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Topping PA5 Review (Amplifier)
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
Or just a preamp for the line out.
Well you need to find out what the maximum output voltage and gain is. You need to get somthing that can put at least 2V out, and has enough gain to turn the 200mV into 2V (so at least 10x gain (or 20dB)
That still will leave you with only 60% power from the PA5 (Power reduces with the square of the voltage - so 1/2 volts = 1/4 power), so if you can find something with enough gain and output volts to get you to 2.6V even better.
That still will leave you with only 60% power from the PA5 (Power reduces with the square of the voltage - so 1/2 volts = 1/4 power), so if you can find something with enough gain and output volts to get you to 2.6V even better.
Listened some more to the PA 5 today, overall now 5 hours...
Overall cleaner than Buckeye... initially feels clinical but after a few hours, your ears get used to it.
Crisp and clearer, and overall very similar to buckeye, I would say it is "faster"? The bass definitely feels much faster and tighter than buckeye but lacks that amplitude. Buckeye still wins in terms of overall projection / power, makes the speakers disappear.
Basically I am now waiting for Topping to come out with 500W PA9 monoblocks and will definitely be investing in that.
Benchmark AHB2 will be dethroned in the next few years I think.
Overall:
PA5 feels "digital" like it's very accurate, but the speakers feel like there are there, the sound is clearly coming from the speakers, bass is very tight and loud "enough". PA5 makes the sound stage a bit wider but now I feel like they're coming from left and right channels of the speaker.
Benefits of PA5 - the highs are VERY crisp. I'm watching Dexter and that ice crackling is emmensely sharp and feels real
Buckeye feels "analogue", it's not as accurate but the speakers disappear and you've in a world of sound, almost violent sometimes, the bass feels violent, and scary, your body sometimes can't take the absolute loudness. Buckey makes the speakers sound like they're coming out of the TV
Benefits of Buckeye - holy crap the dept, the bass and the weight of sound.
Come on Topping give me a 500-1000W monoblock my wallet is ready.
Overall cleaner than Buckeye... initially feels clinical but after a few hours, your ears get used to it.
Crisp and clearer, and overall very similar to buckeye, I would say it is "faster"? The bass definitely feels much faster and tighter than buckeye but lacks that amplitude. Buckeye still wins in terms of overall projection / power, makes the speakers disappear.
Basically I am now waiting for Topping to come out with 500W PA9 monoblocks and will definitely be investing in that.
Benchmark AHB2 will be dethroned in the next few years I think.
Overall:
PA5 feels "digital" like it's very accurate, but the speakers feel like there are there, the sound is clearly coming from the speakers, bass is very tight and loud "enough". PA5 makes the sound stage a bit wider but now I feel like they're coming from left and right channels of the speaker.
Benefits of PA5 - the highs are VERY crisp. I'm watching Dexter and that ice crackling is emmensely sharp and feels real
Buckeye feels "analogue", it's not as accurate but the speakers disappear and you've in a world of sound, almost violent sometimes, the bass feels violent, and scary, your body sometimes can't take the absolute loudness. Buckey makes the speakers sound like they're coming out of the TV
Benefits of Buckeye - holy crap the dept, the bass and the weight of sound.
Come on Topping give me a 500-1000W monoblock my wallet is ready.
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A true audiophile you are. Listening to sound - not music!
I prefer to listen to music- and disappear into a world of music.
There is, of course, "The Sound of Music" - but I cannot associate that with the "violence of sound" that you are describing. /s
Maybe, though SINAD beyond the AHB2's is inaudible in any case. Until then, I'm keeping mine in my main rig and the PA5 in my office setup...
Not decrying the PA5 in any way. If it had a bit more power output, it would be in my main setup and I'd be considerably better off.
"Benchmark AHB2 will be dethroned in the next few years I think."
Suddenly everyone gets defensive.
I play a few explosions from my favorite movie to test out "violence"
Indeed - that's why I put a /s for snark at the end of my earlier post. With combined audio/video sound systems, there is indeed a place for listening to the "sound" of an audio system in addition to music.
The reason why I say Benchmark might be outta a business - Benchmark only puts out 200W with 380W into 4ohms for $3000CAD
For $400CAD, I'm getting 85W into 8ohms and 140W into 4ohms, which is good enough for a vast majority of music / videos.
If Topping comes out with a $800CAD 300W into 8ohms and like 800W into 4ohms, at this quality, I think it's game over for Benchmark. I'm just waiting for them to create a monoblock.
Who is being defensive? I have a PA5 in my office setup and I really like it. Tried it in my main rig and really liked it too. Wasn't comfortable about pushing it hard on a continuous basis in my main rig, so the AHB2 is staying.
Benchmark won't be out of business. Their core market is professional audio. Not Topping's target market at all.
Oh well I have around $2000 moved over in anticipation for a Topping PA9 or PA13 monoblocks, thanks Topping.
Ah, that's right. thank you.
There was no problem as long as it looked big on the ASR.
Okay final verdict now after doing some serious A/B between PA5 and Buckeye I can nail down some specifics:
PA5:
Better:
Far clearer in the upper bounds - meaning ice cracking, strumming of guitars, there are very clear highs.
Far clearer bass - I can feel the crack of the bass, almost artificial sometimes (when the bass comes in you can tell a 0->1 feeling), the separation is incredible in terms of when the bass comes in and the tightness of it.
Worse:
Too much detail makes every sound a bit equally the same - lack of power shows very clearly here when we're talking about things like machine gun shots, cars revving and others that don't feel like they have power. Watching James Bond for example, the movie felt flat, and coming from the screen. I will explain in the buckeye below.
Buckeye:
Better:
It feels like there is stronger contrast in the sound, the bass is bigger, the sound is brought forward. The speakers literally disappear and the movie is brought into your living room. When things crack they really feel like they're cracked, when machine guns go off, you duck for cover, and when explosions go off, you think your hearing is hurt. There is a weightiness of sound that isn't represented with the PA5.
Worse:
I think highs are rolled off, as the ice cracking and other super high sounds feel off, and do not have the same ear piercing crackling feeling as PA5. There is a bit of loss in detail in terms of full neutral representation in comparison to PA5, it's like taking off your glasses, definitely a loss in detail but far far bigger in terms of amplitude / quantity.
Watching James Bond on buckeye - I was scared when the car came for me, when the explosion happened, holy I felt his pain and when he grabbed the railing jump off the bridge you could physically feel the pins being ripped out.
Yeah please Topping, give me 1000W of power next
I'm not using audiophile words or audioscience words, anyone want to translate what I said please go ahead
I'll be using PA5 for my office speakers and loading a future Topping amp with much more wattage to place my buckeye (which only cost me 649 btw)
PA5:
Better:
Far clearer in the upper bounds - meaning ice cracking, strumming of guitars, there are very clear highs.
Far clearer bass - I can feel the crack of the bass, almost artificial sometimes (when the bass comes in you can tell a 0->1 feeling), the separation is incredible in terms of when the bass comes in and the tightness of it.
Worse:
Too much detail makes every sound a bit equally the same - lack of power shows very clearly here when we're talking about things like machine gun shots, cars revving and others that don't feel like they have power. Watching James Bond for example, the movie felt flat, and coming from the screen. I will explain in the buckeye below.
Buckeye:
Better:
It feels like there is stronger contrast in the sound, the bass is bigger, the sound is brought forward. The speakers literally disappear and the movie is brought into your living room. When things crack they really feel like they're cracked, when machine guns go off, you duck for cover, and when explosions go off, you think your hearing is hurt. There is a weightiness of sound that isn't represented with the PA5.
Worse:
I think highs are rolled off, as the ice cracking and other super high sounds feel off, and do not have the same ear piercing crackling feeling as PA5. There is a bit of loss in detail in terms of full neutral representation in comparison to PA5, it's like taking off your glasses, definitely a loss in detail but far far bigger in terms of amplitude / quantity.
Watching James Bond on buckeye - I was scared when the car came for me, when the explosion happened, holy I felt his pain and when he grabbed the railing jump off the bridge you could physically feel the pins being ripped out.
Yeah please Topping, give me 1000W of power next
I'm not using audiophile words or audioscience words, anyone want to translate what I said please go ahead
I'll be using PA5 for my office speakers and loading a future Topping amp with much more wattage to place my buckeye (which only cost me 649 btw)
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dsnyder0cnn
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I'm behind 16 pages behind on this thread, but I thought I'd reply anyway, even though you may have already found something you prefer to the PA5 by now.
My first thought after reading this was that it seems odd to pair a $350 desktop amp with high-end loudspeakers. Horses for courses, as they say. Since you have the PecanPi Streamer, have you thought of going with Leo's monoblocks? It seems like they would be a much better fit for your loudspeakers and DAC. At $1.5k/pair, they are more expensive, but they are still a great value for what they deliver. If something happened to mine, I would buy another pair.
tvrgeek
Major Contributor
What is odd? Price matching components is nothing but salesmen in need of a boat payment. If the capabilities of an amp match what the speakers and user need, then that is all that matters. The PS5 seems to be a very capable performing little amp. That is all a great many people actually need. I have owned 5 DACS in the last couple of years and by far the only one with no sound of it's own is the $109 one. In the process I heard several in the $1000 to $3000 range and one $15000 DAC. The only thing I heard different was the number of adjectives the salesman could put in one sentence, I will keep my JDS thank you.
dsnyder0cnn
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But, in this person's case, it did not match.
AudioArchitech
Senior Member
I figured it was worth a shot. I wanted to try a 2nd highest rated SINAD amp on AudioSciencereview and see if it would work. Not a big deal to try, sell it and try something else. I have tried a lot of gear, sometimes you find a real bargain out there. Example, my last amp was a Audiolab 6000A, great value, sounded great. Still haven't decided what to get next. A couple on the radar: Atoll AM100 or AM200 Signature, 2x IOTAVX PA3 Mono, NCore 252 or 500, and yes the mono Starkrimsons have been on my mind as well. A couple of other used ones too.
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