Topping B200 Monoblock Amplifier Review

[Deleted member 72219]

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.

People just feel this absolute need to find something to complain about, apparently, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

-Ed

 

[Old_School_Brad]

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.

How long did the reactive load test actually last? -How long does it keep it at load? -How long are the pauses in-between?
Earlier, you mentioned that the amplifier warmed up, lost some power, and then regained it once it had cooled down.

"The above test pushes the amplifier into clipping repeatedly to find the 1% point and it seemed to rob the amplifier of some power. Later reactive tests with the amplifier being cooler showed the full power rating coming back."

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?

The practical reality is that unless the amplifier is run long enough for its thermal mass to fully saturate, we can't determine whether the orientation of the fins has any meaningful impact.

Amir’s tests likely don’t run long enough to saturate the aluminum heat sinks. Yet, as he observed, the amplifier appears to reduce power output, only to recover once it has cooled down from a "fairly warm" state.

This strongly suggests that the tests aren’t sufficient to evaluate the amplifier’s thermal design -at least not in this case.

A proper approach would be to conduct a "soak" test, allowing the metal components to reach full saturation before performing power-related measurements.

Additionally, this behavior indicates the presence of a thermal protection circuit, which is generally a good feature. However, the fact that it seems to activate before full saturation, and before the unit gets significantly hot, suggests that certain internal components may be heating up more rapidly than the heat sink can dissipate. -Hot-spots.

 

[BeeKay]

The practical reality is that unless the amplifier is run long enough for its thermal mass to fully saturate, we can't determine whether the orientation of the fins has any meaningful impact.

My B200s remain lukewarm, even after hours of listening to music. Heat, or rather its removal, is not a real issue here. This may be a setback for the sprawling academic discussion here, but reality remains a thing here in ASR?
But why stop complaining? I would have liked to have had WBT speaker terminals. Maybe that's a new excitement?

 

[wwenze]

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?

Wasn't the amp reducing max output power after prolonged high load?

 

[gvl]

It was sent to me by the company and costs US $599.

Is that number already adjusted for tariffs?

 

[amirm]

Aesthetics are important than function for @amirm ?

What function? Can you prove function is compromised with those fins? The fins look elegant and I am happy to take them on top of superlative performance.

 

[amirm]

Is that number already adjusted for tariffs?

It is on sale right now on Amazon US for that price. I can't predict what happens in the future.

 

[amirm]

The practical reality is that unless the amplifier is run long enough for its thermal mass to fully saturate, we can't determine whether the orientation of the fins has any meaningful impact.

Then you have no business complaining about its design. If you don't know, you don't know.

My testing far, far exceeds any actual use and I reported how warm it got. Owners have reported in regular use that it is much cooler for them. All of this points to a proper design. You don't get to create FUD based on something you look at in a picture.

 

[amirm]

Amir’s tests likely don’t run long enough to saturate the aluminum heat sinks. Yet, as he observed, the amplifier appears to reduce power output, only to recover once it has cooled down from a "fairly warm" state.

My testing takes nearly an hour of constantly banging on the unit including a warm up period. And power was not "reduced." It just varied a few watts, some of which may be due to algorithm interaction in AP.

 

[amirm]

A proper approach would be to conduct a "soak" test, allowing the metal components to reach full saturation before performing power-related measurements.

My approach is more than proper and as I said repeatedly above, goes far beyond any actual use application, sans PA amplification of live music. Don't make up problems unless you have data otherwise.

 

[Burns]

"horizontal radiators";
Many women write here. How to make a fuss out of nothing. When there is nothing to find fault with, you have to invent something.
If you are serious, maybe it is worth checking why this device remains cold? Maybe it does some tricks and is not declared class A/B?

 

[BeeKay]

Maybe it does some tricks and is not declared class A/B?

That's exactly what I'm asking myself. The measured 13 watts at rest do not necessarily speak for Class AB.

 

[Koeitje]

No, performance is not measured against the specs.

Got news for you, almost no amplifier doubles from 8 to 4 ohm. They usually spec the 4 ohm output lower than it actually is.

 

[Matt_Holland]

Got news for you, almost no amplifier doubles from 8 to 4 ohm. They usually spec the 4 ohm output lower than it actually is.

I think they usually take the 4Ohm output and halve it to derive the published 8ohm figure. That way it doubles when you reverse it, even though the real 8ohm output is higher.

 

[Sokel]

Got news for you, almost no amplifier doubles from 8 to 4 ohm. They usually spec the 4 ohm output lower than it actually is.

???
Lots of them,here's an example with cheap icepower modules inside:




(I included the voltage chart as is more important for our use case)

If PSUs,thermals and output devices are in check I see no reason not to happen.

 

[stefanovesa]

stupid question, is there any difference regarding thermal dissipation between silver and black version?

 

[BeeKay]

stupid question, is there any difference regarding thermal dissipation between silver and black version?

Yes, if your amps are on the windowsill

 

[stefanovesa]

Yes, if your amps are on the windowsill

LOL, thanks

 

[Koeitje]

I think they usually take the 4Ohm output and halve it to derive the published 8ohm figure. That way it doubles when you reverse it, even though the real 8ohm output is higher.

Yes sorry, that's what I meant.

 

[wwenze]

The whole doubling thing is really

Say I have an amp that doubles going from 8ohm to 4ohm, nice.

You know how I can rephrase that in a completely negative manner?

That amp halves when going from 4ohm to 8ohm.

Now, yes, if two amps cost the same and have the same 8ohm power and distortion measurements, I will take the one that doubles when going 4ohm. However reality is the one that doubles at 4ohm will have to cost more if the same guy is building both amps. So any attempt to compare such a "doubling" amp to one that isn't is apple-vs-orange that doesn't consider price and everything else.

And this optimization extends relevantly to many things including peak vs continuous power and heat. If you build an amp with 600W 0dBFS output but your average power is -13dBFS due to crest factor and whatever the heck, having a heatsink for 600W is needlessly expensive. (Let's say 75% efficiency at max volume? I need a 200W heatsink!)