Dear Claude,
I fell down the same hole many times, thinking that something new was better, now I do the switched comparisons over a period of days. And I stopped reading 'reviews' like the six loons, preferring the six hicks.
Cheers - Jem
I fell down the same hole many times, thinking that something new was better, now I do the switched comparisons over a period of days. And I stopped reading 'reviews' like the six loons, preferring the six hicks.
Cheers - Jem
I agree with you regarding the Aiyima potentiometer issues .
Touchy and not the right match for the amp , which itself sounds excellent
Touchy and not the right match for the amp , which itself sounds excellent
Jem, each his own, in 30y audiophila and recording never fooled by my impressions... but this test isn't mine anyway. Important is you are happy your way and you read what you feel like.
Kevinr, yep, I raised it before as potential issue, but now having the real unit in hands it seems obvious. The pot has to go definitely, sadly the Tocos Cosmos I used in my B1 Korg isn't available anymore, that one was excellent VFM...so looking for alternative.
We are likely to keep the 2 amps in the vinage amp's casing, so the pot doesn't have to be in the small casing anymore, opens an entire new field. Has to be non expensive though... thinking... What did you replace it with on your side?
Claude
Kevinr, yep, I raised it before as potential issue, but now having the real unit in hands it seems obvious. The pot has to go definitely, sadly the Tocos Cosmos I used in my B1 Korg isn't available anymore, that one was excellent VFM...so looking for alternative.
We are likely to keep the 2 amps in the vinage amp's casing, so the pot doesn't have to be in the small casing anymore, opens an entire new field. Has to be non expensive though... thinking... What did you replace it with on your side?
Claude
The electrolytic signal caps in the Aiyama amp are not the best. I put som small smd film caps in parallell with the stock caps and got improvements in the details. Did you remember to change the speaker-to-speaker distance between switching amps? The stereo separation is probably not the same in the Aiyama as the Onkyo.
I'd be happy to pay much more than what the Aiyima costs for a roomier semi-populated board that allows for more DIY tweaking. Are you listening Aiyima?
And, yes, the pot is extremely lightweight and cheap.
And, yes, the pot is extremely lightweight and cheap.
Nope, speakers were untouched. Indeed there is room playing with them, that will come aswell, including crossing them in front of listeners (Interesting on these speakers). For the moment the question was just: is it worth purchasing (eg not returning) and worth tweaking to refurbish an old amp. Answer is: yes.
As of me personaly, no Class D, all this is just a nice project that allows me to have some fun with a very good friend: he will be the sole user, just we tweak together as I am more familiar for the moment with all that DIY hifi.
I only have one system (= main system) and therefore I am quite demanding, but that's another topic for entirely different forum section.
Claude
As of me personaly, no Class D, all this is just a nice project that allows me to have some fun with a very good friend: he will be the sole user, just we tweak together as I am more familiar for the moment with all that DIY hifi.
I only have one system (= main system) and therefore I am quite demanding, but that's another topic for entirely different forum section.
Claude
Yep, as posted 2 months ago, the electrolytic caps will likely go, both at amp entry and after the op amp stage... and many other things probably...
3e-Audio All in One TPA3250 Amplifier - Arrived today
I ordered this about 2 weeks ago and it arrived today.
First impressions are good. Very nicely made. Sound out of the box is excellent - Just need to burn it in for a bit !
Some photos including a couple comparing the size to the Aiyima A04 TPA3251 amplifier.
I ordered this about 2 weeks ago and it arrived today.
First impressions are good. Very nicely made. Sound out of the box is excellent - Just need to burn it in for a bit !
Some photos including a couple comparing the size to the Aiyima A04 TPA3251 amplifier.
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ClaudeG,
Thanks for sharing. Modifications to the output filter, op amps and the volume pot should significantly improve the sound quality of the Aiyima TPA3251 amp. I just remembered that I had very favorable experience with the Panasonic EVJ volume pots before. These aren’t as nice as the Tocos Cosmos volume pots, but could be better than the stock volume pots. Using the compact Panasonic EVJ volume pots would fit inside the Aiyima chassis with some wiring to properly connect the pot terminals to the amp PCB. They are very inexpensive, so it is a very affordable experiment.
Thanks for sharing. Modifications to the output filter, op amps and the volume pot should significantly improve the sound quality of the Aiyima TPA3251 amp. I just remembered that I had very favorable experience with the Panasonic EVJ volume pots before. These aren’t as nice as the Tocos Cosmos volume pots, but could be better than the stock volume pots. Using the compact Panasonic EVJ volume pots would fit inside the Aiyima chassis with some wiring to properly connect the pot terminals to the amp PCB. They are very inexpensive, so it is a very affordable experiment.
Hi Rich,
Thanks for the kind post, very appreciated, and these pots sound like a good plan!
Indeed the intention was never really to evaluate the unit as it is (that was just done to have a baseline to start with) but, this being DIY, to see how far we could 'reasonably" bring it. Op amps, pot, various coupling caps, output filter (coils and caps), the various power supplies and who knows whatever may fall under my soldering iron 🙂
Thanks again for YOUR feedbacks that contributed to trigger this small adventure
Claude
Thanks for the kind post, very appreciated, and these pots sound like a good plan!
Indeed the intention was never really to evaluate the unit as it is (that was just done to have a baseline to start with) but, this being DIY, to see how far we could 'reasonably" bring it. Op amps, pot, various coupling caps, output filter (coils and caps), the various power supplies and who knows whatever may fall under my soldering iron 🙂
Thanks again for YOUR feedbacks that contributed to trigger this small adventure
Claude
I am not going to replace the pot in my Aiyima , it is just too tight and cramped there with the stock pot to want to attempt it .
I did have one of the tiny Panasonic pots but they are too small for my hands.
Aiyima , if you are reading this your amp is popular .......but please use a better and properly matched potentiometer on the next revision . And not smaller input caps !
We would gladly pay for that !
I did have one of the tiny Panasonic pots but they are too small for my hands.
Aiyima , if you are reading this your amp is popular .......but please use a better and properly matched potentiometer on the next revision . And not smaller input caps !
We would gladly pay for that !
They have only released the TPA3250 version today so that is what I ordered. This is more than enough for most domestic situations.
First impressions are pretty good. Just playing with the various features such as Bluetooth. The switching between the Bluetooth and RCA inputs seems to work very smoothly - You don't have to disconnect your Bluetooth device which is so much better than most of these amps with Bluetooth !!
Thanks amigo !
Would be nice to share your opinion VS Aiyima A04 TPA3251 stock VS OPA / updated.🙂