A70
*** Documentation says A80 uses OPA1656 + NE5532 OPAmps, if you care

View attachment 425160

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Digital Volume Control and other features
- A80 uses NJW1194 for digital volume control, input switching and base/treble tone controls
- Base and Treble variance: -10 to 0 to +10 dB, works very well
- * No Volume or tone bypass switch

Power Adapter
- Comes with 48v 5a GAN PSU, but I am using 48v 10a with this amplifier

View attachment 425166

Idle Power Consumption
- A80 used about 9-10 watts when IDLE, connected and powered ON but no sound playing
- measured on 20A smart power plug

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Some sort of "Auto Standby and Auto Start" feature - Totally worth liking
- After 5 min of inactivity or no signal, A80 moved to standby state but display remains operational with a message "No Signal"
- When it goes to standby or no signal mode, it cuts down the power usage to half: about 4-5 watts
- It gets into operational mode again after getting the signal or if power button is pressed

View attachment 425168

Case Temperature & Thermal Performance
- A780s case top mostly remain cool or just slightly warm on idle
- A80's case did get slightly warm to touch in playing music loud to longer period continuously
- It gets cool quite quickly as well, makes me say heat transfer is working well
- Overall, I think it's as good as it gets

Hiss/Noise and Pop Sound on Power ON/OFF or Input Switching
- NO HISS or any noise at all on FULL Volume position to my speakers, nothing that I could detect
- Same for all types of inputs
- NO POP sound on power ON/OFF toggle switch

Aiyima's posted measurements:
- For me, good enough for a DAC amplifier

View attachment 425171

USB C Input
- Uses Bravo SA9137L controller, supports 32Bit/384KHz
- Aiyima have included a USB drive with ASIO driver for it, which is working very well with Foobar
- I have all my media on my mini PC and USB input is my go to driver, It is performing Amazingly good
- I could not tell in blind test which one is which when listening Topping E50 to A80 vs USB directly to A80

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*** Front display shows bitrate, its a bit small for me though

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My Setup
nVidia Shield >>>> Bluetooth out >>>> A80 Amplifier >>>> Infinity R162 speakers
nVidia Shield >>>> HDMI/ARC >>>> Emotiva xmc-1 Gen2 >>>> RCA out for Fronts >>>>> A80 Amplifier >>>> Infinity R162 speakers
Sonos Connest streamer >>>> Optical out >>>> A80 Amplifier >>>> Infinity R162 speakers
Media MiniPC >>>> USB C out >>>> A80 Amplifier >>>> Infinity R162 speakers

View attachment 425158

Listening
- With 48v 10a PSU, I have too much power for Infinity R162 speakers (88 dB). Delivers power without complains.
- Smooth, clean and balanced sound with clear stereo separation - its like listening to any other similar PFFB amplifier
- I like Tone controls and it works very well in here. just -1 or -2 dB treble for my Infinity R162 makes it non-fatigue
- No complains at all...

Some Notes, Considerations and What Did I miss!
- Front display has dimmer as well as complete display off, using menu or remote.
- Would have been nicer if they used their normal XLR/TRS connectors for balanced input
- BIGGER Volume Display - why NOT ?????????????
- Volume is displayed with bar, why not a number ?????????????
- Overall, I am very confident in saying that this is the best DAC+Amplifier that I have owned or listened so far.....
- For me, it's totally worth a try.......

Any Issues or hick-UPs
- none so far, but I would add in this thread if I observe any issues

Please add your observations as well if you own one.......... I hope.


*Edit 1. Added some more pics and details on volume display

USB Connetivity Issue: I have a Samsung Galaxy S10 and I tried to use the USB cable provided by Ayima. The music isn't playing. I changed the S10s 'developer options' settings for USB, but that didn't seem to be the issue. Any suggestions? Other than that, I like the A80.
I am working to find a good speaker pairing. I tried Klipsch 500M v1, but they were a hot mess. Might try Sony SSCS5 and Cerwin-Vega LA165. Finding a neutral speaker with some ambience and wide dispersion is harder than I thought.

 

[Guddu]

USB Connetivity Issue: I have a Samsung Galaxy S10 and I tried to use the USB cable provided by Ayima. The music isn't playing. I changed the S10s 'developer options' settings for USB, but that didn't seem to be the issue. Any suggestions? Other than that, I like the A80.

Although I am not 100% sure about your phone, not normally phone's USB or lightning connections requires OTG cable that supports connectivity to a DAC provided the phone has USB audio output capability.
For example, I use this FiiO LT-LT1 cable to use my iPhone connecting to USB DAC:

 

[DjBuzz]

Thanks for responding. I will take a look. First glance it looks like a 'dumb' cable. I was wondering if, perhaps, I need some kind of converter like --

SMSL PO100 PRO MQA DDC XMOS XU316 Digital to Analog Audio Converter Type-C USB Input IIS/Optical/Coaxial Output Mini Portable USB Interface for Phone/PS5/Switch/TV​

But, that seems like a complex fix for a seemingly simple problem.

 

[pdodo2003]

Hy, I have the a80 on my PC usb connected. Everything is ok ish, before I had the A07 Pro from Aiyima and a separate dac . The sound with previous sistem was better than this A80. It's not bad , but not as good as before . Someone on the forums said to change some caps , any idea which ones . Also I put Muses02 Opamp, the sound got better but not by much .
Would try to upgrade if someone knows what to change

 

[Guddu]

Hi,

Hy, I have the a80 on my PC usb connected.

Are using the provided drivers and ASIO on PC for usb connection?

Everything is ok ish, before I had the A07 Pro from Aiyima and a separate dac . The sound with previous sistem was better than this A80.

A80 has better measurements with its TRS input and digital inputs (Optical, USB)
What exactly was better with your previous system?

 

[Guddu]

Thanks for responding. I will take a look. First glance it looks like a 'dumb' cable. I was wondering if, perhaps, I need some kind of converter like --

SMSL PO100 PRO MQA DDC XMOS XU316 Digital to Analog Audio Converter Type-C USB Input IIS/Optical/Coaxial Output Mini Portable USB Interface for Phone/PS5/Switch/TV​

But, that seems like a complex fix for a seemingly simple problem.

Do you have this enabled in your S10, Settings -> Developer Options

 

[Roy_D]

An issue I have run into with mine is that when playing audio sourced from our TV the first few minutes of playback feature some stutter and silences.
The engineer from Aiyima blames our Samsung tv "The ESS9038 chip has an error correction function inside. In the event there is a bad channel or a network lag on the TV side, ESS9038 will report an error. It will be muted when an error is reported"
There is no such issue with SMSL AD18 or A300. Anyone experiencing similar issue?
On the fence whether to return this A80 for another but if the DAC and spdif compatibility is to blame as Aiyima tech says ( never experienced with other devices on any device here ever..) it would be a pointless excercize.

 

[ZeroInfinity]

To anyone who wants to try the MUSES02 with these, I've found that it causes higher than normal heat compared to the stock 5532 op amps. I've since replaced mine with OPA1612s, and for good measure replaced the thermal paste of the heatsink with Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut.

 

[Roy_D]

Had to return ours over issues with SP/DIF but other than that sound wise I was very pleased with this little amp!
The volume and source indication are next to useless using the remote. If only they had set the firmware to display the volume and input selection in nice large characters for 5 seconds then have it go back to VU meters. Those VU meters at my listening levels hardly move which is a shame as well.
I would order a replacement unit today if it weren't for these issues.

I still might because going back to old amp I really miss the performance of the A80..

 

[TMFU]

Had to return ours over issues with SP/DIF but other than that sound wise I was very pleased with this little amp!
The volume and source indication are next to useless using the remote. If only they had set the firmware to display the volume and input selection in nice large characters for 5 seconds then have it go back to VU meters. Those VU meters at my listening levels hardly move which is a shame as well.
I would order a replacement unit today if it weren't for these issues.

I still might because going back to old amp I really miss the performance of the A80..

What issues were you having with SP/DIF ?

VU meters, really should at least have the ability to show input, they appear to be limited to only showing output levels. If you could turn the volume to say 50%, and run the input at near red on a VU meter showing the input , it would likely provide better results for the user's pleasure of seeing the needles move.

 

[Roy_D]

What issues were you having with SP/DIF ?

VU meters, really should at least have the ability to show input, they appear to be limited to only showing output levels. If you could turn the volume to say 50%, and run the input at near red on a VU meter showing the input , it would likely provide better results for the user's pleasure of seeing the needles move.

Dropouts of audio beginning streams of netflix etc, but not so much or hardly any after that. DVB-T broadcasts much more so. Since not a widely reported issue putting it down to our tv more than the amp but returned it nonetheless because the window to do so was closing and manufacturer could not tell from a distance. Back to an SMLS AD18 now and its so meagre in comparison to the A80 I am considering ordering another A80 just to try..

Yes the VU meters are pretty useless as is. That and the miniscule input selection indicators using the remote, and the volume indication being a similarly miniscule dotted line instead of legible and useful numerals. Just having those show up large for 5 seconds when using the remote to call those functions then going back to VU meters would solve that. Perhaps with the next revision. That would be a reason to hold out for that over pulling the trigger on the A80 now for me.

 

[TMFU]

My first impressions of the A80 I just bought... Overall decent impressions.

Things I'd like to see different... the ability to remember the volume setting last used per input method... That is, to say... COAX SP/DIF have it's own memory, Bluetooth have it's own memory, RCA inputs their own, etc...

I found that in my first test of Bluetooth, I had to really crank the volume control way high... compared to the other input methods I have tried. I'm afraid I'd be hurting my ears or waking other members of my family if I switch from one audio input to another.

VU meters should have ability to display the input levels, not just the output levels.

I'm still testing, but I had some sort of odd noise when I had connected a COAX SP/DIF to the A80 and then turned the volume/gain way up to see if I could hear some sound above 12Khz... I'm unsure if the problem is/was with my audio device, or the A80.

Overall, my initial impressions are good.

 

[robbiekhan]

Now feeding the A80 with the new Luxsin X9 DAC, seems the A80 is a little cleaner in soundstage with the X9 vs the K11 R2R which is to be expected given the AKM setup now, also using XLR to TRS for balanced input whereas was using RCA with the R2R, don't think that makes a huge difference though.

The overall dynamics remains about the same though, A80 seems perfectly happy cranking out high levels of volume without any distortion on my Comete 40th with nice rich bass combined with crisp highs.

Compared to an actually smooth VU, it's clear the A80's meters are too "quick"

 

[helpful_spinner]

Hi, about to pull the trigger on an A80, i just need something small and nice looking for about 200 EUR.
But that auto stand-by really bothers me, i keep my PC on 24/7, and just mute the sound on browser or linux desktop.. but when i unmute i would not like a delay before there is audio.. (for example i have news channels streaming 24/7 always visible, and unmute when something interesting is on screen)

In another thread there was some discussion about a S.M.S.L PO100 Pro DDC, and i was wondering how the A80 would work when fed via spdif through that DDC? Would it make any difference regarding the auto stand-by, in particular waking up from that mode, and also, i assume it could possibly solve any usb-c related popping sounds?

 

[robbiekhan]

Hi, about to pull the trigger on an A80, i just need something small and nice looking for about 200 EUR.
But that auto stand-by really bothers me, i keep my PC on 24/7, and just mute the sound on browser or linux desktop.. but when i unmute i would not like a delay before there is audio.. (for example i have news channels streaming 24/7 always visible, and unmute when something interesting is on screen)

In another thread there was some discussion about a S.M.S.L PO100 Pro DDC, and i was wondering how the A80 would work when fed via spdif through that DDC? Would it make any difference regarding the auto stand-by, in particular waking up from that mode, and also, i assume it could possibly solve any usb-c related popping sounds?

The delay is a complete non-issue as it's very quick to come out of standby mode, see here:

The auto stand-by function works by detecting no audio stream for x minutes, the connection can remain live, as in USB/optical etc, the moment an audio signal across the frequency band is detected it wakes up as shown in my video above.

 

[helpful_spinner]

The delay is a complete non-issue as it's very quick to come out of standby mode, see here:

The auto stand-by function works by detecting no audio stream for x minutes, the connection can remain live, as in USB/optical etc, the moment an audio signal across the frequency band is detected it wakes up as shown in my video above.

Wow, thanks so much for that video, extremely helpful. Yeah that delay is not an issue for me.

 

[helpful_spinner]

I've understood it's likely best to connect USB audio devices to a slow 480 Mbps USB-2 interface if possible, as the slower USB interfaces have lower frequencies and less interference. My PC has free USB-2 ports, and i'm planning to buy a 3 meter USB type A to USB-C cable for the A80.

I like Ugreen's cables and they have a 3 meter braided one, they are commonly called 'charging cables' and support 480 Mbps

Still, I have never found any info about the usb-c interface on these amps, for example do they support USB3 or USB4 type speeds above 480 Mbps, and is there some advantage to that?

Also the Ugreen cable has "built-in 56k Ohm resistor protects the Type C charging cable from damage to the over current and over voltage to ensure a safe charge."

So i assume that has no bearing on the audio transfer.. but does anyone know more about this?

 

[robbiekhan]

You don't have to use a USB 2 port or 480Mbps cables or charging cables etc, long as the cable is good quality that's all that matters. Many mobos have a set of USB 2 ports for devices like DACs and stuff that don't use or need 3.0 speeds or above, very small number of mobos have dedicated DAC USB ports like my old board called DAC-UP! which has its own isolated power regulation but generally speaking any port will be fine.

 

[Casimir101]

Has anyone else tried the 1612 OPAs on the A80 and swapped them for the NE5532, and are they recommended as an upgrade? Thanks for any answers. Carsten