Topping B200 Monoblock Amplifier Review

[BeeKay]

True. I come here often for guidance, but I also listen to subjective reviews as well. Maybe I should zip it. Haha. OG HiFi does bring a fairly strong level of technical knowledge to his reviews, but he doesn't rely on measurements.

Well, pure waste of time then. Thanks, but no thanks.

 

[BeQuietZen]

This amp is really bad!
It's idiot proof and doesn't support op-amp rolling!

Oh, Noooo

 

[mike70]

bring a fairly strong level of technical knowledge to his reviews, but he doesn't rely on measurements

I see that movie many times ... he surely wants class ab amps, toroidal transformers, great brands internal cable, thick aluminum cases, the ear is the best instrument, etc etc ... I mean, verything that was saw as "hi quality" in 70s, without any reference to REAL performance.

Forget it.

 

[antcollinet]

well, you don't post exactly your conclusions ... so i will bet you refer to a higher noise at 15khz and upper frequencies (aprox -55dB).
but ... that's is objectively tested with a blind listening?

Well it is harmonic distortion, not noise.

And the first harmonic of 15kHz is 30khz - well outside the range of human hearing. Hence that distortion is not audible at all. It is one of the reasons why higher frequency distortion is allowed to increase - presumably as a compromise to allow other audible parameters to be controlled.

 

[antcollinet]

OG HiFi does bring a fairly strong level of technical knowledge to his reviews,

How? If he doesn't bring technical criteria into his assessment of the sound and only listens, then whether he has technical knowledge or not - he is not applying it.

 

[Jimster480]

True. I come here often for guidance, but I also listen to subjective reviews as well. Maybe I should zip it. Haha. OG HiFi does bring a fairly strong level of technical knowledge to his reviews, but he doesn't rely on measurements.

So many of these guys just shill for brands that pay them or send them fancy boxes for free.
They won't do any testing to back up their claims because they know they can't prove what they are claiming.

 

[Jimster480]

True. I come here often for guidance, but I also listen to subjective reviews as well. Maybe I should zip it. Haha. OG HiFi does bring a fairly strong level of technical knowledge to his reviews, but he doesn't rely on measurements.

Any place that doesn't rely on any measurements doesn't have too much value when comparing electronics side by side. Especially when they are comparing SOTA level products against each other.

 

[EdW]

So many of these guys just shill for brands that pay them or send them fancy boxes for free.
They won't do any testing to back up their claims because they know they can't prove what they are claiming.

Many (most?) of the reviewers on YouTube probably could just about manage to use a digital multimeter but an AP555 audio analyser, ‘scope or RF spectrum analyser are well beyond their capabilities and experience . . . It’s also quite time consuming hard work to capture accurate results. Particularly at very low levels of distortion, interference etc at, or near, the limits of their instrumentation.

 

[misterdog]

He is quite knowledgeable & experienced when it comes to hi-fi equipment,

Are you suggesting that Amir isn't.

 

[SYJ]

why is better?

IMHO, you should look at 32-tone distortion, Fosi V3 Mono has messy distortion at around 2-3KHz and up which I think it messes up a lot when playing complex symphonic music. Not just "think", but I also listened to both of them. I wish I have 3c Audio mono amps, but I can't find any where to buy in Thailand (and also from China via Shopee/Lazada). 3c Audio has a lot better design to control distortion at higher frequency than Fosi.

 

[boxerfan88]

He went on and on about NFCA. He says NFCA makes the B200 lifeless.

YT: lqc33qWA-9M

Maybe owners can chime in… izzit true or fake?

 

[Old_School_Brad]

He went on and on about NFCA. He says NFCA makes the B200 lifeless.

YT: lqc33qWA-9M

Maybe owners can chime in… izzit true or fake?

If I had to speculate, I’d say this YouTuber is just playing the contrarian role to cash in on ad revenue...

 

[babadono]

they sound good to me. maybe I'm deaf.

 

[mikela]

I have a pair of B200s arriving in a couple of days. My configuration: Mac Mini (Roon Endpoint) running Bacch4mac USB > MiniDSP SHD XLR > Topping A90 Discrete XLR > Topping B200s.

Here is the spec for the A90D

I am looking for suggestions on how to configure gains for this setup.

My first thought based on specs alone was to run SE out of the SHD to A90D with the A90D in high gain setting and with the SHD set at -6.5db. I would use the A90D for volume control. B200 would be set to low gain. Or, should I stick to balanced throughout?

Thoughts?

 

[Burns]

I have a pair of B200s arriving in a couple of days. My configuration: Mac Mini (Roon Endpoint) running Bacch4mac USB > MiniDSP SHD XLR > Topping A90 Discrete XLR > Topping B200s.

Here is the spec for the A90D
View attachment 448162

I am looking for suggestions on how to configure gains for this setup.

My first thought based on specs alone was to run SE out of the SHD to A90D with the A90D in high gain setting and with the SHD set at -6.5db. I would use the A90D for volume control. B200 would be set to low gain. Or, should I stick to balanced throughout?

Thoughts?

look for my posts a few pages earlier, I asked about the same thing and it was described quite precisely. to put it simply, after tests and trials, I have everything in low gain. It required changing my mind that for very.high volume levels for my room and my speakers SF Lumina V. I reach the level of -5dB, but even at 0.0dB the speakers will survive it. I normally listen in the range of -20-30-40dB. Of course I can switch everything to high mode, then you should add about +25dB to the above values and then the greater gain appears faster.

 

[BeeKay]

With my A70 Pro / D70 Sabre / B200 setup I can run everything in low gain mode unless DSP reduces headroom significantly. Which is when I switch the pre to high gain. Going all low gives me the peace of mind experiencing minimal distortion figures. Although I probably could not tell the difference.

 

[misterdog]

I see there is now a retailer in the UK offering a 5 year warranty included.

Topping Pre Series B200 Class AB Power Amplifier, Black at AV.com

Topping Pre Series B200 Class AB Power Amplifier, Black at AV.com

www.av.com

 

[Pajamas llama]

Hi Amir. Love your channel without any bs. Just pure facts.
I would love to see a comparison between US models and EU models, since we in EU use 50 Hz in our power outlet and coils work better with higher frequencies.
A lot of (pretty much all) manufacturers don't beef up their units for EU market, but claim the same watt output of amplifiers, but in reality they are probably 10-15 percent lower because of the 50 Hz we have.

 

[misterdog]

The SMPS supplied has input of 100-240V 50/60Hz.

 

[Sokel]

A lot of (pretty much all) manufacturers don't beef up their units for EU market, but claim the same watt output of amplifiers, but in reality they are probably 10-15 percent lower because of the 50 Hz we have.

Nope.

(click on it)


That's from icepower, same with others too.

If you go to datasheet even charts are different.