Topping Mini 300 Amplifier Review

[DSJR]

I still have friends I'm in regular touch with, with whom I worked closely back in the good old bad old days... One of them, still a dealer, insists the new Rega pre and power amps at seven grand a pop and based on established tech, are actually cheap for what they are in that higher end market -

- And then I come back to this review for an amp admittedly not hugely powerful *domestic orientated* amp (60WPC @8 ohms in a smaller room domestically, is ample really once past the head-banging tweeter blowing stage of life ) and it kind-of brings me back to reality for modern tech and how bloated and damned well greedy and out-dated the domestic-audio high end is now. Those new EL5 ATC active speakers almost make me nauseous at fifty grand, which is almost five times the cost of the speaker that spawned them - and I'm a bloody ATC FAN FFS

 

[spellcraft]

Topping Mini 300 & Wharfedale evo 5.3 what do you think ?

 

[spookym]

Topping Mini 300 & Wharfedale evo 5.3 what do you think ?​

They have a minimum impedence of 3.5Ω so don't need high current and a pretty normal sensitivity of 88dB (2.83v @ 1m) so I think they will be fine with a Topping Mini unless you have a very large room and listen at high volumes.

 

[ziggurcat]

Topping Mini 300 & Wharfedale evo 5.3 what do you think ?​

I don't see why not.

 

[antcollinet]

Topping Mini 300 & Wharfedale evo 5.3 what do you think ?​

I think it will be fine.​

(no need to shout, we can hear you just fine.)

 

[harkpabst]

Topping Mini 300 & Wharfedale evo 5.3 what do you think ?​

Except for the font size I see nothing wring here.

 

[Chr1]

spelling?

 

[harkpabst]

I think it will be fine.​

(no need to shout, we can hear you just fine.)

When did large letters start counting as shouting? This ain't my Internet anymore.

 

[spellcraft]

I think it will be fine.​

(no need to shout, we can hear you just fine.)

Sorry ^_^

 

[pieterv1]

When did large letters start counting as shouting? This ain't my Internet anymore.

I thought it's mainly capital letters which count as shouting, according to internet etiquette

 

[Julf]

I though its mainly capital letters which count as shouting, according to internet etiquette

The etiquette was established before different font sizes were possible.

 

[Jarrett]

The Mini 300 is powering my Philharmonic Audio Ceramic Minis (84 db sensitivity, 4 ohm) just fine in a small room. I even have some DSP running, so that is cutting into some extra gain I potentially have. On average, I'm approaching 50% volume and some especially quiet albums need a bit more than that.

 

[pieterv1]

I only just read about the clipping/dip in performance at low frequencies...

Pairing this amp with a pair of Wharfedale Linton Heritage (no sub), should I worry about this? Guess I'm hardly using more than 30-40w per channel in my current setup.

 

[staticV3]

I only just read about the clipping/dip in performance at low frequencies...

Pairing this amp with a pair of Wharfedale Linton Heritage (no sub), should I worry about this? Guess I'm hardly using more than 30-40w per channel in my current setup.

At 20Hz, the Mini300 triggers protection just 1.1dB sooner than it would clip anyway (as it does at higher frequencies), but that is with static sine tones played for an unknown duration.

When playing music or sound tracks which are dynamic in nature and rarely even have content below ~40Hz, it is very likely that you'll never experience protecting even when pushing the Amp for fun.

If you want to be on the safe side, then you could apply a high-pass filter to your music at ~30 to 40Hz, lose no appreciable bass extension as the Linton rolls of there anyway, but gain clipping protection in return:

 

[Dave TR3A]

I only just read about the clipping/dip in performance at low frequencies...

Pairing this amp with a pair of Wharfedale Linton Heritage (no sub), should I worry about this? Guess I'm hardly using more than 30-40w per channel in my current setup.

Please be specific about what your concern is and provide a source for the “clipping/dip in performance at low frequencies”.

 

[harkpabst]

Please be specific about what your concern is and provide a source for the “clipping/dip in performance at low frequencies”.

I assume @pieterv1 is simply referring to Amir's review, post #1. At 40 Hz the power output drops to 81 W vs. 120 W into 4 Ω at 1 % THD 1 kHz.

 

[pieterv1]

I assume @pieterv1 is simply referring to Amir's review, post #1. At 40 Hz the power output drops to 81 W vs. 120 W into 4 Ω at 1 % THD 1 kHz.

Indeed so! I received mine today & quickly installed it after I got home. Listening to a few well known tracks, I'm pretty sure I noticed an improvement in detail compared to my other amp! Or at least a difference in character & texture (in the positive way). And it goes plenty loud so no more worries on that front.

Then we were having friends over to see Return of the Jedi and the laser blasters had plenty of impact!!

Now going through a few more songs at lower level (it's getting late) and so far no complaints.

 

[Jarrett]

Imagine if so-called audiophile amplifiers were under the same scrutiny

A high-pass filter is a great idea to help power your speakers a bit better and get rid of junk bass they can't reproduce properly

 

[Jcrow]

I recently received this amp, and so far so good. For the price it seems nicely made.

In terms of SQ, it’s a bit hard to tell since I also got some new speakers at the same time (upgrading from a 17 year old pair of Yamaha HS5 monitors). But, I can say that the amp is basically silent when no music is playing, which was definitely not the case with my old pair of powered speakers. Because I often have to listen to music at lower levels, the lack of buzz and whine is a huge improvement!

 

[pieterv1]

I recently received this amp, and so far so good. For the price it seems nicely made.

In terms of SQ, it’s a bit hard to tell since I also got some new speakers at the same time (upgrading from a 17 year old pair of Yamaha HS5 monitors). But, I can say that the amp is basically silent when no music is playing, which was definitely not the case with my old pair of powered speakers. Because I often have to listen to music at lower levels, the lack of buzz and whine is a huge improvement!

Cool! Which speakers did you upgrade to? The Yamaha's are great for the money, but not the most pleasant listening speakers I suppose.