Anyone ever measure a Sanway professional audio amplifier? Crazy specs...

[cavedriver]

Someone asked about these Chinese-made pro audio amps in another forum and it got me looking at their specs. Pretty crazy numbers. For example, if they really measured at >110 SNR wouldn't that be in the top 3 amps ever measured by ASR? I didn't see them hardly mentioned here when I searched.

They are stunningly cheap for the power - $880 if Aliexpress can be trusted (plus $250 for shipping). They are also relatively small - 1U rack size for 17,100 watts into 4 ohms. They are marketed as "subwoofer amplifiers" but their specs look like they would work fine full range. Granted almost no home use would ever need that much power. They are apparently reasonably well regarded as PA amps. Note that with a max draw of 85 amps (!), I would need to wire a new circuit to my movie room if I wanted to run a pair of subs of one of these.

Edit- as a further thought, with several cooling fans across the back, even putting the unit in my "media closet" in the rack it would probably still raise the noise floor in the movie room, so that's kind of a fail. Maybe I could 3D print a duct and use larger and quieter Noctua fans.

ITEM	DA43K2
8Ω Stereo Power(RMS)	4300W ×2
4Ω Stereo Power(RMS)	7900W ×2
2Ω Stereo Power(RMS)	8600W ×2
8Ω Bridged Power(RMS)	15700W
4Ω Bridged Power(RMS)	17100W
Frequency response	20 Hz-20 kHz(1W@8Ω,±0.5 dB)
Total Harmonic Distortion (THD)	<0.5%from 1 W to full power (Typical value<0.05%)
Signal-to-Noise Ratio 8Ω, 1kHz,1v Sensitivity	>110 dBA (20 Hz-20 kHz,A weighted)
Gain.Sensitivity	32dB,35dB,38dB,41dB
Cross-talk( 20Hz- 1kHz, below Rated Power )	>66 dB @1 kHz
Slew Rate	50 V/μs @8Ω
Maximum Output Voltage/Current	185V/85A(370V in the BRIDGE MODE)

DA43K2 17200W Gallium Nitride class d audio power amplifier for subwoofer - Buy gallium Nitride amplifier, subwoofer audio amplifier, class d audio power amplifier Product on Sanway Professional Audio Equipment Co., Ltd.

DA43K2 17200W Gallium Nitride class d audio power amplifier for subwoofer, find complete details about DA43K2 17200W Gallium Nitride class d audio power amplifier for subwoofer, gallium Nitride amplifier, subwoofer audio amplifier, class d audio power amplifier - Sanway Professional Audio...

www.china-sanway.com

 

[solderdude]

Notice the A in A-weighted !

Amir reports dB (at 4.47V = 5W in 4ohm) where this amp is reported in dBA but at 1V so the numbers are not comparable.

I would not want to connect this amp to any of my speakers... just imagine the volume got turned up by accident !

 

[DVDdoug]

There's more than one way to measure SNR. I believe Amir measures relative to 5W and the higher power the higher the "S".

And of course, you can't always trust wattage specs either.

 

[cavedriver]

ooch, I missed the "A", although still, would like to see measurements, although I don't think Amir has test loads or maybe even meters that could measure these amps.

Regarding amp ratings I agree, but 185 V and 85 amps is a LOT of watts (15275 to be precise). I would say that not since 1990's car audio have I seen power numbers be lied about on that scale. They certainly pass the "is the case stuffed with enough parts for the power" test, lol.

 

[Devnull]

Might be fun to do some stick welding with it, aside from that would you really trust it to not burst into flames in your home?

 

[cavedriver]

Might be fun to do some stick welding with it, aside from that would you really trust it to not burst into flames in your home?

Note that Erin just smoked a Fosi amp, like it literally went up in smoke, so are we really being critical about our risk taking re Chinese-made electronics? With the amount of power this thing has it would be idling compared to powering a sub with a Dayton, ICE, Crown, or Yamaha amp that probably has more distortion. Not saying this is THE solution, but I would really like someone else to buy some and test them so I can benefit from their experience

 

[restorer-john]

The S/N is quoted with respect to full rated power.

Even if the power output numbers are pure fantasy and only a quarter of what they say, it is still a very noisy amplifier.

 

[cavedriver]

The S/N is quoted with respect to full rated power.

Even if the power output numbers are pure fantasy and only a quarter of what they say, it is still a very noisy amplifier.

honest question - how can you tell that from the specs, or is there another way to know?

 

[restorer-john]

honest question - how can you tell that from the specs, or is there another way to know?

S/N in a power amplifier is always quoted WRT full power as it gives the best numbers for marketing. The more powerful the amplifier, the bigger the number, all other things being equal.

The "1V sensitivity" is the input voltage to develop full rated power. As it is such a "high" power, it needs a lot of gain- so it gets 32,35,38,41dB gain switching. A normal amplifier is around 29dB gain with a 1-1.5V sens.

I would want S/N WRT 1W@8R for all amplfiers.

 

[somebodyelse]

SNR is signal to noise ratio, not including distortion. SINAD includes distortion. Based on the THD figure the SINAD would be dominated by distortion, not noise, with their 'typical' figure being better than 66dB - respectable but far from great.

 

[restorer-john]

SNR is signal to noise ratio, not including distortion. SINAD includes distortion. Based on the THD figure the SINAD would be dominated by distortion, not noise, with their 'typical' figure being better than 66dB - respectable but far from great.

Specifications are one thing, test results are another.

Don't make asumptions.

 

[Digital_Thor]

LAbgruppen made a great design, before the Chinese made their copy
Quite a few use Sanway, simply because it is way cheaper than buying the original Labgruppen. But quality can't be the same for that price - neither warranty.

 

[sq225917]

Safe to assume all the specs are wrong by 10x, lol.

 

[welwynnick]

Total Harmonic Distortion (THD)

<0.5%from 1 W to full power (Typical value<0.05%)

0.5% is 46 dB SINAD. Enough said?

 

[Vladimir Filevski]

0.5% or 1% distortion level usually is used to determine the amp maximum power output before the clipping - that amount of distortion is (hopefully) not what you will find from 1 W to 90% of the max output.
That "typical value" of 0.05% distortion (if true) is what you should expect below 90% (or so) from the maximum output power.

 

[welwynnick]

That "typical value" of 0.05% distortion (if true) is what you should expect below 90% (or so) from the maximum output power.

Sure, but 0.06% is 66 dB SINAD. Is that good enough?

The OP was suggesting this might be in the ASR top 3, but I don't think it's quite that good.

 

[Blockader]

Total Harmonic Distortion (THD)

<0.5%from 1 W to full power (Typical value<0.05%)

0.5% is 46 dB SINAD. Enough said?

The amplifier is designed for PA subwoofers and almost never needs to deliver low-level signals. This means that, if the specifications are correct, it operates with 0.05% THD 99.9% of the time. Even in the worst-case scenario, 0.5% distortion is significantly lower than the distortion of PA subwoofers at around 140 dB. This amplifier is designed to drive subwoofers to such levels, and for its application, its distortion is sufficiently low.

 

[Sokel]

The amplifier is designed for PA subwoofers and almost never needs to deliver low-level signals. This means that, if the specifications are correct, it operates with 0.05% THD 99.9% of the time. Even in the worst-case scenario, 0.5% distortion is significantly lower than the distortion of PA subwoofers at around 140 dB. This amplifier is designed to drive subwoofers to such levels, and for its application, its distortion is sufficiently low.

Yep,I would prefer that if I was running subs this way than an underpowered 100dB SINAD amp.
At some point we have to distinguish stuff by application.

 

[Vladimir Filevski]

Sure, but 0.06% is 66 dB SINAD. Is that good enough?

Good enough for a subwoofer amplifier (as advertised).

The OP was suggesting this might be in the ASR top 3, but I don't think it's quite that good.

He made a mistake, S/N (Signal to Noise ratio) is not the same as SINAD (Signal plus Distortion) Edit: Signal to Noise plus Distortion ratio).

 

[Sokel]

SINAD (Signal plus Distortion)

SINAD is Noise plus Distortion.