Aiyima Decoder Amplifier - User Impressions | Owner's Thread [TPA3255 amplifier + ES9018 DAC]

[Guddu]

[Aiyima Decoder Amplifier - TPA3255 based amplifier with ES9018K2M DAC and NJW1194 based volume/tone controls]

Dear FMs,

This thread will capture Aiyima Decoder Amplifier - User Impressions | Owner's feeblack.
I mean to summarize:
> what I get as a buyer or user of Aiyima Decoder 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 are buying this amplifier

*** I hope other Aiyima Decoder Amplifier owners can also sum up their feedback and some work arounds here to help other potential future owners ***

Availability:
I think it is available on Aiyima's portal and AliExpress. I ordered it from AliExpress and received in 8 days to US.
It can be ordered with or without PSU, PSU options are available 32v, 36v and 48v.
I ordereded with 48v PSU, and received their 48v GaN PSU (wasn't expecting GaN version though) which is also sold with Aiyima A70.

Product Summary
Type: Stereo amplifier with DAC, volume control and tone controls with remote
Amplifier Chip: TPA3255
DAC Chip: ES9018K2M
Input Sensitivity: 0.775v
Digital Control: NJW1194, it performs:
- Volume Control: +31.5 to -95.0dB / 0.5dB step, MUTE
- Input Selector: 4 in / 1 out
- Tone Controls: Bass & Treble: 0 to ±10dB / 1dB step
EQ: It has 4 different EQ modes, with bypass or restore to no EQ
Digital Inputs:
- USB (type:B) / Coaxial / Optical SPDIF: 24bit/192KHz
Note: USB connection to windows 11 was plug & play, no additional drivers needed

- Bluetooth: version 5.1, Chip: Qualcomm QCC3031 (technically supports 2 Mbps data rate and Qualcomm® aptX™ and aptX HD audio)
Analog Input: Single Ended RCA
Outputs:
- Speaker Out: Standard binding posts, more suitable for 4mm banana plugs for safer connectivity
- Aux Out: 3.5mm aux out, 2.3v max, output is controlled by amplifier's volume
Power Input: Label says 24v - 48v, I will try a tear down later to confirm but it might have 50v caps than 63v
Confirmed- it has 50v caps
OPAMPs, default: NE5532

Look & Feel:
I must say that the unit looks stunning, more so when in operation with warm yellowish VU meter and bigger volume display.
Case feels well built, front panel has display, Control Knob and a VU meter.

> Size wise, it is bigger than other Aiyima amplifiers and it might be contributing to better heat dissipation
> here is quick look with A07 Max vs this Decoder Amplifier

> Case has ventilation holes on bottom as well as both sides

> Low profile makes things really easy for placement however speaker cable termination requires some considerations
> No matter how hard I try to ignore but the speaker binding post is small, its same as used in several other amplifiers and 4mm banana plugs are best suited for connectivity

Remote Control:
>Decent quality, plastic made
> works very well, totally responsive
> My Topping E50 is pain in the neck, compared to this one
> There are loads of different settings provided on remote, specially tone control, EQ, bypass and front display brightness control & turn off

Power Supply:
> I ordered with 48v PSU, and received their 48v GaN version

My Setup, Connectivity and Pairing devices:

PC & nVidia Shield Pro (source) >>>> Topping E50 >>>>RCA out>>>> Aiyima Decoder Amplifier >>>> ELAC DBR62 Speakers and Ascend Acoustics Sierra-LX
nVidia Shield Pro (source) >>>> Optical/SPDIF out >>>> Aiyima Decoder Amplifier >>>> ELAC DBR62 Speakers and Ascend Acoustics Sierra-LX
PC (source) >>>> USB out>>>> Aiyima Decoder Amplifier >>>> ELAC DBR62 Speakers and Ascend Acoustics Sierra-LX

Subjective Impressions to me after listening for few days
*** Feel free to ignore this section if you like as it is purely based on my setup, in-room response and my likings ***
I ran this amplifier in my main setup, along with Aiyima A70 & Topping PA7.
Highlights, to me:
- No hiss, noise or anything from speakers when nothing is playing even if amplifier power is set to 99 (full). It is dead silent.
- Clean and powerful sound, as it should be, like any other similar amplifier
- One thing that jumped out clearly to me was strong stereo channel sepration
- Optical out from TV: I think it is very well suited for direct TV optical input, it worked very well without any issues. I liked using tone control with TV input, slightly elivating the base made low level listening amazingly good. After switching between Optical out to Topping E50 vs direct to Decoder Amplifier, I felt I wasn't getting any much benifit from E50 for that purpose.

A quick REW sweep - PA7 vs Aiyima Decoder Amplifier - more or less similar!

Idle Power - Powered ON but no sound
> Measured on 20a smart plug
> When Powered ON but No music playing: approx. 10W

Amplifier Case Temperature & Thermal Performance - Extremely Good
> In normal operation, the case remain negligible warm to touch
> Even on pushing it UP, case remained negligible warm to touch
> Whatever it is, this one has got least case temp than all the other TPA3255 amplifiers I have tested so far and I hope you know that I have't left any Aiyima or Fosi amplifier alone

To Summarize, Positives for me:
> No heating issues at all
> No hiss, noise or anything. Amplifier is dead silent on full volume when nothing is playing
> No popping out on power ON/OFF. YES, NO POPPING sound at all
> Remote control has all the controls and works very well, very convenient
> Front display could be turned OFF by remote
> No strange sound if TV is accidently set to Pass Through or Dolby Digital on Optical out
> VU sensitivity is controlable
> Looks so beautiful sitting underneath TV

What's missing for me:
> Dedicated sub-out, even though it has pre-out
> Auto ON/OFF, could be pretty useful if using with a TV

====================================
Some considerations, could be helpful for planning:
====================================
Speaker cable connectivity:
> Banana Plug is the safest option for these amplifiers considering spacing between binding posts and PSU connector.
Connecting PSU cable
> Don't connect PSU cable on amplifier when PSU is plugged in and powered ON, it may generate spark on connector

=========================================

While I plan to add on more details later as I observe, capture or measure something that could be useful for myself or others, I am wrapping it up here with a note that this one is probably better DAC/AMP I have owned so far in almost every aspect.

 

[Guddu]

*** Updated, filter capacitor and opamp details in original post.

 

[KaeliKoo]

I read your review, and being familiar with Aiyima I went to their site and ordered this decoder/amp, no power supply as I have several 36v.6a units on hand and looking forward to trying this one - it was just under $115 and if no heat issues could be a keeper especially with remote that is functional. The venting looks good, nice volume knob too.

 

[Guddu]

I read your review, and being familiar with Aiyima I went to their site and ordered this decoder/amp, no power supply as I have several 36v.6a units on hand

Cool…. After looking through the vents and seeing 50v caps, I think 36v psu is safer option in every way.

and looking forward to trying this one - it was just under $115 and

Pls do post how do you find this unit.

if no heat issues could be a keeper especially with remote that is functional.

I normally don’t do it but I now check my every amplifier case temp almost every time (I need to stop doing it) after Fosi v3 mono giving me a bit undesired results in terms of thermal efficiency.
Not even 1 time in past 4 days of continuous play this unit gave me anything more than warmish feeling even running it to its 80% volume with 48v 5a psu.
Don’t know how much warm/hot you might tolerate it to be but I think you won’t have any issues with 36v.

The venting looks good,

Absolutely, vents are slightly bigger.

nice volume knob too.

It’s big and heavy, realized it when tried to open up the case.

 

[KaeliKoo]

They took the digital display and VU from the T9 Pro and put them in a TPA3255 chip amp with no tubes and much better case & venting. I have had great results from 36v6a power with class D's and the 24w less in power from the 48v5a is minimal (216 v 240). It is like the A08 Pro's long-lost cousin with the single VU....

 

[KaeliKoo]

Matt Coykendall Review --

Unforgettable Amp: The Nameless?? Wonder Worth Checking Out!​

 

[Zek]

Is there data somewhere for bit/samle rates for USB, optical and coax inputs?

 

[Guddu]

Is there data somewhere for bit/samle rates for USB, optical and coax inputs?

24/192 KHz
I think I posted it in original post as well.

 

[AIYIMA]

24/192 KHz
I think I posted it in original post as well.

Bluetooth: QCC Bluetooth 5.0, aptx-HD support
BT：24Bit48Khz
PC-USB/OPT/COA：24Bit192Khz,
S/N ratio: ≥104 dB（COA/OPT/USB input）
S/N ratio: ≥100 dB（BT/RCA input）
THD: 0.008%(@1W)（COA/OPT/USB input）
THD: 0.015%(@1W)（BT/RCA input）
Frequency response: 20 Hz ~ 20KHz（±1dB）for Speaker output
Frequency response: 20 Hz ~ 20KHz（±0.5dB）for AUX output
Input sensitivity: 0dBFS / 0.775V
3.5mm AUX Maximum Output level: 2.3V

 

[Hot Mason]

This product looks like it's worth a try!

 

[Scrivs]

Matt Coykendall Review --

Unforgettable Amp: The Nameless?? Wonder Worth Checking Out!​

I would take that donkey’s review with many, many grains of salt. Unless you like the cringe-factor. To each his own I guess

 

[KaeliKoo]

I would take that donkey’s review with many, many grains of salt. Unless you like the cringe-factor. To each his own I guess

That sounds like some sort of personal vendetta....I'm only here for the amps and a quest to learn.

 

[Hot Mason]

I would take that donkey’s review with many, many grains of salt. Unless you like the cringe-factor. To each his own I guess

I think your ideas are too personal, and I'm here to learn. Can you give some advice?

 

[Scrivs]

If it sounds personal, it’s because people like this, their sole intention is to get at your money. It’s a peeve of mine when I see the same people spouting the same imaginary, meaningless gibberish ( veils, fast, and my favorite-“musical.” No shit it sounds musical. They’re shilling devices that reproduce, well, music). The majority of YT “reviewers” have no technical training, let alone practical experience (well, maybe in marketing) all in the hopes of parting people with their had earned money. Having a modicum of background both in organizational behavior, and electronics/avionics, people like this strike me as predatory, and take advantage of the fact that a lot of people couldn’t be bothered to take a bit of time to learn the most basic of concepts about electronics/sound reproduction. It feels like such a weak way to prey on those who don’t know any better, or have no desire to. It’s merely a symptom of the direction in which society is heading.

If you haven’t watched “Idiocracy”, I very highly recommend it. Nostradamus couldn’t have been more accurate .

There’s a lot of honest, highly trained individuals on here, glad you’re here too brotha

 

[Scrivs]

We need more decency, honesty, and integrity now more than ever. I could have made my original point without referring to the YT “reviewer” as a donkey, but when I see people finding an angle to take advantage of others in the weak, spineless, underhanded way they do, I feel I’m doing actual Donkey’s an injustice.

Remember this— ANYONE can become a “reviewer” for anything on YT. There are no standards for decency within that realm.

 

[Bleib]

Any screen off functions, VU meter is always on?

 

[Scrivs]

I think your ideas are too personal, and I'm here to learn. Can you give some advice?

Pick any TPA3255 amp that fits your actual needs/desires. Fosi, Aiyima, etc. When you match them within .5 db, they will sound indistinguishable from one another (all else being equal, and provided that the manufacturers roughly followed T.I.s datasheet/design/engineering docs/application notes. Anyone with an internet connection can access these resources. Think of it as a free design, layout and assembly guide, complete with B.O.M

 

[Guddu]

Any screen off functions,

Yes, display/vu meter LED can be dimmed and also turned off from remote control unit.

VU meter is always on?

Yes, but there is turning control at the bottom which can change sensitivity for sure but not sure if turns off if turned on it’s left totally.

 

[Bleib]

Yes, display/vu meter LED can be dimmed and also turned off from remote control unit.


Yes, but there is turning control at the bottom which can change sensitivity for sure but not sure if turns off if turned on it’s left totally.

So the only thing it seems to lack is PFFB?

 

[Guddu]

So the only thing it seems lacks to is PFFB?

Probably yes if non-PFFB might cause any high frequency rise or something with your speakers, for me it isn’t with Elac DBR62 and Ascend Sierra-LX.
I have already posted my quick rew measurements and I don’t see differences compared to Topping PA7.