Topping PA3 Review (Stereo Amplifier)

[Vini darko]

Well they can't all be winners. Topping undoubtedly got better things in the works. Like that power amp for the pre90.

 

[infinitesymphony]

Well they can't all be winners. Topping undoubtedly got better things in the works. Like that power amp for the pre90.

Yes, as far as I can tell, the PA3 and MX3 were both released in 2016, before all of the DACs and headphone amps that brought Topping into the mainstream. In terms of product evolution they're in a different era now.

 

[julian_hughes]

.... they're in a different era now.

Not if they're still selling the poorly implemented stuff from that previous era ;-)

Brand matters. Topping's products from the last few years have mostly been very impressive indeed. That builds the brand, it instils confidence, reassures the consumer (especially important when the buyer & retailer are continents apart). To keep selling stuff they *know* is poor, on the back of more recently built reputation, is a risky game. They know how to build great products, and how to market them. I love my NX-1 and I love my D10, it is absolutely the perfect product for me, but that doesn't mean I have to carry a torch for these guys or defend them when they make something lame. What is this place, audio teen crush review?

 

[typericey]

I have one. Happy to see it finally reviewed. At least now I have an idea of how it measures. Good enough for a garage, guest room or patio I guess. Thanks Amir.

 

[infinitesymphony]

Not if they're still selling the poorly implemented stuff from that previous era ;-)

Brand matters. Topping's products from the last few years have mostly been very impressive indeed. That builds the brand, it instils confidence, reassures the consumer (especially important when the buyer & retailer are continents apart). To keep selling stuff they *know* is poor, on the back of more recently built reputation, is a risky game. They know how to build great products, and how to market them. I love my NX-1 and I love my D10, it is absolutely the perfect product for me, but that doesn't mean I have to carry a torch for these guys or defend them when they make something lame. What is this place, audio teen crush review?

Perhaps the people from Topping who are saying these amps measure poorly were not working there when the amps were designed. If they released a brand new product with this performance, sure, I would agree with you.

That said, can you name a small form factor integrated amplifier with substantially better performance than the PA3 or MX3 in the $150 price range?

 

[Billy Budapest]

Markings don't mean much. Actual certifications do: https://www.tpdz.net/productinfo/398296.html

I can't fathom how they would have gotten certification of the amp without its supplied power supplies.

Topping should spring for UL certification. For homeowners’ policies issued in the U.S., a fire caused by a non-UL certified device might not be covered. I know CE certification is fine in Europe, but it might not cut it for some insurers in the States.

 

[Dzhaughn]

Perhaps the people from Topping who are saying these amps measure poorly were not working there when the amps were designed. If they released a brand new product with this performance, sure, I would agree with you.

That said, can you name a small form factor integrated amplifier with substantially better performance than the PA3 or MX3 in the $150 price range?

That would be the Aiyima a07.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ds/aiyima-a07-tpa3255-review-amplifier.18984/

 

[PeteL]

Perhaps the people from Topping who are saying these amps measure poorly were not working there when the amps were designed. If they released a brand new product with this performance, sure, I would agree with you.

That said, can you name a small form factor integrated amplifier with substantially better performance than the PA3 or MX3 in the $150 price range?

A well implemented, with decent power supply tpa3116 based amp should perform significantly better than this, maybe google them or I do believe their is one or two reviewed here. I don’t really have a model of reference on the top of my head. It shouldn’t cost more if I recall.
edit: For reference, you can look at the allo volt + reviewed here but here are many others, on amazon, all diy looking. the review says 2116 but it’s a typo/mistake. its 3116.

 

[infinitesymphony]

That would be the Aiyima a07.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ds/aiyima-a07-tpa3255-review-amplifier.18984/

Good call, and thanks for the reminder. I got this one confused with the Loxjie A30.

A well implemented, with decent power supply tpa3116 based amp should perform significantly better than this, maybe google them or I do believe their is one or two reviewed here. I don’t really have a model of reference on the top of my head. It shouldn’t cost more if I recall.
edit: For reference, you can look at the allo volt + reviewed here but here are many others, on amazon, all diy looking. the review says 2116 but it’s a typo/mistake. its 3116.

Looks like SMSL and Nobsound have a few TPA3116 models in the $33-55 range. Thanks for the heads-up.

 

[Xulonn]

I have mentioned several times here at ASR that two Topping PA-3's that drove my desktop/PC speakers died on me - the first after about six months and the other after only a couple of months. I bought both from Amazon, the first one on a 1-day sale for $84 and the second one used for $63. They performed fine with an S.M.S.L. Sanskrit DAC driving a pair of Paradigm Atom speakers for my TV, and for driving my tiny old 4" Yamaha desktop speakers. The old-tech PA3's are not in the same league as the superb new Topping DX7s DAC/HPA that I also own.

My current desktop system is listed below in my signature, and I wrote the below paragraph in another ASR thread about one year ago about the I.AM.D. v.200 DAC/amp. (The I.AM.D. with a good little remote works fine for me, has XMOS USB input, which I prefer for computer audio I/O.):

The I.AM.D v200 was once sold by Audiophonics and was liked by a small group at DIYAudio, but now seems to be available only via AliExpress and other Asian internet resellers. [Note: I just checked, and a "wi-fi" version of the v200 is currently available from Aufiophonice.] It is based on the Texas Instruments TAS5614LA amplifier, which was apparently introduced in 2012, and output power at 1%THD+N is stated as 65wpc. Max input voltage is 36vdc, so the 32V Topping SMPS bricks should power it properly without going over its voltage limit. Searching for "TAS5614LA" doesn't bring up much besides the I.AM.D v200/v200bt amplifiers, so I assume that it was either unpopular, or used in pedestrian consumer audio systems that don't mention the chip that they are based on. (Can any of our resident experts see what might limit this chip for HiFi applications, based on the TI spec sheet that I linked to above?)

 

[Xulonn]

What is this place, audio teen crush review?

Now that was a very weird comment! ASR is just a place where anyone can enjoy and write about any audio/video component or company they like, as long as they don't make false, subjective claims about a company or the performance A/V products.

 

[amirm]

Topping should spring for UL certification. For homeowners’ policies issued in the U.S., a fire caused by a non-UL certified device might not be covered.

That is a myth though. Houses burn down for many reasons including total incompetence of the owner, e.g. having old frayed power lamp cord, and insurance company still pays. That is what insurance is for. It pays for accidents. If you read your policy, you will see that there is no exclusion in these regards.

Now if a company sold faulty electronic products that caused such fire, insurance company could go and sue them to recover their loss in paying your claim. UL certification there is helpful for the defendant. CE certification will be just as helpful as it would show good faith on behalf of the company to build safe product.

 

[PeteL]

Good call, and thanks for the reminder. I got this one confused with the Loxjie A30.


Looks like SMSL and Nobsound have a few TPA3116 models in the $33-55 range. Thanks for the heads-up.

they are quite power supply dependant, so look for a powerful brick, and if possible dual chip, or dual mono if you like. for this it should be a bit pricier than what you refer

 

[milezone]

Fosi Audio seems to make some nice products of this nature -- compact bluetooth integrated amplifiers. Curious about this one in particular:

https://fosiaudio.com/collections/2...with-remote-control-for-home-theater-speakers

 

[milosz]

This amp is "just OK" similar to the earlier Topping TP60 Tripath amp. The TP60 has less PSU noise and a better distortion profile (mostly 2nd order, as opposed to the higher orders from this new amp) but the TP60 has other issues like a weird frequency response.

Either amp, paired with some decent small 2-way speakers would be better than most cheap plastic powered "computer speakers" but neither product is really a Hi Fi amplifier for any kind of serious system.

BUT- there are better low cost amps out there.

TP60=> https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...opping-tp60-and-fx-audio-fx502spro-amps.5025/

 

[milezone]

I've got a Topping MX3 which is 40wpc and features an integrated dac, headphone amp, and bluetooth. Same amplifier chip as their PA3 though half the wattage. It measures 0.006% THD+N across a range of 20-200khz according to Topping. I paid $130 for mine.

 

[YSC]

hum this really looked bad, but I kind of wonders after seeing quite a lot of crappy to just ok mid-high end passives I wonders are there some passives cheap enough to worthwhile to pair with a cheap amp?

 

[Tortie]

Topping's official output power specs for the PA3 appear to overshoot Amir's measured results by a wide margin. In other-words they grossly inflated how much usable power this product can deliver.

(Above) is the spec table from Topping's website. 70W is listed for 8 ohms. 80W for 4 ohms.

(Above) Amir's measurements show 33W for 8 ohms and 51W for 4 ohms. The first measurement is less than half Topping's claim and the second is nearly as bad. Looks like we have a company that aims to deceive customers, hmm...

Now some people will probably argue that "every company juices their specs." Well, lets see about that. Below is a screencap from Schiit's website listing the specs for the Asgard 3 amplifier.

(Above) Schiit lists 600mW for 300ohms and 3.5mW for 32ohms. Let's take a look at what Amir measured at these impedances below:

(Above) Amir's results mirror the official power output specs from Schiit. If anything Schiit low balled their 300 ohms figure. Looks like they take a conservative (and honest) approach unlike Topping. How 'bout that?

After Topping's L30 amp went kamikaze on the world's headphone stock and with spec figures that can't be trusted I won't be purchasing any of their products. Ever.

 

[gvl]

Solid garage-audio grade performance.

 

[Xulonn]

Before buying the first of my two doomed PA3's in July, 2018, I emailed Topping about actual power ratings, and got this reply:

Here's test results. We use resistance as load and test.

PA3(8ohm):
L: 56.51W(RMS), THD+N 0.99%
R: 56.58W(RMS), THD+N 1.01%

PA3(4ohm):
NA, because PA3 overheat before THD+N reach 1%

TP60(8ohm):
L: 68.30W(RMS), THD+N 1.01%
R: 68.70W(RMS), THD+N 1.06%

TP60(4ohm):
L: 54.54W(RMS), THD+N 1.02%
R: 55.08W(RMS), THD+N 1.05%

Due to individual differences, another product should be different from my test, but it will not be much different.



Best Regards!
----------------------------------
Hailin Huang
TOPPING sales manager
26th Jiaomen Road, Huangge Town, Nansha, Guangzhou, China
Zip code: 511455