You know whats weird, sonicbreeze? I just went back and looked at your boards and the v3.1 you have only has one large cap, while the v 3.2 has two large caps. Well your v. 3.2 looks exactly like my v3.1, with two caps. There really seems to be no consistency here from SMSL.
muddyboots you'll notice on your board, you have an extra, unused cap position between the two "panasonic" electrolytics. It's marked J1/J2 on the picture in my first post. So it looks like you do have the 3.1 board, but they used a 2 cap setup. The 3.2 board doesn't seem to have the middle cap position. But the general impression is the same...box a chocolates
Hi Abraxalito, I don't really know much about this kind of stuff, so please excuse me if this is a bit of an ignorant question. If the original capacitors in the amp are rated at 4700uF, why do you recommend getting a 2200uF cap? I understand the 25v, but why decrease the capacitance?
And, follow up question, what do you all think about replacing the original caps with Nichicon FG 4700uF 16v caps? Nichicons seem to be well regarded, so do you guys think there would be an improvement? Digi-key has them for just a couple bucks each.
UFG1C472MHM Nichicon | Capacitors | DigiKey
UFG1C472MHM Nichicon | Capacitors | DigiKey
Ignorant questions are the best kind, maybe the only real kind. If a person isn't questioning from ignorance they might be a lawyer. Its my understanding they're taught 'never ask any question you don't already know the answer to'.
Firstly capacitance isn't termed 'a rating'. Rather the capacitance is a value, the voltage is a rating.
Its a month or so ago but my understanding is that the physical space was limited - the higher the working voltage of a cap, the larger its physical size. Hence I made a suggestion of the largest value low ESR cap which I believed fitted in the available space. You can see, looking back that I posted about the possibility of using up to 3,300uF. If you can find a 4700uF/25V cap with low ESR which fits by all means use it! Bear in mind though that given a certain amount of space, a single large cap won't normally perform as well as a number of smaller valued caps wired in parallel.
About Nichicons - a fine brand indeed, though I have no experience with their 'audio grade' caps so can't vouch for the validity of claims such as 'richer sound in the bass register'.
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Thanks for the explanation, Abraxalito, that's helpful I wanted to see what the hype is all about with the Nichicons, so I got a couple 4700uf 16v's. They just came today, so hopefully I'll get some time this weekend to swap em out and give it a good listen. I will definitely post back with the results.
I'm also a little unsure how I'm going to get the glue off the capacitors, any tips?
Here's a couple pictures of the Nichicons to show that they are significantly larger than the caps in there now (the label is hard to read but I think they are Panasonic X-Pro, in case anyone wants to know), even though I matched the capacitance and voltage.
I wanted to see what the hype is all about with the Nichicons, so I got a couple 4700uf 16v's. They just came today, so hopefully I'll get some time this weekend to swap em out and give it a good listen. I will definitely post back with the results.I'm also a little unsure how I'm going to get the glue off the capacitors, any tips?
Here's a couple pictures of the Nichicons to show that they are significantly larger than the caps in there now (the label is hard to read but I think they are Panasonic X-Pro, in case anyone wants to know), even though I matched the capacitance and voltage.
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Just got one of these ,was hoping for a 3118 but received a 7492 PE packaged with the 12v 3.8 amp psu.Don't want to crack it open untill the 30 day return is up , although curiosity might get the better of me,
but after initially considering sending it back i decided to give it a listen.
I used my CWT 12v 5amp psu as i don't trust any of the packaged supplies that come with these amps,hooked up to my Sony cdp xb 720 e qs and feeding a brand new set of JBL control ones my ears lit up.Far better than i was expecting and 7 hours later i was still trawling through my cd collection and it was only the need for sleep that made me turn it off.
I'm a complete novice at the moment when it comes to diy but am planning on making this amp my first project.My only previous experience of class D comes from the Lapai 2024 Tripath i bought about 18 months ago and after 30 + years playing with Hi-Fi that little amp completely changed my listening experience and preconceptions of the requirements needed to achieve good audio.
To be honest i was planning on getting an Amptastic TA 2020 but no stock at present and their last post 2 months ago said they were waiting on a delivery of custom power supplies for the next production run and no updates since then.
I've asked this question in another thread but does anyone know the difference between the TDA 7492 and PE version chips as theres a huge difference in the recommended psu rating.are they different or has SMSL just used inferior components on the build which limits its capabilities ?
K
but after initially considering sending it back i decided to give it a listen.
I used my CWT 12v 5amp psu as i don't trust any of the packaged supplies that come with these amps,hooked up to my Sony cdp xb 720 e qs and feeding a brand new set of JBL control ones my ears lit up.Far better than i was expecting and 7 hours later i was still trawling through my cd collection and it was only the need for sleep that made me turn it off.
I'm a complete novice at the moment when it comes to diy but am planning on making this amp my first project.My only previous experience of class D comes from the Lapai 2024 Tripath i bought about 18 months ago and after 30 + years playing with Hi-Fi that little amp completely changed my listening experience and preconceptions of the requirements needed to achieve good audio.
To be honest i was planning on getting an Amptastic TA 2020 but no stock at present and their last post 2 months ago said they were waiting on a delivery of custom power supplies for the next production run and no updates since then.
I've asked this question in another thread but does anyone know the difference between the TDA 7492 and PE version chips as theres a huge difference in the recommended psu rating.are they different or has SMSL just used inferior components on the build which limits its capabilities ?
K
Try to give a look here where there are both the chip reported
http://www.st.com/content/ccc/resou...f/jcr:content/translations/en.BRAUDIO1013.pdf
Hello guys i did read this thread but im a bit confused now whats wrong with 7492PE? I have bought SMSL SA36A-Pro from aliexpress and this is what arrive. One capacitor and 7492PE should i care about some modifications like add two capacitors or add headsink? Its V3.5 board version.thanks!
Attachments
I was initially quite pleased with the amp as supplied + a cwt psu however it lasted less than one week.
Was listening to Greg Brown one evening volume at between 8-9 o'clock and suddenly an ear piercing noise from left channel followed by lots of hiss then silence followed a second later by the right channel going dead.
Had a look inside ( same build as yours but from Amazon ) didn't see any thing obvious but i don't know enough to give it a complete inspection / test .
The only thing that really stood out is how shoddy looking the whole build appeared , S.M.S.L seem to be applying the dreaded " quality fade " to their newer builds recently whether it's done intentionally or not i will never buy one of their products again the issue destroyed one of the tweeters on my new Jbl 's so it's back to my A/B stuff untill i save enough for a decent tube amp.
that is very sad story my friend, it making me nervous as if this SMSL broke my beloved speakers then i will smash it with hammer immediatly . Im using it about 2months now without problem but still reading and researching about peoples improving it with capacitors and so on. Im sorry about your JBL tweeters and i hope it was rare situation
PS:sorry for ma poor english.
. Im using it about 2months now without problem but still reading and researching about peoples improving it with capacitors and so on. Im sorry about your JBL tweeters and i hope it was rare situation PS:sorry for ma poor english.
that is very sad story my friend, it making me nervous as if this SMSL broke my beloved speakers then i will smash it with hammer immediatly
PS:sorry for ma poor english.
I think buying any of these cheap amps is a bit of a lottery to be honest. Some seem to last for ages others arrive dead in the box.
I have a little Lapai 2024 Tripath which in the mini -amp sector is about as cheap as it gets ( ready built ) and for almost 2 years it's been in daily use and used with many sources and speakers never missed a beat and has had some serious abuse . It 's now used for quick hook -up to test other components i can't resist buying from junk shops etc but every time i hear it it's love at first beat all over again. For me theres something magical about the 2024 chip, that despite hearing technically better specified stuff,that just captivates me.
I wouldn't worry to much about your amp most faults seem to become apparent not long after first using and at a couple of months use i would imagine its fine.
The worst thing i found was the gain with most volume between 8-9 o 'clock after which there wasn't much left before it all collapsed into compression and mush.
From what i see SMSL are just trying to save production costs by reducing the output of the chip in the SA 36 and spec 'ing it for max output in the SA 50 allowing them to produce both models at minimum cost and still provide a " base " model at the cheapest price .
When the 3118 was used there wasn't much difference in price between SA 36 -50 but now with the new model theres a significant amount,so marketing or production costs? either way a step backwards in my opinion .
Yes, slightly different. Looking at the overview of STMicroelectronics audio chips, I see that TDA7492P is rated for lower power than TDA7492PE.
Both versions are rated to work with DC supply of up to 26V (24V is probably the practical maximum). But I've seen those posts about the 'P' version burning up with higher than 15V DC supply.
Interesting that the 'PE' version can work with as low as 7V DC rail, while the 'P' version needs minimum 10V DC. However, TPA3116D2 can work with as low as 4.5V DC. I'm not sure if that has any practical consequence vis-a-vis home audio.
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I have one of the Breeze Audio TPA3116 amps. It doesn't have a power-off switch, just a standby switch. That's probably to get around the turn-on thump people have complained about. I find the amp sounds surprisingly good. I'm glad it hasn't burned up and blown my old Snell speakers' irreplaceable tweeters!
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Thanks for the info rongon....
I have one of the Breeze Audio TPA3116 amps. It doesn't have a power-off switch, just a standby switch. That's probably to get around the turn-on thump people have complained about. I find the amp sounds surprisingly good. I'm glad it hasn't burned up and blown my old Snell speakers' irreplaceable tweeters![/QUOTE
Now thats what i call living on the edge
I have one of the Breeze Audio TPA3116 amps. It doesn't have a power-off switch, just a standby switch. That's probably to get around the turn-on thump people have complained about. I find the amp sounds surprisingly good. I'm glad it hasn't burned up and blown my old Snell speakers' irreplaceable tweeters![/QUOTE
Now thats what i call living on the edge
Well i guess i'm a sucker for punishment ,after calming down regarding the failure of the SA 36 and the damage it did to my speakers,i almost ordered a SA 50 but changed my mind and now have a Topping TP 22 Tripath arriving tomorrow.
Like all these amps mixed opinions and experiences the main issue seems to be channel imbalance at low volume but i've had plenty of relatively expensive amps that suffer this so fingers crossed that i get a " good one"
Like all these amps mixed opinions and experiences the main issue seems to be channel imbalance at low volume but i've had plenty of relatively expensive amps that suffer this so fingers crossed that i get a " good one"
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