Douk A5 Budget Stereo Amplifier Review

[Monster]

It certainly appears you're not very sceptical of claims that devices which effectively measure the same would still sound different...

Without properly conducted A/B testing we will never know.

 

[truth_soldier]

It certainly appears you're not very sceptical of claims that devices which effectively measure the same would still sound different...

That's because I've done it and heard it myself. I trust my ears more than measurements. You are free of course to do the opposite.

 

[Purité Audio]

Everyone hears differences before they conduct level-matched and unsighted comparisons.
Which requires if you are going to compare properly two amplifiers one standard and one modified.
Keith

 

[truth_soldier]

Everyone hears differences before they conduct level-matched and unsighted comparisons.
Which requires if you are going to compare properly two amplifiers one standard and one modified.
Keith

No *everyone* does not. Some don't have have sufficient hearing acuity regardless of everything else. And not everyone falls victim to cognitive bias.
And it matters what was modified and how much that particular mod affected the system's sound, and if the rest of the system is resolving enough.
If you modded so much that the modded one is essentially like a completely different product, most people easily hear a difference in a good system.
If it's just swapping two op-amps in one device perhaps no or perhaps yes, it depends on various things.
If the systems sucks, like many mainstream speakers do, then you likely won't hear a difference even with a highly modified device.
If the system is highly resolving you might hear a difference in just improving the power supply quality of a single device.

this has been my experience over many decades of Audio consumer, DIY, etc.

 

[Purité Audio]

Deaf,
System not resolving enough,

‘not everyone falls victim to cognitive bias,’ I think you will find everyone does.
Keith

 

[truth_soldier]

It's also completely impractical to the point of absurdity to need to do blind A/B testing for every decision you make.
It would take you forever to do anything. Imagine designing and building your own 3-way speaker... you gonna A/B test each candidate tweeter, midrange, and woofer against other potential ones in order to choose? You burn 10X the time or more.. wait!, before you put that Capacitor in that crossover you better A/B test it against this other brand cap
Yes pro designers/companies do it, but for most of us, just listening is sufficient. If it sounds good (to your ears), it's good enough. I can listen to one tweeter and easily here that it's brighter, too bright, and not to my liking. Other people might prefer that brighter sound. None of us need to look at a chart or measurements or perform an A/B test to tell us this. We might look at the charts and spec's to give us an guestimate, but then we let our ears decide in the end. At least that's what I do.

 

[truth_soldier]

‘not everyone falls victim to cognitive bias,’ I think you will find everyone does.

I sorta agree with this, but it can be in both directions. For example I tend to be skeptical (negatively biased) about most things and most claims.
So my bias going into to many of these things is ... "this won't make any difference or nearly zero difference"
Which is also why I spend as little as possible on this stuff - because I don't want to waste my money on crap that has at most microscopic improvements/ROI
eg. I don't buy $70 opamps and $50 capacitors, $300 vacuum tubes, and $500 cables.

 

[RandomEar]

I sorta agree with this, but it can be in both directions. For example I tend to be skeptical (negatively biased) about most things and most claims.
So my bias going into to many of these things is ... "this won't make any difference or nearly zero difference"
Which is also why I spend as little as possible on this stuff - because I don't want to waste my money on crap that has at most microscopic improvements/ROI
eg. I don't buy $70 opamps and $50 capacitors, $300 vacuum tubes, and $500 cables.

Cognitive bias in not a conscious decision. Even if you go into a comparison expecting zero difference, you can still be subconciously biased to hear one. You cannot correct for bias by knowing about it, expecting it or in any other way than nullifying its influence by external methods like blind testing.

The same is true for your hearing: You may think it's just much better than average and therefore you hear those things all the others miss. But that is the same fallacy affecting 80% of drivers who think their abilities are above average. It will probably not surprise you if I tell you that a lot of those drivers are mistaken - it's a sign of significant overconfidence. The same overconfidence you are showing concerning your hearing abilities.

"Just listening" is definitely much easier to do than solid testing, but it does not give you valid results. As long as you continue the flawed testing, your results will continue to be meaningless.

 

[Dave TR3A]

No *everyone* does not. Some don't have have sufficient hearing acuity regardless of everything else. And not everyone falls victim to cognitive bias.
And it matters what was modified and how much that particular mod affected the system's sound, and if the rest of the system is resolving enough.
If you modded so much that the modded one is essentially like a completely different product, most people easily hear a difference in a good system.
If it's just swapping two op-amps in one device perhaps no or perhaps yes, it depends on various things.
If the systems sucks, like many mainstream speakers do, then you likely won't hear a difference even with a highly modified device.
If the system is highly resolving you might hear a difference in just improving the power supply quality of a single device.

this has been my experience over many decades of Audio consumer, DIY, etc.

 

[truth_soldier]

View attachment 531643

oh snap! you found my kroptonite. Memes always make me crawl into a corner and cry my eyes out.

 

[Ropeburn]

oh snap! you found my kroptonite. Memes always make me crawl into a corner and cry my eyes out.

O rly

 

[RedPanda42]

I was interested in this but noticed that there is no way to tell what number you are on for the high pass filter. It just shows 30 and 200, are you supposed to guess somewhere in between? I'm new to all of this and just trying to figure things out. I was looking into getting some passive speakers for my desktop setup. I already have a dac so just needed an amp and heard good things about this one but not sure how to properly configure it. Could someone help me understand how to make use of the high pass filter?

Also I only recently decided to go with passive speakers, I had done a lot of research on powered speakers because it seemed like it would be an easier setup. But after doing some more research it seems like I would just be paying more money for something that is going to break a lot faster. I've only found a few passive speakers that seem to fit my budget of under 300 dollars. I found these

Micca RB42 Reference Bookshelf Speaker, does anyone know anything about them? Would they work well with this amp?
If not I would love to get a few other recommendations. If possible I would like them to be shorter than 11 inches.​

 

[Roland68]

I was interested in this but noticed that there is no way to tell what number you are on for the high pass filter. It just shows 30 and 200, are you supposed to guess somewhere in between? I'm new to all of this and just trying to figure things out. I was looking into getting some passive speakers for my desktop setup. I already have a dac so just needed an amp and heard good things about this one but not sure how to properly configure it. Could someone help me understand how to make use of the high pass filter?

Also I only recently decided to go with passive speakers, I had done a lot of research on powered speakers because it seemed like it would be an easier setup. But after doing some more research it seems like I would just be paying more money for something that is going to break a lot faster. I've only found a few passive speakers that seem to fit my budget of under 300 dollars. I found these

Micca RB42 Reference Bookshelf Speaker, does anyone know anything about them? Would they work well with this amp?​

If not I would love to get a few other recommendations. If possible I would like them to be shorter than 11 inches.​

Have you read Amir's review of the Micca RB42 bookshelf speakers yet?
I had already heard it before his review (because of the hype) and didn't like it.

The amplifier should have absolutely no problem with these speakers.

 

[RandomEar]

I was interested in this but noticed that there is no way to tell what number you are on for the high pass filter. It just shows 30 and 200, are you supposed to guess somewhere in between? I'm new to all of this and just trying to figure things out. I was looking into getting some passive speakers for my desktop setup. I already have a dac so just needed an amp and heard good things about this one but not sure how to properly configure it. Could someone help me understand how to make use of the high pass filter?

It's best to configure the high pass by measuring the response of the mains and sub, for example using a UMIK-1.

Also I only recently decided to go with passive speakers, I had done a lot of research on powered speakers because it seemed like it would be an easier setup. But after doing some more research it seems like I would just be paying more money for something that is going to break a lot faster. I've only found a few passive speakers that seem to fit my budget of under 300 dollars. I found these

Micca RB42 Reference Bookshelf Speaker, does anyone know anything about them? Would they work well with this amp?​

If not I would love to get a few other recommendations. If possible I would like them to be shorter than 11 inches.​

Another review here. The frequency response looks pretty uneven. The directivity also isn't great causing the region around 3 kHz to dip quite a bit off-axis. At that price point, you might be better off with a cheap active speaker like the T5V. If it's got to be passive, the Micca MB42X G2 could be a decent low-cost option. You can search the review index for additional alternatives.

 

[RedPanda42]

At that price point, you might be better off with a cheap active speaker like the T5V

Appreciate the advice but I have a few more questions. First I don't have any measuring equipment, is there a way to figure out the high pass stuff by ear? Do I actually need a high pass filter at all? Looking around at speaker amps many don't even have one is it mostly placebo if I'm just a casual listener?
Second that T5V speaker you mention it says that it is a studio monitor speaker. I've run into that moniker often when researching for example the JBL 305P Mkii gets mentioned a lot as a good speaker. But I was under the impression that studio monitor speakers were not good for casual listening and more for music production. Is that not actually the case? If I just want to watch movies, listen to music ect and I buy a studio monitor speaker will my experience be much different than if I had gotten a non monitor speaker? Will I need to use APO or something like that to adjust them? How difficult is that I really only know how to choose pre selected options in there. To be honest I'm not sure I'm really up for getting deep into adjusting things, I'm really looking for a more plug and play setup that won't need a lot of tweaking. I'm open to any type of speaker as long as it sounds alright out of the box. If I need a subwoofer I would like to stay under 300 dollars but if I could get away without one than I could push my budget up to 500.

 

[RandomEar]

Appreciate the advice but I have a few more questions. First I don't have any measuring equipment, is there a way to figure out the high pass stuff by ear? Do I actually need a high pass filter at all? Looking around at speaker amps many don't even have one is it mostly placebo if I'm just a casual listener?

You don't need a high pass if you don't have a subwoofer. If you do have a sub, it usually has a low pass filter - sometimes an adjustable one. In that case, you need to match the low- and high-pass filters to get a smooth crossover region from your sub to your main speakers. You can probably roughly match them by ear by playing a sine sweep and listening for obvious loud or quiet regions in the bass. It won't be perfect, but it might be good enough.

Second that T5V speaker you mention it says that it is a studio monitor speaker. I've run into that moniker often when researching for example the JBL 305P Mkii gets mentioned a lot as a good speaker. But I was under the impression that studio monitor speakers were not good for casual listening and more for music production. Is that not actually the case? If I just want to watch movies, listen to music ect and I buy a studio monitor speaker will my experience be much different than if I had gotten a non monitor speaker? Will I need to use APO or something like that to adjust them? How difficult is that I really only know how to choose pre selected options in there.

People often say that, but in the end it comes down to frequency response, directivity and distortion. Good studio monitors offer exceptionally flat FRs, smooth directivity and low distortion. That's almost always a good thing. The T5V in particular is a little bright, though. You can compare its estimated in-room response to good entry level HiFi speaker like the DBR 62 and you will see that the treble on the T5V is "hotter". But it also offers a correction switch in the back and the -2 dB position might already be enough to fix that. You will not necessarily need EAPO, but it never hurts to have the option to add some parametric EQ.

In the end, you will need to listen to the speakers in your room to decide whether they are a good fit for you. Be it active or passive.

 

[Bruce Morgen]

...I was under the impression that studio monitor speakers were not good for casual listening and more for music production. Is that not actually the case?

That's an incorrect impression. Whether a speaker is marketed as a "monitor" or a home stereo product makes no difference -- it comes down its measured performance. FWIW, aside from my sub, the rest of my speakers -- all seven(!) of them -- were labeled "monitor" by their manufacturers, and they deliver outstanding results for both serious music listening and movie/TV sound.

 

[escape2]

I was interested in this but noticed that there is no way to tell what number you are on for the high pass filter. It just shows 30 and 200, are you supposed to guess somewhere in between? I'm new to all of this and just trying to figure things out. I was looking into getting some passive speakers for my desktop setup. I already have a dac so just needed an amp and heard good things about this one but not sure how to properly configure it. Could someone help me understand how to make use of the high pass filter?

Also I only recently decided to go with passive speakers, I had done a lot of research on powered speakers because it seemed like it would be an easier setup. But after doing some more research it seems like I would just be paying more money for something that is going to break a lot faster. I've only found a few passive speakers that seem to fit my budget of under 300 dollars. I found these

Micca RB42 Reference Bookshelf Speaker, does anyone know anything about them? Would they work well with this amp?​

If not I would love to get a few other recommendations. If possible I would like them to be shorter than 11 inches.​

The more recent versions of this amp have additional high pass filter markings at 35, 60, and 180 Hz. I tweak mine by ear.

Look at main speakers that have at least 5.25 inch drivers - this will provide more seamless integration with a subwoofer as you will be able to set the crossover point lower, around 80 Hz or so. Maybe Something like Polk ES15 or Wharfedale Diamond 12 series.

With that said, I am not too thrilled with the A5. It sounds OK at lower volumes, but at higher volumes it sounds strained. For nearfield applications, it's fine though. For far field, if you like it loud, look elsewhere.

 

[RedPanda42]

The more recent versions of this amp have additional high pass filter markings at 35, 60, and 180 Hz. I tweak mine by ear.

Look at main speakers that have at least 5.25 inch drivers - this will provide more seamless integration with a subwoofer as you will be able to set the crossover point lower, around 80 Hz or so. Maybe Something like Polk ES15 or Wharfedale Diamond 12 series.

With that said, I am not too thrilled with the A5. It sounds OK at lower volumes, but at higher volumes it sounds strained. For nearfield applications, it's fine though. For far field, if you like it loud, look elsewhere.

I'm in a very small and quiet bedroom sitting about 5 feet away from the speakers, it's an apartment building so I doubt I would be turning up the volume too loud in most situations. Thanks for the heads up though, I'll keep doing some more research and maybe I'll make a thread of my own when I have more options in mind.

 

[escape2]

Oh, in that case the A5 will be plenty.