Those Indeed bricks are sold as 12V 6A. Speakers probably little shy of 4 ohm, 85dB. I think peak values for supply advertised.
new for ebay : 7th: TPA3116 Digital Power Amplifier 50W+50W Dual Track 8-25V PBTL 100W Single Track
(green audiobah board without offer at this time, but will return like many times befor)
S.M.S.L. SA-36A Pro TPA3118D2 Amplifier
For $49.99 including shipping, I purchased an SMSL SA-36A Pro TPA3118D2 2.0 amplifier from eBay seller wsz0304. It came in the other day and I have been listening to it. I have been using it with my upgraded Astron RS-12A regulated linear power supply. It came with a 12VDC/3.8A SMPS brick, but I haven't used it with the brick yet. After a few hours of playing, I sat down and started critically listening to the amp.
For now, I prefer my modified Sure Electronics TPA3110 amp as it is more tonally balanced from top to bottom. The SMSL has a bit of upper midrange glare. I've heard this similar upper midrange glare with other MKT caps that can go away with more playing time or remain (please no flames if you don't believe in burn-in). I used to have an SMSL SA-S1 TA2020 amp that had ERO MKT1822 input coupling caps that had this same issue, and after a couple weeks, the sound smoothed out and it was a pleasant amp to listen to.
Compared to my Audio Research LS7 tube line stage and modified Yuan Jing 2.0 blue amp (used as a power amp), the difference is greater. The SMSL just doesn't have the transparency, detail and focus. This really isn't a fair comparison, but it might help those who wonder if this complete amp is a viable alternative. If you can solder, stick with your TPA31xx amp of choice for now and mod away.
On the positive side, this little amp is beautifully made, and it is very quiet with almost no hiss. In fact, it's much quieter than my TPA3110 and TPA3116 amps. It definitely has the TPA31xx sound characteristics:
I'm going to continue to play around with this amp, and possibly try swapping in some other components.
For $49.99 including shipping, I purchased an SMSL SA-36A Pro TPA3118D2 2.0 amplifier from eBay seller wsz0304. It came in the other day and I have been listening to it. I have been using it with my upgraded Astron RS-12A regulated linear power supply. It came with a 12VDC/3.8A SMPS brick, but I haven't used it with the brick yet. After a few hours of playing, I sat down and started critically listening to the amp.
For now, I prefer my modified Sure Electronics TPA3110 amp as it is more tonally balanced from top to bottom. The SMSL has a bit of upper midrange glare. I've heard this similar upper midrange glare with other MKT caps that can go away with more playing time or remain (please no flames if you don't believe in burn-in). I used to have an SMSL SA-S1 TA2020 amp that had ERO MKT1822 input coupling caps that had this same issue, and after a couple weeks, the sound smoothed out and it was a pleasant amp to listen to.
Compared to my Audio Research LS7 tube line stage and modified Yuan Jing 2.0 blue amp (used as a power amp), the difference is greater. The SMSL just doesn't have the transparency, detail and focus. This really isn't a fair comparison, but it might help those who wonder if this complete amp is a viable alternative. If you can solder, stick with your TPA31xx amp of choice for now and mod away.
On the positive side, this little amp is beautifully made, and it is very quiet with almost no hiss. In fact, it's much quieter than my TPA3110 and TPA3116 amps. It definitely has the TPA31xx sound characteristics:
- Deep bass
- Fast, dynamic response
- Slightly warm midrange, but that slight glare can detract
- Clear highs
I'm going to continue to play around with this amp, and possibly try swapping in some other components.
Coils replaced !
I've got the Bourns 2101-V-RC installed today. Soldering/desoldering was a breeze. Am listening to the amp now and really like it. I picked the 2101 model instead of the 2100 due to previous installation of the 2101 toroids on a Sure TK2050 board getting good result.
Everything else on the board is stock.
I also try adding a 100uF capacitor between pin 2 (SDZ) and ground trying to eliminate "power on pop" but it did not work. Changing to a larger cap value does not resolve the problem. Next plan is to install a timer circuit to short input to ground for the first few seconds when power on.
I've got the Bourns 2101-V-RC installed today. Soldering/desoldering was a breeze. Am listening to the amp now and really like it. I picked the 2101 model instead of the 2100 due to previous installation of the 2101 toroids on a Sure TK2050 board getting good result.
Everything else on the board is stock.
I also try adding a 100uF capacitor between pin 2 (SDZ) and ground trying to eliminate "power on pop" but it did not work. Changing to a larger cap value does not resolve the problem. Next plan is to install a timer circuit to short input to ground for the first few seconds when power on.
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Basically, the upper midrange sounds accentuated compared to the rest of the frequency range. The result can be an increase in sibilance with certain vocals and grating brass instrument notes.
AC439, nice work on installing new inductors.
PBTL (Mono) Mode Modification
Tested and working.
Here is a picture of the speaker connections and the three shorted pads at the upper right:
Tested and working.
Here is a picture of the speaker connections and the three shorted pads at the upper right:
TPA3116 Inductor Circuit Design Class D Digital Power Amplifier Board 50W 50W | eBay. Thats a good price for the board
It's a little unsettling that they show a sample with an inductor poorly mounted to the board. (Or do you think they did that to show that it was DIY ready)
That's the one I have ordered today, but still confused what PSU to use with it, after lost the whole afternoon and eyes on this thread. Apparently there is no consensus which one suits the best?!
I'm planing to order one like this - 12V 5A 60W, that might be good enough not only for the amp. itself but also for the speaker protection board eventually?
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It's a little unsettling that they show a sample with an inductor poorly mounted to the board. (Or do you think they did that to show that it was DIY ready)
Actually, this is the lowest price I have ever seen (shipping is included too!!). Then I noticed the less than satisfactory soldering of the inductors. I started to wonder whether this is a genuine YJ board. Can someone who has a YJ black board take a good look and see whether this is a genuine article please. The price is too good (typically it is around 22-24US$ including shipping in Aliexpress stores).
Regards,
The eBay-advertised YJ blue amp appears to have the same components as the amp I bought directly from YJ. I shy away from sellers with less than 99% ratings.
On my YJ blue amp, I installed a set of 3.3uF/160V Wima MKP10 film caps on the inputs. The bass is a bit more extended over the stock 1uF Epcos MKP X2 film caps and the sound is more powerful. I like the additional detail with the Wima's too.
On my YJ blue amp, I installed a set of 3.3uF/160V Wima MKP10 film caps on the inputs. The bass is a bit more extended over the stock 1uF Epcos MKP X2 film caps and the sound is more powerful. I like the additional detail with the Wima's too.
No. There are two differential inputs "+" and "-" for each channel. With a single ended source, the "-" inputs are connected to Ground while the "+" inputs are connected to the the source. For the proper summing of the inputs, they must have the same impedance. The original four (4) input caps were of the same value, 1uF, but made of different dielectrics (2-MKP and 2-MKT). I just had a bunch of these NOS Wima MKP10 caps that I picked up at a local surplus electronics store a few years ago, and I wanted to reduce the cut-off frequency to 1.6Hz per the TPA31xx data sheet while running at 26dB gain (30kohm input impedance). The net result is a weightier bass. Interestingly, having added wire leads to connect the caps to the board's thru-holes didn't increase the noise level at all. In fact, the amp is quieter.
Is on/off pop reduced too? does your preamp come with XLR too? sometimes I feel every connection part on top chipside is more sensative to noise, but could be psychological the groundplane is a shield though
BTW thank you for "glare" translation. To me outputfilter or powersupply caps sounds more likely for the cause. Did you open the little box already? I suppose the battery of elco's is for powersupply, but near inductors the photo also shows 2 smaller elcos, are they for powersupply decoupling too, they seem too far away
the groundplane is a shield thoughBTW thank you for "glare" translation. To me outputfilter or powersupply caps sounds more likely for the cause. Did you open the little box already? I suppose the battery of elco's is for powersupply, but near inductors the photo also shows 2 smaller elcos, are they for powersupply decoupling too, they seem too far away
It's a little unsettling that they show a sample with an inductor poorly mounted to the board. (Or do you think they did that to show that it was DIY ready)
The photo just tells you he didn't upload his picture himself, that picture was used in ads by different sellers before and still is being used by others.