Topping PA7 Plus Amplifier Review

[3dcnc]

Why no remote?

for desktop you don't really need it. The partner L70 headphone amp, is also a preamp with a remote. In theory IMO you should get better results with the preamp digital volume control. It is a resistor ladder config. I have ordered one, has not arrived yet.

I appreciated its simplicity . good sound with basic control. rather than average sound with loads of features.

using it with small triangle Borea BR02
speakers and REL sub.

I would say it gets better after many hours of use. ( some say that is just a myth)

 

[3dcnc]

Why no remote?

Well today the L70 preamp, headphone amp arrived. with remote
Plugged into the Pa7 topping amp. Straight away the amp became louder and more dynamic/detailed , but not all in a good way. For my speakers - at least
I believe in burn in- especially D - amps. I will give it a few weeks ( many hours).
The signal from the preamp is definitely stronger than from the Denfrips Aries 2 DAC via xlr or my other DACs via RCA
It almost seems it has put a "sharpening filter" on details. I can hear much more details.
I will keep as ref headphone amp, but wont probably use as a preamp.
At the moment, i prefer the xDuoo TA-20 Plus class A tube headphone amp.

 

[Basilderat]

I have a Topping stack E70/L70/PA7. What is the best way to control gain for the best SNR? Should I use the L70 preamp to control gain and have the PA7 switched to bypass mode as a power amp, or should I set the L70 for no attenuation (pass-thru) and control the gain with the PA7 set to volume control? I was told that for the best SNR to run full signal to as late in the chain as possible?

 

[staticV3]

I have a Topping stack E70/L70/PA7. What is the best way to control gain for the best SNR? Should I use the L70 preamp to control gain and have the PA7 switched to bypass mode as a power amp, or should I set the L70 for no attenuation (pass-thru) and control the gain with the PA7 set to volume control? I was told that for the best SNR to run full signal to as late in the chain as possible?

I'd set the
E70 to 5V, DAC mode (volume control disabled), the
L70 to Low gain, -6dB for effectively unity gain, and the
PA7 to it's lowest volume.

I would then start listening to music and slowly increase the volume on the PA7 until I've reached the highest volume that I'll need.

After that, I would leave the PA7 knob where it is (maybe put some tape or a drop of hot glue on it so the knob can't get knocked out of position), then exclusively use the L70 to control volume.

Note that you can set a Safe volume on the L70 which it'll go back to when turning on or switching I/O.
That way, you can avoid unpleasant volume jumps when you start playing but left the volume too high from your last session.

 

[Basilderat]

I'd set the
E70 to 5V, DAC mode (volume control disabled), the
L70 to Low gain, -6dB for effectively unity gain, and the
PA7 to it's lowest volume.

I would then start listening to music and slowly increase the volume on the PA7 until I've reached the highest volume that I'll need.

After that, I would leave the PA7 knob where it is (maybe put some tape or a drop of hot glue on it so the knob can't get knocked out of position), then exclusively use the L70 to control volume.

Note that you can set a Safe volume on the L70 which it'll go back to when turning on or switching I/O.
That way, you can avoid unpleasant volume jumps when you start playing but left the volume too high from your last session.

Thank you, that's audiophile gold! - makes perfect sense, really appreciated.

 

[Chaos01]

Does anyone know what ist the damping factor from the Pa7 Plus?

 

[staticV3]

Does anyone know what ist the damping factor from the Pa7 Plus?

The PA7's output impedance has not been measured yet, therefore the damping factor cannot be calculated.

 

[tom_tom]

Hello, I have a question to users of PA7 Plus. Is Your device getting really hot while using ? I have simple setup with Wiim Pro Plus connected to it. When I forget to turn it of, even without playing music chasis is getting rather hot than warm. Is this standard behavior ? Other class D like amp I have e.g. SMSL A300 with build in PSU is not as hot normally.

 

[AzReciOn]

Hello, I have a question to users of PA7 Plus. Is Your device getting really hot while using ? I have simple setup with Wiim Pro Plus connected to it. When I forget to turn it of, even without playing music chasis is getting rather hot than warm. Is this standard behavior ? Other class D like amp I have e.g. SMSL A300 with build in PSU is not as hot normally.

I have PA5, and it also heats up quite a lot, and structurally they are similar, except in PA7 the board is turned down by the radiator, which clearly does not contribute to better heat dissipation. Personally, I installed a small cooler - and the amplifier is always barely warm. On the other hand, my personal analysis of failed devices (from other users) is as follows: the damage is mechanical rather than thermal (I think that due to frequent temperature fluctuations and varying degrees of thermal expansion of components, that is, my theory is that the devices fail not because ofdue to overheating of the components, and due to constant on/off), but I still hedged with active cooling.

And yes, most D-class amplifiers usually don't heat up like that, but specifically for PA5/PA7, this is normal.

 

[Doodski]

On the other hand, my personal analysis of failed devices (from other users) is as follows: the damage is mechanical rather than thermal (I think that due to frequent temperature fluctuations and varying degrees of thermal expansion of components, that is, my theory is that the devices fail not because ofdue to overheating of the components, and due to constant on/off), but I still hedged with active cooling.

Very high heat components can have dissociated solder. It appears as if crumbly looking non-shiny solder joints and there might be donut rings cracks in it too. It then usually goes intermittent and causes serious issues. I have seen this often in amplifiers running 4 Ohms when the amp is rated to 8 Ohms and also for people that run the amps very hard at high output levels as well as amps with inferior designs. To do this requires very very high heat at components on the PCB.

 

[AzReciOn]

Very high heat components can have dissociated solder. It appears as if crumbly looking non-shiny solder joints and there might be donut rings cracks in it too. It then usually goes intermittent and causes serious issues. I have seen this often in amplifiers running 4 Ohms when the amp is rated to 8 Ohms and also for people that run the amps very hard at high output levels as well as amps with inferior designs. To do this requires very very high heat at components on the PCB.

«The truth is out there»

 

[Mike_Trueman]

Hello, I have a question to users of PA7 Plus. Is Your device getting really hot while using ? I have simple setup with Wiim Pro Plus connected to it. When I forget to turn it of, even without playing music chasis is getting rather hot than warm. Is this standard behavior ? Other class D like amp I have e.g. SMSL A300 with build in PSU is not as hot normally.

Hello,
I use the SMSL AO300 direct connected to my PC with USB.

Does the PA7 PLUS + E70 Velvet sound much better connected to a PC or should i stick with my SMSL AO300?

TOPPING PA7 PLUS + TOPPING E70 VELVET BLACK PACKAGE

<h3 class="col pl-0 artdet__name line-clamp--3-12">TOPPING PA7 PLUS - Class-D Balanced Desktop Stereo Amplifier 2x300W 4 Ohm</h3><p>

www.muzix.eu

 

[Toku]

Hello,
I use the SMSL AO300 direct connected to my PC with USB.

Does the PA7 PLUS + E70 Velvet sound much better connected to a PC or should i stick with my SMSL AO300?

TOPPING PA7 PLUS + TOPPING E70 VELVET BLACK PACKAGE

<h3 class="col pl-0 artdet__name line-clamp--3-12">TOPPING PA7 PLUS - Class-D Balanced Desktop Stereo Amplifier 2x300W 4 Ohm</h3><p>

www.muzix.eu

The Ifineon MA5332MS amplifier chip used in the A300 and the TI TPA3255 amplifier chip used in the PA7 PLUS have a large difference in power efficiency. The MA5332MS is an amplifier chip that pursues low power consumption and generates very little heat.

 

[ErkyPerky]

I'm just about to buy the pa7 plus to pair with my E70. I also have a rega turntable that uses a seperate phono stage. Do you think the pa7 plus would be enough to amplify the signal? Or would i need a preamp? Preferably the L70? (even though its marketed as a headphone amp). Any replies would be appreciated.

 

[Guddu]

I'm just about to buy the pa7 plus to pair with my E70. I also have a rega turntable that uses a seperate phono stage. Do you think the pa7 plus would be enough to amplify the signal? Or would i need a preamp? Preferably the L70? (even though its marketed as a headphone amp). Any replies would be appreciated.

Absolutely nothing to be worried about, E70 will pair as well as any other DAC.
PA7 Plus will work well with any DAC/Pre with 1.9v (RCA) & 3.8v (XLR/TRS) or more.

 

[Vladetz]

I'm just about to buy the pa7 plus to pair with my E70. I also have a rega turntable that uses a seperate phono stage. Do you think the pa7 plus would be enough to amplify the signal? Or would i need a preamp? Preferably the L70? (even though its marketed as a headphone amp). Any replies would be appreciated.

You definitely need phono preamp if rega does not have a built-in

 

[Chaos01]

@amirm One question, at this graphs the distortion over 1khz is higher, at 15khz on Fosi Za3 Level. Still okay but in Relation to the Low sinad irretating for me and a questionmark to Not buy the Pa7+.

How ist the audible influence from the different distortion levels from the different frequenzes? Most AB amps have the Same distortion Levels for alls frequenzes, some class D come closer and some Like this one have big gaps between them. So what sounds better, Low sinad or equal distortion on all frequenzes? Thx

 

[staticV3]

@amirm One question, at this graphs the distortion over 1khz is higher, at 15khz on Fosi Za3 Level. Still okay but in Relation to the Low sinad irretating for me and a questionmark to Not buy the Pa7+.

See here:

Is SINAD around 5-15 KHz relevant?

I’m trying to build some active 3-way bookshelves. At this point, I need to decide for amp selection for my high frequency >2.5 KHz. I love Hypex products and will be powering the low end and midrange with hypex modules. I’m a bit hesitant about the tweeter amplification. Most newer class D...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[bleachwave]

Greetings.
I've got a question which is a bit odd, is PA7 plus or LA90 D able to drive KEF R3 META and make a great sound out of it? I'm into hi-fi stuff yet half-footed for the last 10 years.

Recently I purchased a pair of R3 meta on sale for 1400usd, it was an pulsive buy after watching bunch of reviews and praises of em, so it tightened up my overall budget. i got an E70 VELVET so the first amp came into my mind was PA7 PLUS since it got the power and stacks well with E70, and I'm also considering LA90 D, and do double mono in future setup.

P.S. I use them in close distance listening off my pc, aprx 1.5 meters from my ear level
Thanks in advance!

 

[Vladetz]

Greetings.
I've got a question which is a bit odd, is PA7 plus or LA90 D able to drive KEF R3 META and make a great sound out of it? I'm into hi-fi stuff yet half-footed for the last 10 years.

Recently I purchased a pair of R3 meta on sale for 1400usd, it was an pulsive buy after watching bunch of reviews and praises of em, so it tightened up my overall budget. i got an E70 VELVET so the first amp came into my mind was PA7 PLUS since it got the power and stacks well with E70, and I'm also considering LA90 D, and do double mono in future setup.

P.S. I use them in close distance listening off my pc, aprx 1.5 meters from my ear level
Thanks in advance!

PA7 or PA7 plus will be perfectly fine