Jump to content

Topping PA5 is incredible.


CoryGillmore

Recommended Posts

4 minutes ago, richieb said:

Correct me if I’m wrong as I’d like to know - 

All “chip” amps are considered Class D but not all Class D are chip amps? 
I own a true chip amp based on the 3875 and also have Hypex nCores which I don’t believe are chip based? 

No. Not all chip amps are Class D. Chip amps can be analog too, such as the National LM4780. 

 

All Catholics are Christian, but not all Christians are Catholic...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

35 minutes ago, richieb said:

Correct me if I’m wrong as I’d like to know - 

All “chip” amps are considered Class D but not all Class D are chip amps? 
I own a true chip amp based on the 3875 and also have Hypex nCores which I don’t believe are chip based? 

nCores are discrete components. What blows my mind is you get 400 watts from just 1 or 2 Transistors. Can't recall exactly but they do put out 25 Amps of peak current when required. I squared R.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, henry4841 said:

I do wonder what chip they are using if you ever decide to take a peek inside. 

It could be discrete components that are potted in a small custom case, jusdging on the size vs. the switches I'm familiar with (C&K style). All I care about is a "Silver box with great output and super low noise" for my all horn system.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 minutes ago, Curious_George said:

Virtually zero "on" resistance (no loss, no heat) and fast switching speed. 

Yep, the Rds On resistance of the MOSFET transitors (TO-220?) is less than the copper wire/banana Jack/plug interface! There is NO heatsink required in the Hypex NC-400 kit!

 

I would bet that the PA5 uses a similar topology that has simply been repackaged!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, jjptkd said:

Got my second one in man did that wake things up! I wasn't expecting that much of a change I'm glad I went with two. 

So now it sounds twice as good as those who only use ONE, right? LOL.

 

Or, technically, is that 3 to 6 db better?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, ClaudeJ1 said:

So now it sounds twice as good as those who only use ONE, right? LOL.

 

Or, technically, is that 3 to 6 db better?

When I switched from my Carver 275 to the single PA5 I lost almost all of my low end thump on most music-- bi-amping I believe sends more watts to the woofers since they are 4 ohm so running both PA5's at full volumes adds bass that wasn't there before. Initially I thought I might have to dial back the horns a bit to even them out but so far they sound just right. I do have A Mini DSP Mic now might run REW this weekend and see what's really going on. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So I did a little playing around with the gain settings on each amp over the weekend, nothing too fancy just playing random music and using my Ratshack SPL meter. With the volume controls on both amps turned all the way up my woofers play on average about 3db louder then the upper horn section-- which is exactly how the Carver 275 measured. This is at lower volume with the LFE boost on in the TG-IV settings. 

 

To me, the added 3db on the bottom end sounds perfectly balanced, with the crossover point from woofer to mid horn at 800hz if I dial the horns back at all I can start to hear the woofer over the horns especially in voices. The second amp really closed the gap between the Carver 275 although my ears still prefer the sound of the tubes. With two PA5's I'm still at less than 1/3rd the cost of the Carver amp so all in all I think they're doing pretty good considering that fact. 

 

I'm not sure exactly why the single PA5 had such a deficit in bass response I know the Carver was a bit bloated on the bottom end but my Sunfire Receiver still seems to have quite a bit more bass than the PA5. Honestly I don't think I would have been happy with a single PA5 because of this long term I'm surprised no one else has mentioned this?  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 minutes ago, jjptkd said:

I'm surprised no one else has mentioned this?  

My original review stated exactly what you said. The amp was bright and a bit lean in my system. Easily fixed with a sub or a 3db cut of the highs in my system (speakers rub 3db hot out of the box for behind the screen). 

  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, jjptkd said:

So I did a little playing around with the gain settings on each amp over the weekend, nothing too fancy just playing random music and using my Ratshack SPL meter. With the volume controls on both amps turned all the way up my woofers play on average about 3db louder then the upper horn section-- which is exactly how the Carver 275 measured. This is at lower volume with the LFE boost on in the TG-IV settings. 

 

To me, the added 3db on the bottom end sounds perfectly balanced, with the crossover point from woofer to mid horn at 800hz if I dial the horns back at all I can start to hear the woofer over the horns especially in voices. The second amp really closed the gap between the Carver 275 although my ears still prefer the sound of the tubes. With two PA5's I'm still at less than 1/3rd the cost of the Carver amp so all in all I think they're doing pretty good considering that fact. 

 

I'm not sure exactly why the single PA5 had such a deficit in bass response I know the Carver was a bit bloated on the bottom end but my Sunfire Receiver still seems to have quite a bit more bass than the PA5. Honestly I don't think I would have been happy with a single PA5 because of this long term I'm surprised no one else has mentioned this?  

Because tubes have a "bloated bass" (greater impedance interaction) and now you have accurate bass (not affected by impedance much if at all, with it's load independence). I replaced an Ayima class D ($80), which favored the top end in a very detailed manner. I don't want to say the bass was thin, but the single PA5 really added so WHUMP to the bass, and only down to 80 Hz. where I cross into the Mono Seismic Sub (which was untouched before or after the swap). So my bass got fatter and your got thinner, but I lost NONE of the mid and high end detail I had.

 

At 106 db sensitivity into 8 ohms, I'm still using less than a watt per channel, yet the way that PA5 just grabbed hold of those Voice Coils and made them do PRECISELY what they were supposed to do, is still an incredible sound, which I enjoyed last night yet again discovering stuff I never heard before on familiar music!

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
On 2/14/2022 at 8:22 AM, Westcoastdrums said:

My original review stated exactly what you said. The amp was bright and a bit lean in my system. Easily fixed with a sub or a 3db cut of the highs in my system (speakers rub 3db hot out of the box for behind the screen). 

Same experience here. Lowered treble by 1 on my McIntosh C2600 and the highs sound perfect now. I’m so impressed with this amp.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Mine should be arriving Monday. Also picked up the D10 balanced to go with it for my desktop system (replacing an overkill Denon AVR), powering a pair of kpt-100's. I already had a D10s and slid that over to my living room setup so that I could have native DSD playback there.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
On 1/27/2022 at 1:22 PM, richieb said:

You’re correct in that I have no data or listening experience to back up my opinion. Admittedly it is my Nelson Pass Labs bias who is quite clever himself without infringing on others past work. And helll for $350 I may well give it a shot. 

I just bought a second one in Black. The first one is silver, which was the only color available from Amazon. Based on the positive experiences of those who bought from Shenzen, I did the same. With free shipping, the price is now $314.10 to my front door.  So now the "new rental price" vs. the "used resale price" if you don't like it is cheaper yet!!!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...