• Welcome to ASR. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

New Fiio Jade Audio Level 1 TPA3255 amplifier with DAC, PEQ, sub-out, BT 6.0 LDAC

Audionaut said:
I don't give a damn.
Besides, it's a high-quality heat sink, and I can fully indulge my fetish.



It is completely thermally stable.
Click to expand...
You can simply use a 36V 5A power supply. This is quite sufficient for this small desktop amplifier.
 
Audionaut said:
I don't give a damn.
Besides, it's a high-quality heat sink, and I can fully indulge my fetish.



It is completely thermally stable.
Click to expand...
What a shame. It was a cute little amplifier, but you butchered it with those hideous black heatsinks. Now it looks like some kind of Frankenstein's monster. A true perfectionist's nightmare.
 
Transistor said:
What a shame. It was a cute little amplifier, but you butchered it with those hideous black heatsinks. Now it looks like some kind of Frankenstein's monster. A true perfectionist's nightmare.
Click to expand...
Are you obsessed with the O-Noorus D1 or something?
It really shouldn't matter to you what I do with it.
These little TPA3255s are very powerful—and that's exactly what I wanted to test out on speakers with a decent setup, meaning an 18-inch woofer and a compression driver in a horn.
It works, but the thermal design could definitely be improved.
The electrolytic capacitors are also located on the PCB right next to the 3255.
20240416175139-1~2.jpg


So I thermally decoupled the capacitors with an insulation pad and, as mentioned, added thermal paste and finally attached the heat sink.
Now everything is just the way I want it.
Here it is without Frankenstein's heat sink, with a FiiO and a WiiM product on the back.

PXL_20250214_085554041.NIGHT~2.jpg


PXL_20250214_085505985~2.jpg
 
Audionaut said:
Are you obsessed with the O-Noorus D1 or something?
It really shouldn't matter to you what I do with it.
These little TPA3255s are very powerful—and that's exactly what I wanted to test out on speakers with a decent setup, meaning an 18-inch woofer and a compression driver in a horn.
It works, but the thermal design could definitely be improved.
The electrolytic capacitors are also located on the PCB right next to the 3255.
View attachment 535103

So I thermally decoupled the capacitors with an insulation pad and, as mentioned, added thermal paste and finally attached the heat sink.
Now everything is just the way I want it.
Here it is without Frankenstein's heat sink, with a FiiO and a WiiM product on the back.

View attachment 535104

View attachment 535105
Click to expand...
Okay.
Yes, without the radiator, your system looked compact and aesthetically pleasing.
 
Nice.
Last week I asked FiiO about PFFB and some other things over an email and on another forum, but never got any response from them.

I'm wondering what is the DAC chip used in this device.
My guess would be that they are using built-in DAC of Bluetooth SoC (BT8961) for all digital inputs.

Measurements on their site look very good but they are made using analog line in.
If measurements provided by @Guddu on the previous page are correct, it would mean that built-in DAC is severely limiting performance of the whole device.
 
Bamboszek said:
Nice.
Last week I asked FiiO about PFFB and some other things over an email and on another forum, but never got any response from them.

I'm wondering what is the DAC chip used in this device.
My guess would be that they are using built-in DAC of Bluetooth SoC (BT8961) for all digital inputs.

Measurements on their site look very good but they are made using analog line in.
If measurements provided by @Guddu on the previous page are correct, it would mean that built-in DAC is severely limiting performance of the whole device.
Click to expand...
Thank you, @Bamboszek, if Yes, then it would appear that the BT8961 chip is endeavouring to emulate the AX5689 chip....
  • High performance 32 Bit RISC-V processorCore with HIFI4 DSP
  • Three multi-function 32-bit timers, support Capture and PWM mode
1779898343067.png
 
Last edited:
KL.... said:
[...]then it would appear that the BT8961 chip is endeavouring to emulate the AX5689 chip[...]
Click to expand...
I don't think so. PWM modulator is still inside the TPA3255.
BT8961 probably "just" handles all digital inputs /w digital-to-analog conversion, Bluetooth front-end, parametric EQ DSP and controlling MCU duties.

I still haven't received my device, but based on the photos and my wild guesses ;) I prepared a very quick sketch of the block diagram:

FiiO Level 1 Diagram.jpg

The OPAMPs appear to be TI OPA1678.
 
Jeromeof said:
we will see ultimately
Click to expand...
Hopefully next week I should get both Level 1 and dummy load resistors and gonna run some measurements.
 
KL.... said:
Thank you, @Bamboszek, if Yes, then it would appear that the BT8961 chip is endeavouring to emulate the AX5689 chip....
  • High performance 32 Bit RISC-V processorCore with HIFI4 DSP
  • Three multi-function 32-bit timers, support Capture and PWM mode
View attachment 535321
Click to expand...
The BT8961B has absolutely nothing to do with the Axign chip—neither in terms of architecture nor technical performance.
It is merely a cheap Bluetooth chip featuring USB, DSP, etc.—the kind typically found in inexpensive headphones, boomboxes, and similar devices. It likely costs less than $1.
While this does allow FiiO to save on the expensive XMOS chip as well as the cost of a dedicated DSP chip, it could ultimately limit the performance of the entire device.
 
landco1 said:
Amplifier for speakers works for correcting headphones? Logic...
Click to expand...
This app/software was initially being used for their headphones and that comment was w.r.t. Auto-EQ section of the app which allows using pre-defined EQ profiles for various different headphones.
 
Hey y'all. I purchased the Level 1 and am using it for my desktop setup. I'm running the Fiio K13 R2R as a pre into the Level 1 as a power amp. Having a grand time with it so far. Amazingly, it's considerably smaller than the K13.

I read the observations about its specs being limited by its power supply and curiosity got the better of me, so I also ordered the Aiyima 48 V 10 amp GaN power supply, designed for the 3255. I want to compare the amp's performance with the two power supplies to see what kind of practical difference the upgrade makes for my listening (if any). Taking measurements is completely beyond me, but I wonder if you all have any thoughts about how to test them or what I should be looking for?
 
bozodidthedub said:
Hey y'all. I purchased the Level 1 and am using it for my desktop setup. I'm running the Fiio K13 R2R as a pre into the Level 1 as a power amp. Having a grand time with it so far. Amazingly, it's considerably smaller than the K13.

I read the observations about its specs being limited by its power supply and curiosity got the better of me, so I also ordered the Aiyima 48 V 10 amp GaN power supply, designed for the 3255. I want to compare the amp's performance with the two power supplies to see what kind of practical difference the upgrade makes for my listening (if any). Taking measurements is completely beyond me, but I wonder if you all have any thoughts about how to test them or what I should be looking for?
Click to expand...
If you had calculated the power requirements beforehand, you probably could have saved yourself the money—especially for a desktop setup.
With the 48V/5A power supply, you have over 130 watts available per speaker at 4 ohms. That should provide plenty of headroom for most setups.
If you don't need that much power, there won't be any difference; meanwhile, the 48V/10A power supply would actually operate with lower efficiency.
 
Roland68 said:
If you had calculated the power requirements beforehand, you probably could have saved yourself the money—especially for a desktop setup.
With the 48V/5A power supply, you have over 130 watts available per speaker at 4 ohms. That should provide plenty of headroom for most setups.
If you don't need that much power, there won't be any difference; meanwhile, the 48V/10A power supply would actually operate with lower efficiency.
Click to expand...
Theoretically should the sound be the same with the two power supplies when volume matched? (I can return it if it has no use for my case.)
 
bozodidthedub said:
Theoretically should the sound be the same with the two power supplies when volume matched? (I can return it if it has no use for my case.)
Click to expand...
Yes, power supply shouldn’t change sound quality on matched level unless faulty.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom