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Power JBL BAR sub with ZK-6001 amp on oem power supply

Robertosimus

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Dec 6, 2024
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I have a beautiful JBL BAR 500 subwoofer (300watt, 10", 3ohm subwoofer that comes with JBL soundbars) that i want to convert from proprietary wireless to RCA input.
jbl_bar_500_sub_back_35982_x2_1.jpg
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The oem system is most likely (As the SW10 service manual states) a Syncomm IA9Q5 S83D comms module feeding a texas instruments TAS5534 audio processor feeding a TAS5614 power stage powered by a 34Volt 4/6/4 amp DC power supply.

I have been told that the oem JBL amp is a sophisticated 300 watt capable amp with very very well implemented DSP and more.

My zerost idea was to hack the Bluetooth I2S I2C input. I give up on that very very fast.

My first idea was to replace the whole plate amp with a new Dayton Audio plate amp but the speaker is a 3ohm model. Dayton informed me that they did not have an amp that could reliably drive that impedance. I also contacted hypex but they replied with a very detailed email which boiled down to them emphasizing serious risks for heat, distortion and reduced amp lifespan when choosing a 4ohm rated plate amp for this speaker. However they also pointed out that their 500watt mono amps like the FA501 should provide sufficient headroom. But these are $500+ so that kinda defeats the purpose of the project.

My second idea was to replace the amp and speaker. (haven't looked into that yet)

On the DIY audio facebook groups i got some suggestions for looking into Chinese TPA3255 or TDA7498E amps which supposed to handle anything from 2ohm.

While looking into that i ran into a youtube video from a guy who had a semicustom OscarPham S-SW10 TPA3255 straight replacement kit for a JBL SW10 sub. (Equivalent to the BAR 500 sub). But this kit probably wont fit the BAR 500 layout and i cant find availability of that kit anywhere outside of Vietnam, the kit did inspire me.
1000006879.jpg

As you can see in the picture above they kept the original power supply and replaced the wireless amp board by a wire amp board and a custom IO board in the center.

I figure i should be able to do that with an aliexpress amp but im not sure how to choose a proper amp.
the subwoofer has the following specs:
Advertised power: 300Watt.
Measured impedance: 3ohm
Stamping on the speaker: 200 watt.
Onboard power supply 34Volt 4Amp nom. 6.4Amp max. (136watt nom, 217watt max).

Now the question:
If i'd take an AliExpress ZK-6001 amp, (TPA3255 based mono amp) 18-50V up to 600watt powered by the oem 34V amp, connected to the 3ohm speaker, how would that work out? would the lack of intelligent amp limitations cause the amp to draw too much power from the amp and damage it? would the amp damage the speaker?

I see that the ZK-6001 amp has a big fan on it but the oem amp and the Oscar amp have just a reasonably small heat sink, why is that? would i need the fan in my (just 200 watt) setup?

Any recommendations?
 
I have it running.

I used a cut up 9x15cm proto pcb as adapter plate. Some 12mm M3 standoffs and screws. A RCA chassis socket and a Wuzhi Audio ZK-6001 TPA3255 Amp and the original JBL 34V 6.4A power supply.
I reused the power and speaker cables.

The mounting plate had to be Dremel'd up a bit to fit the adapter plate.

The fan is thermal controlled. After powering up the fan spins for a second and turns of. It will turn on when the amp pcb heats up (has not happened with my setup yet).
The is no On/Off pop.
There is noise then music is pauzed. (Not sure if its caused by my wiring routing, the sound source or by the amp itself).
There was a lot of crackling when turning the volume and frequency dials but this cleared up after violently turning the dials 20 times.

It sounds good, not superb, just good. The amp input is very sensitive to inline level. It plays good on a good input like a sub out (obviously). Phone or tablet output can be too weak to get good output from the sub.
It does mis out a bit on JBL's magic. In the original soundbar setup the sub plays harder and deeper.

Total cost:
10" JBL BAR 500 Subwoofer €40 (used)
ZK-6001 Amp €30 (aliexpress)
RCA connector, standoffs, proto pcb, crimp and ties (aliexpress) €10.
Total ~€80.

For people who want to reproduce this, not all JBL BAR subwoofers have the same plate amp layout. The ZK-6001 might fit better or not on other series or production years.


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I have a beautiful JBL BAR 500 subwoofer (300watt, 10", 3ohm subwoofer that comes with JBL soundbars) that i want to convert from proprietary wireless to RCA input.
View attachment 414437View attachment 414438
The oem system is most likely (As the SW10 service manual states) a Syncomm IA9Q5 S83D comms module feeding a texas instruments TAS5534 audio processor feeding a TAS5614 power stage powered by a 34Volt 4/6/4 amp DC power supply.

I have been told that the oem JBL amp is a sophisticated 300 watt capable amp with very very well implemented DSP and more.

My zerost idea was to hack the Bluetooth I2S I2C input. I give up on that very very fast.

My first idea was to replace the whole plate amp with a new Dayton Audio plate amp but the speaker is a 3ohm model. Dayton informed me that they did not have an amp that could reliably drive that impedance. I also contacted hypex but they replied with a very detailed email which boiled down to them emphasizing serious risks for heat, distortion and reduced amp lifespan when choosing a 4ohm rated plate amp for this speaker. However they also pointed out that their 500watt mono amps like the FA501 should provide sufficient headroom. But these are $500+ so that kinda defeats the purpose of the project.

My second idea was to replace the amp and speaker. (haven't looked into that yet)

On the DIY audio facebook groups i got some suggestions for looking into Chinese TPA3255 or TDA7498E amps which supposed to handle anything from 2ohm.

While looking into that i ran into a youtube video from a guy who had a semicustom OscarPham S-SW10 TPA3255 straight replacement kit for a JBL SW10 sub. (Equivalent to the BAR 500 sub). But this kit probably wont fit the BAR 500 layout and i cant find availability of that kit anywhere outside of Vietnam, the kit did inspire me.
View attachment 414436
As you can see in the picture above they kept the original power supply and replaced the wireless amp board by a wire amp board and a custom IO board in the center.

I figure i should be able to do that with an aliexpress amp but im not sure how to choose a proper amp.
the subwoofer has the following specs:
Advertised power: 300Watt.
Measured impedance: 3ohm
Stamping on the speaker: 200 watt.
Onboard power supply 34Volt 4Amp nom. 6.4Amp max. (136watt nom, 217watt max).

Now the question:
If i'd take an AliExpress ZK-6001 amp, (TPA3255 based mono amp) 18-50V up to 600watt powered by the oem 34V amp, connected to the 3ohm speaker, how would that work out? would the lack of intelligent amp limitations cause the amp to draw too much power from the amp and damage it? would the amp damage the speaker?

I see that the ZK-6001 amp has a big fan on it but the oem amp and the Oscar amp have just a reasonably small heat sink, why is that? would i need the fan in my (just 200 watt) setup?

Any recommendations?
For speakers
DC impedance and AC impedance are not the same
Maybe you can refer to this picture
 

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Small update.
For mono input the L and GND input should be used (according to the aliexpress shop). I also tried R and GND which appears to give the same results. Bridging L and R gives a lot of distortion.

The low pass filter is terrible. (But what can you expect for €30) It does do something. Im not sure what exactly but when feeding a full range signal even at the lowest low pass setting women vocals are cleary audible tough the subwoofer, strangely it does cut off high frequencies and mid bass nicely when dailing it down. I put it behind an equalizer and the amps low pass filter just let's trough A LOT between 300Hz and 2.5kHz. It just seems to dim those frequencies a bit, it doesn't really filter them out.
At moderate volume the subwoofer doesn't sound terrible but at higher volumes its boomy and muddy. It does go low but with the ZK-6001 amp, the subwoofer absolutely does not sound like how it sounds and feels in the original soundbar setup with the original jbl amplifier.
 
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