Tonewinner AD7300 7-channel amp

[Sal1950]

Found this review here in Australia.

His comments on the easily heard improvements over the AVR in both the bass and treble clarity
make me question the whole review process ???

 

[nathan]

It's pretty telling that Tonewinner keeps sending amps to lifestyle channel influencers on YouTube, but declines to send one to a reviewer like Amir who will actually measure the quality and accuracy of the amp.

 

[Sal1950]

The thing that worries me most about these bargain basement Chinese products is their
reliability long term. Even looking inside at the components used is a shaky prospect, they
are pro's at producing fake parts. How long is it going to be before they let the smoke out?
It sure is purdy though.

 

[dlaloum]

It's pretty telling that Tonewinner keeps sending amps to lifestyle channel influencers on YouTube, but declines to send one to a reviewer like Amir who will actually measure the quality and accuracy of the amp.

It could be simpler than the conspiracy theory approach...

If Amir lauds it... the audience here is unlikely to make a substantial marketing difference,
and if he bags it... that will be published elsewhere and have a negative marketing influence.

So their overall calculus - regardless of the quality of their product, is that they have nothing to gain from sending their product to Amir.

(their calculus could be wrong of course...)

Still, like many products, we will have to wait for a product owner to send their amp in for testing.

There are several scientifically / objectively oriented forums, where there are not infrequent references to ASR.... but ASR almost never gets mentioned on traditional "golden-ear" audiophile forums.... - compact unassuming amps with exemplary specs, that look inoccuous, are the sort of thing that is likely to do well at ASR.... those where lots of money has been spent on the case, glowing lights and large meters, are less likely to do well... they may perform well, but may lose out on value as the expense spent on the bling will tilt things.

Tonewinner gets the value right due to chinese manufacturing costs, but sits in the big meter, high bling, glowing lights marketplace ... so they aren't a natural fit at ASR...

Still it is an amp I find interesting, and if its performance is good, it would be an interesting option for me.

 

[SdeGat]

I just saw this review below. Nice enough but somewhat superficial.

ToneWinner AD-7300PA+ 7-Channel Amplifier Review

I got to test ToneWinner’s 7-channel amplifier. Find out whether the ToneWinner is a winner…

simplehomecinema.com

 

[dlaloum]

I just saw this review below. Nice enough but somewhat superficial.

ToneWinner AD-7300PA+ 7-Channel Amplifier Review

I got to test ToneWinner’s 7-channel amplifier. Find out whether the ToneWinner is a winner…

simplehomecinema.com

Would be nice to get one of these on Amir or Gene's test bench....

They do look promising

 

[EX511]

I just got this amp and it sounds near identical to the Denon AVR-x4500H until I get to -10db, I'm guessing the Denon starts to struggle at this volume. I suppose this could give the illusion of clarity but all its doing IMO is maintaining a clean, distortion free sound! In Stereo it does seem the push/control the bass a little better but that's about it. *note, the sound does seem a tad more lively in both bass/treble, but I couldn't A/B anything so take this comment subjectively for what it's worth.

FYI for reference I have a 5.2.4 KEF R setup, MLP is 7ft away.

Their power claims do seem suspect though, in my manual and ToneWinner website they claim 310w 1khz 3%THD @ 8 ohms but on Summithifi 300w RMS 20hz-20khz 0.1% THD @ 8 ohms. Also all channels driven isn't listed on the manual or ToneWinner site but on Summit HiFi: 180+ watts RMS/channel; THD<0.1%; 8 Ohms; all Seven channels driven. I'm assuming this is 1khz?

My guess is this amp likely pushes around 130-150w RMS 20hz-20khz all channels driven which is more than enough. I'm not a fan how they play with numbers to make it look like your getting the deal of a lifetime(I hope I'm wrong but I doubt it) It's likely very close in performance/power to the Outlaw 7000x.

In the end it's likely not a 300w+ monster deal, but priced appropriately to compete against similar amps. Overall I'm satisfied with the amp, excellent build quality, subjectively clean sound/power to reference levels to my ears, they VU Meter is a nice add(jewelry) . I'm just not a fan of what seems to be misleading marketing, I hope to see some measurements soon .

 

[EX511]

The thing that worries me most about these bargain basement Chinese products is their
reliability long term. Even looking inside at the components used is a shaky prospect, they
are pro's at producing fake parts. How long is it going to be before they let the smoke out?
It sure is purdy though.

Chinese will build to spec. You want cheap, they'll build you cheap. You want quality, they'll build you quality but you have to pay.
I think this is more of a case of using unorthodox/misleading ways to represent their power. Who uses 3% THD? why is there no FR listed for all channels driven? Like I mentioned in my comment above the power is likely closer to the Outlaw 7000x. IMO ToneWinner is trying to pull a fast one making people think they're buying a more powerful unit. The unit has excellent build quality and more than enough power for most use cases.

I hope i'm wrong and this is simply the manufacturer passing the savings directly to the consumer, I've read they build amps for Emotiva, or they did at some point. If that's the case reliability should be decent.

 

[Sal1950]

I hope i'm wrong and this is simply the manufacturer passing the savings directly to the consumer, I've read they build amps for Emotiva, or they did at some point. If that's the case reliability should be decent.

I understand what your saying, but still we have 2 big bits of unknowns.
First is how the unit actually performs, without a reliable source of measurements like Amir's we just don't know.
Second is still the reliability question, the Chinese are pros at doing things like forging quality build components like
capacitors, etc.. Who knows here?
I personally am very drawn to the amp due to it's very attractive build, case, meters, etc. But these things have also added to the build costs and raise my suspicions of it's overall quality/reliability even further.
With known quantities like the Buckeye Hypex NC252MP Amplifier, 8-channel available for the same cost, I would
recomend our members at least wait for backing evidence on the Tonewinner before pulling the trigger. JMHO
I do wish you the best of luck with your purchase!

 

[EX511]

I understand what your saying, but still we have 2 big bits of unknowns.
First is how the unit actually performs, without a reliable source of measurements like Amir's we just don't know.
Second is still the reliability question, the Chinese are pros at doing things like forging quality build components like
capacitors, etc.. Who knows here?
I personally am very drawn to the amp due to it's very attractive build, case, meters, etc. But these things have also added to the build costs and raise my suspicions of it's overall quality/reliability.
With known quantities like the Buckeye Hypex NC252MP Amplifier, 8-channel available for the same cost, I would
recomend our members at least wait for backing evidence on the Tonewinner before pulling the trigger. JMHO
I do wish you the best of luck with your purchase!

I hear your concerns, for me it was an easy decision. Up here in Canada we get insanely gouged beyond the dollar exchange. It would of cost $700-$800+ for a comparable Emotiva or Monoprice, plus dealing with warranty is a pain for us. There's roughly 2 years of reviews/feedback which is 99% positive, beyond that I haven't seen any complains expect one faulty relay. At the very worse at least I can get it serviced in Canada.

 

[SdeGat]

I understand what your saying, but still we have 2 big bits of unknowns.
First is how the unit actually performs, without a reliable source of measurements like Amir's we just don't know.
Second is still the reliability question, the Chinese are pros at doing things like forging quality build components like
capacitors, etc.. Who knows here?
I personally am very drawn to the amp due to it's very attractive build, case, meters, etc. But these things have also added to the build costs and raise my suspicions of it's overall quality/reliability.
With known quantities like the Buckeye Hypex NC252MP Amplifier, 8-channel available for the same cost, I would
recomend our members at least wait for backing evidence on the Tonewinner before pulling the trigger. JMHO
I do wish you the best of luck with your purchase!

The lack of a “reliable source of measurements like Amir's” is definitely a concern. It seems that the renowned reviewers/magazines are not interested in looking at Chinese equipment. I really looked hard before buying the AD-2500 in April 2022 and decided that it was a good value. Even with the points raised above by @EX511. ‍

 

[dlaloum]

The lack of a “reliable source of measurements like Amir's” is definitely a concern. It seems that the renowned reviewers/magazines are not interested in looking at Chinese equipment. I really looked hard before buying the AD-2500 in April 2022 and decided that it was a good value. Even with the points raised above by @EX511. ‍

Or perhaps the distributors aren't interested in sending a unit in for testing.... which means that, like amir, the reviewers have to wait for a buyer to lend their unit for testing.

 

[Short38]

Is the unit fan cooled? If so is the fan noise audible at an 8’ distance?

 

[Sal1950]

Or perhaps the distributors aren't interested in sending a unit in for testing....

Another negative IMO.
If the manufacturer/distributor had faith in the product they would send it in. A positive review could only strongly boost sales. The gentleman from Buckeye has sent in a few of his amps, along with a customer supplied unit..

From the second (followup) 3ch amp review

Buckeye 3 Channel Purifi Amplifier Review (2nd)

This is a second review of the Buckeye 3-Channel Purifi based balanced class D amplifier. First sample had an issue with its binding posts increasing distortion. It costs US US $1,595. Typical of Buckeye amplifiers, focus on what is inside rather the case which is utilitarian. An indicator...

www.audiosciencereview.com

It is great to see such responsive companies such as Buckeye that take the results of a review and instantly jump on the issue identified to resolve it. And resolve they have. Performance is essentially identical to Purifi reference design. Value added is provided in the form of a 3-gain buffer stage and powerful power supply that allows all three channels to produce near full power when driven simultaneously. Results is one of the cleanest/most transparent multichannel amplifiers you can buy.

I am happy to add the Buckeye Purifi 3-Channel amplifier to my recommended list.

 

[Sal1950]

Is the unit fan cooled? If so is the fan noise audible at an 8’ distance?

I don't believe so, I don't see a fan in here.

https://soundrevolution.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/tonewinner-ad-7300pa_-inside-01_1_1-400x400.webp

 

[Music1969]

Tonewinner remains a mystery, in terms of objective performance.

It could be a sleeping giant in terms great technical performance value per dollar - or just average like Emotivas amps.

 

[Short38]

I don't believe so, I don't see a fan in here.

https://soundrevolution.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/tonewinner-ad-7300pa_-inside-01_1_1-400x400.webp

Thank you.