Topping B100 Amplifier Review

[Deleted member 72219]

Isnt it simply that you are driving to the power limit and hitting the protection levels?

No, then the amp safety kicks in. I’ve done this twice on my right channel when playing obscenely loud for testing purposes.

Anyhow, I cannot recreate the noise issue. As it was somehow affecting both channels before and now refuses to do it, I am attributing the issue to something upstream in the chain that is no longer acting up, and it simply coincidentally acted up when I tried to use High Gain the first time.

Either way I’ve no need for High Gain in normal use, it is more than loud enough in Medium Gain for me when combined with the extra +6dB from the new preamp. On the very quietest tracks, it was only just loud enough when I was using passive pre on the Freya+ before changing to this new preamp, but even then I was able to get volume more than loud enough/past safety cutout by using tube buffer (+14dB), but the new preamp lets me get plenty loud much more cleanly (Topping L70 on Low Gain).

-Ed

 

[ryanmh1]

Most important thing is, that you will inform this community if issues occur.
Btw: I tested my need of power
I heared yesterday the complete jazz at the pawnshop with my Fosi v3
Low was 38.2 dB Peak was 93.2 dB - 55.0 dB Dynamik range!

Remember that you can't use a cheap SPL meter to measure peaks. The sample rate isn't high enough to capture a 20ms transient. You would need one that complies with the "impulse" standard, which costs $500 an up. So, the "peak" reading could be wrong. I just checked the REW docs, and it also filters "Fast" with a 125ms measurement. So, it could also yield inaccurate peaks using the SPL function. Some might be that long, but they might not be... I'm also not sure how it could get it right on a short transient in any event since the sample rate of the soundcard would not seem to be fast enough to capture enough data points on a high frequency peak like a cymbal crash.

Sadly, cheap meters also won't do averages. Integrating meters are expensive. Like $1000. REW might be able to do this. No idea. Best bet with a meter is to set the meter to the slow acquisition setting, watch the screen during an average loudness passage, sort of take a rough guesstimate of the median, and add at least 20dB which will capture most recorded content. 25dB if you want to be really safe. Or spend $500 minimum on a meter that will actually do what you think yours will do when set to "peak", but in reality, won't.

 

[dzerig]

I don’t need to, I can read and understand others work on the topic:

https://linearaudio.net/sites/linearaudio.net/files/volume1bp.pdf

It might be true that badly implemented negative feedback is bad - but then you would always see the result in the measurements - which clearly we do not in these amplifiers.

You don't care if you can hear the difference?

Measurements are fine, if you use the right ones. But merely ranking on sinad at one frequency won't tell you much. What matters is measuring the right things.

 

[Dougey_Jones]

Why does it say Model TP312 on the back, if it's a B100?

 

[staticV3]

Why does it say Model TP312 on the back, if it's a B100?

Why does it say Model A1549 on the back, if it's an iPhone 6?


A: It's an internal model code.

 

[Roland68]

Why does it say Model A1549 on the back, if it's an iPhone 6?
View attachment 395140

A: It's an internal model code.

Maybe we need a "Toppingtracker"

 

[geekosa]

L70 works great for this, with its remote-controlled resistor ladder volume control and 12V trigger out. ;-)

Is there any audible difference when you connect the e70 directly to the amp (and handle volume digitally) or when you go from e70 to L70 to the power amp (and handling volume with r2r)?

 

[Deleted member 72219]

Is there any audible difference when you connect the e70 directly to the amp (and handle volume digitally) or when you go from e70 to L70 to the power amp (and handling volume with r2r)?

For PCM audio, not much difference, nothing I could reliably pick out in a blind A/B comparison, but for DSD audio, yes, because the E70 Velvet processes DSD differently in preamp mode than it does in pure DAC mode.

-Ed

 

[staticV3]

For PCM audio, not much difference, nothing I could reliably pick out in a blind A/B comparison, but for DSD audio, yes, because the E70 Velvet processes DSD differently in preamp mode than it does in pure DAC mode.

-Ed

And this difference is audible? What's the ABX confidence score on that?

 

[Deleted member 72219]

And this difference is audible? What's the ABX confidence score on that?

I would say 80%. My streamer has the same DAC chipset in it, and I didn’t notice a significant improvement when I bought the E70 Velvet versus using the streamer directly to the amp with PCM, but I did notice a change in DSD between the streamer and the E70 Velvet in pure DAC mode. The E70 Velvet in preamp mode sounds almost the same as far as I can tell as my streamer playing DSD.

-Ed

 

[Sokel]

I would say 80%. My streamer has the same DAC chipset in it, and I didn’t notice a significant improvement when I bought the E70 Velvet versus using the streamer directly to the amp with PCM, but I did notice a change in DSD between the streamer and the E70 Velvet in pure DAC mode. The E70 Velvet in preamp mode sounds almost the same as far as I can tell as my streamer playing DSD.

-Ed

Are DSD and PCM the same master?

 

[Deleted member 72219]

Are DSD and PCM the same master?

I use multiple samples, some aren’t (Vandetta’s I Want You album, originally mastered in DSD64), and some are (Jazz at the Pawn Shop and Vandetta’s Remember Me album, both mastered from analog tapes to both, DXD [PCM] and DSD512). Among numerous others.

-Ed

 

[Deleted member 72219]

Are DSD and PCM the same master?

Not sure how this matters though, I’m comparing DSD versus DSD and PCM versus PCM when comparing source devices/source device modes.

-Ed

 

[Sokel]

Not sure how this matters though, I’m comparing DSD versus DSD and PCM versus PCM when comparing source devices/source device modes.

-Ed

It matters a lot as if you read various threads about it masters are rarely the same between DSD and PCM and DSD to DSD.
And that can get as audible as it gets.

Not to mention level differences,etc,which is the No1 thing to take care off.

(Funny story,I was comparing DSD with PCM (Dire Straits) and was thinking "wow,DSD has a lot more low end" .Turned out that jRiver was downmixing the multichannel master including the LFE part of it .Of course I found out about it after some scrutiny )

 

[Sokel]

I would say 80%. My streamer has the same DAC chipset in it, and I didn’t notice a significant improvement when I bought the E70 Velvet versus using the streamer directly to the amp with PCM, but I did notice a change in DSD between the streamer and the E70 Velvet in pure DAC mode. The E70 Velvet in preamp mode sounds almost the same as far as I can tell as my streamer playing DSD.

-Ed

Also,about gear themselves,have a look here and you'll see that even a broken design that benefits from DSD is unlikely to be audible unless edge cases (way low levels,bad gain structure between gear,etc) :

PCM vs DSD

Did a little comparison and I was wondering if any friend with better gear here has tested this. Results you're about to see is probably narrowed to the specific DAC but it's interesting to see how it handles things differently. I will not try to decipher the results other that DSD seems much...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Deleted member 72219]

It matters a lot as if you read various threads about it masters are rarely the same between DSD and PCM and DSD to DSD.
And that can get as audible as it gets.

Not to mention level differences,etc,which is the No1 thing to take care off.

(Funny story,I was comparing DSD with PCM (Dire Straits) and was thinking "wow,DSD has a lot more low end" .Turned out that jRiver was downmixing the multichannel master including the LFE part of it .Of course I found out about it after some scrutiny )

Is this a language barrier? Let me spell it out…

Sources:
HiBy R6 Pro II
Topping E70 Velvet on Preamp mode
Topping E70 Velvet on pure DAC mode
All sources use 2*AK4499EX + 1*AK4191EQ DACset

I compared and found negligible difference:
PCM on any source versus PCM on any other source
DSD on HiBy R6 Pro II versus DSD on Topping E70 Velvet in Preamp mode

I compared and found a reliably detectable difference:
DSD on E70 Velvet in Preamp mode versus DSD on E70 Velvet in pure DAC mode
DSD on HiBy R6 Pro II versus DSD on E70 Velvet in pure DAC mode

-Ed

 

[Deleted member 72219]

Also,about gear themselves,have a look here and you'll see that even a broken design that benefits from DSD is unlikely to be audible unless edge cases (way low levels,bad gain structure between gear,etc) :

PCM vs DSD

Did a little comparison and I was wondering if any friend with better gear here has tested this. Results you're about to see is probably narrowed to the specific DAC but it's interesting to see how it handles things differently. I will not try to decipher the results other that DSD seems much...

www.audiosciencereview.com

We’re clearly not going to agree. I’ll just stop talking see as I will get nowhere and we’re wasting our time.

-Ed

 

[bYOndo]

hello everybody, I'm ready to pull the trigger on these... by the way (sorry for the words play eheh..) I have no 12V triggers anywhere in my system; would it be safe to look for a hack to put these amplifiers on always on (bypassing the on/off switch). Is it even possible? I see it's a temporary switch (with a spring? as the photos in first page}. Otherwise do I have to use a 12V universal transformer and split its output in 2 minijack connectors?

thanks, bye!

 

[OldTimer]

Still don’t know Class B amp. How does it differentiate from Class A or D amp?

 

[totti1965]

Class A vs AB vs D amplifiers

Hi all Iv always been under the impression that class A AB amplifiers sounded better than class D , however less powerful at same cost etc.. Now days with modules like the purifi , some say the class D exceeds the latter classes... in what respect are we talking, and how does this relate to...

www.audiosciencereview.com