LtMandella
Active Member
I bought mine from the douk store at aliexpress. About $60. Definitely sounds sweeter and smoother with higher volume upper registers than my aiyima a07. sounds a lot more like my LM1875 - in other words, EXCELLENT!
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Douk A5 Budget Stereo Amplifier Review
- Thread starter amirm
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PFFB may be the difference.
Jimster480
Major Contributor
Does this have an auto on off where it goes to sleep if it does not detect any audio for a while?
I was thinking about getting an amp like this for my Atmos channels
I was thinking about getting an amp like this for my Atmos channels
Ya, no auto on/off for this. You have to power on/off by rotating the volume knob, there is a click when you rotate the volume knob to the lowest volume setting.
The Aiyima A70 has auto on/off. But you need the 12V trigger (3.5 mm cable), but you will need the other equipment to support 12V trigger out. I'm using this with the Topping D50 III, and they work very well with my computer, since the D50 III has USB power detection, and a 12V trigger out.
The Aiyima A70 has auto on/off. But you need the 12V trigger (3.5 mm cable), but you will need the other equipment to support 12V trigger out. I'm using this with the Topping D50 III, and they work very well with my computer, since the D50 III has USB power detection, and a 12V trigger out.
Here's an interesting one 
When I saw A5's performance with features it has and plus based on yt video I was amazed with heatsink real estate it has.
But apparently, Douk Audio decided to use as little aluminum for V2 heatsink.
@48V PS Im running it with 12cm fan at 5V, ice cool, but without fan - longevitiy in question imo.
Edit: I guess V1 was only for promotional aspects and for a few lucky ones
A5 V1 internals and heatsink:
A5 V2 internals and heatsink:
When I saw A5's performance with features it has and plus based on yt video I was amazed with heatsink real estate it has.
But apparently, Douk Audio decided to use as little aluminum for V2 heatsink.
@48V PS Im running it with 12cm fan at 5V, ice cool, but without fan - longevitiy in question imo.
Edit: I guess V1 was only for promotional aspects and for a few lucky ones
A5 V1 internals and heatsink:
A5 V2 internals and heatsink:
LtMandella
Active Member
Everything I have that runs hot sits on laptop computer cooling platforms. they are lightweight, run off usb, are dirt cheap, and plenty wide enough to cover multiple devices. I sit all my PASS and other Class A amps on them as well as my FIIO M11 plus, and various chip amps.
Audionaut
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With 36V or 32V and 5A, the housing will only become lukewarm.
A heat problem could occur at 48V and 10A if you listen at a high volume for a long time.
48/5 is barely acceptible w/o a fan @ room temp. But with few more deegres with summer in mind, not good.
Still, fact about the size of a heatsink in V1 vs V2 is on a joke level.
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For the umpteenth time, I hereby testify that my two elderly Aiyima A07s powered by a single 48V 10A SMPS have been running pretty nearly 24/7 for 4+ years. Neither those amps nor the SMPS have ever shown the slightest sign of overheating, even though the fan in the SMPS is disabled and those old A07s have infamously pi$$-poor thermal management -- much worse in that respect than the Douk A5. IOW, if my experience is any guide, we can all stand down from red alert over this particular issue in the vast majority home stereo applications.
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"My Douk A5 runs warm..."
I replaced the glass cover with a perforated grille to increase heat dissipation, as I'm using a 36v/6A supply, and it was running warm. Now it is barely warm to the touch.
I've upgraded op amps to the OPA1656 also, just for kicks.
Great little amp!
I replaced the glass cover with a perforated grille to increase heat dissipation, as I'm using a 36v/6A supply, and it was running warm. Now it is barely warm to the touch.
I've upgraded op amps to the OPA1656 also, just for kicks.
Great little amp!
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Old_School_Brad
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If I may add, it actually looks much more like a proper amplifier now -really nice. Do you notice any heat coming out through the grill?
Happy listening.
Actually, while the glass cover definitely got warm, the black perforated aluminum grille is barely warm to the touch. It's been running 24/7 since I got it 3 days ago-gotta love this amp!
Hope y'all get to enjoy an A5.
BlueGuerrilla
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Youtube Reviewer A5
My A5 (Ver.2/Production 2025/02/25)
The A5's heat sink is very spacious in YouTube Reviewers videos. This is an excellent cooling benefit and has had a huge impact on my purchasing of the product.
But when I received the product, the large heat sink was reduced to 1/5 size and I was very disappointed.
When I contacted the manufacturer, I got a reply that the A5 has been changed for better performance, and that the A5PRO is also using a small heat sink that is not affected by normal use. With 48v5a power, the A5 is very hot. I'm worried about heat damage when it touches the skin. In my case, I applied thermal grease for better cooling. Hopefully the heating zone will be eased in the next version.
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Your concerns really don't make much scientific sense. The A5 uses the entire case as a heat sink. A larger interior heat sink plate will likely only help transfer the heat to the outer case a little faster. Same idea with the thermal grease, they are used to help transfer heat faster. It should not affect the long term overall temperature of the device, regardless of both the size of the heatsink plate or the thermal paste that you used.
Why use heatsink at all? Let the TPA3255 touch the metal enclosure with little bit of thermal paste and be done with it
Anyways, even without thermal paste, the larger heatsink will stay cooler because its greater surface area provides a much more effective pathway for heat to dissipate into the surrounding air through convection, resulting in a lower thermal resistance to the ambient environment. While the lack of thermal paste at the heatsink-enclosure interface is a major bottleneck for heat transfer to the enclosure, the larger surface area of the bigger heatsink will still offer superior cooling compared to the smaller one. That's why 07 Max on 48/5 PSU will barely get warm > much larger heatsink. That goes for Fosi too.
But Douk Audio decided to cheap out in V2 with lack of aluminim. And Im not supporting it.
If they did V2 heatsink in the first place and and call it a day - I would be dissapointed, but not even close like in a way of acknowledgment of shrinked heatsink x5 times from V1 to V2!
Im not saying the amp will get wrecked in 3 months of higher temp working condtitions,
like @Bruce Morgen said.
But still, fact is a fact and the fact is that Douk Audio cheap outs more than competition regards amp cooling capabilities.
Anyways, even without thermal paste, the larger heatsink will stay cooler because its greater surface area provides a much more effective pathway for heat to dissipate into the surrounding air through convection, resulting in a lower thermal resistance to the ambient environment. While the lack of thermal paste at the heatsink-enclosure interface is a major bottleneck for heat transfer to the enclosure, the larger surface area of the bigger heatsink will still offer superior cooling compared to the smaller one. That's why 07 Max on 48/5 PSU will barely get warm > much larger heatsink. That goes for Fosi too.
But Douk Audio decided to cheap out in V2 with lack of aluminim. And Im not supporting it.
If they did V2 heatsink in the first place and and call it a day - I would be dissapointed, but not even close like in a way of acknowledgment of shrinked heatsink x5 times from V1 to V2!
Im not saying the amp will get wrecked in 3 months of higher temp working condtitions,
like @Bruce Morgen said.
But still, fact is a fact and the fact is that Douk Audio cheap outs more than competition regards amp cooling capabilities.
I have yet to read anyone complaining about the amp overheating and shutting down or the device getting heat damage. You said you agree with @Bruce Morgen but yet you are still complaining about heat issues. I am sorry, but I am not quite getting your complaints.
The whole point of the heatsink is to ensure that the chips and components of the PCB doesn't overheat. Isn't it doing its job? Could it be better? Sure it can always be better. you can put internal fans in it. Water cooling it would be even better. But if the system is not overheating or throttled by thermal issues, then I don't see a point in it. My cell phone probably generates much more heat than this amp when under loads, but I don't see a huge heatsink in it.
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BlueGuerrilla
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These are the amplifiers currently in use: FOSI V3, AIYIMA 07 MAX, and FOSI ZA3. They all have the same chipset, but only ZA3 with a large heat dissipation area, including the housing, does not have high heat. In other words, regardless of the life of the product, it is true that more heat is generated than the initial version. The A5 is the cheapest of the PFFB amplifiers, but I was honestly disappointed that they were selling something different from the one they used for promotional purposes. However, it would be nice to sell a separate initial heat sink upgrade kit even now. Of course, products such as AIYIMA A80 are very hot at 48V.
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