Topping PA5 II Stereo Amplifier Review

[dalbert02]

No. It's resin. Good layout practices and actual shielding are way more important.



Perhaps take some time and read up.

EMI/RFI Shielding

EMI/RFI Shielding Epoxies

conductivex.com

 

[Killingbeans]

Hell no. That stuff is electrically conductive. If you use that as a potting compound, you'll get nothing but a guaranteed short to ground.

 

[dalbert02]

A non-conductive layer is laid down first.

 

[Killingbeans]

What would the point of doing it like that be? Why not just use a traditional metal shield and make the circuit serviceable?

 

[MAB]

EMI/RFI Shielding

EMI/RFI Shielding Epoxies

conductivex.com

Thanks for searching the internet, but are you suggesting that the D01 module was encapsulated in EMI/RFI shielding compound? No.

The module encapsulation and the reasons and the noted failures have been extensively discussed at ASR including extensive comments by John Yang from Topping on why they encapsulated and the reliability issues it had caused in this thread and here. The details of the module and complete teardown and re-engineering of a new replacement module are discussed at ASR as well.

Yes, conductive epoxies exist. This is not an application of conductive epoxies.

 

[john11]

What's the difference with the plus version, a lot more expensive what do you get for the money. Is there an audible improvement in sound quality

 

[grogi.giant]

What's the difference with the plus version, a lot more expensive what do you get for the money. Is there an audible improvement in sound quality

A tad more amperage out of the power supply. Relevant really if you want to drive low impedance speakers.

 

[staticV3]

What's the difference with the plus version, a lot more expensive what do you get for the money.

Only difference.

Is there an audible improvement in sound quality

The Plus can play 7% louder at 4Ω. At 8Ω, there's no difference.

 

[john11]

Not much for an £80 increase in price

 

[audioje]

I am awestruck. How good a cheap amp can be? Can't talk about the reliability but it sounds so clear.

 

[capslock]

Does anyone know what the connector on the power supply is called and where to order it? I would like to make my own battery supply without having to sacrifice the stock PSU. Thx

 

[VVR]

Does anyone know what the connector on the power supply is called and where to order it?

You can find it as 2-pin aviation circular connector. Not sure about the size, it's either GX16 or GX12 type. Measure the diameter to find out.
You can find these connectors on Digikey, Mouser, Newark or on eBay, Amazon and so on. It's pretty ubiquitous type and easy to find.

 

[Toku]

Does anyone know what the connector on the power supply is called and where to order it? I would like to make my own battery supply without having to sacrifice the stock PSU. Thx

The connector used for PA5/PA5ll, PA7/PA7 Plus is a type called GX12 aviation connector, and there are 2P, 3P, 4P, 5P, 6P, and 7P.
The slightly larger GX16 is used in various devices and is often seen, but the GX12 used in the PA5/PA5ll, PA7/PA7 Plus is a slightly smaller type.
You can easily buy it on Aliexpress in China. The price is also very cheap.
Please specify 2P type for PA5/PA5ll and 3P type for PA7/PA7 Plus. Some products have gold-plated electrodes, and I purchased several for PA5/PA5ll and PA7/PA7 Plus.

 

[john11]

Does anyone know what the connector on the power supply is called and where to order it? I would like to make my own battery supply without having to sacrifice the stock PSU. Thx

Battery ? For a power amp ? Sounds out there

 

[welwynnick]

Low noise
Low ripple
Low output impedance
High current capacity

 

[capslock]

Yeah, LiFePO4

 

[antcollinet]

• Low noise - only at zero or static load
• Low ripple - only at zero or static load
• Low output impedance - very much depends on the battery technology. In most cases, not compared with a good PSU - especially if comparing at similar size.
• High current capacity - Yes, with some batteries you may be able to pull much higher current than with the amp PSU - thing is though, the amp will never pull that current - or if it does it will have blown up.

Batteries are unlikely to improve on a decent PSU with sufficient bulk capacitance unless also having similar amounts of bulk capacitance. And in any case are unlikely to make any audible difference.

Specifically with this amp - no audible difference whatsoever. The amp with the regular PSU has noise and distorition many times lower than the human ear can detect. Even in the unlikely event a battery made a small improvement, it cannot be heard.

They are a hell of a lot of trouble to go to for no benefit.

 

[welwynnick]

It was frivolous

 

[capslock]

I happen to have the batteries, they have a few mOhm of resistance. I can charge them with solar panels. I'll have no ground loops. What is not to like?

 

[john11]

I happen to have the batteries, they have a few mOhm of resistance. I can charge them with solar panels. I'll have no ground loops. What is not to like?

Please report on your findings.
Perhaps if you use the stock psu with a regulator this may help, with sufficient capacitance to prevent voltage sag at high volumes