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wondom bru5 pc dsp configurable TPA 3255 "300w x 2" mini amplifier

I will be very interested in your evaluation. Full disclosure, during my "sales pitch" I did not mention I have some age related HF hearing loss, so your subjective evaluation will be more accurate than mine. To my ears, it sounds great.
Ok - I will add more details in a while. So I am also at an age where I cannot hear high frequencies > 14.5K.

So my subjective (and somewhat objective as I measured it ) compared to the Fosi Audio V3 with the same speakers / microphone / cables etc is it sounds very good with a little caveat I will mention below. So, when I level matched both and did a few REW sweeps, the frequency response was almost identical to the Foai Audio (a very slight earlier roll of bass but at a level 30hz that my speakers can't produce anyway ). So I would say without EQ it has the 'default / neutral' sound signature of the TPA-3255 (so also similar to the Aiyima A07). I didn't trust it with the 48V power supply so I used a 36V that I had from the Fosi Audio BT20A pro.

But I would guess it has slightly worse SINAD than the Aiyima or the Fosi Audio's, just based on the very faint hiss (with my ear close to the tweaker) I get from all of these amps - but this one subjectively seemed very slightly louder - thought not audible more than a foot away from the speakers - unlike some of the terrible TPA3116 Amp's I tried which were very audible to me from a seating position. Also the bluetooth especially seems even a bit noisier. There I also an audible hum when I switch it on - where I think the bluetooth is search for its paired device - this thankfully goes away after 10 seconds or so. It's such a shame they bothered with bluetooth on this device.

I believe theBru5 (and probably BDM9) AD/DSP/DA stuff all works at 44/48 kHz. That will disqualify it for HiDef audio fans, and will limit its s/n when measured. I will be particularly interested in how much impact you hear on sound quality.

The only 2 things I dislike about the amp are the flashing Bluetooth indicator, and that it defaults to the Bluetooth input on power up. It requires a tap on the "Pairing" button each time to get to Line in.
Totally agree - I hate that I have to toggle bluetooth off before the line in is enabled and that horrible blue indicator (which I will cover up).

As for the PEQ - I mostly like it - the software seems very extensive and powerful (though slightly difficult to use). I haven't done too many tests yet and I can't see where I can have independent left and right channel PEQ settings? There is an A and B in the software but that seems to just be to do A / B comparisons rather than A being the left etc Have you seen where that can be tweaked??? I like how the settings are enabled in real-time, very handy with REW measurements.

Anyway a quick comparison chart shows the mostly nice much flatter curve I get with some basic PEQ ( 6 filters recommended by REW ) - though I really need to see how to do the left and right channels independently to get the best effect in this particular room. And I need to solve the mid-bass but I am going to play around some more with the software this week.
BRU5-EQ.png


But overall for Eur30 - this is an unbelievable fantastic amp. The software won't be for everyone which is probably the only thing holding this back.
 
Thanks for the report! I guess we will need to wait until some young ears listen to get a definitive S/N evaluation, but for my use case it is fine. I see discussion on the importance of S/N following Amir's test of the new Topping TP amp. Its true, Behringer and other pro brands do not prioritize S/N because its not what that market cares about.

DSP matters more most of the time. It looks like you made some significant PEQ improvements already. I am going to play around more with REW House Curves, a bit more Harman recommended bass boost and see how that sounds.

I think you are correct, the Left/right PEQ cannot be set independently. That does not matter much in my room. Wondom answered a question on independent channel EQ in the BDM9 YouTube comments. BDM9 firmware does not allow for that either. Wondom says that their ADAU1701 DSP products which use the Miumax software shown in the 1st post of this thread do allow for independent DSP controls. I think we could use up to 18 filters (using both Pre and Post Amp filters). I wonder if the selections on the 1st page allow for mono operation, in which case getting a 2nd amp would solve it.

I see there is discussion in the V3 thread on its "innovative" aluminum block bolted to the chassis heat dissipation strategy. The Bru5 uses that too, but with thermal paste and without the bolts.

I am surprised this little amp has not gotten more play here or on the DIY forums.
 
Thanks for the report! I guess we will need to wait until some young ears listen to get a definitive S/N evaluation, but for my use case it is fine. I see discussion on the importance of S/N following Amir's test of the new Topping TP amp. Its true, Behringer and other pro brands do not prioritize S/N because its not what that market cares about.
Well I was tempted to just buy one and ship it to Amir - but for me if it wasn't for the DSP I would not consider it, the bluetooth is very annoying, I am going to see can I disable it as I get more confident with how the software configuration works.
DSP matters more most of the time. It looks like you made some significant PEQ improvements already. I am going to play around more with REW House Curves, a bit more Harman recommended bass boost and see how that sounds.

I think you are correct, the Left/right PEQ cannot be set independently. That does not matter much in my room. Wondom answered a question on independent channel EQ in the BDM9 YouTube comments. BDM9 firmware does not allow for that either. Wondom says that their ADAU1701 DSP products which use the Miumax software shown in the 1st post of this thread do allow for independent DSP controls. I think we could use up to 18 filters (using both Pre and Post Amp filters). I wonder if the selections on the 1st page allow for mono operation, in which case getting a 2nd amp would solve it.
Yes that might be a clever workaround set 2 as mono-blocks with DSP - given the price that might be an awesome setup.

The perfect setup for me would be if this had a subwoofer output also (and then 3 separate PEQ DSP sections in their App ). I think the way it would work the 'Effect' groups would expand so instead of just a "Music DSP" there would be a "Right Channel DSP" / "Left Channel DSP" (and then in that idea world with a separate sub-woofer output a "Sub-woofer DSP". In fairness calling the PEQ "Music DSP" makes perfect sense when affecting both channels, in fact I guess the Wiim Pro PEQ when it does arrive will be similar so will have a similar 'problem' in that it won't be good enough for proper room correction.
I see there is discussion in the V3 thread on its "innovative" aluminum block bolted to the chassis heat dissipation strategy. The Bru5 uses that too, but with thermal paste and without the bolts.

I am surprised this little amp has not gotten more play here or on the DIY forums.
Yes agreed I think with the DSP (even though I am a little disappointed with its limitations) it makes a great bargain and a nice toy to play with.

I am now just going to figure out how best to use it in the house somewhere but sadly it won't be in my "sonically challenging" work from home space.
 
Ok - I had a busy week but got a chance to nerd out with the Bru5 this afternoon and I really like it. If this vendor does a more advanced version with a subwoofer output and the ability to tune the DSP for those channels I will definitely get one.

Anyway, I decided to see can it 'compete' with an alternative setup in my 'WFH garage room' setup and in the end I think it can do a nice job - I could keep tweaking but I think my wife thought I was crazy :D

This is what I have for now and I am relatively happy with it - the room has a bunch of modes and these Polk ES20 speakers have some issues that needs fixing with EQ (as per @amirm review a few years ago). The only problem really is that the left side of the room needs different PEQ filters for its bass issues than the right hand side but this is the L+R measurement in REW:

1688841623983.png


So basically using 2 laptops one running REW measuring the DSP changes and getting EQ recommendations and then another running the ACP benchmark doing some realtime PEQ filters was really fun (and pretty enlightening).

With the app you effectively get 2 x 10 band of PEQ - so I split them up into 10 for fixing the room (I still have a few I can play with) and 10 for fixing the speakers - again I have a few I can play with.

I did notice there was definitely more noise with this amp than the V3 (though they have a "noise filter" enabled - disabling that filter gets even more noise) but I can only hear it when I am a foot or so from one of the speakers tweeter.

This is not really my 'critical' listening room (just its nice to have good sound while working) so I think I will move the MiniDSP / Dirac Live back into the main house and use it with the Fosi Audio V3 in a different room.

I might get back to more tweaks next week but I just wanted it setup nearly right so I can work from that room this week and get a better sense for how it sound after using it 7-8 hours each day.

The setup I have with this is basically my old Wiim Mini optical into a headphone DAC / PreAmp and then into the BRU-5 and out to the 2 polk ES20 's. I specifically decided the Polks were better for this setup as they go pretty low e.g. 40Hz so I can mostly get away without a subwoofer. I should also say this isn't a 'desktop' setup as I have a speaker set a little bit away (maybe 8-9 feet) from where I would normally be working, so its really a 'small' room setup (its a converted garage to give people an idea of the size of the room).
 
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I'd be interested in this little amp if there was a way to have it default to the AUX input on power up.
 
I see a "dither" checkbox in the software DAC settings. Have you enabled it and watched any improvement in noise?

Also, the chip has one more DAC channel (DAC1 in the software) that could be soldered to a RCA jack and used as subwoofer out, if software allows independent filter settings for this output. It even have SPDIF in and out, that could be soldered directly to a coax connector. I just don't know if spdif input would be selectable by the button. Could you test if enabling spdif input on the software enables a third (mute) input when pressing the button? It would raise the usability of this amp!
 
Good afternoon. I have 3 amplifir Topping pa3s, Fosi V3 and BRU-5. According to BRU-5 I can’t understand? Why, when I connect it to a laptop and run the DSP control program, do I immediately get wheezing and noise in the sound output? as soon as Bru works without a DSP connection, without a control program, then the sound is clear. Type cable changed, usb inputs too. nothing helps. What could be. Why is the signal so distorted when working through the DSP? Is it a marriage or am I doing something wrong? The laptop itself is recognized by the amplifier through this program. I output the sound further through foobar and asio. I am writing through a translator. there may be errors. Sorry.
 
Good afternoon. I have 3 amplifir Topping pa3s, Fosi V3 and BRU-5. According to BRU-5 I can’t understand? Why, when I connect it to a laptop and run the DSP control program, do I immediately get wheezing and noise in the sound output? as soon as Bru works without a DSP connection, without a control program, then the sound is clear. Type cable changed, usb inputs too. nothing helps. What could be. Why is the signal so distorted when working through the DSP? Is it a marriage or am I doing something wrong? The laptop itself is recognized by the amplifier through this program. I output the sound further through foobar and asio. I am writing through a translator. there may be errors. Sorry.
It's probably power supply ripple or noise from the USB connection. You could try a USB isolator.
 
.......Why, when I connect it to a laptop and run the DSP control program, do I immediately get wheezing and noise in the sound output? as soon as Bru works without a DSP connection, without a control program, then the sound is clear......
Hi UA8890.
I understand your Bru5 works good when the ACP Workbench v.2.24.2 DSP program is not connected to your laptop by USB. I understand you get loud wheezing with the DSP program active. No one posting here has experienced this. I have some ideas, but I am not an expert.

- ADDED SUGGESTION: Xsodouse below suggests the power supply you are using for the Bru5 may be the cause of the noise. If you have a different power supply, preferably one designed for audio products, try it!
- Suggestion: Have you asked this question to Wondom/Sure? They have a user support question section here: https://store.sure-electronics.com/question/1 You can also message them through AliExpress
- Wondom has posted a short Bru5 Video on YouTube here. It may help. Arylic and others have also posted ACPWorkbench Instructions on YouTube. Search ACPWorkbench.
- Question: Do you get the wheezing sound when the USB is connected but you DO NOT have the ACP Workbench v.2.24.2 active on the laptop? If you get noise whenever the cable is connected, even if Workbench is not on, then MachOne may be right.
- Question: Did you get your ACP Workbench v.2.24.2 DSP software directly from Wondome/Sure? It is possible if you are using a different version (like from Arylic) that the default settings are wrong.
- Only ACP Workbench from Wondom will work. If you are using Jab5 MuiMax software from Post 1 it does not work.
- You tried a different cable. I suggest you try a different USB port as well. I suggest you try with no Foobar/ASIO, just output the sound directly from your laptop audio out jack to test.
- Question? Did you change any different ACP Workbench Settings? Changes in Workbench setting happen right away in real time, without saving. If you changed settings in Workbench that could be the issue.

- Suggestion: Workbench at the bottom has the option to Reset Original Factory Settings. If you read the Workbench manual and see how that works, you can try a factory reset.

Good Luck!
 
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Hello Audio Science Review community,

I wanted to share an unfortunate experience I've had recently with an application named ACPWorkbench, which I purchased for $20. My antivirus software flagged it as potentially harmful malware, which was quite alarming.

Following this detection, I decided to investigate further and discovered that this issue is not an isolated one. On the site VirusTotal, I found that the file linked to ACPWorkbench has previously been detected as potentially harmful malware. For those interested, here is the link to the file's detection history: VirusTotal Report

Delving deeper into the application's behavior, I noticed that it takes elevated permissions - specifically Virtualization UAC permissions. As many of you might know, such actions can be concerning, as they may give the app unauthorized access to system resources. Moreover, Malwarebytes also flags this application as a potential threat. This is due to two reasons: firstly, the application is unsigned, and secondly, it exhibits suspicious behavior.

Despite these risks, I took the liberty of running the app on my computer for further examination. Interestingly, the app functioned as expected, providing some good effects and a well-performing EQ. The gain control feature also worked exceptionally well.

I experienced a 'wheezing and noise in the sound' issue, which some of you may also have encountered. However, I found that this issue could potentially be mitigated by ensuring that the BRU5 amplifier is fed by a well-isolated power source and that the computer used has effectively isolated USB ports. Upon disconnecting all other USB devices and leaving the amplifier connected to a 3.0 port (and a mouse to a 2.0 port), the strange noises disappeared.

Considering the above information, I strongly advise anyone contemplating using ACPWorkbench to proceed with caution, keeping the potential security risk in mind. Despite the functionality it offers, our systems and data's security should always be a priority, especially in a world where cyber threats are increasingly sophisticated and prevalent.

If anyone has had similar experiences or further insights, please share them. Let's keep our community informed and safe.
soundapp.png
 
Hi Xsodouse.

No one on this thread has sourced ACPWorkbench from Arylic or paid $20 for it. They customize ACP workbench to work with their devices, and to only allow installation on a limited number of computers. My guess is that some of the permissions your instance requires may be related to their single computer licensing scheme, but I am not sure of that.
I suggest you contact Arylic with your findings. They have a large and active forum with discussions on ACPWorkbench.

I see that you posted about your finding there today. I can find only one other mention of a possible virus on their boards. One poster in 2020 found what he thought was suspicious behavior, but he never followed up, and no one else noted similar issues. Arylic makes up probably 95% of the ACPWorkbench base in the U.S. If their community is being infected I am sure they would want to know. If their community is being infected I am sure other posters there will chime in.

I use Bitdefender as well as Windows 11 Security and it scanned clean for me. It asked for no permissions. I also confirmed that ACP workbench is not active when not in use. 3 virus flags out of 70 anti-vendors does not cause me alarm. Still, thanks for posting.
 
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Hi Xsodouse.

No one on this thread has sourced ACPWorkbench from Arylic or paid $20 for it. They customize ACP workbench to work with their devices, and to only allow installation on a limited number of computers. My guess is that some of the permissions your instance requires may be related to their single computer licensing scheme, but I am not sure of that.
I suggest you contact Arylic with your findings. They have a large and active forum with discussions on ACPWorkbench.

I see that you posted about your finding there today. I can find only one other mention of a possible virus on their boards. One poster in 2020 found what he thought was suspicious behavior, but he never followed up, and no one else noted similar issues. Arylic makes up probably 95% of the ACPWorkbench base in the U.S. If their community is being infected I am sure they would want to know. If there community is being infected I am sure other posters there will chime in.

I use Bitdefender as well as Windows 11 Security and it scanned clean for me. It asked for no permissions. I also confirmed that ACP workbench is not active when not in use. 3 virus flags out of 70 anti-vendors does not cause me alarm. Still, thanks for posting.
GGroch,
Thank you for your detailed and thoughtful response.

Your insights regarding Arylic's customization and single computer licensing scheme for ACPWorkbench make sense and could indeed explain some of the issues I've encountered. I will take your advice and bring my findings to Arylic's attention on their forum. It's certainly possible that others in their community might have had similar experiences without realizing the potential risks.

I acknowledge that the ratio of antivirus vendors that flagged the software as potentially harmful might seem insignificant, but I believe it's still something worth considering, especially given the elevated permissions that my instance required. I also appreciate the information about your security checks with Bitdefender and Windows 11 Security - it's comforting to know that others aren't encountering the same problems.

Nevertheless, I thought it was crucial to share my experience as a word of caution. Even if it affects a small number of users, it's worth discussing and investigating further to ensure our community's overall safety.

Thanks again for your valuable input, and let's continue to keep this conversation open and informative.
 
Thank you for posting. Your experience of noise while ACP is active, and that it is eliminated when it is shut down, or isolated from other USB devices may help UA8890. The Bru5 does not come with a power supply, and I can certainly see how its quality could impact noise. I use a Topping power supply, and experienced no noise.

Because most of us only use ACPworkbench briefly to program in EQ Curves, temporarily unplugging other components could be an acceptable solution.
 
@GGroch Thanks GGroch for help. I will answer in order. Bru5 I bought one of the first on Aliexpress on Wondom. In the same place, I bought a MeanWell GST160A36-P1M power supply for him on the advice of Wondom. I also have a power supply from Topping pa3s. There is also a laptop power supply. And from Fosi V3. Replacing the power supply does not eliminate wheezing and noise. Rattles and noises appear EXACTLY THEN - when I connect Bru5 to a laptop and start the Workbench program. At the moment of its launch and recognition by the amplifier program, noise immediately appears. And when I move the points on the equalizer graph in the program, then during the movement, the movement immediately hears a deaf crack and noise. If you do not connect Bru5 to this program, then there is no noise. So the power supply is useless. Otherwise, there would be wheezing in this case. Replacing usb sockets also does not eliminate wheezing. Disconnecting other sources from usb also does not eliminate spikes and wheezing. I reset the program to factory settings. I got this program from Wondom. I wrote to them. But they do not know the cause of wheezing and noises. I have tried all your advice before. Nothing helps. I'm guessing it's marriage. I still have a version. I have a very old laptop with Windows XP. Asus Z99H. Can wheezing appear due to a weak processor? Maybe the processor is not keeping up?I am writing with Google translator. There may be translation errors.
 
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@GGroch @MachOne It is surprising that no one observes this either in the reviews on Aliexpress for Bru5. And here on the forum this is not the case with Bru5. That's why I'm trying to find a problem in my path. many thanks for the advice everyone. Another observation. My sound output goes like this. Laptop (Foobar asio) - usb output - Esi U24XL card - Bru5 - acoustics. Tried it the other way too. Laptop (Foobar asio) - 3.5 jack (exit from laptop to headphones) - Bru5 - acoustics. And in both cases, when connecting and starting the Workbench program, wheezing immediately appears. As soon as the Workbench starts up and STARTS connecting to Bru, wheezing occurs immediately. And one more thing: When switching settings in the Workbench itself, each switch is accompanied by a dull wheezing and noise.
 
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@GGroch @MachOne It is surprising that no one observes this either in the reviews on Aliexpress for Bru5.....
I understand that you are using an Asus Z99H Windows XP laptop to run ACPWorkbench. Is that true? That is 17 years old (which = 87 years old in Laptop Years). I expect you will wheeze a lot when you are 87 ;) I think it is very unlikely that anyone on AliExpress is using a laptop that old. That could be the problem. When you contact Wondom/Sure at https://store.sure-electronics.com/question/1 be sure to tell them about the laptop you are using.

Most of us use ACPWorkbench only briefly to make and save EQ changes. You do not have to be listening when you do this. If you cannot figure out the problem I think you can still use the software to make changes. Just disconnect your sound card from the Bru5 RCA audio inputs, make and save the changes, then turn off ACPworkbench before you play music again.
 
@GGroch Good afternoon. Thanks for the communication and help. Yes, the laptop is from 2008. It is only used as a source for music files. From hard drive. Works like clockwork. Very stable and good. Nothing has ever wheezed or made noise before. And that's just with Bru5 does not want to work properly. And that only with DSP. I have question: I run the ACPWorkbench program and make a change to the sound of the Bru5. I save changes. I disable the program from Bru5. But these changes are saved on Bru5 only until that moment. Until I turn off Bru5. After turning off Bru5, the changes disappear, disappear. And I need to run the program again and load the saved changes from the file! Do you save changes this way? Or in another way?
 
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@GGroch Good afternoon...... But these changes are saved on Bru5 only until that moment. Until I turn off Bru5. After turning off Bru5, the changes disappear, disappear. And I need to run the program again and load the saved changes from the file! Do you save changes this way? Or in another way?
The changes should be permanent. I think you may not be using the downloader tab to save changes to flash. You can see it in this video.
 
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