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Topping PA5 is incredible.


CoryGillmore

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My audiophile philosophy as of late is to have as much fun with as little as possible. It's a challenge to assemble a great system with just a few components. All three of my setups consist of just a Raspberry Pi, a DAC,  an amp and speakers. Saves both money and headaches. KISS is my motto. Oops, I forgot I got a cd player which I hardly ever use and a sub that is dialed in so delicately It's barely noticeable, it just adds a little "je ne sais quoi"  to the old Heresys.

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58 minutes ago, wetowne said:

My audiophile philosophy as of late is to have as much fun with as little as possible

Its funny when you say that, but truth be told, my expectations become likely unreasonably high as the cost of my gear goes up. As a result, I understand exactly what you mean and agree.  Some of my favorite systems have been of lower cost. Very impressive. 

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4 hours ago, wetowne said:

It matches the E50 perfectly. Here's my rack with the PA3s just waiting for the PA5. As you can see I'm using the DAC in preamp mode and I use it's remote for volume control. I run the amp wide open and it's dead quiet.

IMG_0276_Enhanced 2.jpg

That is the coolest little stack I think I've ever seen. So you are the guy who started the "Honey I shrunk the stereo" thread? What kind of power does that PA3 put out? 30wpc? That little rack is awesome too dude. Just imagine a little stack like that powering monster speakers like Khorns or hell even Cornwalls. That is endlessly cool. 

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4 hours ago, wetowne said:

It matches the E50 perfectly. Here's my rack with the PA3s just waiting for the PA5. As you can see I'm using the DAC in preamp mode and I use it's remote for volume control. I run the amp wide open and it's dead quiet.

 

So wow the DAC is basically a pre-amp with a remote??? OMG I want this stack so bad now. I literally just spent $1300 on a much larger and undoubtedly worse measuring integrated Audiolab amp....This is so cool and insane to me. 

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33 minutes ago, Racer X said:

What if one mounts the killer small Topping PA5 inside a broken Mark Levinson amp...?

Technicians have been do so with the many D amp boards for years. Some of the older amps and receivers are just not worth the cost in time and money to fix. Cheaper to install one of the D boards you can buy real cheap.  Not so sure about the money the Topping cost but no reason why not. The Topping is a newer relatively cheap offering but I am doubtful it is a  new design class D board. My guess is it is one of the many available for diy'er already. Some of them sound really good for what they cost. 

 

This is not to burst anyone's bubble but if it were a new class D design I am sure they would have stated so. The Texas Instrument's TPA-3255 is the best class D board I have heard and I have tried most of the ones that are offered. Who knows it may be the one Topping is using. 

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Totally awesome as  you know this is a throwaway item once it fails on you. The repair to purchase ratio isn't worth fixing. I really enjoy American made things that will last decades, even generations.

 

For anyone that doesn't really care about perfecting the first watt or two in regard to imaging and sound stage then these amps are just a no brainer really. I mean seriously the vast majority of the consumers want clean transparent reproduction as easy and cheaply as possible, especially with such a small footprint makes decor easy these amps just kill the competition.

 

It's the niche market where tailoring the perfect soundscapes for your listening pleasure that may not get into these as much because let's be honest, the specs they provided aren't equal to great sound, they are a guideline but not the end all so for some ears, rooms, or speakers these units will not satisfy all.

 

It really is the perfect amp for about 90% of the consumers.

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1 hour ago, captainbeefheart said:

these units will not satisfy all

Most likely the expectation bias club who want to justify their $7000 amps that measure worse than this little China box. "Oh but the soundstage" yes I'm sure all those expensive amps do all the subjective things (that can't be measured) better than this amp. All the subjective things that seem to disappear when doing blind ABX testing. 

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5 hours ago, Westcoastdrums said:

@jjptkd what is your take on this?  That little DAC I sold you was one of my favorites.  For the money, it's very impressive (DX7S PRO). 

 

I love the Topping DAC its easily up there with the Benchmark products I've owned. This little amplifier looks cool if I was in the market for another amp I think I'd check it out-- right now I'm kind of swimming in power amplifiers though just bought the new Carver amp not too long ago and overloaded with speakers / parts really need to move some stuff out before I consider buying anything else as I'm running out of room.

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34 minutes ago, CoryGillmore said:

Most likely the expectation bias club who want to justify their $7000 amps that measure worse than this little China box. "Oh but the soundstage" yes I'm sure all those expensive amps do all the subjective things (that can't be measured) better than this amp. All the subjective things that seem to disappear when doing blind ABX testing. 

 

Bingo dead on.

 

Amplifiers definitely need good measurements to a certain degree but there are ones not listed in the reviews or sales literature. For example reactive load instability problems giving rise to ringing or overload recovery dynamics. Measurements are taken on resistive loads while we need them to drive reactive loads.

 

Besides performance I mentioned people like to own things that you purchase once and never have to purchase another one again, I am one. Made in America products designed for long service life and sustainability. This does not need to come at a huge price tag, there is a grossness of bling bling in the audio world and yes bias of spending huge bucks where some cheap small amp does 98% of what it does.

 

I am a little more zen in my approach, I like hand made sustainable devices. I have salvaged so many parts I can easily make many very nice amplifiers on a beer budget.

 

Price isn't everything, I am not attacking this because of the price, in fact I personally endorse it and say it's amazing really and perfect for the vast majority of people. Then there are weirdo's like me that just do things differently. More importantly, I have heard so many amplifiers in my life and poured over the technical objective facts along with the subjective personal experiences that I know there are minor differences between topologies that just won't show up on resistive load testing but show up in the real world with reactive loads and human beings pushing things further than they should. Yes there should always be adequate headroom, but that just isn't the case many times. Many measurements show normal operating conditions but we know someone somewhere will push it harder than they should and here are where topologies will sound way different even though the specs show the same on a resistive load under normal operating conditions; e.g. <max power.  People clip from transients far more often than you care to think.

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17 hours ago, captainbeefheart said:

It really is the perfect amp for about 90% of the consumers.

My thoughts as well with all the better class D offerings. Amplifiers of the future for the masses. Audiophiles will look further. Class A is still Class A. Everything else is a compromise of somewhat. The reason it starts with the first letter of the alphabet. Not to say class D can and does sound excellent if designed properly these days. 

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8 hours ago, CoryGillmore said:

Most likely the expectation bias club who want to justify their $7000 amps that measure worse than this little China box. "Oh but the soundstage" yes I'm sure all those expensive amps do all the subjective things (that can't be measured) better than this amp. All the subjective things that seem to disappear when doing blind ABX testing. 

I would say be cautious when just chasing numbers. I did much the same when I was younger. Amplifier design and our hobby is entertainment not all science. The best number amplifier will not always sound that good. Jean Hiraga said it best many years ago. Some 2nd harmonic with a touch of 3rd will sound the best. Not to criticize the topic of this thread. Never heard it and it probably sounds good for cost. I have an Icepower amplifier which is class D and it sounds very tube like. Designers know Hirago and intentionally make their offerings sound good where they will sell and not sound dry.  

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7 hours ago, jjptkd said:

 

I just bought the new Carver amp not too long ago and overloaded with speakers / parts really need to move some stuff out before I consider buying anything else as I'm running out of room.

Carver, one of the best designers out there. 

I will not knock the price great engineers ask for their products. We have to pay for their expertise which is worth a lot for those that can afford it. Knowledgeable people know there is not anything exotic or expensive in any amplifier that cost all that much. The cost of parts is not what you pay for. It is the knowledge of how to put those parts together that is worth the cost for many. I would be proud to own any amplifier from the greats like Carver and Pass. 

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On 11/29/2021 at 6:41 PM, Racer X said:

What if one mounts the killer small Topping PA5 inside a broken Mark Levinson amp...?

 

I have some great sounding Heresy's that look really ugly on the outside. I bought two ancient but beautiful 1959 consoles for $100. The Heresy's fit inside the consoles...

 

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