Topping B100 Amplifier Review

[miero]

There is no easy/cheap way to put a Hypex SMPS into standby mode because it requires an external voltage to be applied to the "SMPS Standby" pin.

 

[Sokel]

There is no easy/cheap way to put a Hypex SMPS into standby mode because it requires an external voltage to be applied to the "SMPS Standby" pin.

Doesn't it have aux PS onboard?If so it would take only a loop and a switch to be pulled high (same with signal sense depending the scheme and if combined with trigger as well)

 

[pma]

well the PSU is a Class11 device and hence requires no earth connection.

Class II. Class 11 does not exist.

 

[misterdog]

Class II. Class 11 does not exist.

From the Wiki page linked.

Insulated AC/DC power supplies (such as cell-phone chargers) are typically designated as Class II, meaning that the DC output wires are isolated from the AC input. The designation "Class II" should not be confused with the designation "Class 2", as the latter is unrelated to insulation (it originates from standard UL 1310, setting limits on maximum output voltage/current/power).

Though erroneous information posted on the internet is not unheard of.

 

[miero]

It is not 11 but two capital “i”s. As Roman number 2.

 

[pma]

Class 2, class II (two) both notation is correct. Class 11 (eleven) is a nonsense. It only confirms what is @misterdog knowledge of electronics.

 

[pma]

From the Wiki page linked.

You have misspelled it.

 

[misterdog]

Though I know the amplifier capable of more than 5W output

 

[Jimbob54]

Can we draw a line under the pissing contest please?

Thanks.

 

[ShadowFiend]

Though I know the amplifier capable of more than 5W output

5W or 60W does not matter. The matter is that B100 fails to output 100W/Ohms as their advertisements told us.

 

[Jimbob54]

5W or 60W does not matter. The matter is that B100 fails to output 100W/Ohms as their advertisements told us.

I think that debate has been thoroughly aired . Let's move on please .

 

[misterdog]

Strangely no one has followed on from my erlier post about the NAD 3020, 'widely' derided in the 1970's for only having 20W output, though the undercurrent (sic) being that is was Japanese ( manufactured in Taiwan) and hence could not be considered seriously.

It later became widely accepted as one of the greatest advances in affordaable hi-fi.

 

[DonH56]

Strangely no one has followed on from my erlier post about the NAD 3020, 'widely' derided in the 1970's for only having 20W output, though the undercurrent (sic) being that is was Japanese ( manufactured in Taiwan) and hence could not be considered seriously.

It later became widely accepted as one of the greatest advances in affordaable hi-fi.

This thread is about Topping, not NAD, and the B100's inability to meet its published specs. Bringing up other components old or new is irrelevant, as is claiming it is good enough for you or other listeners even if it does not FTC spec. The issue at hand is the spec and lack of conformance.

Japanese products were coming into their own in the 1970's and were not derided AFAIK. NAD produced a number of products with rather low continuous power ratings for the time (since the power wars were in full swing by then) but their ability to "double down" and handle complex low-impedance loads was highly-regarded at a time when some of the more (most?) difficult loudspeakers to drive were appearing.

Many speakers today are fairly insensitive so 5 W or 20 W is going to be clipping fairly often with music and movies. There are those who listen at low enough levels that even low-sensitivity speakers will provide acceptable performance with 5~20 W, at least until peaks come along and the amp clips. And plenty who listen at louder levels for whom the B100 will be inadequate. But again the problem is not its power output, or how clean the power within its power band, but that it is rated for much more power than it can deliver.

The B100 does not meet long-term power specs. If it works for you, great, but the goal is to inform others for whom it may not perform well and the underlying issue of not meeting FTC rules. I well remember cheap components with 2N3904/3906 output drivers that claimed 100 W or more "peak dynamic instantaneous music power" since I had to repair a bunch of them. Continuous power was typically around a watt or so. If Topping cannot meet spec, or standards, then it should derate the continuous power rating accordingly and perhaps do like NAD and others and add a dynamic headroom spec, hopefully following the IHF or newer CEA guidelines for pulse duration. I have no desire to go back to the days when anything goes as far as power ratings are concerned.

Multiple people have repeated these same points. If it is good enough for you, great, move on. For some systems it is clearly a great solution.

 

[miero]

The first 4 lines of the B100 specification clearly state that it is a 5W amplifier

 

[MAB]

Strangely no one has followed on from my erlier post about the NAD 3020, 'widely' derided in the 1970's for only having 20W output, though the undercurrent (sic) being that is was Japanese ( manufactured in Taiwan) and hence could not be considered seriously.

It later became widely accepted as one of the greatest advances in affordaable hi-fi.

No. Because your post was wrong (NAD 3020 was not widely derided). And post was not in good faith (unless you have evidence that it doesn’t meet its 20 Watt spec.) And even then is off topic for this thread since you are now simply trying to defend your unfounded opinions with anecdotal nonsense.

 

[Sokel]

No. Because your post was wrong (NAD 3020 was not widely derided). And post was not in good faith (unless you have evidence that it doesn’t meet its 20 Watt spec.) And even then is off topic for this thread since you are now simply trying to defend your unfounded opinions with anecdotal nonsense.

Yep.
There are amps that proudly state their output at 5W.People with 100+dB horns (all the way down) can reach reference levels with them and no harm done.
No one would complain if measured and delivered these 5W.

Last time I checked ASR was data driven.And one can take these data,do its homework and decide or ask.
False data won't cut it and I could not care less if it costs 10$ or 100k$ that's an entirely other area.
No one should get a free pass,no matter the price or how nice may treat users here (yep,that's another matter as well but we're only humans,we like attention)

 

[BDWoody]

Strangely no one has followed on from my erlier post about the NAD 3020, 'widely' derided in the 1970's for only having 20W output, though the undercurrent (sic) being that is was Japanese ( manufactured in Taiwan) and hence could not be considered seriously.

It later became widely accepted as one of the greatest advances in affordaable hi-fi.

Ok, enough with the continued off topic stuff.

 

[MKWingchun]

I just finished this thread, reading it off and on over time. The times it was dragged off topic made me lol several times, especially about the patent issues, but I still enjoyed it. Now I see the off topics posts as "bird walking", off (and back on) topic a number of times. I'm still interested in these amps because I'm only going to use them from 2700 up on a 6 way open baffle, with just one 90 db 4 ohm tweeter, and maybe a second. I'd like to think I'd l would hear a difference using a B100, maybe in air and decay, but I'm probably just being self indulgent. I can't seem to hear past -100 db for distortion, everything sounds the same to me once it's that quiet. It is fun to try new parts. I have a speaker driver graveyard under my bed, and my garage.
I had an amusing experience at a diy speaker show that makes me think any amp can be disabled by the wrong load. This was the 90's, and the amp was a nominally 1000 watt 50 pound plus Musical Fidelity amp. It played about two minutes before it was shut down by a speaker that was claimed to be 4 ohm load. This was the second amp that was borrowed, and disabled by this speaker. They replaced the fuses, and both amps were still dead. Probably repairable, but the owners weren't happy. The speaker's owner then wanted to borrow a battery powered Epicure amp (that was AB biased into class B, for low distortion), and the engineer friend of my mine that built it said, "You're not hooking that boat anchor to my amp." I tried not to laugh.
So for my purposes, this amp will work, and if I buy it from Apos, or Amazon, I can return it without paying expensive return shipping to China. Hope this isn't off topic, sometimes it's hard to tell.

 

[antcollinet]

I can't seem to hear past 110db, everything sounds the same to me once it's that quiet.

Not sure what your units are here. 110dB SPL is deafeningly loud and will result in ear damage pretty quickly.

And for most systems, -110db on a volume control is going to be below the threshold of human audibility.

 

[pma]

The first 4 lines of the B100 specification clearly state that it is a 5W amplifier

Basically, regardless manufacturer’s claims and specs, and based on laws of physics, electrical circuit engineering of class B/AB linear amplifiers and laws of thermal conduction, it is a 5W/4R continuous power amplifier.