Replacement for Topping PA3S

[Dirtmal]

Hi All,
Firstly, I'd like to thank all the contributors to this forum. This place has provided a wealth of information and given me a lot of entertainment to boot!

So my situation is: We finished building our house last year. I was keen on putting some speakers on the deck and given that we are in very close proximity to the coast bought marine speakers that can be found here: https://www.bowerswilkins.com/en/product/integrated-solutions/marine-8

I have those speakers powered by a Topping PA3S which is fed by a Wiim Mini. All these components are in a little comms cupboard (only 320mm wide) with a bunch of other stuff including a BluRay player, WiFi router etc. Pretty much exclusively use AirPlay and Apple Music. Unfortunately, the speaker fittings on the amp for one channel are faulty and loose and intermittently lose connection. I have to 'wiggle' them around in which case it's fine but I'm tired of it and considering alternatives. Banana plugs don't help.

I am no audiophile but I love listening to my music. The setup I've got is fine but considering I'm going to do something I'd appreciate some advice. I'd like the system to sound as good as it can but considering the speakers and the fact they're outside I'm unclear on how much it's actually worth spending on this. I'd like to run digital out from the Wiim but I'm not at all convinced I'd hear any difference.

So, any advice on what I should replace my PA3S with? Before the connector went, I was consdiering buying an E50 DAC but more as a bit of fun than expecting any audible difference. I obviously want to spend as little as possible but IF there are perceptible gains to be had to a non-audiophile like me with an outdoor setup, I'd be prepared to pay for it. Or should I just bite the bullet and open the PA3S up and see if I can fix it with a soldering iron?

Any advice would be welcome and again, thanks very much.

 

[jae]

Perhaps you or someone you know could solder on a new connector or even just hard wire the speaker cable internally? If you don't want to fuss with that and you think your current Topping amplifier gets loud enough I think the AIYIMA A07 TPA3255 is probably your best bet for a replacement. It has similar power and performance at a fraction of the cost.

The Wiim Mini analogue out does not measure the greatest, but honestly I think it does not make a lot sense to focus to on getting a dac solely for a cleaner signal over other potential changes (if the goal is higher fidelity/more enjoyment) because whatever gains you get from the cleaner signal provided by the dac will likely not matter much in the grand scheme of things since a cleaner signal/lower noise etc will obviously not fix the likely and much more dominant environmental noise just by virtue of the setup being outside.

I think the main way you should go about on 'improving' the outdoor system would be more to do with either replacing or adding additional speakers, optimising the frequency response at your main listening position or for a wider area (if you want to optimise enjoyment for guests) via dsp/eq or changing the position of speakers. Obviously, some of the things that involve physical changes might not be viable in your situation. Eq/DSP would require the purchase of a calibrated mic and another device like a minidsp etc. and a maybe few evenings of tinkering, and you'd be looking at a couple hundred dollars. If the goal is to spend as little as possible and you already enjoy it as-is, I'd just replace the amplifier with that AIYAMA for $60-80 and call it a day.

 

[3125b]

Or should I just bite the bullet and open the PA3S up and see if I can fix it with a soldering iron?

If it's out of warranty you can't loose much by trying ...
Here is a little bit of info on the teardown process: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ubjective-impressions.7642/page-5#post-573109
Pretty sure the 3s is similar to the older version. You probably don't need to unscrew the frontpanel, just unscrew the two rear screws and pull out the board - be careful with the volume knob, if it doesn't come of reasonably easily you might have to figure something out to not damage the pot.
Have a look at the binding posts and the pin header. The issue might not be clearly visible, try reheating the solder joints if you can't spot anything. If a component is damaged the diagnosis might be very difficult, probably not feasible without proper tools and further information.

 

[Dirtmal]

Thanks to both of you very much for taking the time to reply. So, it is still under warranty, but um, I opened it up anyway since a) it beats working and b) going through the return process would've meant being without music for ages and I really didn't need that. The instructions linked above were identical for the 3s. The problem was immediately evident. Both posts for the right output channel had no solder at all. None. I looked in case maybe it had broken off or something but to me it appeared it had never been soldered. Anyway, with great trepidation I got out my 20 year old soldering iron and gave it a go. Defintiely not the neatest job I've ever seen but reassembled it, plugged it in and...SUCCESS!!! Now working perfectly.

So thanks again for the awesome advice and saving me some money. Now, I can think of other ways of blowing some cash on this little setup (I'd never even heard of a DSP until now).

P.S I've attached a couple of photos of the post before I soldered them. I'm not going mad right? They're completely unsoldered?

 

[3125b]

Well that's a big miss for sure. The rest hand soldering doesn't look too pretty either.

Glad that it worked out. May it last a long time.