Audiophonics HPA-S400ET Review (Stereo Amplifier)

[nemesis.ie]

But that means, the gain would be 12,8 dB... ideal would be 26dB?

Ideal depends on your situation/input. For my system 12.8 dB gain is ideal - anything higher and I get tweeter hiss. Lower gain givea better SNR/SINAD per Amir's revirew, but if you have low sensitivity speakers and a low input level, the higher gains may be "ideal" for that case.

@Vhond The only apparent difference is the case and the jumpers are now accessible from underneath and have "finger tags" on them so easy to move.

They also have an LED defeat jumper but not (annoyingly) on the mono block model. See earlier posts.

 

[AweLoi]

So there are different versions of the amp (before and after 2023)?? If yes what are the differences?

One difference I know of is that in the old version you had to open up the amp to adjust the jumpers while they are accessible underneath the amp in the new model. The enclosure look a little different too. Don't know if there are any other major changes than that. I might have missed something.

 

[KaMatthi]

Ideal depends on your situation/input. For my system 12.8 dB gain is ideal - anything higher and I get tweeter hiss. Lower gain givea better SNR/SINAD per Amir's revirew, but if you have low sensitivity speakers and a low input level, the higher gains may be "ideal" for that case.

@Vhond The only apparent difference is the case and the jumpers are now accessible from underneath and have "finger tags" on them so easy to move.

They also have an LED defeat jumper but not (annoyingly) on the mono block model. See earlier posts.

I am going to change the jumper and listen to the difference. The StormAudio should be capable to handle the gain, hopefully. And my loudspeakers have a sensivity abou 88dB as well.

 

[nemesis.ie]

Remember you'll need to turn things up or re-calibrate too.

 

[KaMatthi]

I figured already. I replaced the new amp with an IOTAVX 7-230. They sound not much different. But what I can say of today. When I listening to music, I have fun to listen until the end, when I stopped with the other one to listen. Very nice… ThanKs to all for your help!!!

 

[nemesis.ie]

Are you saying you got rid of the Audiophonics from the system (without checking the gain jumper setting first?) and just put in a different amp?

I can see the appeal of 7 channels in one box, but other than that (and maybe the price) I'm not so sure why?

What's the gain of the IOTAVX I didn't see it obviously on their site.

Are you saying the 7ch one is less fatiguing than the Audiophonics one?

 

[KaMatthi]

Well the IOTVX has no option of changing any settings.

Sorry for not being clear. The Audiophonics is way more satisfying compared to the IOTAVX. It’s not day and night though. But it makes more fun for sure. The IOTAVX does its job very well just not that satisfying like the Audiophonics.

 

[nemesis.ie]

Ah, that makes more sense.

So did you get to try bypass mode?

There shouldn't be night/day difference on any properly designed amp that can cope with the speakers connected.

 

[KaMatthi]

I did not, that will be done tonight.

 

[nemesis.ie]

Looking forward to hearing how that goes and if you notice any difference in tweeter hiss (assuming you can hear any currently).

 

[KaMatthi]

Hello, so I tested today in the morning the bypass setting. The popping while starting the amp on my tweeter still exists. Afterwards no hiss can be heard. But I came to some constraints while I took a new dirac measurement. The gain of my IOTAVX (my second one) is so high compared to the gain for bypassing is very low. Setting them up into equal volume was difficult. Now I am wondering what would be the second best choice. Coniguration 1 or 2?

 

[nemesis.ie]

Another option might be attenuators on the Iota?

 

[KaMatthi]

What exactly do you have in mind?

 

[nemesis.ie]

Work out how many dB the Iota is over the Purifi in bypass and pop the appropriate attenuator on the input of the Iota.
Probably about €5 to €10 each. Maybe try one to start with and see how it goes.

Or e.g. a nobsound "little bear" is about €40 and gives you a volume control for 2 channels. I use them with Emotiva HC-1s (!) for running subwoofers.

 

[KaMatthi]

Before I am going to evaluate that, I still need with the high gain to check with a new Dirac measurement. To be fair, last time listen to the Adiophonicsamp, I did not remeasure all new. So maybe the high gain configuration would be the 2nd best option?

 

[nemesis.ie]

I'm not familiar with how Dirac calibration works or what "pre-setup/calibration" options it has. I use a Trinnov.

 

[KaMatthi]

Well I guess, it doesnt matter what measurement system is behind. If you drive different amps with different gain, probably everyone need to remeasure...?
According to Amirs' measurment the option gain high is not way much worse than bypass or am I mistaken?

 

[nemesis.ie]

Well you need to balance everything in any system for sure.

What dB difference did you see in the measurements? Remember it's logarithmic, just a few dB is a huge difference.

 

[KaMatthi]

I need to check.