Topping’s new amplifier - Mini300

[Roland68]

Dunno if this amp is suitable to drive my secondary mixing desk (the challenge was originally between Topping PA5 vs Behringer A500), but Amz is pushing me it @ 114€ shipped...

It is just as suitable as the PA5 (II Plus); I see no limitations.

 

[Fletcher Munson]

look at my pfp to see what the PA5 II+ has been happy powering every day for the last couple of years ))

 

[Chr1]

Got my Mini 300 today and have to say that I love it. Able to drive my Tannoy V12s to earbleed levels with absolutely no sign of clipping. It is barely warm to the touch and sounds great/totally transparent to my ears.
It's idle power consumption is also way lower than my other various amps, so it's definitely a keeper. And all for just over £100.
Nice one Topping!

 

[Ben Jenssen]

My thoughts after a few weeks with the Mini 300.

I've been using a Sony TA-FA30ES receiver to drive my nearly 30 yrs old Dynaudios, my trusted studio monitors that I know very well, for a few years now. But it's a big heat generating beast, and when I saw the Mini 300, I thought I'd might as well try it, having been so happy with the SQ of the E30 II DAC.

I run almost all audio from my mac - DAW, music, TV, radio, dialogue, facetime etc, from my mac thru the E30 II via amp to the Dynaudios. With the Sony amp, I found that running it at full volume, bypassing the EQ with "CD Direct" and setting the level on the DAC (-28db) gave me best results. I've been used to having poweramps without volume controls anyway. This setup gave a little bit extra dynamics, I thought, at the cost of a little high noise floor. (A slight buzz if you put your ear close to a speaker.)

Replacing the Sony with the Topping, I immediately notice that I lose some of that 'little extra' I had with the Sony, but the Mini is very transparent, seems very flat in freq response, and has much better clarity in the high end.

I'm thinking that I liked the Sony's lows because it was not clean and neutral, but that this was also what caused the highs to not be very good. And coming from a life in the studio, and seeing myself as a mixer foremost, and I like neutrality.

I've settled with the Mini 300, and I enjoy it. Perhaps I miss the "warmth" of the Sony sometimes, but I also feel that the Mini 300 gives me a more "modern" sound. These are subtleties, but they are there.

The Sony was more powerful. It might have to do with the resistance of the ins and outs, I don't know, but I now run the Mini at full volume, like with the Sony, and the E30 II at almost no attenuation, to get about the same level on the Dynaudios. Still have more to give from the mac out settings, so I don't worry about not having enough volume with this setup. (Oh, and the "buzz" is completely gone.)

I don't care if it's inexpensive, I like it.

Recommended.

 

[Fletcher Munson]

So does it have PFFB ? I can't find a certain answer

 

[Roland68]

So does it have PFFB ? I can't find a certain answer

Looking at the frequency response for 4 and 8 ohms, I'd say yes, but if Topping managed to achieve that with the Mini300 without PFFB, which is almost unimaginable, all the better.

So why would it matter if PFFB is used if the result is this good?

 

[Fletcher Munson]

Looking at the frequency response for 4 and 8 ohms, I'd say yes, but if Topping managed to achieve that with the Mini300 without PFFB, which is almost unimaginable, all the better.

So why would it matter if PFFB is used if the result is this good?

View attachment 496452

Good answer, thanks, i hadn't found those graphs

 

[Roland68]

Good answer, thanks, i hadn't found those graphs

Yes, Topping has spread the measurements between Overview and Specs, which isn't very clear.

 

[ferossan]

My thoughts after a few weeks with the Mini 300.

I've been using a Sony TA-FA30ES receiver to drive my nearly 30 yrs old Dynaudios, my trusted studio monitors that I know very well, for a few years now. But it's a big heat generating beast, and when I saw the Mini 300, I thought I'd might as well try it, having been so happy with the SQ of the E30 II DAC.

I run almost all audio from my mac - DAW, music, TV, radio, dialogue, facetime etc, from my mac thru the E30 II via amp to the Dynaudios. With the Sony amp, I found that running it at full volume, bypassing the EQ with "CD Direct" and setting the level on the DAC (-28db) gave me best results. I've been used to having poweramps without volume controls anyway. This setup gave a little bit extra dynamics, I thought, at the cost of a little high noise floor. (A slight buzz if you put your ear close to a speaker.)

Replacing the Sony with the Topping, I immediately notice that I lose some of that 'little extra' I had with the Sony, but the Mini is very transparent, seems very flat in freq response, and has much better clarity in the high end.

I'm thinking that I liked the Sony's lows because it was not clean and neutral, but that this was also what caused the highs to not be very good. And coming from a life in the studio, and seeing myself as a mixer foremost, and I like neutrality.

I've settled with the Mini 300, and I enjoy it. Perhaps I miss the "warmth" of the Sony sometimes, but I also feel that the Mini 300 gives me a more "modern" sound. These are subtleties, but they are there.

The Sony was more powerful. It might have to do with the resistance of the ins and outs, I don't know, but I now run the Mini at full volume, like with the Sony, and the E30 II at almost no attenuation, to get about the same level on the Dynaudios. Still have more to give from the mac out settings, so I don't worry about not having enough volume with this setup. (Oh, and the "buzz" is completely gone.)

I don't care if it's inexpensive, I like it.

Recommended.

How are you using the E30 II? In DAC mode (fixed output) or Preamp mode? If it's in Preamp mode I could understand it, maybe you want to use the DAC's remote control to control the volume. What sensitivity do your Dynaudios have? I use the E30 in DAC mode connected to the Mini 300, and with the knob at 1 o'clock, the volume is already incredibly high on my DALI Oberon 3 (87dB - 6 ohms). If I keep it there for too long, my neighbors would come complaining.
Have you tried DAC mode (fixed output)?
To change your Topping E30 II from Preamp to DAC mode (fixed output), you need to hold the Volume Up button on the remote or press and hold the multifunctional touch button on the unit itself (when off) until the display shows "DAC" (or "Pre" for Preamp mode) and then release; it automatically saves and switches modes for a purer signal, bypassing volume control.

 

[Ben Jenssen]

How are you using the E30 II? In DAC mode (fixed output) or Preamp mode?

I always used it in pre mode , because I found that the old Sony receiver performed best at full volume, so I kept the DAC @ around -28db to have a good level.

I knew about the pre/dac modes, and I switched to DAC mode just now. Same level as Pre mode @ -0db volume, and I would be surprised if it made any difference at all - you'd think that the volume knob in pre mode is simply a digital control, not an analog attenuator, right?

I am an idiot when it comes to electronics and specs, and I didn't find anything on the Dynaudio BM6 page on sensitivity/resistance/ohms:

BM6 │ Nearfield Monitor │ Punchy, accurate and transparent

The BM6 monitor is a 2-way passive system comprising a 6.5” woofer and a 1.25” ESOTEC soft dome tweeter. Clean, punchy, accurate and transparent sound!

dynaudio.com

I use Rogue Amoeba Soundsource to control everything Core Audio on the mac, and I kept the settings I had before installing the Mini 300: Most regular apps @ around 40% loudness, and Pro Tools @ 100%. This gives me lots of headroom in PT, and lots of extra power should I need it from any weak sounding application.

 

[ferossan]

I always used it in pre mode , because I found that the old Sony receiver performed best at full volume, so I kept the DAC @ around -28db to have a good level.

I knew about the pre/dac modes, and I switched to DAC mode just now. Same level as Pre mode @ -0db volume, and I would be surprised if it made any difference at all - you'd think that the volume knob in pre mode is simply a digital control, not an analog attenuator, right?

I am an idiot when it comes to electronics and specs, and I didn't find anything on the Dynaudio BM6 page on sensitivity/resistance/ohms:

BM6 │ Nearfield Monitor │ Punchy, accurate and transparent

The BM6 monitor is a 2-way passive system comprising a 6.5” woofer and a 1.25” ESOTEC soft dome tweeter. Clean, punchy, accurate and transparent sound!

dynaudio.com

I use Rogue Amoeba Soundsource to control everything Core Audio on the mac, and I kept the settings I had before installing the Mini 300: Most regular apps @ around 40% loudness, and Pro Tools @ 100%. This gives me lots of headroom in PT, and lots of extra power should I need it from any weak sounding application.

Now I can see why you use the Mini 300 at maximum volume. Your volume control is actually the Mac and eventually the DAC.

In my case, my source is a Wiim Pro via its coaxial output, and that is normally at maximum volume, I use the DAC in DAC mode, and finally, I control the volume only with the Mini 300.

I don't really know for sure, but I have always been under the impression (perhaps erroneously) that the more volume I give to the amplifier, the more distortion I will get. That's why I have always preferred to handle maximum levels on the source signal and the DAC, and control the volume only with the amplifier.

Perhaps someone here with more experience can shed some light on what is the most convenient approach.

 

[Fletcher Munson]

Now I can see why you use the Mini 300 at maximum volume. Your volume control is actually the Mac and eventually the DAC.

In my case, my source is a Wiim Pro via its coaxial output, and that is normally at maximum volume, I use the DAC in DAC mode, and finally, I control the volume only with the Mini 300.

I don't really know for sure, but I have always been under the impression (perhaps erroneously) that the more volume I give to the amplifier, the more distortion I will get. That's why I have always preferred to handle maximum levels on the source signal and the DAC, and control the volume only with the amplifier.

Perhaps someone here with more experience can shed some light on what is the most convenient approach.

It's common practice to run your power amp at maximum volume. using the devices upstream to manage the attenuation of the signal

 

[Bleib]

It's common practice to run your power amp at maximum volume. using the devices upstream to manage the attenuation of the signal

A safety measure can be to set it higher than you'd normally use and then fine tune it with the DAC...in case the volume goes to max on the DAC for some reason at least the amp is not set to 100%, giving some safety to ears and speakers

 

[ziggurcat]

My Mini 300 should hopefully be shipped soon. There was a delay, so I've had to wait longer than what was initially cited on Amazon. The seller did offer to refund a small portion of the cost as some form of compensation for being patient with them. It's not much, but it's better than nothing, considering I never asked for anything.

 

[ferossan]

A safety measure can be to set it higher than you'd normally use and then fine tune it with the DAC...in case the volume goes to max on the DAC for some reason at least the amp is not set to 100%, giving some safety to ears and speakers

That’s more or less what I normally do. I set my DAC to 'DAC mode' (fixed output) and turn the volume of my source (WiiM Pro) up to the maximum. Then, I turn my Mini 300 up to the highest volume I would normally listen at (around the 1 o'clock position on the knob) and leave it fixed there. For day-to-day use, I control the volume using the WiiM Pro remote within the top 10% of its range.

 

[forart.it]

Arrived and running for a couple of hours now: first impression is nice and well manufactured, even if I would prefer LEFT I/O - POWER - RIGHT I/O positioning for the rear connectors (RCAs are completely unneeded, IMHO).

Coupled - at the moment - with an UMC22 drives my GLE 70 mutch better than the previous Topping VX2: emission control seems good (@50%), but I can't say anything -yet- about the tonal balance since I'm using previous DRC measurements.

 

[magreen]

@amirm: Can't wait to see your measurements of this, and comparison to the PA5 II Plus.

 

[Tell]

According to this german guy on Youtube the Mini 300 uses a Infineon MA5332MS chip and not a TPA325x. He writes in a comment that "My statements are based on the manufacturer’s information", but haven't said anything more after that. Seeing that the PA5 with almost the exact same specs and measurements using a TPA3251 isn't it a bit weird that the Mini 300 doesn't use the same?

 

[Power Pop 23]

According to this german guy on Youtube the Mini 300 uses a Infineon MA5332MS chip and not a TPA325x. He writes in a comment that "My statements are based on the manufacturer’s information", but haven't said anything more after that. Seeing that the PA5 with almost the exact same specs and measurements using a TPA3251 isn't it a bit weird that the Mini 300 doesn't use the same?

Yes, I would not expect this claimed performance from the Infineon chip mentioned. If true, it may explain some of the relatively low list price of the Topping Mini 300. I will be surprised if Amir has not measured a Topping Mini 300 by 1Q2026.

 

[magreen]

According to this german guy on Youtube the Mini 300 uses a Infineon MA5332MS chip and not a TPA325x. He writes in a comment that "My statements are based on the manufacturer’s information", but haven't said anything more after that. Seeing that the PA5 with almost the exact same specs and measurements using a TPA3251 isn't it a bit weird that the Mini 300 doesn't use the same?

I agree with you this would be strange. But I think Christian's conclusions are suspect. His only bases in the video for concluding that it's Infineon and not a TI are:

• Power supply -- he alleges that 38 V / 4 A, a modest brick, is “not as powerful as TPA3255." It sounds like he doesn't realize the TPA3251 uses exactly that voltage/power, and that these specs are identical to the PA5 II Plus power supply.
• He broadly believes Topping uses Infineon in its products. Again, not much to go on.
• He says the balanced architecture also leans towards Infineon. That makes no sense, as the TPA325x is also balanced.

So I would take what he says with a grain of salt.