Class D amplifier with TPA 3250 board
Hello,
I'm new to this forum. I recently purchased my endgame setup comprised of Closer Acoustics Ogy speakers (91 SPL), REL T5X subwoofer and a custom hand built tube amplifier with EL34 tubes. The tube amplifier is giving me trouble with hissing noises, so it's constantly at the artisan's workshop. Since my speakers are extremely efficient, I was wondering about smaller amplifiers as an escape route (if the artisan can't fix the amp, he surely can). The Octavio Amp looks nice on paper. So does the Atoll IN80. Is one obviously better than the other for my revealing speakers?
Folks on another forum I shall not name seem to heavily imply that all amplifiers should sound the same (or very similar). They rave about these cheap tiny Topping/Aiyima amplifiers with class D TPA 3250 amplifier boards. These same boards are used in Genelec active monitors, so they must be good? I'm flustered because there no direct comparisons between these TPA 32xx amplifiers and more conventional/expensive branded amplifiers. The same folks on the forum I shall not name imply that I'm a dunce for spending so much money on a tube amplifier (quote: it's a distortion factory and it can't play grindcore metal music so it sucks). If it weren't for the hiss I wouldn't post here.
Can I cheap class D amp replace a custom hand-wired EL34 tube amplifier for extremely revealing Closer Acoustics Ogy speakers?
@rolox My curiosity peaked and I bought the Sure amplifier with the Tripath TA2024 chip. Some reviewer online compared the Sure amplifier with the Amptastic and the Trends and stated that the differences were pretty negligible. Since the Sure is 60€ (total 80,8€ with power supply and shipping) on sound imports VS 280€ for the Trends, the choice was easy. I am more worried about the noise floor at this point. And 80€ is the price of drinking/dining/clubbing for night in Paris anyways. |
One thing to watch in these less expensive amps is the bass response. Not unlike what Radio Shack did with some of their lower powered amps back in the early 1970s, a lot of them I've looked at have the low frequencies curtailed- likely for the same reason Radio Shack did this so long ago, to prevent bass notes from gobbling up amplifier power. |
@kokakolia okay, I'm curious (although I'm wary of the "barely any difference" affirmations) it's probably a neat little amp, I wonder if the TA2024 is an original tripath or a brand new Chinese copy (as long as it works it doesn't really matter) Looks like it's mainly surface mount components inside (?) so tweaking might be difficult (maybe not needed), and the RCA and speaker connectors seem very cheap / small, but that's ok. I believe you will be pleasantly surprised, give it a couple days of break in before judging its sound quality, and don't forget it's just barely 8watts / channel before distortion starts to raise (but 8 watts can be surprisingly loud). Let us know how it sounds! |
My OGY speakers are very efficient at 91db SPL. I only need a few watts. The manufacturer rates the OGY at 15W 8ohm max. If I get 4W out of the amp it should be enough to annoy the neighbors. My #1 priority is noise floor, since my speakers are quite sensitive. But even my Yamaha RN402 had a small tiny noise floor which was only noticeable when you stood very closely to the tweeter. So I'm not very fussy I suppose. My tube amplifier was just that bad. My other big concern is that people seem too kind with these chip amplifiers online. The rock bottom price plays a huge part in that. I say this because there's no shortage of branded A/B amplifiers on the used market between 80€ and 400€. If this T amplifier can't compete with 150€ used Yamaha A/B amplifier then it's not worth my time. So I'm crossing my fingers. I'll keep you updated on Sunday. |
