Review of Anaview ALC0100-2300 amp module with integrated power supply

[mcdn]

This is a review and measurements of the Anaview ALC0100-2300 amp module. It is a compact design delivering 2x50W into 4 ohms with a built in power supply, and was on sale from 2010. It is still on sale for EUR121 per unit (https://www.lautsprechershop.de/hifi/anaview_uebersicht_en.htm). At this price it is a lower power lower price alternative to the Hypex NC122MP. Member @ai1 bought a large quantity second hand for around $10 per unit, and kindly sent two of them to me for testing. At that price it's possibly a bargain. Let's see what a discrete class D design from 2010 can do!

It's a nicely made module with a lot of components on both sides:

Measurements were made using REW, with a Topping D10 Balanced as output, and a Cosmos ADC as input. The dummy load was a 4.7ohm/150W resistor (and another lower power resistor on the second channel where used), and an AES17 low pass filter was used for any measurements where switching noise was relevant.

Let's start with the 1kHz 5W FFT, which usually reveals a lot.

It looks great! Noise is very low, with only <120dB harmonics of the mains supply at 100Hz. SINAD is 92.5, placing this module high in the green zone of @amirm 's amp tests. 5W performance is about the best we can get, as distortion rises above that so max power SINAD is actually worse.

THD vs power meets the 50W/0.1% spec at 1kHz, but not at other frequencies where either power drops (20Hz and 100Hz), or distortion rises (5kHz, 10kHz). This is still decent performance.

The 32 tone test shows what we would expect from the 10kHz THD results, but 15.1 ENOB is still respectable.

The 19 & 20kHz tone test at 5W is a big challenge but the module does quite well, with the 1k difference tone down at -75dB.

Crosstalk is superb! Much better than specified, so I had to check my setup a few times, but I can't make it get worse no matter what I do. This is L channel driven at 5W, measuring signal on R channel through the Cosmos ADC.

Ticks at power on and power off are well controlled - despite being around 12mV they are very short and barely audible through a test speaker at 30cm distance.

You might be wondering why I haven't mentioned the frequency response yet! Let's take a look:

That looks fine, right? -1dB at 20kHz is expected into 4.7ohms. But look at the little wobbles at the far left from 10-20Hz. This amp has a real problem with rail pumping - see page 8 of the datasheet. At 14Hz I could only get 1W with a single channel driven before the amp entered protection mode. The datasheet claims 50W is achievable at 20Hz with one channel driven, but I wasn't able to get above 25W. I will be using these modules in an active system where I can mono the bass below 50Hz in DSP, so it's not a major problem for me, but buyers must be clear on this!

All the other basic parameters such as gain, offset voltage, switching noise, idle noise etc were within spec. Both modules performed the same.

Overall I love this module at the second hand price. It even includes a standby power output for external control, making very low idle powers possible. At the full price of EUR110 I think it should do better at low frequencies, but it may not be a big problem in real world use, since most recordings a mostly mono in the bass anyway.

Thanks again to @ai1 for providing the modules to test

 

[ai1]

Very well done review (as usual, I should say)!

I would like to ask you 2-3 questions related to your test.

You used a balanced input connection, it might be interesting to see what happens when you use an unbalanced connection. The question has to do with a rather special ground, which is only available on the signal connector, as far as could see. However, your measurements do not show any 50Hz noise, there is no trace of a "pin 1" problem here.

I also wondered if both channels were driven at the same time to get a THD vs. power plot that shows almost 50W at 0.1% THD at 20 and 100Hz. It might be interesting to see a similar plot for the module in BTL mode. Unlike some solutions with external power supply, there is no room for exaggerated output power promises. The output specifications say 100W/8Ohm continuous and 140W/8Ohm "instantaneous peak output power", whatever that might mean.

Once again, thank you for the thorough review.

 

[mcdn]

Hi

Very well done review (as usual, I should say)!

I would like to ask you 2-3 questions related to your test.

You used a balanced input connection, it might be interesting to see what happens when you use an unbalanced connection. The question has to do with a rather special ground, which is only available on the signal connector, as far as could see. However, your measurements do not show any 50Hz noise, there is no trace of a "pin 1" problem here.

I also wondered if both channels were driven at the same time to get a THD vs. power plot that shows almost 50W at 0.1% THD at 20 and 100Hz. It might be interesting to see a similar plot for the module in BTL mode. Unlike some solutions with external power supply, there is no room for exaggerated output power promises. The output specifications say 100W/8Ohm continuous and 140W/8Ohm "instantaneous peak output power", whatever that might mean.

Once again, thank you for the thorough review.

Hi! I'm currently building the modules into an amp, and can check the unbalanced input performance once that's done. In the test setup I was just using TRS to pin socket cables, no shielding or anything. So signal ground was from the D10 balanced, and the module was sitting on my workbench with no case for shielding. I think therefore it's unlikely that single-ended will be significantly different for the same input voltage.

I have recently received some new power resistors so I can build a two-channel dummy load - more projects! Until then high power two-channel tests aren't possible. On the BTL issue, probably a bit late now I am using the modules in a built amp, but I have no reason to doubt the spec sheet since all BTL does is double the current delivery. Similarly the "instantaneous output power" will purely be a function of the current available from the power supply capacitors. I never find such numbers very interesting, as power supply behaviour during recovery from overload is unpredictable - stick to the continuous rated power!

 

[mcdn]

Oh and thanks again for the modules! I have to say the datasheet is very comprehensive and can be trusted in all regards but one. It is even very clear on the severe power supply rail pumping at low frequencies, and the very different input impedances between channels. Both are unusual and need consideration, which is provided in the very clear application notes. However I was not able to get 50W at 20Hz as the datasheet claims. Not an issue at all for my application, but something to be aware of.

 

[ai1]

Well, when I look at the distortion curves at 20 and 100Hz, although they are steepest starting at 45W, they cross the 0.1% level exactly (or very close) at 50W.
I used the modules together with 2 ALC180-2300 to build 4ch amplifiers to drive Lxmini some time ago. Have not tried them yet, in a permanent rush ever since.