This is a review and detailed measurements of the Sonance DSP 2-150 MKII distribution (stereo) amplifier. It was kindly purchased used by a member. It costs US $1,200 new and used about $900.
These amplifiers almost always get put in some rack and never seen again. So usually looks are not important but Sonance still worked to make the unit attractive which serves our hi-fi needs better. As the name indicates, there is a built-in DSP to implement filters and other processing. You access them using the web interface:
I like web interface but lacking an app to access the unit means you are on your own to find the IP address of the unit. Sadly there is no instructions on how to reset the IP address if you buy used. But searching online shows the process for it which I followed. Back panel shows the connections you need in this type of product:
You not only have wired control but also the same using IP. Speaker terminals are Phoenix/Screw as is typical of this (custom integration) market.
Sonance does not say anything about the topology of the amplifier but I am pretty sure it is switching class D. Company claims 98% efficiency which goes against the high amount of heat this amplifier generates. In the middle on top and bottom it gets so hot that you can't keep your hands touching the case (my test for too much heat). I would highly advise using fans to keep the unit cooler.
During testing I found a rather serious bug. There are two trim pots in the front which you adjust for the gain using a screwdriver. These pots though seem to be digitized in software and used to program the amplifier gain. I say this because I set them to max to get the nominal 29 dB gain. However, a power cycle caused them to switch back to 17 dB! You had to rotate the gain pots again to get them to register. And even then, it was not consistent. Probably best to try to live with 17 dB gain than rely on the flaky gain setting otherwise. I looked but did not see a firmware upgrade to fix this (or any upgrade for that matter).
I previously tested the original Sonance DSP 2 150 which had only digital input and did not produce great results. Let's see if this version does better. And oh, member has sent me the digital input board but I thought I test it as is for now.
EDIT: while the owner thought he was buying a MKII (due to ebay listing), in reality what we have here is the standard unit. It is still good data since the last one I measured had digital input only and performance was worse there.
Sonance DSP 2-150MKII Measurements
Let's start with our usual dashboard:
Noise and distortion as expressed in SINAD improves just enough to land the unit in our competent bucket of all amplifiers tested:
Noise performance is not great at 5 watts but improves at full power:
I was pleased to see no speaker load dependency in frequency response and 96 kHz sampling rate of internal ADC/DAC:
Multitone shows good level of distortion for the class:
Same for 19+20 kHz tones:
Let's run our power measurements now:
Company spec is 200 watts which it is handily beating with 1% THD with good bit of headroom to boot.
Power naturally drops at 8 ohm:
There was some kind of power limiting here once it went into clipping.
Even though we have a switching amplifier here, response is very well behaved:
Here is our wideband FFT showing the switching frequency:
There is likely to be a faint popping on/off sound:
Finally, the unit is stable on power up:
Conclusions
It is nice to have a compact amplifier (although it is quite deep) that has lots of power and DSP built-in. Performance is average which in some sense a relief as often these products are sold on specs only and so the results could have been much worse. $1,200 is not a bargain but these products are frequently pulled out of existing installs and sold fairly cheap. Finding one at those prices could net you a bargain.
Heat and gain bug are two rather significant negatives. You can mitigate the heat with ample airflow and/or a fan. The gain bug should be fixed by Sonance if they have any ability to do firmware upgrades.
I am going to recommend the Sonance DSP 2-150MKII based on its measured performance and functionality. But not in full picture of noise and gain bug.
----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
These amplifiers almost always get put in some rack and never seen again. So usually looks are not important but Sonance still worked to make the unit attractive which serves our hi-fi needs better. As the name indicates, there is a built-in DSP to implement filters and other processing. You access them using the web interface:
I like web interface but lacking an app to access the unit means you are on your own to find the IP address of the unit. Sadly there is no instructions on how to reset the IP address if you buy used. But searching online shows the process for it which I followed. Back panel shows the connections you need in this type of product:
You not only have wired control but also the same using IP. Speaker terminals are Phoenix/Screw as is typical of this (custom integration) market.
Sonance does not say anything about the topology of the amplifier but I am pretty sure it is switching class D. Company claims 98% efficiency which goes against the high amount of heat this amplifier generates. In the middle on top and bottom it gets so hot that you can't keep your hands touching the case (my test for too much heat). I would highly advise using fans to keep the unit cooler.
During testing I found a rather serious bug. There are two trim pots in the front which you adjust for the gain using a screwdriver. These pots though seem to be digitized in software and used to program the amplifier gain. I say this because I set them to max to get the nominal 29 dB gain. However, a power cycle caused them to switch back to 17 dB! You had to rotate the gain pots again to get them to register. And even then, it was not consistent. Probably best to try to live with 17 dB gain than rely on the flaky gain setting otherwise. I looked but did not see a firmware upgrade to fix this (or any upgrade for that matter).
I previously tested the original Sonance DSP 2 150 which had only digital input and did not produce great results. Let's see if this version does better. And oh, member has sent me the digital input board but I thought I test it as is for now.
EDIT: while the owner thought he was buying a MKII (due to ebay listing), in reality what we have here is the standard unit. It is still good data since the last one I measured had digital input only and performance was worse there.
Sonance DSP 2-150
Let's start with our usual dashboard:
Noise and distortion as expressed in SINAD improves just enough to land the unit in our competent bucket of all amplifiers tested:
Noise performance is not great at 5 watts but improves at full power:
I was pleased to see no speaker load dependency in frequency response and 96 kHz sampling rate of internal ADC/DAC:
Multitone shows good level of distortion for the class:
Same for 19+20 kHz tones:
Let's run our power measurements now:
Company spec is 200 watts which it is handily beating with 1% THD with good bit of headroom to boot.
Power naturally drops at 8 ohm:
There was some kind of power limiting here once it went into clipping.
Even though we have a switching amplifier here, response is very well behaved:
Here is our wideband FFT showing the switching frequency:
There is likely to be a faint popping on/off sound:
Finally, the unit is stable on power up:
Conclusions
It is nice to have a compact amplifier (although it is quite deep) that has lots of power and DSP built-in. Performance is average which in some sense a relief as often these products are sold on specs only and so the results could have been much worse. $1,200 is not a bargain but these products are frequently pulled out of existing installs and sold fairly cheap. Finding one at those prices could net you a bargain.
Heat and gain bug are two rather significant negatives. You can mitigate the heat with ample airflow and/or a fan. The gain bug should be fixed by Sonance if they have any ability to do firmware upgrades.
I am going to recommend the Sonance DSP 2-150
----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
Last edited:
