Fosi ZA3 TPA3255 Mono/Stereo Switchable Amplifier, and vs Aiyima A07 Max

[Guddu]

Teacher's presentation documented and to the point, please indicate to me, in the cable chapter, which USB cable do you recommend, from your practical knowledge in the Laptop configuration to Topping E50 DAC and balanced TRS-XLR cable for ZA3, I intend to purchase the cables, thank you.

I use these cables at the moment:

1) Laptop to Topping E50 - USB Type A to Type B

This monoprice cable seems to be well built, cheap and works very well.
I would not worry too much about digital signal cable too much.

• 23AWG solid-core silver-plated signal conductors for low loss and higher conductivity
• 22AWG oxygen-free copper power conductors for better power delivery
• Advanced foamed polyurethane dielectric for low signal loss
• Quadruple shielded for rejection of RFI and EMI
• Signal conductors have separate aluminum foil shield
• Overall oxygen-free copper/tinned-copper braided shield
• Overall double-sided aluminum foil shield
• Silver content solder joints
• 24K gold-plated connectors for best electrical contact
• Nylon braided sleeve for tangle-free handling

2) Topping E50 to amplifiers
Balanced Cables
- TRS/XLR Cable: Monoprice - I have this one in use from last 3-4 months. No difference at all to my ears moving from other WBC cable (details below) to this cable.

- TRS/XLR Cable: 3 Foot Cable - Don't use it as I moved my setup which needed longer cables

 

[Idrago]

I use these cables at the moment:

1) Laptop to Topping E50 - USB Type A to Type B

This monoprice cable seems to be well built, cheap and works very well.
I would not worry too much about digital signal cable too much.

View attachment 329808
View attachment 329810

• 23AWG solid-core silver-plated signal conductors for low loss and higher conductivity
• 22AWG oxygen-free copper power conductors for better power delivery
• Advanced foamed polyurethane dielectric for low signal loss
• Quadruple shielded for rejection of RFI and EMI
• Signal conductors have separate aluminum foil shield
• Overall oxygen-free copper/tinned-copper braided shield
• Overall double-sided aluminum foil shield
• Silver content solder joints
• 24K gold-plated connectors for best electrical contact
• Nylon braided sleeve for tangle-free handling

2) Topping E50 to amplifiers
Balanced Cables
- TRS/XLR Cable: Monoprice - I have this one in use from last 3-4 months. No difference at all to my ears moving from other WBC cable (details below) to this cable.
View attachment 329815

- TRS/XLR Cable: 3 Foot Cable - Don't use it as I moved my setup which needed longer cables

View attachment 329818

Thank you!

 

[nastynick]

Thank you!

Curis Judd did an xlr cable video. Basically you definitely want something high quality, specifically: canare or mogani for the cable and neutrik for the plugs. Cheaper shielded cables still have interference, cheaper connectors may be loose or too big and get stuck. I got some of those world best cables from amazon. But when I needed 6 more I realized i could save a ton of money making them myself with the exact same parts. I found the best prices for components at www.markertek.com.

 

[nastynick]

Also fyi, if you're going to leave these plugged in indefinitely get the gold connectors because they don't corrode. If they will be disconnected and reconnected often get the silver because the plating is thicker, they'll last longer and corrosion is less of an issue because they'll get some airflow every once in a while.

 

[SenorChang]

Will I need 1 or 2 trigger outs on my AV receiver if I wanted to monoblock my L and R front speakers?

 

[Guddu]

Will I need 1 or 2 trigger outs on my AV receiver if I wanted to monoblock my L and R front speakers?

2, one for each monoblock.

 

[MCH]

2, one for each monoblock.

why? wouldn't connecting the one trigger out to the two amps with an Y cable (probably a DIY one, i have never seen such a thing) work?

 

[Guddu]

why? wouldn't connecting the one trigger out to the two amps with an Y cable (probably a DIY one, i have never seen such a thing) work?

Can not say for sure because haven't seen such a cable working, but if the splitter cable cab deliver 12v to multiple ends then it may work.

 

[grogi.giant]

Huge speaker doesn’t mean it’s subwoofer. If those are subs then audience will be painful, not enjoying the music.

Those are subs, but the setup of them seems horrible. Bass will leak back onto the stage...

 

[G-Can]

guys, this Fosi ZA3 seems like to be a perfect match for use a a power amp for my atmos speakers on my denon avr3800

and only for one reason, because it has a 12V trigger.

is there anything similar with 12V trigger input other then ZA3, in that price range of $100-150, and has anybody tried does 12V trigger actually work and does it shutdown when receiver shuts down.

Thanks!

 

[grogi.giant]

guys, this Fosi ZA3 seems like to be a perfect match for use a a power amp for my atmos speakers on my denon avr3800

and only for one reason, because it has a 12V trigger.

is there anything similar with 12V trigger input other then ZA3, in that price range of $100-150, and has anybody tried does 12V trigger actually work and does it shutdown when receiver shuts down.

Thanks!

I measured a few TPA325x amps in idle and their power consumption is negligible - like 3-5W.
I wonder how much ZA3 draws in off state, might not be much smaller than that if it already monitors the 12V trigger.

 

[G-Can]

I measured a few TPA325x amps in idle and their power consumption is negligible - like 3-5W.
I wonder how much ZA3 draws in off state, might not be much smaller than that if it already monitors the 12V trigger.

one thing I am confused, if I did go with regular Fosi V3 for this purpose(or any other cheap class D), at what volume do I set it before calibration with Audyseyy?

 

[grogi.giant]

one thing I am confused, if I did go with regular Fosi V3 for this purpose(or any other cheap class D), at what volume do I set it before calibration with Audyseyy?

At volume level that there will be very little compensation for the speakers. If you run Audyssey and you end up with +10dB correction for the speakers, you need to crank it up. If you end up with -10dB, you need to slow down

 

[G-Can]

At one that there will be very little compensation for the speakers. If you run Audyssey and you end up with +10dB correction for the speakers, you need to crank it up.

hm, so Im my listening latelly, I find it at 1 oclock that its fairly loud but nothing to write home about, I dont see this amp to be loud enough.

Do you have any other recomendations for this purpose.

 

[K.Kevin]

one thing I am confused, if I did go with regular Fosi V3 for this purpose(or any other cheap class D), at what volume do I set it before calibration with Audyseyy?

My understanding is that you would want to set it to maximum volume, to bypass or limit the influence of the Pot. This also helps so if the knob ever accidentally moves, you don’t need to guess where to put it back.

After doing that, it would only be a problem Only if your Audyssey calibration concludes those channels to be -12db after calibration. That means that it’s too loud and the receiver may not be able to feed it a low enough signal to compensate. If the audyssey calibration yields that it is +10 to +12db on the positive side, the amp likely doesn’t have enough power and you would definitely use a more powerful amp.

 

[Guddu]

has anybody tried does 12V trigger actually work and does it shutdown when receiver shuts down.

It does, I have tested it many times connected to AVR trigger out.

 

[Guddu]

I measured a few TPA325x amps in idle and their power consumption is negligible - like 3-5W.
I wonder how much ZA3 draws in off state, might not be much smaller than that if it already monitors the 12V trigger.

6-8 Watts

 

[grogi.giant]

After doing that, it would only be a problem Only if your Audyssey calibration concludes those channels to be -12db after calibration.

If running much on the negative side, even if AVR can compensate, you are feeding very weak signal to the amplifier, which needs to amplify it a lot. In this process you are amplifying also the noise from the line, all interferences etc. Too much volume on the last stage effectively reduces the S/N ratio.

That means that it’s too loud and the receiver may not be able to feed it a low enough signal to compensate. If the audyssey calibration yields that it is +10 to +12db on the positive side, the amp likely doesn’t have enough power and you would definitely use a more powerful amp.

If running to much positive compensation, you might actually run into a scenario when the DSP on the AVR side clips. Similarly to when one would do strong positive EQ correction. It might be dependent on the actual implementation of the particular AVR - the per channel variable gain might be implemented in analogue, not digital domain.

-/+ 3.0dB, that's what I would be aiming for.

 

[grogi.giant]

6-8 Watts

When it's off? That almost completely defeats the purpose of the 12V trigger...

 

[K.Kevin]

If running much on the negative side, even if AVR can compensate, you are feeding very weak signal to the amplifier, which needs to amplify it a lot. In this process you are amplifying also the noise from the line, all interferences etc. Too much volume on the last stage effectively reduces the S/N ratio.



If running to much positive compensation, you might actually run into a scenario when the DSP on the AVR side clips. Similarly to when one would do strong positive EQ correction. It might be dependent on the actual implementation of the particular AVR - the per channel variable gain might be implemented in analogue, not digital domain.

-/+ 3.0dB, that's what I would be aiming for.

Many amps have no volume knob at all. They are pure amplifiers, and many people don’t stress over this problem at all with those.

For negative compensation, if the S/N ratio is reduced it’s not a big deal in my opinion, especially if these little classD’s are powering the surround speakers, it is not like we are talking for critical 2 channel stereo music listening.

If running too much positive compensation then I fully agree that it will require more powerful amp. But I think it is quite odd for someone to even consider these little amps if their speaker distance is that big and their speakers so inefficient that they need more than 100watts in the first place. It’s not a problem most people will face. Those with exceptional criteria’s will/should never even stop to look at these amps in the first place.