Topping B200 Monoblock Amplifier Review

[ldp82]

Work has been extremely busy but I did receive my 3rd b200 for my center channel. Watching the first song in Wicked I found I could understand it better, this is without rerunning ARC, I should get that done tomorrow. A few times with other shows and movies I would miss a word or 2, not typically a problem. Watching Wicked with my daughter I was really struggling to understand the lyrics when they were all singing together in the first song background. It sounded good but what were they saying. Was adding the b200 for my center a Gamechanger, no. Worth it, probably, as it makes the experience more enjoyable and wasn't that much $. I will need to watch more and see(hear).

 

[mlsstl]

That was a limitation of the recording technology. 2 or 4 track masters with all vocals on a track and all instruments on another. Works great if mixed to mono..stereo not so much. When I listen to the Beatles old stuff mixed like that I pan some of the left to right and vice versa. Makes it a little better...and you CAN"T not listen to the Beatles for goodness sake.

The story as I understand it was they used two track machine to record the early Beatles material as that was it for "multitrack" machines in the studio at the time. Instrumentals and vocals were recorded separately with the intent for a mono final mix. However, stereo started becoming a hot thing around the same time so they "had" to re-release them in stereo. Some years ago one of the Beatles engineers (Geoff Emerick) wrote a book about his work with the band. It was an interesting read.

EDIT: Here's the book: Emerick, Geoff; Massey, Howard (2006). Here, There, and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of The Beatles

 

[Burns]

Work has been extremely busy but I did receive my 3rd b200 for my center channel. Watching the first song in Wicked I found I could understand it better, this is without rerunning ARC, I should get that done tomorrow. A few times with other shows and movies I would miss a word or 2, not typically a problem. Watching Wicked with my daughter I was really struggling to understand the lyrics when they were all singing together in the first song background. It sounded good but what were they saying. Was adding the b200 for my center a Gamechanger, no. Worth it, probably, as it makes the experience more enjoyable and wasn't that much $. I will need to watch more and see(hear).

maybe it's your center speaker's fault how it plays mid-range frequencies? Or the fault of the sound recording in the movie?

 

[ldp82]

maybe it's your center speaker's fault how it plays mid-range frequencies? Or the fault of the sound recording in the movie?

I would lean towards the recording compression due to streaming, however it was the same streaming on both amps. The center is a Revel C426be. the other amp I was using is a buckeye Hypex NC502MP 6-Channel. The only change was swapping the amp.

 

[ohmywatt]

My Topping B200 amps were delivered. No matter what I do, I cant get them to turn on using the 12V trigger inputs (connected to the 12V trigger output from the pre-amp). Nothing else is connected/wired to the B200s or the pre-amp yet (no XLR or speaker wire on the B200s and no audio sources hooked up to the pre-amp).

Any help is highly appreciated!
Thanks

 

[BeeKay]

Pre-amp is configured to actually use the 12V trigger?

 

[Burns]

My Topping B200 amps were delivered. No matter what I do, I cant get them to turn on using the 12V trigger inputs (connected to the 12V trigger output from the pre-amp). Nothing else is connected/wired to the B200s or the pre-amp yet (no XLR or speaker wire on the B200s and no audio sources hooked up to the pre-amp).

Any help is highly appreciated!
Thanks

not enough information what to connect the 12V B200 trigger to? Wiim or another device? Does this device have a 12V trigger output or is it an input? Did you use the cables that came with the B200 trigger. Did you have them in the set? They didn't come with the first devices produced yet. If you don't have such cables, you need to buy them with a mono end. Stereo cables don't work.

 

[babadono]

I bought these (albeit in 10' length when they were available): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B091KK5HGG/ref=dp_iou_view_item?ie=UTF8&th=1
they are stereo and work just fine on both B200s and LA90Ds. My units did not come with trigger cables. So @ohmywatt you have the power supply brick connected and powered up and the 12v trigger will not turn the amp on? And this is with the cable provided by Topping?

 

[ohmywatt]

Pre-amp is configured to actually use the 12V trigger?

Genius!!! This solved the issue. I had to configure the pre-amp in it's setup menu and set the 12v trigger to "on". I assumed (I should know better not to) the 12V trigger is always active. Thanks so much @BeeKay

 

[Burns]

Subwoofer SpeakOn high level connection:

"Hi,

Thank you for your information. Based on your model, we do not recommend such a connection. If you really want to connect, it mainly depends on whether the high level of your speaker can accept the bridged signal. That is, it cannot have one end grounded. If one end is grounded, it is equivalent to short-circuiting the power amplifier.

Regarding whether the speaker is actually grounded, you can contact the speaker manufacturer to make inquiries. ^.^



Best Regards,

Topping"

 

[MasterApex]

I bought one to experiment to replace an old Krell KSA-200s that is used to power one of B&W HTM1 D3 center channel.
Playing back the movie Top Gun Maverick.
It sounds very thin , bass is weaker than Krell and I think I heard distortion when I tried to crank the volume up.

Wonder if I got a bad unit?

 

[Old_School_Brad]

I bought one to experiment to replace an old Krell KSA-200s that is used to power one of B&W HTM1 D3 center channel.
Playing back the movie Top Gun Maverick.
It sounds very thin , bass is weaker than Krell and I think I heard distortion when I tried to crank the volume up.

Wonder if I got a bad unit?

Sounds like the B200 might be running out of power.

And seriously, why would you replace a Krell KSA-200 with this?

 

[BeeKay]

Maybe not a surprise when looking at the speaker’s power recommendations. I mean, why wonder when bringing a knife to a gun fight?

Recommended amplifier power	50W - 500W into 8Ω on unclipped programme

 

[dlaloum]

I bought one to experiment to replace an old Krell KSA-200s that is used to power one of B&W HTM1 D3 center channel.
Playing back the movie Top Gun Maverick.
It sounds very thin , bass is weaker than Krell and I think I heard distortion when I tried to crank the volume up.

Wonder if I got a bad unit?

Should be OK - the HTM1 D3 drops down to 3ohm, so it isn't an "easy" load - but should be within the capabilities of the B200...

But the B200 can put about 150 to 200 clean Watts into that load, where the Krell should be able to push double that without breaking a sweat....

Still, with a sensitivity of 91db on the speaker, unless the room is VERY large, you should be cruising along at under 5W which either amp would be able to handle with ease!!

Also worth checking issues upstream in the signal chain.... eg: gain matching (you might need to switch from low gain to high gain... etc...)

 

[restorer-john]

And seriously, why would you replace a Krell KSA-200 with this?

I think it was a bad early April Fools Day remark.

 

[Mart68]

Still, with a sensitivity of 91db on the speaker, unless the room is VERY large, you should be cruising along at under 5W which either amp would be able to handle with ease!!

It's the real world vs what 'should' work on paper. No free lunch.

This is why I stick with my old Krell.

 

[MasterApex]

Sounds like the B200 might be running out of power.

And seriously, why would you replace a Krell KSA-200 with this?

I was curious because both are rated at 200W (8ohm) to know how a good measurement amp will reveal .

 

[Chr1]

Topping Watts and Krell Watts are completely different as shown by both measurements and several expired amplifiers.

 

[Old_School_Brad]

I was curious because both are rated at 200W (8ohm) to know how a good measurement amp will reveal .

Well, now you've experienced the difference for yourself.
The B200 isn’t a high-current amplifier -it’s a 130-140W amp with limited headroom and a 4-ohm minimum load.

The Krell, on the other hand, is a true high-current amplifier that won’t run out of power unless you short the outputs or it trips your circuit breaker.

I shared some explanations in the video thread that you might find insightful.

Topping B200 Amplifier Review [Video]

That’s why I specifically mentioned a complex load below 4 ohms -not as a wordplay, but as an important distinction. It is word play. The only accurate thing you can say is that it has difficulty with 2 ohm and lower. That is the only data. 2 ohm capability goes well beyond capability of...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[WillBrink]

Sounds like the B200 might be running out of power.

And seriously, why would you replace a Krell KSA-200 with this?

I wouldn't replace my Anthem STR integrated with the B200's much less that Krell.