Topping PA5 is incredible.

[ClaudeJ1]

10 minutes ago, henry4841 said:

I agree that class D is the wave of the future Claude but what still turns me on is a good SET tube amplifier. Class D for me, notice I said me, lacks some soul compared to a SET amplifier. But for many, especially those that like hard rock and loud music, a class D is what is going to turn them on. As always music is subjective. 

 I had had tubes in my late teen through early 30's, HK Citation, Scott, McInosh 240, and Marantz 8B (approved by PWK himself, as a good amp for my Khorns). I like SET's very much, but you have to have flat crossover impedance to get the best out of them. They are a great match with ALL horns (like my EdgarHorn Titan II's, and preferred by Bruce himself, RIP), especially the SET (also the First Watt class A stuff).

 

Being "Green" conscious and all, I just don't like having Space Heaters in my audio chain and NO fans, which leaves commercial amps (except my Crown K1 and K2's) out of the running.

 

They all work to make music, so pick your best flavor of ice cream. We all have different rooms, wallets, and taste buds. It's a personal choice after all. I have tried them all and made my choices, as you all have.

[henry4841]

I

6 minutes ago, ClaudeJ1 said:

 I had had tubes in my late teen through early 30's, HK Citation, Scott, McInosh 240, and Marantz 8B (approved by PWK himself, as a good amp for my Khorns). I like SET's very much, but you have to have flat crossover impedance to get the best out of them. They are a great match with ALL horns (like my EdgarHorn Titan II's, and preferred by Bruce himself, RIP), especially the SET (also the First Watt class A stuff).

 

Being "Green" conscious and all, I just don't like having Space Heaters in my audio chain and NO fans, which leaves commercial amps (except my Crown K1 and K2's) out of the running.

 

They all work to make music, so pick your best flavor of ice cream. We all have different rooms, wallets, and taste buds. It's a personal choice after all. I have tried them all and made my choices, as you all have.

I knew you were heavily involved with tubes at one and also that last few years you have been praising class D. I like using some of my class D amps, I have many of them, for change in sound. Going from SET's to a good class D amp one will notice a totally different sound. I can enjoy both.

 

Perhaps Claude you should give a good SET another chance. I think every serious audiophile should have one good SET tube amplifier for a change of sound. As I am sure you know ones opinion can change with time as we age. 

[ClaudeJ1]

2 hours ago, henry4841 said:

Perhaps Claude you should give a good SET another chance. I think every serious audiophile should have one good SET tube amplifier for a change of sound. As I am sure you know ones opinion can change with time as we age. 

Only in Winter, for obvious reasons.

[Flevoman]

On 8/6/2023 at 3:48 PM, ClaudeJ1 said:

I'll give you my thoughts, since you asked. The TI 3255 Chip is an amazing device. Just how well it's implemented in lower wattage than the "max" rating makes the difference. Everyone is barking up the wrong tree about this. 

 

You "ahem" review reminds me of the You Tube video from a fauxtographer and his cute wife testing out all the 85mm lenses on the market, photographing a mannequin head. They then declared a Nikon 105 MM to be the winner. What an insult and a waste of time.

 

If you are all about all horns and big horns, like I am, you already know that big watts don't mean a thing to a Klipsch guy or gal.

 

Also, this is an old PA-5 thread, so why are you judging negatively an amp that your go "cheap" and not a PA-5?

 

Emotional testing without data, is just another opinion, especially with all the flowery word BS that comes from StereoPhool and Absulutely Soundless magazines whose reviewers listen to good MUSIC in crappy room.

 

Waste of time.

 

The reason why I would like to try this amplifier myself is as follows.
Recently, someone from the forum visited my home. He also listened to a full horn system and used a T-amp (I think that's the designation for Class D amps?) to drive his speakers, and he was very positive about these amps. As a test, he brought one along, briefly listened to it with my speakers, and I found the initial impression to be quite good. Considering the low cost and still impressive performance, I thought it would be nice to experience this myself as well.
In a PM conversation with Henry about the Class D amp, Henry pointed me to this topic where other users were very positive about the Topping. I hope this has provided some more clarity about the how and why.

[MicroMara]

1 minute ago, Flevoman said:

 

 He also listened to a full horn system and used a T-amp (I think that's the designation for Class D amps?)

These aren´t Class D Amps these are Tripath Amps

 

 

Here you can read about that T Class Technology

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class-T_amplifier

 

and here is a rewiev in 6Moons about a product

 

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/trends/ta10.html

[Flevoman]

He advised me to try the Trends audio TA10.2.
Due to certain factors, I ended up making a different choice, partly because I thought everything was fairly similar. All of them D class, affordable, and sounding very good for the money.
Now I'm wondering, did I simply make the wrong choice in terms of a D amp, or is this just how a D amp is supposed to sound?

[henry4841]

But your link to Wikipedia Micro starts off saying this,

 

 Class T was a registered trademark for a switching (class-D) audio amplifier, used for Tripath's amplifier technologies (patent filed on Jun 20, 1996). Similar designs have now been widely adopted by different manufacturers.^[1]

[henry4841]

12 minutes ago, MicroMara said:

These aren´t Class D Amps these are Tripath Amps

 

 

Here you can read about that T Class Technology

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class-T_amplifier

 

and here is a rewiev in 6Moons about a product

 

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/trends/ta10.html

What kind of amplification were you thinking T-amps are? I have always been under the impression T was the symbol for the company Texas Instruments. The review even states class D operation. 

[henry4841]

2 minutes ago, henry4841 said:

 

oops

[billybob]

Tripath...in the archives.

[henry4841]

13 minutes ago, Flevoman said:

He advised me to try the Trends audio TA10.2.
Due to certain factors, I ended up making a different choice, partly because I thought everything was fairly similar. All of them D class, affordable, and sounding very good for the money.
Now I'm wondering, did I simply make the wrong choice in terms of a D amp, or is this just how a D amp is supposed to sound?

A European company called Hypex makes one of the best judging by what members on this forum have said. 

[MicroMara]

Hypex is dutch

 

https://www.hypex.nl/

 

there´s a competitor called Purifi founded by an ex R&D Engineer from Hypex 

 

https://purifi-audio.com/

 

 

[ClaudeJ1]

54 minutes ago, MicroMara said:

and here is a rewiev in 6Moons about a product

I bought 3 of these Tripathi (engineer's name) and still have 2 I use for driver and speaker testing. Had one tested a Klipsch HQ in Indianpolis. The Engineer said I had a "very good 6 watt amplifier." I wish PWK had live to see it. It can run on 8 AA batteries and I used it to sell my Khorns in 2007 with a battery Powered CD player. It sounded great, and I was sold on Chip Amps from then on.

[MicroMara]

45 minutes ago, henry4841 said:

But your link to Wikipedia Micro starts off saying this,

 

 Class T was a registered trademark for a switching (class-D) audio amplifier, used for Tripath's amplifier technologies (patent filed on Jun 20, 1996). Similar designs have now been widely adopted by different manufacturers.^[1]

YEAH got it now !

[ClaudeJ1]

33 minutes ago, henry4841 said:

A European company called Hypex makes one of the best judging by what members on this forum have said. 

I bought mine without ever hearing and it replaced a First Watt Aleph J clone, which I also used to cook my breakfast on.

[ClaudeJ1]

4 minutes ago, ClaudeJ1 said:

I bought my NC-400 MonoBlocks,  without ever hearing them about 7-8 years ago. Easiest Kits I ever built in 1.5 hours. The Hypexes are 24 dbWatts each and for my Danley SH-50's, which have 100 db sensitivity, I can reach 120 db peaks with no issues. Tom Danley tells me they don't thermally compress until about 756 watts per channel, so I'm safe from compression and clipping in my small living room.

The Hypexes replaced a stereo First Watt Aleph J clone, which I had also used to cook my breakfast on. Now I use a new Induction Stove instead.

 

[henry4841]

Claude did you ever get a chance to compare the TPA3255 to the Hypex? I remember when you built those Hypex boards into an amp and read all your post. 

[henry4841]

1 hour ago, MicroMara said:

YEAH got it now !

I wish I had a dollar for every time I was wrong on a topic on this forum. 🙂 

 

Like Claude I tried a number of those class D boards and for the money some of them were respectable. All but the TPA3255 were kind of thin sounding on the kind of music I enjoy though. I could live with the TPA3255 if necessary. 

[ClaudeJ1]

3 hours ago, henry4841 said:

Claude did you ever get a chance to compare the TPA3255 to the Hypex? I remember when you built those Hypex boards into an amp and read all your post. 

I'm using the PA-5 as my HT Mains on SH-50's as well as on my EdgarHorns Downstairs. I have a Third as a spare. I'm modifying my Hypexes to have 12 db less gain for horn use with an increase in S/N by 12 db, then sending to Audio Science Review for testing (hopefully) when I'm done. That way I will have data vs. the PA-5. But never A/B's them here, even though I have the gear to do it. My ears say excellent based on the numbers and experience, so now I want the "opinion" of Primo $26,000 test gear I don't own. Measurements and objectivity is a big part of it. 

[Marvel]

On 8/7/2023 at 4:37 PM, ClaudeJ1 said:

Now I use a new Induction Stove instead.

But how does it sound? "Now I use a new Induction Stove instead." 🤣