Ampapa D1 Stereo Amplifier Review

[Oeilvert]

Not exactly the same (as john61ct's post illustrates) but very similar.

The same ODM company designed/built both as discussed here. So, sound/reliability should be near identical, choose based on slight feature differences.

Similar enough that you can tell they come from the same designers pen but when you look closely they're not that similar...

The D1 is DC coupled as it uses a dual rail supply for both the opamp buffer stage and volume/tone IC whereas the A80 is single rail and thus requires coupling capacitors between each stage.

Difference may or may not be audible but the D1 exhibits far superior design. One small way this will manifest in day to day use is the D1 will never have a power on "thump" while the A80 always will.

 

[GGroch]

Similar enough that you can tell they come from the same designers pen but when you look closely they're not that similar...

I stand corrected. With the features/specs/size so similar and the same ODM I assumed they were twins. I now see the innards of the D1 and A80 are not the same.

RE: capacitors. Now seeing the inside, and not being a techy, I would have thought the dual 2200mf caps of the A80 would be an advantage over the single 2200mf in the D1. Is that not the case?

 

[Oeilvert]

I stand corrected. With the features/specs/size so similar and the same ODM I assumed they were twins. I now see the innards of the D1 and A80 are not the same.

RE: capacitors. Now seeing the inside, and not being a techy, I would have thought the dual 2200mf caps of the A80 would be an advantage over the single 2200mf in the D1. Is that not the case?

The TI datasheet specifies a single capacitor between 1000-2200uf. The D1 fulfills this requirement, I have personally used as low as 1500uf in that position and could discern no audible difference.

One area both the A80 and D1 falter is the quality of the capacitor they decided to fit, "Rubycon PX" which is a decent but general purpose component. The TI datasheet specifically states this capacitor needs to be low ESR and high ripple, the PX is neither... As such it self heats and will have a shorter lifespan than it's datasheet would otherwise suggest. I am a pessimist but it's my assertion that in 5 years time most A80's and D1's will require that capacitor replacing as it's not only underrated for its purpose but also being heated to 70c by the inductors next to it... Under these conditions it's going to be good for a max of 8000 hours.

For the price I'd argue that's totally acceptable.

 

[Thieluar]

I do worry about the longevity if an always on OLED display on a device like this. The display on my SMSL M8 is a total mess because it didn’t have an auto-off option in the firmware when I purchased it. Sometimes LCD is the superior choice even if it doesn’t sound as fancy on paper.

I´ve already ordered a D1. I dont think I´ll be needing the screen most of the time. Can someone comment on if it´s possible to turn of the display by disconnecting a wire?

 

[Thieluar]

I´ve already ordered a D1. I dont think I´ll be needing the screen most of the time. Can someone comment on if it´s possible to turn of the display by disconnecting a wire?

Hi again.
Just got an Ampapa D1 home via mail, even though I knew the measurements I was surprised by how very small it is. Ive just hooked it up to small yamaha 6 ohm pianocraft speakers via HTPC pc and a second hand 30 usd low grade subwoofer, been using it for a few hours now.

To test it Ive been listening to my "oldschool funk" playlist Complex demanding sound settings with horn sections, quires etc, a lot going on everywhere simultaneously.

.

First impressions so far with spotify and its built in PEQ. Miles ahead of my 20 yo ministereo that i bought during the mini disc era - it had raving reviews, expensive component system when bought. Ive been frustrated it with since day one sound wise, but it still holds up after all those years!

One of the reasons to the setup with D1 now sounds good - the crappy subwoofer all of a sudden sounds so much better, very significant difference for some strange reason. I was just looking for a sub replacement, but now the muddiness is gone so its fine.

This setup without sub is not viable, becomes anemic, the sub makes a lot of difference here. With larger speakers the difference probably becomes less, but i guess a sub still would be a game changer.

Ive read about weak remote IR but it works fine, even from 5 m and 45 degree, and the treb/bass buttons I found very good to have at hand.

The midrange, while sounding good, and the treble in other songs are hard to get perfect, most probably depending on my speakers, but still sounds more than ok. Dont have much to compare with, within reach, but listening to music is very fun again, Im a very happy panther , for now at least

PS. Im not affiliated with ampapa in any way, just a music lover from Sweden.

 

[Oeilvert]

I´ve already ordered a D1. I dont think I´ll be needing the screen most of the time. Can someone comment on if it´s possible to turn of the display by disconnecting a wire?

I was under the impression it was an LCD rather than OLED? Either way, the entire front panel is connected via a ribbon cable, the display has it's own ribbon cable (visible to the right) so theoretically you could disable the screen but just unplugging that one.

 

[Thieluar]

I was under the impression it was an LCD rather than OLED? Either way, the entire front panel is connected via a ribbon cable, the display has it's own ribbon cable (visible to the right) so theoretically you could disable the screen but just unplugging that one.

View attachment 553207

I think I´ll leave it on for the time beeing, looks good and indicates remote engagement, thanks anyway. Yeah it looks like an LCD, not totally black background when you look very close, which i prefer to avoid burn in that was a problem at least for older gen oleds.

 

[Oeilvert]

I think I´ll leave it on for the time beeing, looks good and indicates remote engagement, thanks anyway. Yeah it looks like an LCD, not totally black background when you look very close, which i prefer to avoid burn in that was a problem at least for older gen oleds.

On the lowest brightness it's not too obtrusive, I ended up using the 'status' display mostly (shows input/volume/tone controls etc) as the VU meters are really ugly.

 

[Franor]

Mine just broke down a few months before the warranty expired, so based on my experience, I can tell you not to trust the standby mode. I seem to remember that I was listening to it at night and fell asleep. I woke up the next day and had forgotten that I’d left the amplifier on, so I went about my day as usual, When I finally sat down at my desk and thought the equipment was off, I tried to turn it on, but it didn’t respond. I touched it, and it was warm—not excessively hot, but definitely warm. I hope I’m in luck with the warranty, since on AliExpress, the official Noobsound store has disabled direct messages on the platform, so I had to write to them directly in their website.

 

[tb2025]

Indeed, the SAGAMI inductances reach 155°F, or 68.3°C while the amplifier is in IDLE

With a 48V PSU, we obtain 9W and with 36V we obtain 6.5W: something to think about because the temperature of the inductors supplied with 36V drops to 122°F, or 50°C, which is much better

I've tried many TPA3255 amps, and without exception, they all run extremely hot at idle (though not enough to cause burns). These compact chassis are simply not suited for a 48V power supply.


Not to mention affecting the lifespan of components, the most fatal thing is that it degrades the sound quality—as soon as it heats up, the sound quality gets worse. And when a fan is used to blow the enclosure to cool it down, the sound quality changes again. Forced convection doesn't seem to be a wise move, I don't know.


These amplifiers usually have the best sound quality right when they are powered on, but it begins to degrade within less than a few hours. The optimal operating point of components seems to be very important, but obviously, this is not within the consideration of manufacturers.

 

[john61ct]

Evidence please

 

[ICIETDIYEUR]

No further proof/evidence is needed: one simply needs to read the detailed recommendations and specifications in the Texas Instruments datasheets and apply common sense to the objective data obtained.

In short, relying solely on Joule's law, it is completely impossible to properly use a TPA3255 chip—at least for its intended purpose—inside a tiny enclosure with inefficient heat dissipation; surely that is obvious?

 

[john61ct]

so, "trust me bro" pure speculation

 

[Oeilvert]

I'm also in the "these things won't last very long" camp but time will tell all. Let's circle back in 24 months and see, I'd be delighted to be wrong.