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Passive speakers with Topping PA5

mitasr

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I am looking for a pair of good passive speakers to team up with the Toppings E50/PA5. What would you recommend?
 

sweetchaos

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See my “passive speaker recommendation” thread.

Short of having a tower, yes, you’ll need sub(s). See my ‘subwoofer comparison’ thread for that.
 
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mitasr

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See my “passive speaker recommendation” thread.

Short of having a tower, yes, you’ll need sub(s). See my ‘subwoofer comparison’ thread for that.
OK thanks! By the way, I might not go with the PA5 (not so reliable based on other users' feedback on this forum) but the PA3s instead and the DX3 Pro+. In this case, does the PA3s have enough power to drive the Elac?
 

sweetchaos

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Watch this video to understand how much power you may need:

See Matias amplifier spreadsheet to view available amplifiers for your budget.

I usually get the most amount of power, from the amplifier that has a better sinad, then the rest of the options, for a given budget.
 

andrewjohn007

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OK thanks! By the way, I might not go with the PA5 (not so reliable based on other users' feedback on this forum) but the PA3s instead and the DX3 Pro+. In this case, does the PA3s have enough power to drive the Elac?
Can you even get a PA5 currently? My brief search didn't uncover any for sale... Very brief mind you - Amazon and Apos
 

sweetchaos

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Ok so is PA3s a good choice to go with DX3 Pro+ then?
According to Matia's spreadsheet, if I just narrow down by less than $200 (slightly above your current chosen amplifier budget), here's top 4 options:

NameTHD+N
(5W, 4 ohms)
SINAD (dB)
(5W, 4 ohms)
Power (W)
(1% THD+N, 4 ohms)
Price (USD)Source
Topping PA3s0.0026%9265150Topping
ICEpower 50ASX2 (stereo)0.0028%9150147ICEpower
Loxjie A300.0030%9080150Loxjie
SMSL A3000.0065%84140200SMSL

I would personally go with SMSL A300 (that is, if they don't have any major issues like PA5 did), since it has double the power, for 8db loss of SINAD (vs PA3s) (which is unlikely to be audible).
You'll notice the lack of power once you turn on the volume, on the other hand.

IMO, a step up to SMSL A300 would be:
NameTHD+N
(5W, 4 ohms)
SINAD (dB)
(5W, 4 ohms)
Power (W)
(1% THD+N, 4 ohms)
Price (USD)Source
Hypex NCore NC122MP0.0012%98125500Hypex
Yes, it's more 150% more $ ($500 vs $200), and while the power (125w vs 140w) is almost the same, but you gain 14db of SINAD, which is more end-game to me (short of spending $$ for purifi amps).

My usual recommendation, with any budget in mind is....Hypex Ncore (on a budget) and Purifi (for endgame, with no budget).
 
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Xombul

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Thank you. Should I add a subwoofer too to cover the low bass? SB-2000 Pro?
It depends on the size of your room and your budget. I believe a sub can be helpful with dbr62. Regarding the Lintons, the bass level is enough to "pressurize" a small or a medium room. As a reminder, if we put aside the organ, the lowest frequently for an instrument is around 35Hz.
 

Xombul

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xaxxon

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I am looking for a pair of good passive speakers to team up with the Toppings E50/PA5. What would you recommend?
DO NOT BUY A PA5. IT'S A PIECE OF GARBAGE THAT WILL BREAK. DO NOT BUY.

See the pa5 threads for more info.

If you already have it and can return it, return it.
 

JeremyFife

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DO NOT BUY A PA5. IT'S A PIECE OF GARBAGE THAT WILL BREAK. DO NOT BUY.

See the pa5 threads for more info.

If you already have it and can return it, return it.
I might soften that view slightly :)
Do read the thread on here (Poll for PA5 Owners)
I have a PA5, it did fail and it's been repaired. It's a great amp but, with hindsight, I would have bought something else because there do seem to be failures.
I'm happy with mine now (and for now!)

I'd have gone old school (Yamaha AS-501) or bigger (Audiophonics Hypex NCore power amp run off my DAC as a pre-amp) - or just looked at the ASR review index. The PA3 measures well and sounds like it would do just fine.

For speakers - same - look at the review index. Depends on your room size and budget. Elac DBR62 ticks a lot of boxes
One thought ... if you don't have an amp yet why not also consider Active Speakers. Pros and Cons but potentially a good alternative (Kali LP6?) ...
 

xaxxon

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I might soften that view slightly :)
Do read the thread on here (Poll for PA5 Owners)
I have a PA5, it did fail and it's been repaired. It's a great amp but, with hindsight, I would have bought something else because there do seem to be failures.
I'm happy with mine now (and for now!)

I'd have gone old school (Yamaha AS-501) or bigger (Audiophonics Hypex NCore power amp run off my DAC as a pre-amp) - or just looked at the ASR review index. The PA3 measures well and sounds like it would do just fine.

For speakers - same - look at the review index. Depends on your room size and budget. Elac DBR62 ticks a lot of boxes
One thought ... if you don't have an amp yet why not also consider Active Speakers. Pros and Cons but potentially a good alternative (Kali LP6?) ...

If you do buy one, MAKE SURE that you buy it from someone with a local address for repair. Otherwise you may well be out $80+ for shipping (for me to ship to china) when it fails.

The amazon seller (at least one of them if there are more than one) is in china. Apos audio would probably be a good choice if you are US.
 
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mitasr

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Based on all your recommendations, my choice is narrowed down to:
- SMSL A300
- SMSL SU-9N or Topping DX3 Pro+
- ELAC DBR62

I still don’t know which of the SMSL SU9N or the Topping DX3 Pro+ is better for this configuration.
 

SlamTaz

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According to Matia's spreadsheet, if I just narrow down by less than $200 (slightly above your current chosen amplifier budget), here's top 4 options:

NameTHD+N
(5W, 4 ohms)
SINAD (dB)
(5W, 4 ohms)
Power (W)
(1% THD+N, 4 ohms)
Price (USD)Source
Topping PA3s0.0026%9265150Topping
ICEpower 50ASX2 (stereo)0.0028%9150147ICEpower
Loxjie A300.0030%9080150Loxjie
SMSL A3000.0065%84140200SMSL

I would personally go with SMSL A300 (that is, if they don't have any major issues like PA5 did), since it has double the power, for 8db loss of SINAD (vs PA3s) (which is unlikely to be audible).
You'll notice the lack of power once you turn on the volume, on the other hand.

IMO, a step up to SMSL A300 would be:
NameTHD+N
(5W, 4 ohms)
SINAD (dB)
(5W, 4 ohms)
Power (W)
(1% THD+N, 4 ohms)
Price (USD)Source
Hypex NCore NC122MP0.0012%98125500Hypex
Yes, it's more 150% more $ ($500 vs $200), and while the power (125w vs 140w) is almost the same, but you gain 14db of SINAD, which is more end-game to me (short of spending $$ for purifi amps).

My usual recommendation, with any budget in mind is....Hypex Ncore (on a budget) and Purifi (for endgame, with no budget)

is there a reputable store i can get the Hypex NCore NC122MP for the price you mentioned? I also have the dbr62 w/ a sb 2000. i probably will need to get a DAC which I can run to the sub line in and from the sub line out to the hypex xlr inputs, right? any recommendation for this set up? im currently thinking of the smsl C200 as DAC but not sure if that will blend well.

or can i use both the rca & trs outs on the DAC simultaneously? as in, RCA out to sub then TRS out to hypex? even tempted to look at smsl m500 mkIII as it seems to be better than C200 but with xlr/rca out instead of trs/rca on the c200.
 
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