Hello..As I'm about to hopefully embark with the Alpair 7.3 / A7 cabinet, I have a question about power amps. Don't know if this is the correct thread or not so if not will a Mod move it?. Anyway, what's the difference in using a let's say 30 wpc amp as an Adcom or Hafler compared to a digital amp as the Toppings 30 amp..?..I know the Alpairs can't take lots of power so is an analog amp as the Adcom ok to use?
I wouldn't go so far as to say that power handling / rating is completely meaningless, but it's probably safe to say that more drivers have been damaged using underpowered amps than the other way around - i.e. driving a SS amp well past clipping can turn it into a square wave generator of sorts. 
but to your question, older Adcom or Haflers might sound just fine with the Alpairs. However If you are looking to acquire something new for this system, I think you can do better.
I've operated a variety of Mark's drivers with tube and SS amps from 3-5 watts to surround receivers with over 100WPC, and on balance would say I find them more dynamic and solid on the the bottom end with more rather than less.
If the Topping you had in mind is the TP30, it might be a bit underpowered - I have a couple of those powering Fostex FF85WK in computer desktop setups, where they work just fine. For my living room system, I recently bought one of these Yuan Jing Audio - TPA3116 Class-D 2.0 Stereo Power Amplifier [50W+50W] - $115.00 - Finished Units, and it was a substantial improvement over a Kingrex T20.
but to your question, older Adcom or Haflers might sound just fine with the Alpairs. However If you are looking to acquire something new for this system, I think you can do better.
I've operated a variety of Mark's drivers with tube and SS amps from 3-5 watts to surround receivers with over 100WPC, and on balance would say I find them more dynamic and solid on the the bottom end with more rather than less.
If the Topping you had in mind is the TP30, it might be a bit underpowered - I have a couple of those powering Fostex FF85WK in computer desktop setups, where they work just fine. For my living room system, I recently bought one of these Yuan Jing Audio - TPA3116 Class-D 2.0 Stereo Power Amplifier [50W+50W] - $115.00 - Finished Units, and it was a substantial improvement over a Kingrex T20.
+1 on TPA3116D2. You can spend just $20 on a board version of one of those and it will work great. There is also a $50 25 watt/ch variant of the same chip using the PCB as the heat sink. The SMSL amp is boxed with power supply. Lots of folks use the 3116 with Alpair 7 and really have great feedback.
You can get 50 watts even with 8ohms. Depends in power supply voltage and amp rating. But I would not try more than 40watts to keep distortion below 0.1%. 40 watts is more than enough power for any full range driver.
You can buy the 3118 variant by SMSL on Amazon.
Amazon.com: SMSL SA-36A Pro 20WPC TPA3118D2 Digital Amplifier AMP + 24V Power Supply Golden: Electronics
Buying direct from Yuan Jing is not a bad route either. You can also buy the 3116 from Sure direct. Give it some time and Parts Express will start to carry it.
You can buy the 3118 variant by SMSL on Amazon.
Amazon.com: SMSL SA-36A Pro 20WPC TPA3118D2 Digital Amplifier AMP + 24V Power Supply Golden: Electronics
Buying direct from Yuan Jing is not a bad route either. You can also buy the 3116 from Sure direct. Give it some time and Parts Express will start to carry it.
, but it's probably safe to say that more drivers have been damaged using underpowered amps than the
other way around - i.e. driving a SS amp well past clipping can turn it into a square wave generator of sorts.
Hi,
Its also fair to say that only applies to tweeters, for FR's
its a very tenuous argument, as heroic clipping is needed
to boost max rms power, but easy with a too big amplifier.
rgds, sreten.
I don't know about a bricks and mortar US retailer - I got mine from these folks Yuan Jing Audio - TPA3116 Class-D 2.0 Stereo Power Amplifier [50W+50W] - $115.00 - Finished Units-
took probably less than an hour to open an account and place the order. I wasn't in a crazy hurry, just had it shipped by Hong Kong Post, then Canada Parcel Express - in the US final leg would likely be USPS.
They sound very good. If you mod them with a few nice OSCON caps and add bootstrap snubbers, they sound excellent. If you add balanced input transformers and bypass input caps, they sound world class. Look at the 600,000 reply thread in class D http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/class-d/237086-tpa3116d2-amp.html and you can see their popularity. Several folks have taken modded ones up against some very nice class A amps and tube amps and they hold their ground. There is a wiki on the mods http://www.diyaudio.com/wiki/TPA3116D2_Boards. The SMSL amp I linked above probably sounds nicest stock off all the ones available. If you get the base $20 amp with $20 in parts from Digikey or Mouser will make it an amp that is very very good sounding. I think the performance to price ratio on these cannot be beat.
If you can wait for 3wks delivery, these amps from Aliexpress for $13 are worth it.
Online Shop Free Shipping! 1pc TPA3116 Class D digital amplifier 50W +50 W with Silent Sleep Design|Aliexpress Mobile
In the wiki is an image of some of the variants, the YJ blue black or Danzz design is perhaps one of the most popular. I like the Ybdz myself.
If you can wait for 3wks delivery, these amps from Aliexpress for $13 are worth it.
Online Shop Free Shipping! 1pc TPA3116 Class D digital amplifier 50W +50 W with Silent Sleep Design|Aliexpress Mobile
In the wiki is an image of some of the variants, the YJ blue black or Danzz design is perhaps one of the most popular. I like the Ybdz myself.
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And then some of us old farts still quite enjoy bashing around in the woodshop, but "the thrill is gone" when it comes to that level of tweakery with electronics - which is why I bought the Yuan Jing all parts included kit, and for that matter the DIYAudio store ACA class A kit. - very sweet sounding unit, but far less power than the TPA3116.
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Will a DIY build fully zooted out with upgraded parts etc, sound better than an easy build or even prefabbed unit? Probably. Will I lose sleep obsessing over which tweak I've overlooked? Not anymore
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Will a DIY build fully zooted out with upgraded parts etc, sound better than an easy build or even prefabbed unit? Probably. Will I lose sleep obsessing over which tweak I've overlooked? Not anymore
If you are handy with a soldering iron, the single most important mod, and easiest one is to swap out the cheap power rail electrolytic caps with Panasonic OSCON (organic semiconductor) 330uF 25V SEPF caps. These cost $1.60 ea. The ultra-low 11 mOhm equivalent series resistance (ESR) allows them to *Transform* the amp. You will here marked improvement in bass response and clarity and detail immediately. Very well worth it. If you do one thing to the amp, this is it.
Ha..Being an old fart myself..
...have this same feel. As I stated, I'm so used to the older dinosaur type gear (amps) that makes wrapping this design tough in my mind here. Does this amp at 50 wpc have the same heft and sound as the 50 wpc lets say, an Adcom, etc...?..I know technology has advanced very drastically and me being an engineer that derived from the 2" tape machines and 8' foot long mixing consoles and have migrated to a computer....keep an open mind!..
Based on reports and comparisons of this amp with several high quality class A and class AB amps, I think it will sound better than an ADCOM of similar power rating. For such a low cost you can't go wrong and just try it. To be fair, hook up a good linear power supply to the TPA3116 for truly good sound.
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I can describe my limited experience, in summary..
Around 8 years ago, I listened to class D amps, connected to various hi end equipment.. I traveled and made appointments to hear lots of gear..
All the systems I demoed had 2 things in common, lack of air and lots of effortless power..
I posted a thread here, called, "no air in Class D"..
I hadn't heard any class D until I visited to Taves Audio show, a few weeks ago.. 3-4 systems we're using Class D and to my surprise, I was hearing the high frequency detail, thats part of the recording..
The attraction to efficient power, is something I've wanted to try, for use on a sub or woofer of a 3way..
Now that I hear air, I'm ready to try them out as a main amp..
Also, I've owned a few Adcom amps and was not impressed, for anything other than power.
Around 8 years ago, I listened to class D amps, connected to various hi end equipment.. I traveled and made appointments to hear lots of gear..
All the systems I demoed had 2 things in common, lack of air and lots of effortless power..
I posted a thread here, called, "no air in Class D"..
I hadn't heard any class D until I visited to Taves Audio show, a few weeks ago.. 3-4 systems we're using Class D and to my surprise, I was hearing the high frequency detail, thats part of the recording..
The attraction to efficient power, is something I've wanted to try, for use on a sub or woofer of a 3way..
Now that I hear air, I'm ready to try them out as a main amp..
Also, I've owned a few Adcom amps and was not impressed, for anything other than power.
I have a old amp i bought 35 years or so ago a au417 sansui, it needs repairing the protector light is flashing and it won,t stop.
I was wondering how the quality of these amps stack up and would it be worth getting fixed, its been broke for a couple of years so i never got to try it with my alpair speakers.
Any thoughts on this amp?
I was wondering how the quality of these amps stack up and would it be worth getting fixed, its been broke for a couple of years so i never got to try it with my alpair speakers.
Any thoughts on this amp?
Excellent! I'm happy I waited.
So confident know, and with the low prices, I'll decide on 2 different units, and pick them up when I go to Buffalo soon..
Looks pretty special.. Cant comment on yours specifically but I've owned many of the higher level amps and receivers from that period, and they stack up very well indeed..I was simply not crazy about all the controls, and work involved in recapping and tuning them up, so only a couple remaining..
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