TP RA3 Rackmount Amplifier Review

[Mart68]

I didn't know 8 ohm speakers were rare. I did a quick search of my KEF LS 50 metas and sure enough, they are 8 ohms. I need an education in impedance !!!!

Impedance varies with frequency. They are 'nominally' 8 ohm but drop to 3.7 ohm https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/kef-ls50-meta-review-speaker.25574/

 

[Sokel]

Nice little product. Surely this Topping Pro thing is just a branding exercise and they’re not really trying to market to pros?

At that price point, decent longevity from components and build quality (that can tolerate regular abuse) must be quite low I would have thought.

Seems like that this exercise will extend to pro interfaces too,look at the top-left corner:

 

[Mart68]

I like the rack mounts and it looks okay - I don't like that it will just shut down if the load gets tough. That's no use to me.

 

[Grotti]

I like the rack mounts and it looks okay - I don't like that it will just shut down if the load gets tough. That's no use to me.

What about avoiding "tough loads" and be happy about an amplifier which protects itself reliably when used not within its specs? I can't see anything wrong in this approach.....

 

[Mart68]

What about avoiding "tough loads" and be happy about an amplifier which protects itself reliably when used not within its specs? I can't see anything wrong in this approach.....

My favoured speakers are tough loads. Lots of speakers are. I don't want the amp to be the limiting factor in my choice of speakers, that's tail wagging the dog.

Protection is a good thing, yes.

 

[fpitas]

Nice little product. Surely this Topping Pro thing is just a branding exercise and they’re not really trying to market to pros?

At that price point, decent longevity from components and build quality (that can tolerate regular abuse) must be quite low I would have thought.

I think Behringer proved there is a market for entry level stuff. A lot of beginning DJs don't have much money.

 

[TonyJZX]

this is a 60w amp at best... even by their own figures its 68w

i would keep it away from sub 4 ohms

i dont think this is "pro" at all... what are you gonna do with this? fill an auditorium with sound? for $229???

that above s/w if it works thru the type-c port looks good?

 

[Matias]

Great performance. Now waiting for overheating and failed units being reported in 3, 2, 1.....

 

[tinnitus]

That RA3 will fit to my DSPstreamer. Now only a RM7 8channel DAC in 19" is missing. Prehaps i made one by myself?

 

[Tovarich007]

if you want a pro looking amp, better buy a real one. You have lots of good pro power amps with decent prices, good performances, much more power, driving nominal 2 Ohms speakers if needed, with a long time proven reliability. Look at Yamaha, Crown, RAM, Powersoft and others.

And for a domestic HIFI use, I can't see any advantge in this TP amp. The pro look isn't beautiful, you can find cheaper and/or more powerful class D or full FDA.

And you can also find a Yamaha RN-803D receiver for around 400 € on the internet, with integrated DAC, bluetooth, analog preamp with several inputs, FM tuner, a decent headphone output and a rather efficient integrated room correction software. Tts max power on 8 ohms is higher than this TP amp and its overall performances look quite correct (distorsion and noise level probably inaudible in real use).

To sum up my opinion (maybe you'll judge it too severe) this TP amp is a good theorical performer but a useless new product. Once again, SOTA measured performances aren't the end game in real world, I don't care about a few SINAD figures less or more as long as I can't hear the difference. But I do care for versatilities, overall value for money, reliability

 

[BeerBear]

At that price point, decent longevity from components and build quality (that can tolerate regular abuse) must be quite low I would have thought.

I have cheap amps from the early 90s that still work fine to this day. And this one only has one knob in the front, not a lot that can break there. Let's not have such low expectations for products costing hundreds of dollars.

By the way, Behringer sells a "pro" amp with pretty nice DSP and almost twice the power, for just a few dollars more. Significantly worse SINAD, though. Longevity? No idea.
But I think class D amps are supposed to get cheaper and cheaper as the tech matures.

 

[Bleib]

Seems to be the new PA5, with a remote and RCA inputs

 

[Overseas]

Is this a PA 'professional' amp or, leaving the rack mounting aside, it is a home amp too!?

 

[MZKM]

I feel people with equipment racks are ok with spending a bit more. A $400 unit with 100W 8ohm likely would sell a lot more units (based just on assumption).

Here are the Behringer A800 measurements for comparison (current MSRP of $370, on sale right now for $315):

Behringer A800 Stereo Amplifier Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Behringer A800 Class D Stereo Amplifier. It is on kind loan from a member. The A800 costs US $299 including free shipping from multiple sites. The member who loaned it me has done a youtube video of it which you can see by clicking on this...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Tons more power (~2.5x) but the quality of power is just usable.

 

[jae]

Wow finally nice to see something new from topping. Would love to see speakons and more power in the future, don't mind if it's 2/3U.

 

[sarumbear]

Wow finally nice to see something new from topping. Would love to see speakons and more power in the future, don't mind if it's 2/3U.

Where do you see the speakons?

 

[sarumbear]

@amirm is there a software lock for the volume? A flywheel volume control on a rack is not the best option otherwise.

 

[Tovarich007]

As for pro budget amps, look for instance at the Crown XLS or XLI series, prices are quite comparable to this TP, with a lot more power, decent performances, by a long time established firm you can find anywhere.
Theren't perfect, but If I needed such an amp (it's not the case) and had to choose between this TP and these Crown, my choice will be quickly done...

 

[JohnYang1997]

An important detail is that the volume control is done with resistor network and is fully balanced also with very good noise performance. Essentially a built in SOTA preamp in a 229 USD amp.

 

[JohnYang1997]

On the note of the TP branding. It's different from the professional that's happening in the future.
This TP branding is mostly larger sized products with insane performance to cost ratio.