AIYIMA A80 Stereo Amplifier & DAC Review

[Hipster Doofus]

FUN FUN FUN....

Something to recommend to friends who are not into audio and are replacing 25-year-old systems...

great display

and if you buy 2 they make nice foot warmers up here in the pacific northwest

one of my favorite Aiyima products was below

 

[Roland68]

True, if I could ask, an enhanced version with variable lowpass subout and varible highpass plus PEQ filters for $300, something like the Wiim Amp Pro on stereoids.

And what is a variable low-pass filter used for?
Even cheap active subwoofers for €100 and less have adjustable low-pass filters, phase adjustment, volume adjustment, some even EQ or bass boost.
So why an unnecessary function (low-pass filter) in an amplifier?
Especially as long as these manufacturers install an Aux or Sub Out, but fail to integrate a variable high-pass filter necessary for a 2.1 system.

 

[xaxxon]

> The aggressive protection circuit would have made it a pain to run the reactive load tests so I didn't.

Doesn't that mean that it would be difficult to get them to drive tough speakers? Wouldn't that be extra good reason to do the tests?

 

[amirm]

Doesn't that mean that it would be difficult to get them to drive tough speakers? Wouldn't that be extra good reason to do the tests?

The protection circuit kicks in when the amp is literally out of power. So if you hit that point, you need a more powerful amplifier. Below that, it wouldn't care that they are "difficult."

 

[Antoniy]

Hello, i am new to stereo amplifiers with dacs. I am interested in this device, but i can't find an answer to a question i have.

I want to connect it to my TV via coax or optical and connect 2 bookshelf speakers.

My tv is Philips 55PUS7956. The content i watch is mostly 5.1(AAC), sometimes it is dolby digital, dts, etc.

The question i have is, will i get stereo on this device from my TV, or will the tv send 5.1 sound and nothing will work?

 

[JDS]

This is a review and detailed measurements of the AIYIMA A80 stereo amplifier and DAC. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $199.
View attachment 431658
As you can see, the A80 sports a nice sized graphical display showing one of the prettiest "VU" meters I have seen. It works well too by auto-ranging depending on how loud you play! I was pleasantly surprised to see a proper DAC integrated in it in the form of ESS ESS9038Q2M. You can see its feature set exposed in the back:
View attachment 431659
We have the usual DAC connections such as USB-0C, Toslink and Coax.

I am always pleased to see balanced inputs and we have that in the form of TRS. You can get simple adapter or cables from this to XLR.

Power supply as usual for this class is external. I tested with the 48 volt/5 amp GaN unit as supplied by the company.

We even have trigger input although with the included DAC, you won't need it.

Speaker terminals are just large enough to let me use my oversized locking banana plugs.

A remote is provided which is very nice.

Company has really nailed the functionality here. Let's see if it has good performance to go with it.

If you are not familiar with amplifier measurements, please watch my tutorial on it:

[And subscribe to the channel ]

AIYIMA A80 Stereo Amplifier Measurements
Let's start with analog input using balanced and see how it does at 5 watts:
View attachment 431660
This is excellent performance with distortion products below -100 dB. It is the general noise level that keeps SINAD below that. SINAD of nearly 90 dB places the A80 well above average for all amplifiers tested to date:
View attachment 431662

View attachment 431663
Digital USB input shows that the amp is the limiting factor with the DAC providing transparency:
View attachment 431665
There is a tiny bit of rise in noise floor in low frequencies but otherwise, we have the same performance.

RCA input costs some penalty especially in channel 1:
View attachment 431666

I like to see 16 bits of dynamic range and we come short a bit, literally:
View attachment 431664

At max power though, this improves beyond what most people need:
View attachment 431667

Amplifier sports PFFB design which should largely do away with load dependency but some remains:
View attachment 431668
If the ringing was not there at 4 ohm, perhaps the 8 ohm rise would be more negligible.

Crosstalk is surprisingly good:
View attachment 431669

Both multitone and 19+20 kHz intermodulation distortion tests show the typical natural rise of distortion with frequency:
View attachment 431670
View attachment 431671

There is healthy amount of power here:
View attachment 431672
View attachment 431673

For apples vs apples power measurements, I test at 1% THD but the A80 would shutdown before reaching that level of distortion (atypical of TPA designs). So I opted for 0.4%:

View attachment 431674

My 40 Hz low frequency power rating likewise required messing with the THD percentage:
View attachment 431675

So a bit of loss there.

I had to reduce the percentage even lower to get a power sweep from 20 to 20 kHz:
View attachment 431676

This demonstrates the difficulty of a priori deciding to measure power at 1% THD. This amplifier would have produced zero power with that rating!

I forgot to run the power vs frequency sweeps. Will see if I can run them later and add to the review.

The aggressive protection circuit would have made it a pain to run the reactive load tests so I didn't.

There is a mild power on pop:
View attachment 431677

The amp was stable on power up, requiring no warm up:
View attachment 431678

Post running the FTC stress test, I took an infrared image of the case which had warmed up fair bit:
View attachment 431679

Distribution of heat is very good.

Conclusions
Usually, any digital input in this class of amplifier is a "checklist item." In the A80, we have a serious DAC that provides a transparent path to the amplifier. The design is excellent given the wide high res display which can show levels, spectrum, etc. Company has clearly been listening to our feedback. Performance overall ranks from very good to excellent for the class. The only miss is less than perfect frequency response. For those of us older, we can't hear that high up anyway but for others, the response with a simple resistive load should be flatter.

I am going to recommend the AIYIMA A80. I believe it is going on sale next week.
------------
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/

Seems to me that both the performance per dollar and the utility per cubic inch are off the charts here. I'm not currently in the market for something like this, but I am imagining combining this with low-end Raspberry Pi and something like the Micca speakers reviewed about a week ago. You'd have a decent and very compact Roon endpoint system for less than $350. That's pretty amazing.

 

[amirm]

The question i have is, will i get stereo on this device from my TV, or will the tv send 5.1 sound and nothing will work?

That is a question for the TV. The amp has no ability to decode 5.1. See if the TV says it will send out stereo over coax or optical.

 

[Antoniy]

That is a question for the TV. The amp has no ability to decode 5.1. See if the TV says it will send out stereo over coax or optical.

I am not sure, under digital output i have these options.

Auto
ByPass
Pcm
Dolby Digital Plus
Dolby digital

No other settings when selecting either of these options.

 

[El Cheapo]

I am not sure, under digital output i have these options.

Auto
ByPass
Pcm
Dolby Digital Plus
Dolby digital

No other settings when selecting either of these options.

Choose PCM.

 

[Guddu]

I am not sure, under digital output i have these options.

Auto
ByPass
Pcm
Dolby Digital Plus
Dolby digital

No other settings when selecting either of these options.

PCM is the correct setting for optical output to any stereo DAC that doesn’t support Dolby.
For A80, PCM should be selected.

 

[theREALdotnet]

I'm not too impressed, TBH. That mains hum looks like it would be audible in a desktop setup when there is no music playing. Is it? That would annoy the heck out of me. Also that load dependence at the top – I wonder whether the amp is stable with complex loads.

 

[Old_School_Brad]

> The aggressive protection circuit would have made it a pain to run the reactive load tests so I didn't.

Doesn't that mean that it would be difficult to get them to drive tough speakers? Wouldn't that be extra good reason to do the tests?

Yes, it would.

The actual power output of the device is somewhat uncertain. The maximum power and headroom measurements suggest that it may already be operating near its limits during the short burst signal test, which could explain why both values are the same.

Essentially, it appears to be a 70 W peak power amplifier with its true power capabilities not entirely clear.

It does provide 1-2 bits more distortion-free range compared to the Behringer EuroPower 2500.
It is also load dependent.

Although the device offers additional features beyond amplification, if we focus solely on its amplification performance, I believe it falls short on the basics.

 

[xaxxon]

Yes, it would.

The actual power output of the device is somewhat uncertain. The maximum power and headroom measurements suggest that it may already be operating near its limits during the short burst signal test, which could explain why both values are the same.

Essentially, it appears to be a 70 W peak power amplifier with its true power capabilities not entirely clear.

It does provide 1-2 bits more distortion-free range compared to the Behringer EuroPower 2500.
It is also load dependent.

Although the device offers additional features beyond amplification, if we focus solely on its amplification performance, I believe it falls short on the basics.

Odd to compare it to europower when it looks like the modern version is a bit (or two) better.

Behringer NX3000D Pro DSP Amplifier Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Behringer NX3000D Pro DSP power amplifier. It was kindly purchased new and drop shipped to me by a member. It costs US $399. As pro amplifiers go, the NX3000D is half attractive especially when on with its amber lights and LEDs: There are...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Do a quick fan swap and the thing is silent and doesn't overheat at room temp.

 

[Ismapics]

Reserved for @AdamG to kindly post the specs.

Manufacturer Specifications:

View attachment 431743
Link to additional details and product information:

AIYIMA A80

Features: All-in-One DAC Amplifier:Using the ES9038Q2M high-performance decoder chip, combined with the TPA3255 high-power ultra-low distortion amplifier chipset, the AIYIMA A80 supports DSD512 and PCM ultra-high-resolution audio, providing users with rich and delicate sound details. Hi-Res...

www.aiyima.com

Is the Aux out volume controlled?

 

[Old_School_Brad]

Odd to compare it to europower when it looks like the modern version is a bit (or two) better.

Behringer NX3000D Pro DSP Amplifier Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Behringer NX3000D Pro DSP power amplifier. It was kindly purchased new and drop shipped to me by a member. It costs US $399. As pro amplifiers go, the NX3000D is half attractive especially when on with its amber lights and LEDs: There are...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Do a quick fan swap and the thing is silent and doesn't overheat at room temp.

Yes, that would make the point as well. However, the EP was what first came to mind. Either one works as an example.

 

[thewas]

And what is a variable low-pass filter used for?
Even cheap active subwoofers for €100 and less have adjustable low-pass filters, phase adjustment, volume adjustment, some even EQ or bass boost.
So why an unnecessary function (low-pass filter) in an amplifier?
Especially as long as these manufacturers install an Aux or Sub Out, but fail to integrate a variable high-pass filter necessary for a 2.1 system.

Integrated filters in subwoofers often don't have optimal slopes and you don't know their exact cutoff frequency, if you anyway are going to implement a highpass on your amp its much better (and won't really cost more) to also have a lowpass on it, also for symmetry and exact frequencies, that's why Audyssey etc amps also advice to set the lowpass of the subwoofer to its maximum setting and let the amp handle it.

 

[Roland68]

Integrated filters in subwoofers often don't have optimal slopes and you don't know their exact cutoff frequency, if you anyway are going to implement a highpass on your amp its much better (and won't really cost more) to also have a lowpass on it, also for symmetry and exact frequencies, that's why Audyssey etc amps also advice to set the lowpass of the subwoofer to its maximum setting and let the amp handle it.

I agree with you completely, it makes perfect sense for AVRs and digital filters, but in the analogue area and especially with these small manufacturers, you are greatly overestimating their development capabilities, which can be seen in many places in the devices.
And the low-pass filter circuits in these amplifiers are almost always simpler and worse than in the subwoofers, just take a look yourself and compare.

There is also a lack of basic understanding of simple techniques such as 2.1. This can be seen from the fact that there are more amplifiers with a low-pass filter and SUB or AUX out (without a high-pass filter) than amplifiers with a high-pass or both.

This is exactly why I think that these manufacturers should first learn how to install high-pass filters that work properly.
That would be extremely helpful for many users.

 

[thewas]

I agree with you completely, it makes perfect sense for AVRs and digital filters, but in the analogue area and especially with these small manufacturers, you are greatly overestimating their development capabilities, which can be seen in many places in the devices.
And the low-pass filter circuits in these amplifiers are almost always simpler and worse than in the subwoofers, just take a look yourself and compare.

There is also a lack of basic understanding of simple techniques such as 2.1. This can be seen from the fact that there are more amplifiers with a low-pass filter and SUB or AUX out (without a high-pass filter) than amplifiers with a high-pass or both.

This is exactly why I think that these manufacturers should first learn how to install high-pass filters that work properly.
That would be extremely helpful for many users.

I also understand your thoughts and worries and agree, on the other hand if someone implements a proper highpass filter, a similar lowpass filter is not really additional complexity in implementation, let's see how the market will evovle in the next years (miniDSP and Wiim already shown the way) and hope for the best.

 

[Audionaut]

The integrations of the TPA3255 chip from Texas Instruments, even if they have an additional PFFB circuit, are very different in quality, although the differences are mostly at a high level.

The A80 is certainly a good amplifier with many features and a pleasing design that makes it appear perfectly adequate for many applications and for many users.
The price, as with almost all TPA3255 iterations, is hot.

What surprises me about all of these devices and more is that almost all of them come with a remote control that is similar in basic form, very cheap and not very convincing in terms of feel. It doesn't matter whether it's for these inexpensive amplifiers or higher-quality or more expensive devices.

 

[Old_School_Brad]

The integrations of the TPA3255 chip from Texas Instruments, even if they have an additional PFFB circuit, are very different in quality, although the differences are mostly at a high level.

The A80 is certainly a good amplifier with many features and a pleasing design that makes it appear perfectly adequate for many applications and for many users.
The price, as with almost all TPA3255 iterations, is hot.

What surprises me about all of these devices and more is that almost all of them come with a remote control that is similar in basic form, very cheap and not very convincing in terms of feel. It doesn't matter whether it's for these inexpensive amplifiers or higher-quality or more expensive devices.

View attachment 431914

The remote closely resembles Wiim's. If it's made by the same manufacturer and matches their quality, I'd consider it well above average. Wiim remotes use Bluetooth -does this one as well?