The World's First Power Amplifier with SINAD over 120!!!

[JSmith]

View attachment 199136

PA9 or PA90?

Look like this is on the Topping site;

Witness the Linearity On April. 26th-TOPPING

There is nothing on the L7 site and @WolfX-700 hasn't been very active here recently.

Very keen to see if this will be a competitor to the AHB2, so hopefully one is sent ASAP to @amirm as well.


JSmith

 

[tom_tom]

Looks very interesting ! It's most likely not integrated so matching dac/ preamp with at least one RCA and some kind of trigger / auto standby and nicer remote would be great.

 

[Bleib]

Confirmed...


View attachment 199140


So probably not for me, but we'll see how it works out.

Same, if i buy I'll likely go with the audiophonics recently tested instead.

 

[Matias]

The AHB2 killer is coming. And probably for a fraction of the cost.

 

[antcollinet]

Same, if i buy I'll likely go with the audiophonics recently tested instead.

Similar here, but I'm looking at the KJF audio products (UK Based)

 

[antcollinet]

The AHB2 killer is coming. And probably for a fraction of the cost.

If that is an accurate description, I'll be taking a closer look.

 

[AlephAlpha001]

TOPPING | HIFI | Hi-Res Audio

TOPPING | HIFI | Hi-Res Audio

www.tpdz.net

Have a look at the thumbnail for 'Power amplif...'

What's that device pictured there but not visible when I click through --> then see PA3s, PA5, MX5 only.

 

[Zek]

Look at the news ...

Witness the Linearity On April. 26th-TOPPING

 

[JSmith]

Have a look at the thumbnail for 'Power amplif...'

I think you mean this pic?

TP32EX... https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32665566290.html


JSmith

 

[AlephAlpha001]

I think you mean this pic?

TP32EX... https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32665566290.html


JSmith

Bingo and thanks. Wasn't aware this discontinued product had ever been a thing -- but then I didn't even know Topping existed until about 5 months ago.

 

[kchap]

I would still consider it but I would prefer a an efficient Class D. We tend tend to gloss over the power efficiency issue. There is another thread in ASR discussing an AHB2 v the Macintosh Mark Levinson № 536 mon-blocks I was astounded to find that the idle power consumption of a pair of № 536s is around 700W.

Edit: Apologies, Mark Levinson

 

[restorer-john]

I'm sure it will be a great bench queen. Have reservations about toppings quality , there's nearly always problems.

Bench queens never get used in the real world. They measure well in constrained tests and get left on the shelf. Then they fail for whatever reason when put into use in a typical scenario.

I'm not remotely interested in a 1kHz 5W@4R SINAD number. It means absolutely nothing. Nothing. The sooner people realise that, the better off everyone on the HiFi world will be.

ASR hangs its hat on a single metric and it's sad to see manufacturers of little repute are clamouring to get a headline number on that childish leaderboard.

Let's hope whatever it is, has the actual chops to deliver real performance, real power (not some pissant 100wpc) across the parameters proper HiFi is specified and tested to achieve.

 

[Bleib]

Bench queens never get used in the real world. They measure well in constrained tests and get left on the shelf. Then they fail for whatever reason when put into use in a typical scenario.

I'm not remotely interested in a 1kHz 5W@4R SINAD number. It means absolutely nothing. Nothing. The sooner people realise that, the better off everyone on the HiFi world will be.

ASR hangs its hat on a single metric and it's sad to see manufacturers of little repute are clamouring to get a headline number on that childish leaderboard.

Let's hope whatever it is, has the actual chops to deliver real performance, real power (not some pissant 100wpc) across the parameters proper HiFi is specified and tested to achieve.

What typical scenario? people want elevated bas and treble?
It's not exactly a single metric either, as Amir said in a video if these numbers are right then usually (but not always) the numbers elsewhere look good too.

Is my DAC left in a shelf? Or the 07? Both are used.

Or my AVR amplifier? Tested by Swedish LTS which has neutrality as a goal? (So, similar to to the idea as this website)

 

[sarumbear]

ASR hangs its hat on a single metric and it's sad to see manufacturers of little repute are clamouring to get a headline number on that childish leaderboard.

I agree. However, I was told to shut up as I am in the minority (even though almost a fifth of the voters agreed with me) when I questioned the value of the loudspeaker score, which is the metric ASR ranks speakers.

 

[restorer-john]

It's not exactly a single metric either, as Amir said in a video if these numbers are right then usually (but not always) the numbers elsewhere look good too.

Sorry, that's just rubbish. That harks back to the 1970s when THD numbers were the only number people bought their amplifiers based on. How did that work out? Hint: A whole lot of crap sounding amplifiers were bought by ignorant customers.

THD can go sky high at either end of the spectrum. You need to understand, 1kHz is the best case number, not the worst case. 20Hz-20kHz is the minimum bandwidth to specify THD. Nothing else has meaning. 1kHz numbers are for cheaters.

ASR doesn't test for single channel vs both channels. You have no idea how well regulated the supply is and how it affects the numbers.

You also have no idea what the actual, full power continuous ability of the amplifiers tested are, because that isn't tested. ASR's numbers are a non-specific, unspecified period of time, whereas the actual requirements are specific, advertised and required. The FTC requirements are clear and yet ASR does not test in accordance with those requirements.

250mW to rated power for THD over the 20Hz-20kHz bandwidth.
Full rated power for 5 minutes minimum.

Stereophile test accordingly, and that is why @John Atkinson (JA's) amplifier tests are the gold standard.

 

[restorer-john]

I agree. However, I was told to shut up as I am in the minority (even though almost a fifth of the voters agreed with me) when I questioned the value of the loudspeaker score, which is the metric ASR ranks speakers.

It's a metric borne out of some research, paid for, sponsored and driven by a conglomerate only interested ultimately in profit. That a supposedly 'independent' website takes it on as utter "gospel" (in the absence of anything else they can hang their hat on) is unfortunate. Publicising smiley EQ curve 'preferred' responses as accurate is even worse. But it is, what it is. I shake my head.

Like all corporate research, you have to weigh up the science, the facts and the BS.

Harman Kardon once was an excellent company, especially when they outsourced their design, manufacture and production to a particular Japanese company that shall remain anonymous. Their gear was insanely good, but expensive. But that was the early 1980s.

Harman as a group, prior to the Samsung buyout, just sucked up everything they could, ruined it, and then rinsed and repeated.

JBL was wrecked by Harman in the 1980s. By 1990, they were a shell of speaker company. Now all they can do is release L100 'tributes' and attempts to regain some credibilty by painting a few cabinet baffles 'JBL pro blue' and sticking some horn loaded compression drivers in 2-way boxes, pretending they are SOTA. Yawn.

 

[Bleib]

Sorry, that's just rubbish. That harks back to the 1970s when THD numbers were the only number people bought their amplifiers based on. How did that work out? Hint: A whole lot of crap sounding amplifiers were bought by ignorant customers.

THD can go sky high at either end of the spectrum. You need to understand, 1kHz is the best case number, not the worst case. 20Hz-20kHz is the minimum bandwidth to specify THD. Nothing else has meaning. 1kHz numbers are for cheaters.

ASR doesn't test for single channel vs both channels. You have no idea how well regulated the supply is and how it affects the numbers.

You also have no idea what the actual, full power continuous ability of the amplifiers tested are, because that isn't tested. ASR's numbers are a non-specific, unspecified period of time, whereas the actual requirements are specific, advertised and required. The FTC requirements are clear and yet ASR does not test in accordance with those requirements.

250mW to rated power for THD over the 20Hz-20kHz bandwidth.
Full rated power for 5 minutes minimum.

Stereophile test accordingly, and that is why @John Atkinson (JA's) amplifier tests are the gold standard.

Eh, you do know that the amps are tested at different loads, and you know perfectly well that the companies for instance only use 1 watt for a brief moment and not continues power right? You know they invented numbers like PMPO etc to make their wattage numbers look higher too.

And why do you think that I for instance only rely on numbers we see here? My own AVR amp was tested by the Swedish LTS, which has similar goals such as this website. However, it's also measured elsewhere on pages such as this and they do test continues power.

Denon AVR-2308CI A/V Receiver Review

The AVR-2308CI is one of the most versatile receivers I have tested with features like independent channel trims per mode, Audyssey MultEQ, HDMI upconversion with OSD support, and more.

www.audioholics.com

Atkinson, you mean this guy?
”Cambridge's CXA81 performed well on the test bench. It offers relatively high power with very low harmonic and intermodulation distortion.—John Atkinson”

This guy?
"Overall, AudioQuest's DragonFly Cobalt performed well on the test bench".—John Atkinson

 

[sarumbear]

Eh, you do know that the amps are tested at different loads, and you know perfectly well that the companies for instance only use 1 watt for a brief moment and not continues power right? You know they invented numbers like PMPO etc to make their wattage numbers look higher too.

Just because there are bad actors out there doesn't mean we have to pay attention to them.

Atkinson, you mean this guy?
”Cambridge's CXA81 performed well on the test bench. It offers relatively high power with very low harmonic and intermodulation distortion.—John Atkinson”

This guy?
"Overall, AudioQuest's DragonFly Cobalt performed well on the test bench".—John Atkinson

@restorer-john was referring to JA's measurements, not his reviews.

 

[Bleib]

Just because there are bad actors out there doesn't mean we have to pay attention to them.

@restorer-john was referring to JA's measurements, not his reviews.

It's JA commenting on his measurements, certainly he should understand them very, very well?
Maybe it's a major problem that Stereophile absolutely depends on companies buying ads.
And that's in general very hard not to pay attention to, it's what most people will ever come in contact with when it comes to Hifi, it's what dominates, this is also why Stereophile can recommend a 100 USD power cable.

 

[sarumbear]

It's JA commenting on his measurements, certainly he should understand them very, very well?
Maybe it's a major problem that Stereophile absolutely depends on companies buying ads.
And that's in general very hard not to pay attention to, it's what most people will ever come in contact with when it comes to Hifi, it's what dominates, this is also why Stereophile can recommend a 100 USD power cable.

You have answered your own question. JA works for Stereophile and his reviews are based on the magazine's editorial values. However, his measurements are there for all to see. It is for the reader to understand them. JA's measurements are objective, his comments are subjective.