Topping B200 Monoblock Amplifier Review

[BVa]

And what about THD vs. freq.?

 

[voodooless]

And what about THD vs. freq.?

What about that?

 

[Doodski]

It isn't very stable with low impedance loads, though. I guess that is the penalty for only 2 output devices per channel. So, for most speakers and with most program material, this amp will do an absolutely great job.

Not sure about that being good at most speakers will be fine stuff. Pick a 4 Ohm speaker with a dip in impedance and voila the power is lacking, the nanny minder kicks in and the power supply droops.

 

[voodooless]

Not sure about that being good at most speakers will be fine stuff. Pick a 4 Ohm speaker with a dip in impedance and voila the power is lacking, the nanny minder kicks in and the power supply droops.

Well, 4 Ohm speakers generally don't go below 3.2 or so. I guess the amp will still do okay.

 

[BeeKay]

Well, 4 Ohm speakers generally don't go below 3.2 or so. I guess the amp will still do okay.

Dips towards 2Ohm (and maybe less ) in impedance would be the criteria to prefer Purifi. But as said, any 4Ohm speaker by spec should be absolutely fine.

 

[Sokel]

No one expects a small amp like this to do stable 2 Ohm and Topping don't lie about it, they don't even rate it down there.
But I would expect to do 4 Ohm under all conditions at power cube with no loss which is not the case.

Popular speakers like the small KEF's for example would make the amp suffer with their 3 Ohm combined with their low sensitivity.
Also, at their advertised power, real estate seems limited for thermals so sane use should be advertised.

Great specs of course otherwise, only an abnormal strange rise at low power spoils the big image.

Thanks Amir!

 

[amirm]

Did you check how hot this puppy became?

I did. It got warm to touch after power sweeps. I forgot to take the picture and the reactive loads didn't make it much warmer than room temp.

 

[amirm]

It isn't very stable with low impedance loads, though.

It is stable. The analyzer would get confused due to power limiting when it would push it to clipping. The amp never oscillates or anything.

 

[Matt_Holland]

I had dinner and then ran the reactive load tests:
View attachment 432859
View attachment 432860
I was pleased to see it produce power even at 2 ohm although past 0 degrees, the protection circuit was interfering with the measurements so I show that as zero. Max power is available at 4 ohm. But healthy power is available at 8 ohm as well.

Thanks for the review, Amir. Wire with gain indeed.

Would you mind explaining how to interpret the load tests and how the B200 compares to something like the 3e Audio A5 when driving difficult loads. Does this test tell us anything about subjective performance?

The A5 looks like it would deliver better bass into a <4ohm speaker? Apologies if I have interpreted the tests incorrectly.

 

[voodooless]

It is stable. The analyzer would get confused due to power limiting when it would push it to clipping. The amp never oscillates or anything.

Well, let me rephrase then: the amp goes into current limiter mode quickly, meaning there isn't much power available at 2 Ohm. So it will play fine until it won't I hard limit isn't really a bad thing. It's just that at 2 Ohm, that limit is a lot closer.

 

[Narrator]

The review I was looking for... I wish it could be purchased in every country more easily.

 

[Sokel]

Thanks for the review, Amir. Wire with gain indeed.

Would you mind explaining how to interpret the load tests and how the B200 compares to something like the 3e Audio A5 when driving difficult loads. Does this test tell us anything about subjective performance?

The A5 looks like it would deliver better bass into a <4ohm speaker? Apologies if I have interpreted the tests incorrectly.

The easy way to look at this chart (the upper, voltage one) is if you were the speaker.
For example, Topping (at best cases) will deliver 39V at 8 Ohm, 29V at 4 Ohm and 13V at 2 Ohm.

The ideal would be to deliver the same no matter the load.

 

[BeeKay]

The review I was looking for... I wish it could be purchased in every country more easily.

In the EU there are Audiophonics (and maybe more)

 

[Geert]

Brilliant piece of engineering, but the external power supply is a deal breaker for me.

 

[Thomas_A]

Hm the 3e A7 mono is €239, this one €599.

 

[uwotm8]

Super awesome except external PSU (IMO any serious device should have it integrated; don't tell me about ultra hi-end solutions where you can have PSU as separate full-size unit if not two blocks lol).

 

[olieb]

Brilliant piece of engineering, but the external power supply is a deal breaker for me.

+1
I would never buy an amp for 600 bucks per channel and still have power bricks flying around.
3e A7 is two channels for half the price, more power at low impedance and only one brick. And very clean, too.
Seems to be a very good amplifier for a top measurement application (in a lab).

 

[uwotm8]

3e A7 is two channels for half the price

TPA3255 is a real deal breaker.
You can get 2x250W Hypex power amp (audiophonics) for 550 EUR. IMO this is D-class starting point.

 

[Sokel]

What's the powering scheme into this so to get away with 35V capacitors?
Split ~30-ish Volt rails?

 

[amirm]

The A5 looks like it would deliver better bass into a <4ohm speaker? Apologies if I have interpreted the tests incorrectly.

The B200 is more powerful into 4 ohm. It also has much less distortion and noise.