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Douk A5 Budget Stereo Amplifier Review

Rate this amplifier:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 10 3.1%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 42 12.9%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 161 49.5%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 112 34.5%

  • Total voters
    325
Edit: One more comment. I a Fosi V3 Mono on my test bench. I purchased a fan to place underneath it. I ran REW distortion measurements with/without the fan and did not like the additional distortion the fan introduced. Now it sits on a copper heat spreader from a fanless PC. The fan sits some distance away to move air through the spreader. Not an attractive setup, but this is for a hardware distortion measurement rig also used for speaker measurements. Point being that these class D amps are fantastic and there's a THD war between and within manufacturers. Adding a fan in close proximity counters that, possible rather signficantly even though I doubt it's audible. But I've seen no discussion of this easily measured influence.

Yes, for these products aimed at the price sensitive crowd, a prettier THD or a more desk-friendly size can easily translate to sales, but rarely a better heatsinked product with lower temps. Guess what will the company boss prioritize?
 
Yes, for these products aimed at the price sensitive crowd, a prettier THD or a more desk-friendly size can easily translate to sales, but rarely a better heatsinked product with lower temps. Guess what will the company boss prioritize?
Agreed.

1786469318517.png

This PFFB TPA3255 chip-based, Douk Audio 'A100' amplifier with a 48 volt, 5 amp PSU occasionally sells for $99.99 at Amazon USA.

I have no idea how effective the enclosure is at dissipating heat.
 
That said, an earlier comment about on-hand power supplies made me look and find two 19.5V multi-amp laptop power supplies in my box. I've replace the 48V 5A Douk supplies with them. This is for wall-mount desk speakers, so high power isn't needed.
The resulting SPL also depends on that factor in combination with the speakers' sensitivity. I mean, my little Micca speakers(nice, but low SPL)—with their 81 dB sensitivity paired with 25 watts—well, that doesn't exactly make for a loud, high-energy listening session. Nice sound, though. :) If I had plugged in my 90 dB sensitive speakers, it would have been equivalent to 200 watts (based on the ratio of amp wattage to speaker sensitivity).

In any case, I think I know why I perceive it as running hot. My measurements in #597 indicate that isn't the case, but those were taken on the chassis itself. When I check with my fingers, I do it at the exhaust vents, and that’s where the warmer air is actually flowing out.
 
The resulting SPL also depends on that factor in combination with the speakers' sensitivity. I mean, my little Micca speakers(nice, but low SPL)—with their 81 dB sensitivity paired with 25 watts—well, that doesn't exactly make for a loud, high-energy listening session. Nice sound, though. :) If I had plugged in my 90 dB sensitive speakers, it would have been equivalent to 200 watts (based on the ratio of amp wattage to speaker sensitivity).

In any case, I think I know why I perceive it as running hot. My measurements in #597 indicate that isn't the case, but those were taken on the chassis itself. When I check with my fingers, I do it at the exhaust vents, and that’s where the warmer air is actually flowing out.
I'm using a coaxial 2-way through DSP. Woofers are about 90dB, tweeters higher, so power is no problem for me.
 
Hello,
Ultimately, which is preferable: a 32, 36, or 48VDC power supply that doesn't overheat too much?
 
Hello,
Ultimately, which is preferable: a 32, 36, or 48VDC power supply that doesn't overheat too much?

This was the question in my mind as well.
While not the same product, the D4 Pro I have uses the same tpa3255 chip so it should be a good proxy. I measured the idle temperature at the bottom of the pcb when using a 36V vs a 48V power supply and definitely prefer the 36V with lower temps. The 48V (without fan) temp I measured aligns with what DanielT has measured earlier with the Douk A5 in the previous page, so it should not be too much of a stretch to say that the A5 should have the same ~17°C drop like the D4 Pro (when paired with 36V).

Personally I am not comfortable with using the 48V without a fan, especially if you live in the tropics like me.

Volume wise (for the D4 Pro) I did not detect too big of a difference, but I did not measure the actual amplitude change, plus I use the speakers in nearfield desktop setting. The speakers were already too loud for me with the 36V at ~50% (less than 1 meter away).


Hope that helps.
 
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have no idea how effective the enclosure is at dissipating heat.
It works

 
Greatings all, I am new in this forum and this is my first post. I have a douk a5 and my first impression was, it is HOT! I use a 48V 10A GaN psu from a 3e Audio A7 and it works fine but the temperature..too hot. O.K. I reduced the volume to 80-90 %, pulled off the rubber knobs (rubber is evil) and put it ontop of my Golden Age Pre-73 MKii. The huge metal case takes the heat very nicely (metal is good). I had a very small usb ventilator and putted him on the side of the douk/pre-73 combo. A soft air flow and the douk a5 gets just lukewarm, even under heavy work. I hope I could help with my workaround ;)
 
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Greatings all, I am new in this forum and this is my first post. I have a douk a5 and my first impression was, it is HOT! I use a 48V 10A GaN psu from a 3e Audio A7 and it works fine but the temperature..too hot. O.K. I reduced the volume to 80-90 %, pulled off the rubber knobs (rubber is evil) and put it ontop of my Golden Age Pre-73 MKii. The huge metal case takes the heat very nicely (metal is good). I had a very small usb ventilator and putted him on the side of the douk/pre-73 combo. A soft air flow and the douk a5 gets just lukewarm, even under heavy work. I hope I could help with my workaround ;)
Just a minor note:
1. You can get some silicone thermal pads, like those for computer ram, to couple the 2 metal surfaces. They work like thermal paste, just in more solid, rubbery form.

2. Discoloration can occur, with or without the thermal pads, due to slight surface abrasion or oxidation. Just saying this in case you are concerned about cosmetic appearance of your golden age.
 
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Just a minor note:
1. You can get some silicone thermal pads, like those for computer ram, to couple the 2 metal surfaces. They work like thermal paste, just in more solid, rubbery form.

2. Discoloration can occur, with or without the thermal pads, due to slight surface abrasion or oxidation. Just saying this in case you are concerned about cosmetic appearance of your golden age.
Yes, you are right of course. I had to find a quick! (dirty) solution and I had to integrate the douk a5 into my small studio setup. I'll look next week for some thermal pads :)
 

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Thank you for your answers, I choose a 36vdc 5A.
I moved from the 32v to the 36v 5A supply also. I couldn't hear any difference in the sound or power output (give my 96db sensitive speakers).
I replaced the glass lid with a plastic perforated one, and never paid much attention to heat. I don't think it's an issue - at least for my speakers.
My quick, cheap, and not the greatest looking perforated plastic lid mod -> https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...et-stereo-amplifier-review.61410/post-2500341
 
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Is it normal that Douk A5 paired with 48V/10A GaN power supply (Aiyima) can barely drive my Paradigm Monitor 3 (v1) speakers near their limits? I use SA9027 + ES9023 USB DAC as the input (set in software at 100% level = 2.0Vrms), can easily set the A5 volume knob to 90-95% without distortion and even 100% won't do nay harm. For comparison it was enough to set the volume knob at just 40% on my Class AB Denon PMA860 (rated 2x80W at 8Ohm, 2X below what A5 is rated with 10A PSU) to reach the same SPL of speskers.
 
Is it normal that Douk A5 paired with 48V/10A GaN power supply (Aiyima) can barely drive my Paradigm Monitor 3 (v1) speakers near their limits? I use SA9027 + ES9023 USB DAC as the input (set in software at 100% level = 2.0Vrms), can easily set the A5 volume knob to 90-95% without distortion and even 100% won't do nay harm. For comparison it was enough to set the volume knob at just 40% on my Class AB Denon PMA860 (rated 2x80W at 8Ohm, 2X below what A5 is rated with 10A PSU) to reach the same SPL of speskers.
This might be part of the explanation—page 6, #114:
Screenshot_2026-09-08_222453.563.jpg
 
Is it normal that Douk A5 paired with 48V/10A GaN power supply (Aiyima) can barely drive my Paradigm Monitor 3 (v1) speakers near their limits? I use SA9027 + ES9023 USB DAC as the input (set in software at 100% level = 2.0Vrms), can easily set the A5 volume knob to 90-95% without distortion and even 100% won't do nay harm. For comparison it was enough to set the volume knob at just 40% on my Class AB Denon PMA860 (rated 2x80W at 8Ohm, 2X below what A5 is rated with 10A PSU) to reach the same SPL of speskers.
Something doesn't seem right.

The Paradigm Monitor 3 are 87 dB @1W @1m. Although the Douk A5 is rated at 300W into 4 ohms, I found that a similar amp (Aiyima A07 but with a smaller 32V/5A PSU) could only deliver 90W into an 8 ohm load (at maximum gain with a 2 Vrms input). The output was severely distorted however because the A07's input sensitivity was just 0.775 Vrms.

Your Douk A5 ought to be able to pump at least that much power (i.e., 90W) into your 8 ohm Paradigm Monitor 3s and that ought to be uncomfortably loud.
 
AI tells me this happens because of the amplifiers RCA input sensitivity & Douk A5's A-Type Logarithmic volume potentiometer.
Douk A5 RCA inputs are rated for 2V input sensitivity, Denon PMA860 CD-in just at 0.150V.

1788931931601.png


What would theoretically happen if I hook up speakers with same resistance, sensitivity but 2x the RMS? Will A5 be able to drive them fully?
 
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The maximum rated input voltage for your Douk Audio A5 is 2V; do not exceed this, as it can cause clipping.

If you are interested, people who are more technically knowledgeable than I am discuss this here:

What would theoretically happen if I hook up speakers with same resistance, sensitivity but 2x the RMS? Will A5 be able to drive them fully?
Do you mean speakers with high power handling? To max out their SPL, you need the amp power they are rated to handle.
An extreme example: You wouldn't connect a tiny Douk A5 amp to PA speakers for a concert; for that, you need much more powerful PA amplifiers.
 
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