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Topping PA3s Review (Desktop Amplifier)

UA8890

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1E493D61-76E8-4DDD-97DD-C22EAC106C00.png
Which transfer function graph do you mean? Please share a screenshot
I think, I assume Howard416 means this graph:
 

UA8890

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@Music1969 Many music lovers and members of the forum are confused by this graph... Although I just can’t catch these distortions by ear. Compared to other amplifiers. Maybe the ears aren't the same anymore. I'm getting old.I'm just over 60 years old.
 

Solveit

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@Music1969 Many music lovers and members of the forum are confused by this graph... Although I just can’t catch these distortions by ear. Compared to other amplifiers. Maybe the ears aren't the same anymore. I'm getting old.I'm just over 60 years old.
I rather compare this with other amps.
And I'm also 60+ :)
 

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Music1969

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@Music1969 Many music lovers and members of the forum are confused by this graph...
Yes it is not as clean as this one below but you have to pay more $ (this is the reliable model not the Discrete model with problems)

index.php
 

Solveit

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I have tried many cheap amps like Tripath, TPA3118, TPA3255 and still the MA12070 sounds best in HF.
But ofcourse if you pay more you get better HF.
 

antcollinet

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Of course, distortion of signals above 10kHz is inaudible, since the first harmonic is already 20kHz.
 

Solveit

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Somebody should realy explain what that Power Versus Distorsion means in hearing.
 

antcollinet

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You mean *harmonic* distortion of signals... is inaudible.
correct, but being single frequency (at a time) test, that test pretty much only has harmonic distortion.
 

howard416

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correct, but being single frequency (at a time) test, that test pretty much only has harmonic distortion.
I understand. What doesn’t make sense to me is that in what seems to be every other case, an amp that does not test well in those sweeps does not do well in the multi tone. But this one does.
 

antcollinet

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I understand. What doesn’t make sense to me is that in what seems to be every other case, an amp that does not test well in those sweeps does not do well in the multi tone. But this one does.
Not sure I've seen that - do you have a specific example?
 

howard416

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1699103958717.png

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Or maybe it's just Amir mislabeling the chart? Because "17 bits" for the NC252MP has most of the stuff down around -110 dB but the same 17 bits for the PA3s has most of the stuff at -100 dB... interesting.

1699104203893.png
 

levanter

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Hi all, I'm trying to use a PA3s in my car, and I'm wondering if I am okay to feed it DC 24V instead of the original PSU's 26V.
I can think of below 4 options if I do that. Could anyone give me an advice?

a. It will work normally with a slightly less(something like 24/26) peak output. No harm will be done to the amp.
b. It will work but it will damage the hardware.
c. Nothing happens. The amp wouldn't even turn on.
d. The amp will catch fire or explode.

For any other case than 'a', I'll have to buy a 220V AC inverter which I don't really want to..
I would appreciate your opinion very much. Thanks!
 

restorer-john

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Hi all, I'm trying to use a PA3s in my car, and I'm wondering if I am okay to feed it DC 24V instead of the original PSU's 26V.
I can think of below 4 options if I do that. Could anyone give me an advice?

a. It will work normally with a slightly less(something like 24/26) peak output. No harm will be done to the amp.
b. It will work but it will damage the hardware.
c. Nothing happens. The amp wouldn't even turn on.
d. The amp will catch fire or explode.

For any other case than 'a', I'll have to buy a 220V AC inverter which I don't really want to..
I would appreciate your opinion very much. Thanks!

Your car has a 24V outlet/supply?
 

Toku

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Hi all, I'm trying to use a PA3s in my car, and I'm wondering if I am okay to feed it DC 24V instead of the original PSU's 26V.
I can think of below 4 options if I do that. Could anyone give me an advice?

a. It will work normally with a slightly less(something like 24/26) peak output. No harm will be done to the amp.
b. It will work but it will damage the hardware.
c. Nothing happens. The amp wouldn't even turn on.
d. The amp will catch fire or explode.

For any other case than 'a', I'll have to buy a 220V AC inverter which I don't really want to..
I would appreciate your opinion very much. Thanks!
Is your car's battery voltage 24V?
The PA3s power supply voltage can be used up to 26V, but as the engine speed increases, the battery terminal voltage may exceed 27V.
Well, I don't think the amplifier will be damaged, but please check the rise in terminal voltage with a voltmeter.
Also, be sure to connect the amplifier's power source directly from the battery terminal. Otherwise you will suffer from generator noise.
 

antcollinet

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Hi all, I'm trying to use a PA3s in my car, and I'm wondering if I am okay to feed it DC 24V instead of the original PSU's 26V.
I can think of below 4 options if I do that. Could anyone give me an advice?

a. It will work normally with a slightly less(something like 24/26) peak output. No harm will be done to the amp.
b. It will work but it will damage the hardware.
c. Nothing happens. The amp wouldn't even turn on.
d. The amp will catch fire or explode.

For any other case than 'a', I'll have to buy a 220V AC inverter which I don't really want to..
I would appreciate your opinion very much. Thanks!
My full expectation would be a, with aprox 0.7dB lower output.

If it were mine, I'd be sufficiently confident to just do it - while accepting the very small risk I am wrong.

I can't see any way b or d would happen.


EDIT - and taking note of @Toku s warning - the main chip has an absolute maximum rating of 27.5V beyond which it can be permanently damaged. You need to be sure that voltage is never exceeded - including from surge/transient conditions.
 
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levanter

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Your car has a 24V outlet/supply?
No, it has only 12V. But I can easily find a laptop charger that can be connected to a cigarette lighter jack. The problem is, they only support up to 24V - couldn't find anything higher.

Of course there are inverters that can provide 220V AC, but they are bulky, more expensive and unreliable. By unreliable I mean the safety shut down would trip too often even if I connected a very small load from my past experience. The rating of the inverter was 300'W'(should be specified as VA, already wrong there) but it couldn't even take the transient power-on current of a 30W AB class amplifier.
 

levanter

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Is your car's battery voltage 24V?
The PA3s power supply voltage can be used up to 26V, but as the engine speed increases, the battery terminal voltage may exceed 27V.
Well, I don't think the amplifier will be damaged, but please check the rise in terminal voltage with a voltmeter.
Also, be sure to connect the amplifier's power source directly from the battery terminal. Otherwise you will suffer from generator noise.
Thanks for your reply. It's 12V and I explained further in my response to restorer-john just above.

"No, it has only 12V. But I can easily find a laptop charger that can be connected to a cigarette lighter jack. The problem is, they only support up to 24V - couldn't find anything higher."

So I'm trying to use the 12V cigarette jack in my car for the power source. Since it's (probably) not directly connected to the generator or battery itself, my guess is I wouldn't have to worry about the voltage fluctuation or generator noise you mentioned. May I ask your opinion about this?
 

levanter

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My full expectation would be a, with aprox 0.7dB lower output.

If it were mine, I'd be sufficiently confident to just do it - while accepting the very small risk I am wrong.

I can't see any way b or d would happen.


EDIT - and taking note of @Toku s warning - the main chip has an absolute maximum rating of 27.5V beyond which it can be permanently damaged. You need to be sure that voltage is never exceeded - including from surge/transient conditions.
I appreciate your opinion. The risk seems very small, so I'll just do it this weekend and let you guys know how it went.

Basically what I'm trying to do is using home audio speakers in my car. I used to put a pair of Celestion KR8(not exactly 'home' speakers though..) 8 inch woofer speakers on the back seat of my compact SUV, and I connected them to a small SMSL D class amp. The amp required 12V DC, so it was easy to get power from a cigar jack laptop adapter. I liked the result - quite better than the original car stereo(Bose or something).
Ah. the music source was just my Android phone's 3.5mm analog output.

Now KR8's are gone, and I'd like to put Polk R200's on the folded back of the rear seat this time, expecting a better quality. The problem is I need more amp power since the sensitivity of KR8 was much higher(9dB, at least according to the spec) than R200. With the old SMSL amp, even the full volume is far from being enough. That is why I want to use a PA3s instead.

I'll try to be careful about exceeding voltage. Thanks again and have a great day.
 
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