Topping B200 Monoblock Amplifier Review

[gvl]

This has been a godsend for me and one the reasons I bought them. My HT room is acoustically treated and has turned into my 2 channel room as well. After having been called while doing 80MPH with the top down and trying listening to my wife explain what she cant get to work while talking(screaming) over ten 7 year old girls and me screaming over my fabspeed cat back what to do... That is something I do not need to relive, ever! This way no changing profile in the AVM70. Just hit the only button on the front of the amps. Keep It Simple!

Sounds like you’re a corner case.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Do tell.

Well I added a three way XLR switcher to my amp. One input for HT, one for stereo from a different source, one from an audio interface when I'm using it. One could have a separate phone pre and tuner and digital source. One could have a number of use cases.

 

[Sokel]

Well I added a three way XLR switcher to my amp. One input for HT, one for stereo from a different source, one from an audio interface when I'm using it. One could have a separate phone pre and tuner and digital source. One could have a number of use cases.

For phono and tuner one will need to have a way for VC though, can't put them straight to it.

 

[Blumlein 88]

For phono and tuner one will need to have a way for VC though, can't put them straight to it.

True, but some dedicated tuners have that. You might need to add one for phono pre. In my use case, everything has volume control, but the ability to switch is very useful. Might not be a common use case, but it isn't exactly unheard of or without many for some fair percentage of customers.

 

[gvl]

Well I added a three way XLR switcher to my amp. One input for HT, one for stereo from a different source, one from an audio interface when I'm using it. One could have a separate phone pre and tuner and digital source. One could have a number of use cases.

How common is this? Basically one needs to have multiple devices with volume control upstream, I suspect not very common. As you say an external switcher gets the job done in a single location if one needs it, why make people pay for hardware and it’s integration into the product if they never going to use this feature? It would be a different story if it was an integrated amp, but it isn’t.

 

[Jimi Floyd]

What about where I said "I admit I like the idea of an amp that has that juice on tap" following the edited quote? Given the choice, I want an amp that can do 1 Ohm load and a toroidal transformer the size of a small car. That would make me happy whether my speakers require or not.

Accuphase A-300 monoblocks. Rated:
125W @ 8Ω
250W @ 4Ω
500W @ 2Ω
1000W @ 1Ω

 

[WillBrink]

Accuphase A-300 monoblocks. Rated:
125W @ 8Ω
250W @ 4Ω
500W @ 2Ω
1000W @ 1Ω

I need that! let me sell a few houses and get them.

 

[CedarX]

Accuphase A-300 monoblocks. Rated:
125W @ 8Ω
250W @ 4Ω
500W @ 2Ω
1000W @ 1Ω

1000000000W @ 0.00001Ω ?
(for how long?)

 

[babadono]

GREAT Scott..1.2 Gigawatts

 

[JSmith]

GREAT Scott..1.2 Gigawatts

I should talk about jigowatts for a second.

The proper pronunciation is, of course, gigawatts [with a hard g sound], and when Bob [Zemeckis] and I were doing research, we talked to somebody who mispronounced it jigowatts. And we were actually completely unfamiliar with the term, and we thought that was how it was supposed to be said. It does come from the Greek root gigas [that Greek root is pronounced with a j sound, not a g sound], for gigantic, so I suppose it’s not beyond the realm of possibility. But never having heard of it, we actually spelled it in the script jigowatt. So a jigowatt is actually supposed to be a gigawatt, a million watts. So the mystery of the gigawatts is now solved.

You Say Gigawatt, I Say Jigowatt

In the course of writing about Lauren Reilly’s DeLorean, I came across a strange dilemma concerning one of the quotes from “Back to the Future.”

archive.nytimes.com

JSmith

 

[amirm]

90% of the heat will be generated in the output transistors which are thermaly mounted to the heat sink. So almost all the heat goes directly into the heat sink.
If putting the fins verticaly can make the heat sink 25% smaller it would save weight and money, basic engineering. Do people really care that much about the direction of black barely visible heat sink fins?

No because they understand that the entire case is made out of solid chunk of machined aluminum and in use doesn't get very warm let alone hot. As I explained, the thick case has a very low thermal impedance which works nicely to dissipate the heat all around the case, including the top. The difference in vertical vs horizontal is negligible in this case. You are confusing this situation with other designs where the only thermal relief is the heatsink.

In my testing with reactive load where the amp was repeatedly pushed to clipping, it barely got warm. This is why I didn't take a thermal image of it.

Take a look at how beefy these "heatsinks" are:

 

[wwenze]

I continue to stand by the heatsinks being partially aesthetic ie cooling is not critical

If cooling is critical, yes vertical fins, but they also won't have a cover on top of the fins, like the other amps shown here. I would put more spacing between the fins too if natural convection is used, again no shortage of exNples both here and in the PC realm.

If cooling is not critical, I dig the horizontal lines better. Easier to hold too.

 

[Labjr]

Horizontal fins don't dissipate heat as well as vertical fins. Thus, probably could gave been made more compact.

 

[Tlow98]

Conduction > convection.

 

[dcolak]

It made the music sound cold, dead and lifeless. On my Zanden amp music came to life, made me smile, made me cry, made me think of enjoyable times in a not so distant past. But with this plastic-like Topping thing ... my gaze just wandered to the window, hoping to soon feel like I've subjected myself to more than enough of this emotionless attempt at conveying real music. The experience felt almost as excruciatingly painful as listening to one of those damned silver discs from days of yore (CD).

Same thing happened to me when I went from my 2xB100 monoblocks to NAD M3... I'm still using NAD M3.

 

[Labjr]

Aesthetics are important than function for @amirm ? What about gold plated hardware? Six nines OFC wire?

 

[Jim Taylor]

It made the music sound cold, dead and lifeless. On my Zanden amp music came to life, made me smile, made me cry, made me think of enjoyable times in a not so distant past. But with this plastic-like Topping thing ... my gaze just wandered to the window, hoping to soon feel like I've subjected myself to more than enough of this emotionless attempt at conveying real music. The experience felt almost as excruciatingly painful as listening to one of those damned silver discs from days of yore (CD).

No he was indicating disdain, rightfully so, for the previous posters meaningless subjective post.

Or so I think.

That post was sarcasm.

Poe's Law:

Poe's Law at DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.

duckduckgo.com

 

[howard416]

Conduction > convection.

Only up until the thermal mass is saturated.

 

[Tlow98]

Only up until the thermal mass is saturated.

Which appears to be a non issue here… by a long shot. Why is this still a thing? Even my usual engine rebuilding forums aren’t this pedantic.

 

[BeeKay]

How doggedly some people question the horizontal cooling fins here, after it is quite clear that this design more than fulfills its purpose, takes on tragicomic traits. It works perfectly, the box stays just warm even under high load. Rather lukewarm. How cold should it be? Until we have to go through condensation as the next big catastrophe?