Has anyone used this TPA3251 amplifier?

[Deleted member 9685]

For a while, I was looking for a TPA3255 amplifier end product that works out of the box. I stopped looking because all TPA3255 end products had bluetooth chipset which can add noise to audio.
I found a proper prospect by searching aliexpress.com for TPA3251.

• AIYIMA TPA3251 amplifier
  • It doesn't have bluetooth connectivity.
  • It recommends 32V 5A adapter.
  • In a product picture, I see a pair of 35V capacitors. I don't know whether 35V capacitors can endure 32V power in the long run.
• 32V 5A Adapter

I suspect this combination is better than TPA3116, TPA3250, and TDA7498E amps.
Although there are a few positive feedbacks, I don't know whether it will sound correctly and last long.
Has anyone used this or something like this?

 

[DavidMcRoy]

I have one in-house with a second on order. I’m awaiting delivery of the recommended 32V/5A power supplies to test the amplifiers, driving the Magnepan MG1.6/QR. I intend to use a single channel of each of the two amps to drive a each speaker in a pair of Magnepans. (They are bi-wire ready, but not bi-amp ready.)

 

[Deleted member 9685]

@DavidMcRoy In my experiences, chinese generic TPA3251 has less white noise than chinese generic TPA3255 which has bluetooth functionality.

By the way, AIYIMA released a new model of TPA3255 amplifier without bluetooth functionality recently.
I'm thinking about ordering one and selling the generic bluetooth TPA3255 amplifier.

Why don't you just use a single amplifier if it doesn't support bi-amping?

 

[DavidMcRoy]

Re: a single stereo amp, these things are so cheap I’ll use one for each channel for theoretically better separation and less demand on the power supply. If these units are bridgeable I’ll try that, but the seller doesn’t say anything about bridging. Even if it isn’t audible, at least I have redundancy. Meanwhile, I fired up the one unit that’s in-house in plain-old 2-channel stereo mode driving a pair of speakers, initially with a 19V/5A power supply brick that I had on hand. After 18+ hours of settling, I checked it out and my impression is that it’s very good. It’s “subjectively quiet” in that classic Class-D way. High frequency detail is sufficiently airy, “without” the attractive, euphonic liquid treble that sounds like an extreme HF roll off and a peak at 8kHz, a sound that is characteristic of a lot of Class-D amplifiers I’ve encountered. It’s a sound in the highs that’s pleasant and forgiving of lightly distorted source material but ultimately unnatural. I used that EQ trick on dodgy sources in audio for broadcast video production for decades. There’s none of that with this amp; it reproduces top end air just fine, crazy for a budget Class-D unit in my experience. The midrange is clean and neutral. Distortion at all frequencies is sufficiently low. (If I can’t hear any distortion on “known to be clean” sources, it passes. I listen a lot to “spoken word”...human voices speaking over a dead quiet background for such tests because there’s no place for distortion to hide.) The bass performance is something I can’t completely adequately evaluate, because I’m using timed, phased and EQed multiple powered subwoofers below 50Hz, just about where the Magnepan MG1.6/QRs that the test amp is driving begin to give up the ghost in my listening room. But if anything, it might be a little light in the bass (power supply-related, maybe?) though extremely well controlled, and notably so. In-room frequency response measurements show that the amplifier doesn’t seem to interface with the Magnepans any diffently from most Class-AB, 100 to 200 watt power amps that have come and gone, which is to say it’s fine. (The Magnepans are an essentially resistive 4 Ohm load and not difficult to drive if there’s enough power.) Soundstaging/imaging is very precise, indicating very good matching between channels. So, it’s a keeper. I have another one ordered and I’ll buy more units to drive the surround and surround-back Magnepans, unless I hear great things about the TPA3255-based units with higher power levels, because I’d be inclined to buy those instead. (The side and back surround Maggies are running on Rotel power MOSFET monobocks and a vintage Hafler MOSFET PRO2400 at present, respectively.) These little amps are so light and small and cool-running it’s tempting to just strap them to the back of the speaker stands with cable ties and be done with it. So, the amp is clean, quiet and pretty neutral, and dynamics are at least on-par, if not superior to, all of the good MOSFET and bipolar solid state amp I’ve used here. The real headline here is that we have a mini, budget Class-D amplifier with adequate power (140 watts at clipping, supposedly) that doesn’t suffer extreme high frequency roll off. Next, I’ll put a test bench-style variable power supply on it and do some listening at the “recommended” 32V/5A DC input level for further listening and at higher levels. BTW, my background is a retired broadcast TV audio professional and “audiophile with a scientist bent.”

 

[Deleted member 9685]

@DavidMcRoy I just ordered AIYIMA TPA3255 Power Amplifier. I'm going to sell the generic bluetooth TPA3255 amplifier if the new TPA3255 amplifier is not broken because bluetooth functionality increases hiss. I suspect this could have slightly less hiss than AIYIMA TPA3251 amplifier because TPA3255 is probably better than TPA3251.

To me, the sales point is that generic TPA3251/TPA3255 amplifiers offer acceptable audio quality at affordable prices.

I'm going to use the new generic TPA3255 amplifier with my 32V 5A adapter.
If it has a good capacitor safe to use with a 48V power supply, I might buy a 48V power supply.

 

[DavidMcRoy]

@BlackLion, I look forward to your findings with either power supply. I just bought a completed stereo audio amplifier board using the TPA3255 and this power supply for it: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013EU4KNK/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Re: the Aiyima stereo amp with the TI TPA3251 that I’m evaluating, I’m still just using a 19V 5A power supply because the 32V 5A supplies I’ve ordered haven’t arrived yet. But, I replaced the stock NE5532 opamps with a pair of Burr-Brown OPA2604 chips, as recommended by the amplifier’s seller. My impressions are that the OPA2604 seems to add some ever-so-slight “buzzy” distortion that the NE5532 doesn’t have. But, the OPA2604 has a warmer-sounding tonal balance in the midrange and treble, as compared to the sort of cold, analytical nature of the NE5532. Even with identical measured steady-state frequency response when measuring in-room pink noise, the two opamps differ sonically on voice and music: the NE5532 sounding tipped-up in the treble region around 2-5 kHz, roughly, vs. the sound of the OPA2604 which is more neutral in that region, yet is less transparent regarding distortion. Oddly, I prefer the OPA2604 because the minor distortion components that it does introduce to the signal sound to my ears like they are more even-order harmonics in nature. Because of that, on a wide range of audio sources, including compressed digital formatted sources such as MP3 and DolbyDigital (in audio for video, for example) the OPA2604 adds some “sparkle” and “interest“ to the high frequency sound, adding an artificial sense of air that tends to be missing from compressed digital formats. I like that on most of my daily listening, but I think I might prefer the pristine, clinical nature of the NE5532 on likewise pristine, linear PCM recordings. More listening is required. BTW, I am aware of the phenomenon of “chip rolling,” and I probably won’t get more involved with that than I already have, unless I catch wind of a chip that seems to have a pretty good consensus pointing to it bringing to the table something closer to complete neutrality than what I’m getting between these two options. Yet, this comparison is a prime example of steady-state frequency response measurements not telling the whole story. When dynamic audio is introduced, devices and processes can take on a different subjective sonic profile than would be indicated by static measurements. I mentioned in my profile that I am a retired broadcast audio professional with 45 years of experience (yet, my hearing is still very good to about 18kHz or so...my middle ears are still sufficiently “hairy” for a 63 year-old,) so I’m no wild subjectivist. I still trust “the numbers” as far as they are useful.

 

[DavidMcRoy]

Aiyima TPA3251 Stereo Amplifier (aka Aiyima A04) Followup:

I just received a second unit and I’m running it in tonight with a (EDIT) 48VDC 5A 32VAC 5A brick-type power supply. It replaces the first such amplifier I had, driving a pair of vintage Magnepan MMG/I (Improved) planar-magnetic speakers. This amplifier came with the stock NE5542 op amps in place, of course and it sounds wonderful. After a brief flirtation with Burr-Brown OPA2604s that I put in the first amplifier, I’ve decided that I prefer the NE5532’s cleaner, lower distortion presentation, even with its cooler, less warm spectral balance, over the Aiyima A04 with the OPA2604s in place. The “tubes on a chip” parlor trick that people rev about in the OPA2604 was entertaining, but ultimately the novelty wore-off and I was just left with some slightly “fine sandpaper-like” distortion. A switch back to NE5542s cleaned things up. Meanwhile, I got ahold of some LM4562NA/NOPB opamps from Digital-Key to try, but I don’t know enough about this amplifier’s circuit design to know whether they’re a suitable drop-in replacement. Does anyone have any guidance on this?

Regards, Dave

 

[Deleted member 9685]

@DavidMcRoy Don't do it. You are going to pop the main capacitors which are rated for 35V. 48V power is going to pop 35V main capacitors in no time.

This TPA3255 amplifier may be able to accept 48V power. But, I haven't checked its main capacitors because they haven't arrived, yet.

 

[somebodyelse]

Also check the step down regulator supplying the opamps. The cheaper amps often use a cheaper regulator that's not rated for 48V input.

 

[renaudrenaud]

Except the relative difficulty to start the EVM from Texas Instruments, is there a good reason to go for something different with TPA3255?
With the one from Ti I am sure the schematic is correct, the components are the good ones,card can go to 52V, I can use the jumper to select RCA or XLR, or mono etc... So from my little and probably incorrect point of view, this one is correct one with no bad surprise.

I understand some people prefer a finished product. Fine. And I understand most of them are cheaper than the EVM. Ok. But in term of sound quality or measurements, is there any difference?

 

[somebodyelse]

QuanAsylum tested a generic 3255 board and the TI EVM - see the comments section for details of the lower rated regulator on the cheaper board and its measurable problems when run at higher than rated input voltage. The cheaper board did not meet datasheet performance, while the TI EVM did. From 3E's own measurements it looks like they reach the same level of performance at a lower price, but I've not seen independent measurements. The cheap amps and boards are clearly cutting corners to reach the low price, and it will affect performance, but they may still be reasonable value for money. See the FX502Spro thread for more on the TPA325x series - in light of what we now know about power amp measurements it doesn't look as bad as it seemed back then.

 

[DavidMcRoy]

@DavidMcRoy Don't do it. You are going to pop the main capacitors which are rated for 35V. 48V power is going to pop 35V main capacitors in no time.

This TPA3255 amplifier may be able to accept 48V power. But, I haven't checked its main capacitors because they haven't arrived, yet.

Sorry for the confusion. I misstated what I’ve done: I am using a 32VDC power supply with the TPA3251, NOT a 48VDC supply. (The amp in your link, the TPA3255, is what I ordered and will use a 48 VDC supply with, as recommended by the seller. I have edited my post to make the correction.)

 

[DavidMcRoy]

Thanks all for your replies and insight. I bought into the Aiyima completed amplifiers without knowledge of any prior board testing having been performed by the third parties you mentioned, so here I am, hoping for the best, I guess! So far, I am extremely happy with the stock Aiyima A04 (TPA3251) amplifiers that I have currently in use with brick-type 32VAC 5A DC power supplies. I can preliminarily recommend that combination, as long as I continue to have good sonics and reliability. I leave all of my audio equipment powered up and with at least a low-level signal 24/7/365, a practice I picked up from the broadcast audio engineers I’ve worked with over the years, so you may consider my system an accelerated test bed for reliability. As a personal preference, I would NOT recommend swapping out the stock NE5532 audio input opamps for the OPA2604 as the seller suggests. The OPA2604 has an ”interesting” and entertaining sonic signature, probably responsible for its folklore reputation as sounding somewhat tubelike that will appeal to some, but it ultimately has higher levels of distortion that rule it out as anything approaching transparent. It does have a sort of tubelike distortion fingerprint, but similarity to actual tubes ends there, in my opinion. I can see how some could like it on speakers that aren’t particularly detailed and low in distortion because that second order “buzz” does offer a degree of fake detail, but the effect is nothing like the inherent relative transparency of the NE5532, somewhat cold-natured in spectral balance as it is. In search of the warmth of the OPA2604 but with the clarity of the NE5532, I am merely curious as to whether I can hear and/or end up caring about the sound of the LM4562NA/NOPB opamp vs. the stock NE5532, so I’m looking for word on whether it’s a safe drop in replacement in this particular amplifier. I guess I should be most concerned with safe operating voltage presented to the input opamp above all else? Your responses have been quite enlightening.

 

[Deleted member 9685]

@DavidMcRoy Why don't you listen to warm music instead of artificially making every sound warm? Investing in audio file instead of audio hardware can be the minimal solution for you.

Perhaps, you could even use a software to imbue tube-like sound quality to music files that you play in a music player software.

Otherwise, you may want a decent tube pre-amplifier.

 

[DavidMcRoy]

@DavidMcRoy Why don't you listen to warm music instead of artificially making every sound warm? Investing in audio file instead of audio hardware can be the minimal solution for you.

Perhaps, you could even use a software to imbue tube-like sound quality to music files that you play in a music player software.

Otherwise, you may want a decent tube pre-amplifier.

I don’t even know how to respond to this.

 

[Xulonn]

I have an Aiyima TPA3251 with the black faceplate ($50) on the way to me from Amazon, along with a $122 TalentCell 42980mAh powerbank. In addition, I purchased a pair of Q-Acoustics 3010 mini-monitor speakers on eBay for $189, and they are also in transit.

My current desktop system is connected to a new Intel NUC8i7 desktop mini-PC, which feeds USB audio to my I.AM.D. v200 DAC/Amp. which is based on a Texas Instruments TAS5614LA chip. It is an excellent little ChiFi mini DAC/Amp that connected instantly with Windows 10 when first plugged in, and even has a cool little remote. Although it produces more power using a 32vdc SMPS, for now I am using a 24vdc SMSL SMPS because of DC power connector size issues. I have a pair of "orphaned" 32vdc Topping SMPS bricks left over when two Topping PA3 amplifiers in a row died on me after short lives, but they have larger diameter VDC barrel connectors.

Unlike the I.AM.D unit, the Aiyima amp is an amp only (no DAC and no BlueTooth). I will use it in a "portable" stereo system, and I feed it with line-level output from a Cayin N3 portable DAP. Every Tuesday morning on a covered terrace at the local food/arts/crafts market, as I have been doing for six years, I play international "happy music" at my vendors table. Since I dropped my old Trends TA10.1 T-amp and broke the volume control shaft, I have been using my backup mini-amp, an el cheapo Lepai 2020 T-amp with a 12v SLA battery as a power supply. Loudspeakers are a pair of 25 year old Yamaha NS-A325 tiny mini-monitors. Although severely bass-limited (150Hz), people marvel at the quality of the sound and many ask about my speakers.

But I want to improve things a bit - especially by adding a bit of bass without resorting to using a small subwoofer. And that means bigger speakers and a more powerful amplifier. So for future "portable" duty, as soon as everything arrives, I will use the TalentCell power bank to supply 24vdc (29v dropping to 21v as the battery depletes) to the Aiyima amp. The speakers will be my new Q-Acoustics 3010's. Source will remain my Cayin N3 DAP.

Perhaps in the future I will get a UMIK-1 microphone and do a coarse measurement of the sound with the various amps, speakers and power supplies.

More fun for an old audiophile!

 

[Xulonn]

Back panel and inside the Aiyima amplifier...simple, basic, and no unwanted features or complexity!

 

[Deleted member 9685]

That's the one I'm currently using.

 

[maxxevv]

I have an Aiyima TPA3251 with the black faceplate ($50) on the way to me from Amazon, along with a $122 TalentCell 42980mAh powerbank. In addition, I purchased a pair of Q-Acoustics 3010 mini-monitor speakers on eBay for $189, and they are also in transit.

View attachment 52443
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My current desktop system is connected to a new Intel NUC8i7 desktop mini-PC, which feeds USB audio to my I.AM.D. v200 DAC/Amp. which is based on a Texas Instruments TAS5614LA chip. It is an excellent little ChiFi mini DAC/Amp that connected instantly with Windows 10 when first plugged in, and even has a cool little remote. Although it produces more power using a 32vdc SMPS, for now I am using a 24vdc SMSL SMPS because of DC power connector size issues. I have a pair of "orphaned" 32vdc Topping SMPS bricks left over when two Topping PA3 amplifiers in a row died on me after short lives, but they have larger diameter VDC barrel connectors.

Unlike the I.AM.D unit, the Aiyima amp is an amp only (no DAC and no BlueTooth). I will use it in a "portable" stereo system, and I feed it with line-level output from a Cayin N3 portable DAP. Every Tuesday morning on a covered terrace at the local food/arts/crafts market, as I have been doing for six years, I play international "happy music" at my vendors table. Since I dropped my old Trends TA10.1 T-amp and broke the volume control shaft, I have been using my backup mini-amp, an el cheapo Lepai 2020 T-amp with a 12v SLA battery as a power supply. Loudspeakers are a pair of 25 year old Yamaha NS-A325 tiny mini-monitors. Although severely bass-limited (150Hz), people marvel at the quality of the sound and many ask about my speakers.

But I want to improve things a bit - especially by adding a bit of bass without resorting to using a small subwoofer. And that means bigger speakers and a more powerful amplifier. So for future "portable" duty, as soon as everything arrives, I will use the TalentCell power bank to supply 24vdc (29v dropping to 21v as the battery depletes) to the Aiyima amp. The speakers will be my new Q-Acoustics 3010's. Source will remain my Cayin N3 DAP.

Perhaps in the future I will get a UMIK-1 microphone and do a coarse measurement of the sound with the various amps, speakers and power supplies.

More fun for an old audiophile!

Interesting, I would probably have tried using a PC 2.1 system with a powerbank for that "bass" instead.

 

[NickRPT]

I've heard that the new tpa3255 without the bluetooth , got very bad pop on and pop off sound ! People that have try it can they share ?