Topping B100 Amplifier Review

[Guddu]

Thank You @amirm for the review.

I don't. I did want to listen to it and might do that tomorrow and report back if that happens with my Salon 2 speakers.

Would be great if you could do.

If possible, could you check what's the idle power consumption on no input please.

 

[restorer-john]

This is an incredible amp, one that advances the SOTA in audio reproduction:A spectacular, superlative performer with incredible, genre-defining performances.

You are kidding, right?

It has no power of significance and yet it claims to be a "power" amplifier. It's a medium powered 50w mono, plugpack supplied little box with poor ventilation and no features. It's also expensive at USD$600 for a pair.
It shuts down when a 4R load is presented.
It has no ability in dynamic or short term bursts.
Its continuous power output is in excess of the capabilities of the supplied power supply ratings.

Amir has not presented any compliant continuous power output tests for this little Topping box. What he did do, caused it to shutdown. LOL.

There's no compliant testing here in relation to power output claims or power output performance.

 

[EJ3]

Two of my least favorite things in an amplifier combined: monoblock and external PSU
And it barely has enough power to drive some bookshelves. Well, one. Not exactly sure who this product is aimed at.

I COULD (if I had to) live with mono block.
Less than 100 watts @ 8 OHMs: NO!
EXTERNAL PSU: NO!
Yep, I would consider it IF it was those things I mentioned and IF I were in the MARKET for AMPs (even with a price increase because of what I feel is acceptable).

 

[Roland68]

If Topping made an integrated stereo amplifier with these blocks and a power supply in the case and with enough analog and digital inputs, then they would have the best amplifier on the market...

You would probably be shocked at how much such a complete amplifier would cost.
Two of the blocks, an L70 and a well-measured DAC, e.g. E70 or D50 III, should be cheaper.

 

[AndreaT]

And now…let’s test the Topping B200 please…

 

[Haskil]

Agree at some but the comparison with something 10 yo is not fair,price is not enough.
I would compare it with something like this:

Apollon NCx500ST Stereo Amplifier Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Apollon NCx500ST stereo class D amplifier based on Hypex NCOREx NCx500 modules. It was kindly drop shipped from the member and costs 1,090.00€ (US $1,168) with standard opamp. While the case is stamped aluminum, it is a heavily customized one...

www.audiosciencereview.com

5 times the power (7+ times if we take peak power as the measure) ,completely inaudible performance,built in PSU,good record by the company at support,reliability,etc,great looks (subjectively,to me,at least it's all metal),etc

At double the price of course (and I consider it more than fair) but taking into account how these amps are often changed (look at how many users change the desktop short of this even in the same year) I think it ends up cheaper at the end.

This Apollon NC 500 is the deal of the moment in terms of performance/power/price ratio... I don't see what device can match it. If I needed it, I would buy it but I have two Gemincore D classes around fifteen years old which give me satisfaction. If I lived in the US I would send them to Amir to measure... because I was able to compare them to BoXem's Purifi and heard no difference. My be @VintageFlanker aurait peut-être le temps un jour de le mesurer. Je peux lui prêter car j'ai construit deux modèles stéréos ?

Nevertheless, Toping's style exercise is still quite fascinating in itself. It ultimately shows a fairly simple path apparently towards total transparency and an improvement in objective performances (even if they are inaudible) which I find preferable to the technical negligence of large manufacturers who do not seek the best... go backwards in terms design and performance.

Many people criticize Toping for its plethoric offer and its mania for releasing models after models, but apart from the fact that customers are free to buy or not, I find that this ferment is fundamentally interesting in that it allows everyone who study their catalog closely to find the DAC that suits you at all prices between 100 and 1000 dollars... and to verify that the sound of AKM versus ESS chips is a joke...

For the moment, they haven't really made an impact with their power amps, but there... still, it's quite impeccable... Although not very powerful. Established manufacturers will have to take up the gauntlet...

 

[Multicore]

Amir has not presented any compliant continuous power output tests for this little Topping box.

Related, this statement "The amplifier only got modestly warm after the power testing" with the thermal image didn't seem like much like a measurement for the reason you mention but also "after" - how long after?

 

[jhaider]

Oh... for those of us with DSP crossovers and horns will need a few of them. I could use a minimum four for tweeters and mid horn. Maybe a set of B200 for the midbass.
Too bad we would need a wall rack of power supplies.

An interesting question is whether a super low noise super low gain amp is a better approach for sensitive tweeter in an active system compared to the usual approach of knocking tweeter level down with a resistor.

My intuition is no, because the amp will still amplify upstream noise whereas the resistor will knock down all noise. But it’s an interesting option.

 

[Mikig]

class B that becomes category A!!!

Crazy to think that the most snubbed class ever, the B, can instead have similar noise and distortion performances…..
nice devices! well done, they have distinguished themselves from everyone by doing something different from the usual honest class D chip.
In a normal sized environment, with medium/high sensitivity speakers it will match perfectly.
That said, perhaps to make it more universal even with difficult speakers and larger rooms I would have preferred a little more power…

Thanks Amirm for the test!!

 

[terryforsythe]

I to would like a better psu built into the amp rather than a brick , more serviceable

It appears to me that Topping isn't trying to be a "one size fits all" amplifier manufacturer, but instead is targeting a certain market segment with this amplifier. If someone does not fit into that market segment, there are plenty of amplifiers from other manufacturers that will suit their need.

 

[Esprit]

Those Genelecs are rated at 118 dB maximum SPL. That's great for pro use. Most us will not use that. I could get by with a lot less.

The Adam Audio I use have, obviously each, 250 watts for the woofer (class D amp), 250 watts for the midrange (class D amp), 50 watts for the tweeter (class A/B amp).
Listening distance about 4 meters.
The 8361 I tested here have double the watts of which 700 are dedicated to its woofers.
Power is never too much.

 

[Redman43]

"A wish for a follow up version is a series of tall color LED bars going from left to right for visual enjoyment. Kind of like this:"

If only more people LISTENED to their music instead of starring at jumping needles or flashing lights. Oh well, they will get it after the puberty

 

[terryforsythe]

Its continuous power output is in excess of the capabilities of the supplied power supply ratings.

Are the voltage and current indicated in this picture incorrect?

EDIT: 38V x 4A = 152W by my calculation.

 

[manisandher]

If I didn't already have Neurochromes doing duties in my active horn system, I'd buy a bunch of B100s in a heartbeat. I mean, which other amp performs anywhere near as well <1W?

Mani.

 

[Roland68]

I to would like a better psu built into the amp rather than a brick , more serviceable

What's bad about the power supply? Topping has been using such power supplies for a few years now and we've never heard anything negative about them. It can't be that bad, the measurements speak for themselves.
And nobody is stopping you from connecting a different power supply, it's actually very easy.
A larger case with a built-in power supply would make the device significantly more expensive and require additional checks and tests, which would also have to be paid for by the buyers. At the same time, the higher price would significantly reduce the number of units sold, meaning that the total costs would have to be spread over far fewer devices, which would again make the device significantly more expensive.

 

[ex audiophile]

You are kidding, right?

It has no power of significance and yet it claims to be a "power" amplifier. It's a medium powered 50wpc mono, plugpack supplied little box with poor ventilation and no features. It's also expensive at USD$600 for a pair.
It shuts down when a 4R load is presented.
It has no ability in dynamic or short term bursts.
Its continuous power output is in excess of the capabilities of the supplied power supply ratings.

Amir has not presented any compliant continuous power output tests for this little Topping box. What he did do, caused it to shutdown. LOL.

There's no compliant testing here in relation to power output claims or power output performance.

What amp would you recommend in the 400 8ohm/600 4 ohm performance category?

 

[delta76]

What amp would you recommend in the 400 8ohm/600 4 ohm performance category?

what do you need that level of power for?

 

[pma]

It has no power of significance and yet it claims to be a "power" amplifier. It's a medium powered 50wpc mono, plugpack supplied little box with poor ventilation and no features. It's also expensive at USD$600 for a pair.
It shuts down when a 4R load is presented.
It has no ability in dynamic or short term bursts.
Its continuous power output is in excess of the capabilities of the supplied power supply ratings.

All in all, it is a toy, not a serious amplifier.

 

[plumpudding2]

Two of these babies with an adapter would probably make for a killer headphone setup with that headphone amp level of noise performance.
Some class-D amps exhibit nasty frequency response behaviour with higher impedance loads. Anyone dares speculate on whether that's the case here too?

 

[EJ3]

"A wish for a follow up version is a series of tall color LED bars going from left to right for visual enjoyment. Kind of like this:"

If only more people LISTENED to their music instead of starring at jumping needles or flashing lights. Oh well, they will get it after the puberty

So, at 67 I am still in puberty? Cool, I've got a lot to look forward to!