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DUAL Merus MA12070 fully balanced Amplifier pictures inside

Hi amigos,

Just received the new Sabaj A20. This a brand new class D amp made with a dual Infineon Merus MA12070 and fully balanced.
This is my second amp based on this chip. I had already reviewed a fully symmetrical dual Mono MA12070 that I had built a few months ago.

The amp is made in an aluminum case, it feels sturdy and beefy. The front of the amp has a mirror front and the volume controller has a dual function (volume and selector). When you press a few seconds on it , it powers ON / OFF. The amps also comes with a remote control.
The design really looks like the SMSL AD18.

You have the possibility to adjust the bass / treble, the amp also has some presets, I'm not a fan of it, I left it in "direct" mode.

What we found inside :

- Dual Merus MA12070 chips
- OPA1678 op amps
- NJW1194 digital volume chip
- A great Meanwell SMPS PSU 300W
- RCA inputs
- XLR inputs
- Sub out
- Banana speakers

I listened to the amp with my favorite Audiophile Playlist for 1 hour yesterday, it is really impressive @ first listening. Seems promising in relation to its ration performance / price.

Since I own almost all TPA325X in the market and some Hypex Ncore and Purifi at home, I can tell you that it is pretty good even very good in comparison ... for the little that I have heard.

Should be nice to have the ASR review soon ) Fingers X.
In fact the amp is using exactly the same components as the SMSL DA 9. The design is just different.

I have no real idea of ​​the veracity of the data relating to its real power ... but I can confirm one thing, it does not lack potency! If I set the volume to -03DB and stream from my LG V30 in LDAC, at 30% of the volume, I am largely covering my living room of around 35 / 40m2. This is an amp that is rather SQ oriented.

I will let ASR giving us a real feedback about the measurements.

I can tell you that next to my Ncore and a TPA3255 (top of the range, Jlester, DrMordor) it does not blush at all! It has a somewhat different sound signature. We find a little the soundstage of the TPA325X and that of the Ncore, it is a little different however but nothing to complain about, it is performing very well here. I find in the signature of the MA12070 chip a particular roundness in the mediums, the bass is quite muffled but very present. The highs are very similar to the Ncore. The amp is also absolutely dead silence between tracks, the meanwell PSU helps here.

My setup :

Gustard X16 DAC
Sabaj A20 (XLR > full balanced mode)
Other amps : Hypex Ncore / Purifi / TPA325X
High end floor 2.5 way speakers, Ribbon tweeter (handmade in France by the way)

Streamer : LG V30 via LDAC
Source : Audiophile Master Sound HD Playlist

I tried to open the case to take pictures of the module, the PCB etc .. but unfortunately it is complicated to dismantle ...


Videos :

Sabaj test 1

Sabaj test 2


Pictures :







 
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TNT

Member
Joined 2003
Paid Member
If the forum goes in the direction of being an advertisment platform instead a DIY meeting place I'm sure you agree that it deviated from its original cause. It can also happen very easy if not the core values are maintained. Advertisment is plenty around - civil DIY fora not so much. Let's keep it clean together!?

//
 
Disabled Account
Joined 2002
This is NOT an advertisement but a proud member giving us a review of a device possibly leading members to the virtues of that new Merus MA12070 "multi level Class D" based device. The member also builds DIY devices and checks progress in that field which is coincidentally a lesser known area on diyaudio.com but it does interest some members as things develop rapidly in the class D and FDA scene. In fact the future IS Class D/FDA...

Said member obtains many of such devices and invests time and money AND is willing to share the gained knowledge. Nothing less, nothing more. I know the Merus chips and they are a new league, likely better than many classic ways of doing things of which hundreds of threads exist that repeat themselves over and over...many of them severely outdated in terms of audio quality or even based on an inferior topology.

If DIY is carved in stone as THE way to go many threads here can be deleted and companies should be banned. Any serious audiophile wants best results and best bang for the buck, be it DIY (preferably) or be it ready made. Since new developments tend to be way harder to DIY (IMO it will even be nearly impossible) we will definitely see the DIY Audio hobby moving to the form of simply assembling ready made micro electronics in casings or modding ready made devices. It already is like that for some time and there is no stopping that, when the results are better than any existing topology then why not? Fear for progress?

MA12070 - Infineon Technologies
 
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This is NOT an advertisement but a proud member giving us a review of a device possibly leading members to the virtues of that new Merus MA12070 "multi level Class D" based device. The member also builds DIY devices and checks progress in that field which is coincidentally a lesser known area on diyaudio.com but it does interest some members. Said member obtains many of such devices and invests time and money AND is willing to share the gained knowledge. Nothing less, nothing more. I know the Merus chips and they are a new league, likely better than many classic ways of doing things of which hundreds of threads exist that repeat themselves over and over...many of them severely outdated in terms of audio quality or even based on an inferior topology.

If DIY is carved in stone as THE way to go many threads here can be deleted and companies should be banned. Any serious audiophile wants best results and best bang for the buck, be it DIY (preferably) or be it ready made. Since new developments tend to be way harder to DIY we will definitely see the DIY Audio hobby moving to the form of simply assembling ready made micro electronics in casings or modding ready made devices. There is no stopping that and when results are better than any existing topology then why not?

MA12070 - Infineon Technologies

Many thanks Jean Paul )

everyone knows my passion for amps on diyaudio and as well as on ASR. I have no action anywhere, don't worry) I share ideas, a passion and if everyone finds their interest in it then so much the better)
 
Okay with that. It would be fine if this amp would have been mentioned in an existing thread like the one on the Infineon MA12070. Would be presented as a finished product that can be used as a comparison. Thank you Danibourn for your comments on this amplifier.
 
;)
This is NOT an advertisement but a proud member giving us a review of a device possibly leading members to the virtues of that new Merus MA12070 "multi level Class D" based device. The member also builds DIY devices and checks progress in that field which is coincidentally a lesser known area on diyaudio.com but it does interest some members as things develop rapidly in the class D and FDA scene. In fact the future IS Class D/FDA...

Said member obtains many of such devices and invests time and money AND is willing to share the gained knowledge. Nothing less, nothing more. I know the Merus chips and they are a new league, likely better than many classic ways of doing things of which hundreds of threads exist that repeat themselves over and over...many of them severely outdated in terms of audio quality or even based on an inferior topology.

If DIY is carved in stone as THE way to go many threads here can be deleted and companies should be banned. Any serious audiophile wants best results and best bang for the buck, be it DIY (preferably) or be it ready made. Since new developments tend to be way harder to DIY (IMO it will even be nearly impossible) we will definitely see the DIY Audio hobby moving to the form of simply assembling ready made micro electronics in casings or modding ready made devices. It already is like that for some time and there is no stopping that, when the results are better than any existing topology then why not? Fear for progress?

MA12070 - Infineon Technologies

It makes me happy to read you .... In the end, you are not that retrogressive ...
 
Member
Joined 2008
Paid Member
@daniboun - any chance you'd be willing to further disassemble the unit for some better pictures of the internals? Curious if we can glean any implementation details from more detailed pictures. I'm also curious if they included an actual LC output filter (which they arguably "should" for something marketed as a general-purpose power amp), or went with the simpler/smaller/cheaper ferrite bead-based filter.