Hi folks, a few months back I got a VERY cheap TPA 3118 board to play with. It's surprising decent sounding considering the board cost less than I can buy the chip for...
Anyway it's actually quite good with acoustic and classical music but not so good with rock etc. It's a bit bright/forward and can get tiring after a while.
So yesterday I ordered a through hole version of a TPA 3116 from eBay. It appears to be a Juan Jing board from what I can see but has no name in the listing https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325329965300
Anyway I keep coming across posts about using these with a tube preamp but as I'm on a very low budget now I ruled it out. Then I found this listing...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/403782119412 could a valve preamp possibly be any good at that price?
It's going to be a few weeks until the 3116 board turns up so I have time to look around. I could probably fit both boards inside the one vented enclosure I already have.....
Then I looked on AliExpress and found this board...
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33006452629.html
According to the listing "Playable sex is very high" ....🤣 how can a chap refuse......
Anyway back in the real universe, what do you guys think? Is either of these likely to be half decent? Can anyone suggest a similarly cheap but reasonable alternative? I'm obviously not looking for high end sq but I do need low noise. My speakers are Rega R3 mini floor standers which are decent but bright sounding. I can't afford to change them so I need an amp that's quite close to valve/tube in performance but with tighter bass.
Thanks for looking. D
Anyway it's actually quite good with acoustic and classical music but not so good with rock etc. It's a bit bright/forward and can get tiring after a while.
So yesterday I ordered a through hole version of a TPA 3116 from eBay. It appears to be a Juan Jing board from what I can see but has no name in the listing https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325329965300
Anyway I keep coming across posts about using these with a tube preamp but as I'm on a very low budget now I ruled it out. Then I found this listing...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/403782119412 could a valve preamp possibly be any good at that price?
It's going to be a few weeks until the 3116 board turns up so I have time to look around. I could probably fit both boards inside the one vented enclosure I already have.....
Then I looked on AliExpress and found this board...
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33006452629.html
According to the listing "Playable sex is very high" ....🤣 how can a chap refuse......
Anyway back in the real universe, what do you guys think? Is either of these likely to be half decent? Can anyone suggest a similarly cheap but reasonable alternative? I'm obviously not looking for high end sq but I do need low noise. My speakers are Rega R3 mini floor standers which are decent but bright sounding. I can't afford to change them so I need an amp that's quite close to valve/tube in performance but with tighter bass.
Thanks for looking. D
Doubtful.
To evaluate this circuit, it would be best to have a schematic, or if it's possible, trace out a schematic from the photos.
If the speakers are bright sounding, you might want to check into ways of modifying your listening room acoustics to compensate.
Or, you could use a tone control. There PCBs available to add in a tone control. Maybe one of those would work.
I'll share this one only because it has a schematic (beware some of these Chinese kits have schematics that don't match the actual PCB you get!).
https://www.ebay.com/itm/273432426043
You could also implement a passive 'Tone control,' i,e,, just an adjustable low-pass filter (high freq rolloff) -- just to 'take the edge off.' See if that works.
In my experience with the one I have, TPA3116 has fairly high output impedance, so gives you a loose, sort of 'tubes-like' bass response. Perhaps someone knows of a cool modification to help that.
Thanks for the tone control board suggestion, I hadn't really considered one, mainly because they get a bad rep from audiophiles...
I mostly use a digital source these days and can use DSP like the Dolby app for example but I'm rarely impressed with the results tbh.
Think I'll try the board on its own first for a bit before throwing anything else in the signal path. I found some self adhesive nylon stand offs on eBay, might get some so i can easily move boards around inside that enclosure. It's been re- used 3 times and has more than enough holes in the baseplate already.
I might still try a cheap tube buffer with that 3116 board at some point, just for the hell of it lol
Hello, those are holyies right? Well according to general forum consensus, that board cant exist!!!! Must be a figment of imagination!!!
Sorry man, I asked a question in another thread about hole thrus and TPA3116D2 and all replies were about how bad an idea it was yet here is a hole thru commercial board! I have a major ambition to create a bridged mono running holyies only. It is good to get validation that I am on the path and the credibility of those saying that I couldn't implement a hole thru with this chip
Sorry man, I asked a question in another thread about hole thrus and TPA3116D2 and all replies were about how bad an idea it was yet here is a hole thru commercial board! I have a major ambition to create a bridged mono running holyies only. It is good to get validation that I am on the path and the credibility of those saying that I couldn't implement a hole thru with this chip
That particular TPA3116 board was designed by a member of DIYAudio (Dantz?) some years back. Yuan Jing then put it into production, since when it has been produced by a number of suppliers. It's a good board as standard, and easily modded.
There used to be a good Wiki on these boards, but the link seems to go nowhere now...
https://www.diyaudio.com/wiki/TPA3116D2_Boards
Edit. His name was Danzz, a lot more info here:
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/tpa3116d2-boards.252663/
There used to be a good Wiki on these boards, but the link seems to go nowhere now...
https://www.diyaudio.com/wiki/TPA3116D2_Boards
Edit. His name was Danzz, a lot more info here:
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/tpa3116d2-boards.252663/
@Randy Bassinga There are quite a few boards available from Yuan Jing. It might be worth having a look at his site. I ordered my board from an eBay seller because it was cheaper and money is getting very scarce here nowadays. https://www.yuan-jing.com/tpa3116-class-d-2-0-stereo-amplifier-board-50w-50w
@Yatsushiro Good info buddy! There is also a huge thread about these boards (both versions) and using them with tube buffers on Audiokarma.
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/tpa-3116-vs-the-tripaths.574806/
@wchang Good points there. I intend to try the board on its own first then at some point I'll try driving it from a tube buffer stage to see what all the fuss is about. The trouble is finding a cheap stage with actual measurements lol or even a circuit diagram for that matter. I found one today which looks like a possibility. https://www.ebay.com/itm/154151985365
I have plenty of time to look at other options as the YJ 3116 board is on a slow boat from China to Scotland. Thanks for the suggestions folks I think we might be getting somewhere, just not sure exactly where yet 🤣
@Yatsushiro Good info buddy! There is also a huge thread about these boards (both versions) and using them with tube buffers on Audiokarma.
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/tpa-3116-vs-the-tripaths.574806/
@wchang Good points there. I intend to try the board on its own first then at some point I'll try driving it from a tube buffer stage to see what all the fuss is about. The trouble is finding a cheap stage with actual measurements lol or even a circuit diagram for that matter. I found one today which looks like a possibility. https://www.ebay.com/itm/154151985365
I have plenty of time to look at other options as the YJ 3116 board is on a slow boat from China to Scotland. Thanks for the suggestions folks I think we might be getting somewhere, just not sure exactly where yet 🤣
This is one of the most popular tube pre-amps that a lot of the good people on Audiokarma have paired with their TPA3116 and other Class D amps:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/265603276100?hash=item3dd7305d44:g:nf8AAOSwfbFiNegC&amdata=enc:AQAHAAAA4MhfPlduwQURbMXE4DzlFQxfBzLAbHktEtczucgFLOvbWgfLvrSNTsVVnhNcZZamNGw76RG63f8HxxD6GMpVWefnLC+kqYzgt3vDOGSGMn5tHTjDEHt5SViri4lE5+ISA+C9DE7iAeyDedmqxPP+8+by1S67njVqwWU70iPigX6qkIvzNS9FiHBeHKcIzxoZA4tDHipNbG8HPtqn4YRn14Xo24dp+YbywpYjKVL7L3l4mUYa6+kzszbih8oz4DahaisKnuy5s93nyjxkuKw2nmnLhq3XBmnmw24L/ZcaSklH|tkp:BFBM6rHymu9g
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/fx-audio-6j1-tube-preamp-a-31-wonder.848535/
https://www.ebay.com/itm/265603276100?hash=item3dd7305d44:g:nf8AAOSwfbFiNegC&amdata=enc:AQAHAAAA4MhfPlduwQURbMXE4DzlFQxfBzLAbHktEtczucgFLOvbWgfLvrSNTsVVnhNcZZamNGw76RG63f8HxxD6GMpVWefnLC+kqYzgt3vDOGSGMn5tHTjDEHt5SViri4lE5+ISA+C9DE7iAeyDedmqxPP+8+by1S67njVqwWU70iPigX6qkIvzNS9FiHBeHKcIzxoZA4tDHipNbG8HPtqn4YRn14Xo24dp+YbywpYjKVL7L3l4mUYa6+kzszbih8oz4DahaisKnuy5s93nyjxkuKw2nmnLhq3XBmnmw24L/ZcaSklH|tkp:BFBM6rHymu9g
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/fx-audio-6j1-tube-preamp-a-31-wonder.848535/
Thanks dude i did look into that little preamp, it seemed some folk really like it but some not so much and one or two mentioned that they thought the output impedance was not a very good match. It might still be a contender but I'm looking too install a buffer in the same case with the 3116 board if possible.
There have been a lot of threads about adding tube preamps or buffers in front of class D amplifiers. Common to all is that:
1) You don't need any gain. Maybe 2x or 3x is all you need.
2) A simple triode preamp will usually give you about 10x to 15x gain, which is too much. It will also have fairly high output impedance (2k to 10k ohms).
3) Some tube preamps made with low-mu, fairly high current triodes like 12B4A, 6V6-triode or 12P17L-triode may do the job for you. However, their output impedance will be just barely adequate (1k to 2k ohms) to drive the TPA3116 amp's low input impedance (5k to 10k ohms).
4) You can use a triode as a cathode follower for slightly less than unity gain, but this will be so clean you may not even hear it (due to 100% negative feedback). The output impedance of a cathode follower will certainly be low enough to drive a TPA3116 amp.
I think someone measured that TUBE-01 preamp and it has quite a bit of gain and adds quite a bit of distortion and noise. That could be 'tube flavor'. Maybe worth a try.
I'd recommend checking out the various 12B4A preamp threads (like this one - https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/12b4-preamp.137771).
The John Broskie/TubeCAD Aikido Line Stage is well liked (https://www.tubecad.com/2004/blog0011.htm).
Ale Moglia's various 4P1L-triode preamp designs are well respected (advanced, more expensive).
Or perhaps this is an opportunity to use a lowish-mu twin triode as an SRPP (6N6P, perhaps). That would need to be designed from scratch, though.
In the past I have suggested an 'anode follower' (triode common cathode stage with local NFB) employing a MOSFET source follower output, but that doesn't seem to be a popular idea.
Have fun! 🙂
1) You don't need any gain. Maybe 2x or 3x is all you need.
2) A simple triode preamp will usually give you about 10x to 15x gain, which is too much. It will also have fairly high output impedance (2k to 10k ohms).
3) Some tube preamps made with low-mu, fairly high current triodes like 12B4A, 6V6-triode or 12P17L-triode may do the job for you. However, their output impedance will be just barely adequate (1k to 2k ohms) to drive the TPA3116 amp's low input impedance (5k to 10k ohms).
4) You can use a triode as a cathode follower for slightly less than unity gain, but this will be so clean you may not even hear it (due to 100% negative feedback). The output impedance of a cathode follower will certainly be low enough to drive a TPA3116 amp.
I think someone measured that TUBE-01 preamp and it has quite a bit of gain and adds quite a bit of distortion and noise. That could be 'tube flavor'. Maybe worth a try.
I'd recommend checking out the various 12B4A preamp threads (like this one - https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/12b4-preamp.137771).
The John Broskie/TubeCAD Aikido Line Stage is well liked (https://www.tubecad.com/2004/blog0011.htm).
Ale Moglia's various 4P1L-triode preamp designs are well respected (advanced, more expensive).
Or perhaps this is an opportunity to use a lowish-mu twin triode as an SRPP (6N6P, perhaps). That would need to be designed from scratch, though.
In the past I have suggested an 'anode follower' (triode common cathode stage with local NFB) employing a MOSFET source follower output, but that doesn't seem to be a popular idea.
Have fun! 🙂
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Yes. I could sell a preamp similar to that for that money, but since I'm in Canada, shipping would NOT be included...
Surely that wouldn't be a populated board at that price range? I'd be surprised to find the bare boards for that money anywhere in this part of the world lol. Shipping wouldn't be cheap but I might be tempted to push the boat out a bit for a decent buffer. Maybe for a Christmas project....
@rongon Thanks bud that gives me food for thought. I might just end up getting a tube 01 to try at this rate. It would certainly make things more simple and I could probably sell it on if I can't live with it. I could easily end up spending a lot more on a DIY buffer which i couldn't sell on....been there a few times before but I had more cash to put into this hobby back then.
Yup. I can do a fully populated one for under 20 quid (under 30$CAD) with 6N1P tubes. It requires 12V and about 280V for B+ which I get from a DC-DC board such as https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32760806274.html