V3 mono, PA5 II, or ZA3 with klipschorns?

[mxs8106]

So I have a small collection of Klipsch heritage speakers (khorn, lascala, belle, cornwall) and want to try one of these budget amps with them. I plan to use a Wiim ultra or pro plus as the dac/streamer for this basic setup. I am really only familiar with vintage gear so this is all new to me but from what I read these amps are amazingly clean and without background noise. From what I read they have excellent bass with a very open midrange. I suppose my only concern is that the wrong amp will sound too cold or sterile. For reference, I have always enjoyed the sound of solid state Mcintosh seperates and integrateds as well as Marantz 22xx receivers. I like having tone controls and on the smaller Marantz models usually use the loudness button for whatever its worth. I read that the wiim streamers have an eq/room correction feature so im hoping that will let me adjust the sound to my liking. All of the amps I listed seem to rank really well here but is their one in particular that might sound better with a very efficient speaker like the klipschorn and more or less have a similar sound to vintage solid state gear im used to? Thanks so much for your time

 

[DVDdoug]

From what I read they have excellent bass with a very open midrange.

Almost all amplifiers have flat frequency response (assuming no tone control or EQ adjustments), inaudible distortion unless overdriven into clipping/distortion, and low noise.

But noise varies, and with high-sensitivity (high efficiency) speakers it will be more audible. Power and noise are the two specs/characteristics I'd be concerned with. But there's more than one way to measure noise so the manufacturer's specs aren't that helpful. Of course, Amir's measurements are standardized and can be compared.

I have always enjoyed the sound of solid state Mcintosh seperates and integrateds

McIntosh has always been known for good clean sound. (A "straight wire with gain".) In the tube days they didn't have a reputation for "tube sound".

I like having tone controls and on the smaller Marantz models usually use the loudness button for whatever its worth. I read that the wiim streamers have an eq/room correction feature so im hoping that will let me adjust the sound to my liking.

EQ is more flexible/powerful but digital EQ not as convenient to quickly adjust with recordings that "need" some different settings.

Unfortunately, loudness compensation is now rare. Except I think some "room correction" algorithms have it, and it's better because it's calibrated to your speakers so it's not just a crude approximation based on the volume control position.

 

[staticV3]

Compared to the V3 Mono, the PA5II is an overall better implementation of the same chip amp with less noise, lower IMD, and flatter frequency response.

The ZA3 I personally would not consider due to load dependency.

 

[telemike]

I'm using the Fosi V3 mono amps with a WiiM Ultra with my Klipsch Forte IV. The V3's have a tight and controlled bass as compared to an older Marantz PM-15 I was using.

 

[mxs8106]

I'm using the Fosi V3 mono amps with a WiiM Ultra with my Klipsch Forte IV. The V3's have a tight and controlled bass as compared to an older Marantz PM-15 I was using.

How are the two mono amps connected to the wiim ultra? Do you use any type of room correction or eq with your fortes?

 

[telemike]

How are the two mono amps connected to the wiim ultra? Do you use any type of room correction or eq with your fortes?

I use the room correction on the Ultra. The combo works great.

 

[Satchelmouth]

Topping pa5 + Forte III's and Wiim Pro Plus with AutoEQ here. Sounds great, but the only thing I can compare it to is my previous Hafler p4000 power amp. TBH, it sounds exactly the same, if you take autoeq out of the equation.

 

[Panelhead]

I used a PA5 II for a while. Bass tightness was much improved over a Micromega MyAmp. Noticed a little glare in low level massed strings.
I asked Topping their recommendation for an amplifier for horn speakers. The answer a pair of B100’s. Distortion and low level linearity are the best ever.
They measured THD+N down to 0.1mW (100uW) and it is still lower than the Micromega at 10watts. The distortion level does not rise above 10Khz like many digital amplifiers.
The ASR report showed it beat the Benchmark AHB2 (which is an incredible amplifier) everywhere but output power. It is a 50 watt into 8 ohms amplifier.
I doubt Topping understands the horn loaded speaker market. They built the perfect horn speaker amplifier.
They said design goal was an amplifier that matched the best headphone amplifiers in noise, distortion, and low level linearity. The SNR is -151dB and DNR is 151dB.
To measure with a AP555x they have to amplify output 20dB and then divide by a 100. The numbers are way below the capabilities of the analyzer.