I have been buying some of the Class D boards to play with of late and this is my latest purchase. It is one of the newer ones being sold by Parts Express. In the last few months I have bought many of the cheap Chinese boards on Ebay including the TPA3116, TPA3118, TDA8932,TDA7498 and B&O 50ASX50 boards to compare. My horns do not require a lot of power so my choice of boards reflect my choice of boards. I think this latest board will deliver in the neighborhood of 25 clean watts realistically into 8 ohms. I am not going to comment too much on the sound right now after such a short listening period but first impressions are very positive. Nothing nasty has shown itself. Right now I am running it with a 24V switcher turned up to 30V but I have the parts to build a proper linear supply coming. Very quick and dynamic sounding with very good bass. Vocals are nice as well. I need to directly compare the vocals with some of my other amps for a better comparison. Right now I still like the B&O Icepower 50ASX50 over the others for it's tube like vocals. Class D has made some significant advances in audiophile sound. This is my first Sure board and it appears to be good quality. I was turned off some by the use of a fan but it has only came on once for a short period for the few hours I have used the board. I really did not notice any noise when it came on and would have only known it came on while changing sides of an LP.
I own many amps which are better among them being the new V-fet and and many tube amps among them being an SET 300B. I listened to this board for a couple of hours non stop without any listener fatigue and nothing evil showing itself. I could live with this board if it were my only amp all for only $40 and a PS.
I own many amps which are better among them being the new V-fet and and many tube amps among them being an SET 300B. I listened to this board for a couple of hours non stop without any listener fatigue and nothing evil showing itself. I could live with this board if it were my only amp all for only $40 and a PS.
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This board is a step up from the cheap ones I have tried with my speakers. The TPA3118 is decent but "thin" sounding is the best way I know to describe it. I think it would be wise if one wants the best bang for the money to go with a Sure board or Hifimediy if not one of the super good B&O Icepower ones available. With inefficient speakers things change but Sure makes more powerful boards as well. Respected diy friends of mine say a linear PS is a must if you want to get the most out of any of the boards. I personally have tried 4 different TPA3116 boards and have not been impressed. This is with my speakers in my room. Nothing wrong with them but I feel one can do much better for a little more money. I would not call them audiophile quality. I am sure if one goes to changing parts to improve a TPA3116 they would sound much better but why go to the trouble when you can buy a better board to start with for just a little more money. I am a serious Class A SS or tube fan but some of these D boards sound darn good. Too good for what they cost. I probably will not be listening to any of these Class D boards too much, I am just seeing what is out there. I have 5 Nelson Pass Clones along with many excellent tube amps to choose from that do sound better. The race is close though, no runaway.
If you haven't listened to a proper 3116/8 amp, then...
If you're just cycling through stock Sure boards what do you expect? You get what you pay for. And if your 3116 sounds 'thin' then something is wrong or poorly mated. I can make mine sound thin, fat, or just right. If you don't have a handle on how to mate the amp to your gear then you are just rolling the dice on these comparisons.
I knew what I said about the TPA3116 boards was going to get some flack. I am now using the new B1 R2 buffer most of the time. As with amps I have many pre amplifiers and buffers to use. All I can say is what I hear with my speakers in my room. When I said the TPA3116 sounds "thin" this is with a stock board using pots or a buffer. The 4 stock TPA3116 boards I have tried are adequate sounding but fatigue me out after an hour of listening with one. The TPA3118 board I tried was much better than any of the TPA3116 boards I tried and I did not detect any listener fatique after an hour of using. Again this is with horns not conventional speakers.
This is the first Sure board I have tried and I am impressed with the sound for the money but I have not directly compared it to one of my TPA3116 boards. The only D board I have tried that truly sounds on par with some of my better amps is the B&O ICEpower 50ASX2. Tremendous value for $99 if one can get by with only 20 clean watts. It has the power supply built in saving the expense of a outboard supply. You will need a buffer or pre to drive it. It needs a low impedance source, meaning you cannot just use pots for volume control.
One must consider with my statements that I am using 103db horns. Amps and speakers must work as a team and others using conventional speakers may find different results. Also my opinion is subject to change.
I wondered about that myself. If I had to take a wild guess, being that the T chipsets have been obsolete for a pretty long time, it is a Chinese clone. Reading their description is a giveaway too. " Sure Electronics T-AMP technology". I recognized this before purchasing. I am a generic kind of guy so it did not matter to me. Sure has a very good reputation for making good sounding D boards at reasonable prices. I am not a Sure fanatic, this being my first board. It just sounds better than it should for $40. The B&O Icepower is the best D board I have tried with my speakers in my room. This Sure board is a very good cheap board as well. Class D has made tremendous advances. I remember reading about Class D amps decades ago and how they were going to revolutionize the market.
Pretty sure all those sure T-AMP are variations of tripath TK2050, same control chip, TC2001, but different output. The original TK2050 has sta506, for higher power use sta508, 510, 516, etc. instead.
FWIW, TK2050 is the best sounding tripath amp, there were many discussion here back to around 2010.
Only because there wasn't enough context. Those stock boards are not configured for your gear, plain and simple. Your quick fatigue is the clue. Can't really blame the TPA for that. They are not set it and forget it amps that can be paired with any speaker, especially the stock chinese stuff. I'm glad you are enjoying other amps.
I am sure you are correct. What works with one type of speaker does not always mean it will sound the same with another kind. I have modified Klipsch horns and they are very unforgiving. A few years ago I built my F6 and it seriously disappointed me at first. After many changes to my my X-over networks over a period of weeks if not months and finding the right preamp, buffer it is now one of my favorites and all my other 20 amps sound much better too. One cannot really expect a $10 Chinese board to sound like a serious Class A amp without doing some serious mods as you pointed out. I have been tempted a few times to build one of the Wiener TPA3118's of which I have heard excellent reviews. I certainly did not mean to say there is a problem with the TDA3116 chip but I am only referring to the cheap Chinese boards I have tried. How one of these new Sure boards would sound with your speakers can only be said by you. The 3116, 3118 threads are too long with too many satisfied users not to be an inherently fine chip.
I am still in awe of this new $40 Sure board with my speakers in my room.
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