I seen the perfect use for this amp....don't get stuck in a box.....this is the PERFECT DIY open baffle amplifier......it's brilliant for this application....using a smaller full range driver and a larger bass driver...it's perfect for DIY open baffle
hi can you explain ? I 'm building aa3 way open baffle and i was thinking of sending the sub signal to my 15 inch in open baffle so i don't to manage the passive cross over of the low register
Yeah high pass is more useful than low pass. Improving the mid range by reducing bass bleed in will improve the sound considerably. I had speakers that had a physical high pass built in. Great midrange (the high pass was the hardened rubber of the surrounds 🤣)
@@MattCoykendall1 gr-research has a tutorial on how to make a high pass filter on their website (simply put a capacitor in the line level signal path, so you can't use it on this amp unless you run the sub of a pre-amp).
@@D1N02 It takes a little more than a capacitor to do that job correctly. You need, at minimum, a second order RC high pass... for good cut off you should probably use 4th order LC filters.
WELL Matt that rolloff feature has been in AVRs for some time !!! and PFFB was in the TPA3255 documents since 2017 it was just easier to not implement. Bel Canto a 20k integrated Class D uses OpAmps to emulate their Single Ended Triode Tubes sound known for. Also consider AVRs have RCA or XLR outputs so when combined with active subs or speakers with integrated subs the little boxes can extend the use older equipment. And operate in the better rage you suggested.
The Fosi-Aiyima tug of war heats up... Why am I not surprised. Unfortunately the presentation we are seeing from all these companies is far more indicative of "feature loading" than common sense design. What I really want to see is just a plain power amp. The front panel should have a simple soft-on switch (press on/press off) and a monitor panel with Power, Clipping and Protection lamps. The back panel should have a single XLR combo input, a gain control, trigger in and power in. The TPA3255 chip natively supports the clipping and protection signals and given these amps produce enough power to totally smoke a tweeter, it is almost criminal not to have them on the front. (I often go in and add them myself, so I know it works) The XLR combo inputs, can natively accept a TS (mono) plug instead of having a separate RCA input. They already make adaptors for this and it would be both cheaper and more reliable to simply toss one in the box. The rear panel gain control would be used to adjust the gain of the amplifier so that full volume on the pre-amp just drives on the clipping light. Fine tuning can be used to adjust for difficult balance situations, like when one speaker is near a wall. Leave the sub-woofer filters to the pre-amp, where they make more sense. This thing is an honest to goodness 200 watt monoblock... it's about time to stop treating it like a toy and do some serious system building.
I did recently hear from a brand utilizing the clipping and protection light if I recall correctly. We will see if that one comes in for review, I let them know I was interested.
@@MattCoykendall1 Please drop me an email and let me know who it is. Adding those lamps when it's not designed into the board is a real pain in the backside. Buying boards and casing them myself is not economical. If I could get a properly designed amplifier at a reasonable price, I'd be happy to add it to my lineup.
I agree that this amp is not a toy. It's a high end integrated 80W @8Ω in two boxes amplifier. I'm not a fan of ASR but their measurements are correct on this one. It's only real 80W which correlates with my experience listening to them. I use them as my main amp. And I am really happy with the extra input. And the RCA output, be it a sub or pre-out. I think they know what they are doing. Don't forget their main focus is still the expanding Chinese market.
@@Jeep_on_audio I have a TPA3255 board here that will reliably produce 220 w/ch on 4 ohms day in and day out with a 48 volt 20 amp supply. The thing completely destroyed a 200 watt dummy load. Yes with a 36 volt supply you will get about 75 watts per channel on 8 ohms, very reliably and the amplifier will last forever a that rate. But with zero changes it will also produce 140 watts on 4 ohms, just as calmly. Yer darned toot'n this ain't no toy. Only 10 years ago it would have been a monster amp costing thousands of dollars, weighing over 100 pounds and about the size of a cement block. Progress has brought us to the point where it can now be done for under $150 in a tiny, light weight case.
@@Douglas_Blake_579 Of course, it all depends on the PS. But we are not talking about a 3255 board but specifically this amplifier. Just read ASR. I Just quoted their measurements. And in my experience playing with a pair of these Aiyima A70 mono's it rings true. They are less powerful than the Fosi ZA3's that I also own. Both with 48V 5A PS per side. I will be using these with the new Laiv dac and maybe preamp (not decided yet but probably will) until they come out with their GaN-FET amps. Those will be the future of high end amps.
The volume controls are needed. The "crank it all the way up and control it with the pre-amp" is absolutely not the best way to do things. If your pre-amp or any of it's sources put out a voltage greater than the input of the power amplifier is designed for it can lead to severe clipping which can (and will) destroy tweeters and possibly the amplifier itself. You need to calibrate gains (called "gain staging") so that no part of your audio chain is over or under driven. The best setup technique is to turn the pre-amp all the way up.... Play some music and adjust one power amp to your maximum comfortable listening level. If you use an SPL meter, that should be around 85 to 90db (unless you want to end up deafer than a fence post). Now turn the pre-amp down to a semi-quiet level (about 50db) and sit in your sweet spot. Using a 500hz test tone in both speakers, adjust the other channel's gain control so that the tone appears to originate from the center of the space between your speakers. Now that you have your maximum level and your LR balance adjusted, day to day, you would use the pre-amp volume control to adjust your actual listening level when playing music or watching a movie. Interestingly, with these little TPA3255 amplifiers, that usually results in almost everything running at about 1/2 volume.
Seriously, where is the high pass filter? The 3255 needs it. I’ve been using a DSP with these amps for a while and I can tell you it really improves their performance. These chips are excellent if you don’t ask them to play full range. It’s a mystery why they haven’t done this yet because anyone who knows anything would tell you this feature is important.
Great video as always. Wouldn't adding a hi pass filter introduce DSP into the signal, which a lot of us audiophiles like to avoid any DSP at all? After the signal leaves our external dac we don't want it being reprocessed again with lesser adc/dac processing. Or would the hi pass be working strictly in the analog domain?
With something like this it could be added in either the analog or digital domain. They would likely keep this analog, it tends be pretty cheaply accomplished so it likely matches up with price points on these. This won’t be quite as accurate as involving DSP but like you said it keeps things simple and clean.
@@Douglas_Blake_579 You mean it's not PCM. It is PWM however. In this universe everything is digital (quantum physics). Even our inner ear and our sight. Or, if you set a threshold, everything is analog, even digital signals.
@@Jeep_on_audio PWM is not a digital technique. It is analog modulation of a high powered waveform. Pulse Width MODULATION... just like a radio transmitter. It all happens in the analog domain.
I have been very confused on their designs lately! 🤔 I'm not sure where their engineers are taking this with their passive subwoofers outputs and no line level inputs on their latest preamp/DAC. PS: I never get tired of looking at your beautiful speaker build..😍
Seriously, where is the high pass filter? The 3255 needs it. I’ve been using a DSP with these amps for a while and I can tell you it really improves their performance. These chips are excellent if you don’t ask them to play full range. It’s a mystery why they haven’t done this yet because anyone who knows anything would tell you this feature is important. Maybe these companies have agreed to roll these out incrementally so they can all make some money together. Who knows 🤷♂️ I think right now the A07 Max is the best value. It has a mono capability and is the cheapest one available. Only has an RCA input. Two opamps inside.
@@MattCoykendall1 it’s my ritual … coffee … some good hifi reviews with Matt … I need to add a muffin or bagel to that. Excellent vid. So close on these features for sure.
The latest iterations from the usual brands fosi and aiyima are very close in that regard. We are at the point where the purchasing decisions are in the details, the heat control, connections, filters… basically all the things to take these a step further. The 3255 is a really capable chip and it’s one area where these manufacturers have basically fully utilized these, next step specialize instead of trying to do everything all at once.
I've done some deep-dive inspections on the various TPA3255 designs out there. My vote is for Aiyima. Their op-amp power supplies are much cleaner, they keep the logic voltages (signals and reset) within spec and their output filters are generally better.
I recently A-B compared an original A07 (4 year old design) with the brand new TS-A75 .... when I level matched them properly, a few flips of my relays and I actually had to look to see which was playing... That's $90 vs $1600 .... so, yeah, they'll hold their own.
I seen the perfect use for this amp....don't get stuck in a box.....this is the PERFECT DIY open baffle amplifier......it's brilliant for this application....using a smaller full range driver and a larger bass driver...it's perfect for DIY open baffle
hi can you explain ? I 'm building aa3 way open baffle and i was thinking of sending the sub signal to my 15 inch in open baffle so i don't to manage the passive cross over of the low register
Yeah high pass is more useful than low pass. Improving the mid range by reducing bass bleed in will improve the sound considerably. I had speakers that had a physical high pass built in. Great midrange (the high pass was the hardened rubber of the surrounds 🤣)
I think we will get the high pass options soon, we won’t even need the hardened surrounds anymore! Haha
@@MattCoykendall1 gr-research has a tutorial on how to make a high pass filter on their website (simply put a capacitor in the line level signal path, so you can't use it on this amp unless you run the sub of a pre-amp).
I will check that out
@@D1N02
It takes a little more than a capacitor to do that job correctly. You need, at minimum, a second order RC high pass... for good cut off you should probably use 4th order LC filters.
@D1N02 it's am ideal amp for DIY open baffle
WELL Matt that rolloff feature has been in AVRs for some time !!! and PFFB was in the TPA3255 documents since 2017 it was just easier to not implement.
Bel Canto a 20k integrated Class D uses OpAmps to emulate their Single Ended Triode Tubes sound known for.
Also consider AVRs have RCA or XLR outputs so when combined with active subs or speakers with integrated subs the little boxes can extend the use older equipment. And operate in the better rage you suggested.
The Fosi-Aiyima tug of war heats up... Why am I not surprised.
Unfortunately the presentation we are seeing from all these companies is far more indicative of "feature loading" than common sense design.
What I really want to see is just a plain power amp.
The front panel should have a simple soft-on switch (press on/press off) and a monitor panel with Power, Clipping and Protection lamps.
The back panel should have a single XLR combo input, a gain control, trigger in and power in.
The TPA3255 chip natively supports the clipping and protection signals and given these amps produce enough power to totally smoke a tweeter, it is almost criminal not to have them on the front. (I often go in and add them myself, so I know it works)
The XLR combo inputs, can natively accept a TS (mono) plug instead of having a separate RCA input. They already make adaptors for this and it would be both cheaper and more reliable to simply toss one in the box.
The rear panel gain control would be used to adjust the gain of the amplifier so that full volume on the pre-amp just drives on the clipping light. Fine tuning can be used to adjust for difficult balance situations, like when one speaker is near a wall.
Leave the sub-woofer filters to the pre-amp, where they make more sense.
This thing is an honest to goodness 200 watt monoblock... it's about time to stop treating it like a toy and do some serious system building.
I did recently hear from a brand utilizing the clipping and protection light if I recall correctly. We will see if that one comes in for review, I let them know I was interested.
@@MattCoykendall1
Please drop me an email and let me know who it is.
Adding those lamps when it's not designed into the board is a real pain in the backside. Buying boards and casing them myself is not economical.
If I could get a properly designed amplifier at a reasonable price, I'd be happy to add it to my lineup.
I agree that this amp is not a toy. It's a high end integrated 80W @8Ω in two boxes amplifier. I'm not a fan of ASR but their measurements are correct on this one. It's only real 80W which correlates with my experience listening to them.
I use them as my main amp. And I am really happy with the extra input. And the RCA output, be it a sub or pre-out.
I think they know what they are doing. Don't forget their main focus is still the expanding Chinese market.
@@Jeep_on_audio
I have a TPA3255 board here that will reliably produce 220 w/ch on 4 ohms day in and day out with a 48 volt 20 amp supply. The thing completely destroyed a 200 watt dummy load.
Yes with a 36 volt supply you will get about 75 watts per channel on 8 ohms, very reliably and the amplifier will last forever a that rate. But with zero changes it will also produce 140 watts on 4 ohms, just as calmly.
Yer darned toot'n this ain't no toy. Only 10 years ago it would have been a monster amp costing thousands of dollars, weighing over 100 pounds and about the size of a cement block. Progress has brought us to the point where it can now be done for under $150 in a tiny, light weight case.
@@Douglas_Blake_579
Of course, it all depends on the PS. But we are not talking about a 3255 board but specifically this amplifier.
Just read ASR. I Just quoted their measurements. And in my experience playing with a pair of these Aiyima A70 mono's it rings true. They are less powerful than the Fosi ZA3's that I also own. Both with 48V 5A PS per side.
I will be using these with the new Laiv dac and maybe preamp (not decided yet but probably will) until they come out with their GaN-FET amps. Those will be the future of high end amps.
A Fosi sub amp brought a dead Tannoy powered sub back to life. Having a small sub amp available is nice.
probably cross out volume controls as well bc matching left / rights seems like a weird technical unhappy time. let a preamp attenuate the volume aye?
The volume controls are needed. The "crank it all the way up and control it with the pre-amp" is absolutely not the best way to do things.
If your pre-amp or any of it's sources put out a voltage greater than the input of the power amplifier is designed for it can lead to severe clipping which can (and will) destroy tweeters and possibly the amplifier itself. You need to calibrate gains (called "gain staging") so that no part of your audio chain is over or under driven.
The best setup technique is to turn the pre-amp all the way up....
Play some music and adjust one power amp to your maximum comfortable listening level. If you use an SPL meter, that should be around 85 to 90db (unless you want to end up deafer than a fence post).
Now turn the pre-amp down to a semi-quiet level (about 50db) and sit in your sweet spot. Using a 500hz test tone in both speakers, adjust the other channel's gain control so that the tone appears to originate from the center of the space between your speakers.
Now that you have your maximum level and your LR balance adjusted, day to day, you would use the pre-amp volume control to adjust your actual listening level when playing music or watching a movie.
Interestingly, with these little TPA3255 amplifiers, that usually results in almost everything running at about 1/2 volume.
When is the CSS Audio review coming out?
Soon, I wanted to get a good number of hours on them first
sweet! I am building my 1TDx kit right now and have been using your videos as a reference!
Seriously, where is the high pass filter? The 3255 needs it. I’ve been using a DSP with these amps for a while and I can tell you it really improves their performance. These chips are excellent if you don’t ask them to play full range.
It’s a mystery why they haven’t done this yet because anyone who knows anything would tell you this feature is important.
Great video as always. Wouldn't adding a hi pass filter introduce DSP into the signal, which a lot of us audiophiles like to avoid any DSP at all? After the signal leaves our external dac we don't want it being reprocessed again with lesser adc/dac processing. Or would the hi pass be working strictly in the analog domain?
With something like this it could be added in either the analog or digital domain. They would likely keep this analog, it tends be pretty cheaply accomplished so it likely matches up with price points on these. This won’t be quite as accurate as involving DSP but like you said it keeps things simple and clean.
There would be no reason to convert to digital ... the TPA3255 chip itself is not digital. (No class D amplifier is).
@@Douglas_Blake_579
You mean it's not PCM. It is PWM however.
In this universe everything is digital (quantum physics). Even our inner ear and our sight.
Or, if you set a threshold, everything is analog, even digital signals.
@@Jeep_on_audio
PWM is not a digital technique. It is analog modulation of a high powered waveform. Pulse Width MODULATION... just like a radio transmitter. It all happens in the analog domain.
I have been very confused on their designs lately!
🤔 I'm not sure where their engineers are taking this with their passive subwoofers outputs and no line level inputs on their latest preamp/DAC.
PS: I never get tired of looking at your beautiful speaker build..😍
I get so many amps in with passive sub capabilities they almost had me convinced I should build one haha
Seriously, where is the high pass filter? The 3255 needs it. I’ve been using a DSP with these amps for a while and I can tell you it really improves their performance. These chips are excellent if you don’t ask them to play full range.
It’s a mystery why they haven’t done this yet because anyone who knows anything would tell you this feature is important. Maybe these companies have agreed to roll these out incrementally so they can all make some money together. Who knows 🤷♂️
I think right now the A07 Max is the best value. It has a mono capability and is the cheapest one available. Only has an RCA input. Two opamps inside.
Truly is a mystery at this point.
And a Saturday morning it is! Murnin … 😊
Good Morning! Enjoy the weekend, I know I will after I get the coffee rolling here.
@@MattCoykendall1 it’s my ritual … coffee … some good hifi reviews with Matt … I need to add a muffin or bagel to that. Excellent vid. So close on these features for sure.
Is this better than Fosi V3?
I prefer the sound on the A70 mono but I like the simple functionality on V3.
Great video! Based on your experience which company has the best quality implementation of the TPA3255 chip? Thanks
The latest iterations from the usual brands fosi and aiyima are very close in that regard. We are at the point where the purchasing decisions are in the details, the heat control, connections, filters… basically all the things to take these a step further. The 3255 is a really capable chip and it’s one area where these manufacturers have basically fully utilized these, next step specialize instead of trying to do everything all at once.
I've done some deep-dive inspections on the various TPA3255 designs out there. My vote is for Aiyima. Their op-amp power supplies are much cleaner, they keep the logic voltages (signals and reset) within spec and their output filters are generally better.
If its a monoblock it doesn't need a volume pot, too much controls on it.
Who uses passive subwoofer or XLR?
A valid question in North America... but apparently there's a market for it elsewhere and you can't fault them for trying to tap into it.
our dad
t the great thing about this mono amp is you only need only 2 op anps one each thus cheaper to op amp switch
I also have a pair of Fosi ZA3's and they really only need 1 upgraded opamp per side. I did notice they can play louder though.
A completely unnecessary product by Aiyima. Adding all those extra features is not a plus.
its perfect for DIY open baffle speakers running a full range and a bass driver.
Ugly little boxes. Wont be able to compete with a decent Class AB amplifier.
I recently A-B compared an original A07 (4 year old design) with the brand new TS-A75 .... when I level matched them properly, a few flips of my relays and I actually had to look to see which was playing... That's $90 vs $1600 .... so, yeah, they'll hold their own.
Yes, they are also great for bi-amping and stuff like that because they are so cheap.