Loxjie A30 Amplifier Review

[grogi.giant]

...I do not care aboot the headphone amp except to wish it was not onboard...

...I do not know that I want all those connections...

...the computer has a simple DAC and the tv has rca output...

I would say you need RCA input plus some other input, be it RCA or USB. All the following will be good options and will not kill your budget:

- Infineon 12070: Loxije A30 (RCA + USB + Optical), SMSL AO200 (RCA + XLR + USB)
- Infineon MA5332MS: SMSL A300 (2xRCA + USB)
- TI TPA325x based: Aiyima T9, Aiyima T9 Pro (RCA + USB + Optical)
- TI TAS5xxx based: Fosi DA-2120C, Aiyima D03, Aiyima D05 (all with RCA + USB +Optical)

I personally settled down on T9 Pro. You can switch the display off and be left only with the yellow VU meter, without any blue light coming out of it.

 

[Hapo]

...thanks...

...methinks the SMSL A300 looks the best overall for me...

...not looking for a desktop amp so much as a really small amp for a small room that had some power...

...right now, that system is using an Aiyama A07...that has enough power...

...two sets of RCA inputs and a proper sub out should be all I need that the Aiyama A07 doesn't have...

...it would seem the SMSL A 300 really should have twice the power of the Loxie A30 in spite of what the guy from Germany said on the internet...

MA5332MS - Infineon Technologies

The MERUS™ MA5332MS multichip module offers the same or even higher output power as monolithic alternatives without a heatsink and 50 percent less footprint.

www.infineon.com

MA12070 - Infineon Technologies

MERUS™ integrated audio amplifier ICs, 2x80W ultra power efficient. with analog input

www.infineon.com

 

[grogi.giant]

A300 would have ~4 times the power of amp with single MA12070 chip.

 

[SirD_P]

hey folks. looking to hookup my pixel 7 pro via toslink to the A30. currently I use deezer as my streaming service for hi-res (looking into Qobuz which seems to support bit perfect playback and I'm hoping the A30 will switch bit rates from what it's being fed accordingly). Recently I bought Reiyin usb-c DAC audio converter which says it requires USB OTG which the pixel seems to support. but when I play anything from the pixel (local files but also streaming from deezer) the audio is constantly being interrupted (like cut-outs/hickups). Given the lengthy discussions here on toslink vs usb I really want to use the toslink input on the A30. Anyone perhaps using this setup or something similar and has some proven kit to listen to hi-res streams from a phone with a usb-c interface? Thanks all.

 

[ClassicGuy]

hey folks. looking to hookup my pixel 7 pro via toslink to the A30. currently I use deezer as my streaming service for hi-res (looking into Qobuz which seems to support bit perfect playback and I'm hoping the A30 will switch bit rates from what it's being fed accordingly). Recently I bought Reiyin usb-c DAC audio converter which says it requires USB OTG which the pixel seems to support. but when I play anything from the pixel (local files but also streaming from deezer) the audio is constantly being interrupted (like cut-outs/hickups). Given the lengthy discussions here on toslink vs usb I really want to use the toslink input on the A30. Anyone perhaps using this setup or something similar and has some proven kit to listen to hi-res streams from a phone with a usb-c interface? Thanks all.

Usually when having hiccups with optical input, I check to make sure the cable is fully plugged in, and make sure the protective covers are taken off from both ends of the cable. A lot of time it seems like the optical is fully plugged in, but not really.

 

[Hapo]

A300 would have ~4 times the power of amp with single MA12070 chip.

...I don't know how the A300 stacks up against the Aiyama A07 in actual power but it has plenty for the vintage Energy 2.1 speakers it is driving...

...I know this is the Loxie A30 thread but this is aboot why I went with the SMSL A300 instead...I had considered the Loxji A30 strongly enough to have one at the same time and compare them side by side...

...it proved too easy to just hook up the old tv with RCA to worry aboot the other options...the output was right next to the input...

...one big thing against the Loxjie A30 was the speaker connections...they were much better on the SMSL A300 than the Loxie A30...those were the same as the ones on the Aiyama A07...

...the overall quality of the SMSL A300 seemed better to me for $20 more...

...I hope to see one measured/tested soon...hopefully the RCA output is cleaner than the Loxjie A30...that was the other big thing...

...I probably couldn't tell...but getting the Loxjie A30 to use with RCA seemed suboptimal...

...one RCA output would have been more acceptable if it were closer in quality to the optical output...

 

[Zek]

..hopefully the RCA output is cleaner

You mean RCA input ...

...one RCA output would have been more acceptable if it were closer in quality to the optical output...

What do you really want to say?

 

[Hapo]

...input...output...

...yes...it's one of those things...

...the SMSL A300 has two RCA ones that might work...

...hopefully they were regarded as primary inputs and not afterthoughts...

...the speaker outputs are much better @ SMSL A300 IMHO as well...

...less features...more focused...

...methinks that is what I am tyring to say...

 

[Mosello]

I would say you need RCA input plus some other input, be it RCA or USB. All the following will be good options and will not kill your budget:

- Infineon 12070: Loxije A30 (RCA + USB + Optical), SMSL AO200 (RCA + XLR + USB)
- Infineon MA5332MS: SMSL A300 (2xRCA + USB)
- TI TPA325x based: Aiyima T9, Aiyima T9 Pro (RCA + USB + Optical)
- TI TAS5xxx based: Fosi DA-2120C, Aiyima D03, Aiyima D05 (all with RCA + USB +Optical)

I personally settled down on T9 Pro. You can switch the display off and be left only with the yellow VU meter, without any blue light coming out of it.

There is currently a sale on aliexpress, I have narrowed it down to the two for a soundbar replacement, why T9 pro over Loxjie A30? What was the deciding factor?

 

[grogi.giant]

There is currently a sale on aliexpress, I have narrowed it down to the two for a soundbar replacement, why T9 pro over Loxjie A30? What was the deciding factor?

It was much cheaper and available to be delivered next day...

 

[barbicide shot]

Hi! I purchased the Loxjie A30 with a gift card, and plan on pairing it with ELAC Debut B6.2s. My use case is about 50% turntable (Ifi phono preamp) and 50% CD player, and about 90% jazz. Things I liked about the Loxjie:

• price point, sub out, nice interface, good reviews, decent power.

Couple things I noticed in this (long) thread that I want to clear up:

1) The analog in is fine, correct? The original review was based on the preamp noise? I am sorry i don't understand all the technical stuff but that's what I gathered.

2) The headphone amp sucks - so if my wife is sleeping and I want to listen to records I will probably want a separate headphone amp...what would be the best way to integrate that into this setup?

Thanks for the advise....

 

[Zek]

My use case is about 50% turntable (Ifi phono preamp) and 50% CD player

How did you plan to connect those two devices when the A30 has only one line input?

I will probably want a separate headphone amp...what would be the best way to integrate that into this setup?

You need to find a headphone amp that has two line inputs (for a record player and a CD player) and a line output to connect to the A30.

 

[barbicide shot]

How did you plan to connect those two devices when the A30 has only one line input?

RCA Splitter Switch:

https://www.amazon.com/Fosmon-A1602-Splitter-Connecting-Devices/dp/B00HNCPR92/ref=sr_1_10?keywords=rca+switcher&qid=1679779220&sr=8-10

 

[mathew]

I bought this amp on the recommendation of Amir's review. Alas, I missed the point about its lousy headphone output performance when connected to my laptop via USB input. With my new Sennheiser Hd650 (300 ohm) it sounds flat. Very disappointed with myself. Luckily it sounds much better with the AKG 712 pro (33 ohm). The SMSL Ad18 was able to drive both headphones better. Funny enough, the akg 712 pro and smsl ad18 did not get Amir's recommendation. So, looking to get a good headphone amp that works well with laptop. I will use the Loxjie for my small DIY speaker projects, connected to a proper digital source.

 

[cyp]

I bought this amp on the recommendation of Amir's review. Alas, I missed the point about its lousy headphone output performance when connected to my laptop via USB input. With my new Sennheiser Hd650 (300 ohm) it sounds flat. Very disappointed with myself. Luckily it sounds much better with the AKG 712 pro (33 ohm). The SMSL Ad18 was able to drive both headphones better. Funny enough, the akg 712 pro and smsl ad18 did not get Amir's recommendation. So, looking to get a good headphone amp that works well with laptop. I will use the Loxjie for my small DIY speaker projects, connected to a proper digital source.

If I may ask, how did you connect your "proper digital source" : optical or USB ?

and how is the result compared to the AD18 if ever you did try both

 

[Gruesome]

I bought this amp on the recommendation of Amir's review. Alas, I missed the point about its lousy headphone output performance when connected to my laptop via USB input. With my new Sennheiser Hd650 (300 ohm) it sounds flat. Very disappointed with myself. Luckily it sounds much better with the AKG 712 pro (33 ohm). The SMSL Ad18 was able to drive both headphones better. Funny enough, the akg 712 pro and smsl ad18 did not get Amir's recommendation. So, looking to get a good headphone amp that works well with laptop. I will use the Loxjie for my small DIY speaker projects, connected to a proper digital source.

Mathew, what do you mean by 'sounds flat'? Flat as in flat frequency response? That would be a good thing, innit? My understanding from Amir's review was that the headphone output does not have enough power, but I find that with my Sennheiser HD6xx it is actually plenty loud enough.

And a heads-up, since I am already posting: The micro USB cable that came with my unit was bad. My Windows tablet would see a device, but could not recognize it. Initially I thought it was a driver issue, but a different cable solved the problem.

 

[mattzildjian]

is it possible to get more wattage out of this with a higher volt power supply?

 

[TonyJZX]

logically you wouldnt do such a thing

on an Aiyima A07 all the power is going into the amp... because that's all the device does!

but on an A30 some of that power is being diverted into the DA stage and you risk damage to a non power amp stage in the unit.

I agree this thing is getting long in the tooth and they should have released an A35/A40 by now.

I feel like whoever runs this brand doesnt really care to continue the running of this company, maybe they are a sub brand of smsl etc?

 

[Gruesome]

is it possible to get more wattage out of this with a higher volt power supply?

The power amplifier chip Merus MA12070 has a maximum voltage rating of 27.5V, so there is not much headroom there.
If you feed 8 Ohm speakers, the power supply voltage and amperage are actually pretty well matched: maximum current with 24V into 8Ohm is 3A, so for two channels 6A, which is not far from the 6.75A the power supply can deliver. You get theoretically up to 24V*24V/8Ohm=72W per speaker, but the Merus MA12070 chip specs say peak power at 8Ohm is 45W (10% distortion), 35W at 1% THD, and 30W continuous without heatsink (all per channel).
For 4Ohm speakers, you could use a higher current supply, since you could get 144W per speaker (assuming your speakers can handle that), but the supply maxes out at (less than, due to amp efficiency and use for DAC, preamp etc.) 162W.

shows a teardown of the A30; the good news is the big caps are 35V rated (Nichicon 2200 microFarad), but the bad news is there is a bunch of smaller 22 microFarad 25V caps:

The author of the video doesn't describe the components, but the screenshot above does show an XL1509 DC to DC converter (top left), and both the DAC chip and the volume control chip do definitely not use 24V as their supply voltage. But those 25V caps, assuming they are attached to the power amplifier chip supply, are kind of setting a limit; also, the 85℃ rating of the Nichicons means you don't want to run this thing too hot. It's nice though that the amplifier chip is heatsunk against the case.

TL;DR: amplifier chip maxes out at 27.5V; the power supply is well matched for 8Ohm speakers, if you run 4Ohm speakers you could try to find a 24V 12A (or more) supply. Increasing the voltage will most likely make some 25V rated caps explode rather sooner than later.

 

[mattzildjian]

Thanks for the answers / info!