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TPA 3116 vs the tripaths

I started out using these but found that the silver caps pulled right off with tight cables. My solution was cutting off the RCA end and soldering the leads to the cheap RCA jacks from PE that I posted earlier.

There are two white and two black leads. White is soldered to the RCA jack center pin ( positive ) and the black ground leads are soldered to the side tab ( shell ).


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Cranked the blue 3116 right now with my test speakers, little klh 911b s. Listening to Nirvana Unpluuged. Pretty f-ing good. Authorative.
 
lacro said:
If you remember to turn the pot all the way down before powering on/off, it will solve the turn on/off pop, at least it did for me, but sometimes I forget:nono:
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I think my passive pre does not really 0 out...but it does go to 11 ;). I think I will cut in the Alps pot tomorrow and see what that does.
 
And a well deserved 100 pages too! Great thread that introduced many people to these great little cheap amps, and got some folks introduced to DIY as well I think. It's always nice to see that great sound isn't always about spending a lot of money.
 
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tpa3110 is very much like the tpa3116 family, almost everything is the same. with powersupplies below 15V minimum speakerimpedance is 3.2 ohm, like the 3116 family, but with powersupplies above 15V minimum speakerimpedance for 3110 becomes 4.8 ohm, for 3116 it remains 3.2 ohm !!!

When listening to the sure3110 bass could sound limited. TI did not limit low frequency ability of tpa3110, but Sure did when chosing 0.22uF for inputcapacitor. It isn't much but it is audible if room/speakers produce the bass. -3dB ~ 25hz, -0.5dB ~ 75hz (that becomes just audible) attenuation starts ~250hz (inaudible)


all this tpa's can be used "filterfree" but filterfree means TI does use ferrite beads and a small capacitor and with the 3116 family also a capacitor with resistor called a snubber, and TI calls it filterfree then. Now what do Sure-Chinese understand when reading filterfree??? Yes they make a schematic which shows the ferrite beads and the little capacitor, but produce a version without the ferrite beads :) TI filterfree is according to (FCC) regulations with twisted speakercables up to 1.25 meter, without the ferrites it is not, with longer cables it is not. This might not mean much, you just use the speakerwires as antennas to transmit at 250khz to 350khz (500-700khz 2H). It could disrupt other equipement and when you live in a city there might be laws, when you live near military base too :) Some countries/states/cities do have very severe penalties, mostly where many people live in small area. The sure3110 can be sold because it is not a finished product, it is a DIY part.
 
Well, finally got my SMSL SA-36 Pro today (after not being home to sign for it on the 27th.) They supposedly shipped it on the 5th. Sitting here now doing some listening to different genres to see how it plays. It really sounds fine to these 67 yr old ears. My grandson (9) is lying on the floor listening with me. He says it sounds good to him too. Not a bad purchase for less than $50.00 in my opinion!
 
Jadran said:
Vol.pot. does not solve the 'pop' issue. It's been widely disscused on DIY forum and no simple solution to it. Only the green board(s) are constructed that way to be 'pop' free by default.
I'm about to build my first black board, as finally got all necessary parts this week. Earlier bought AC input terminal with filter, power on/off switch, and fuse, so will see how it does help, if at all?!
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Hmmm, yes, let me know, I would love to find a workaround. I may hold off on cutting in the ALPS. Jadran, if you find your solution works, let me know and advise re a parts list.

Also interested in whether you think the green board sounds superior to the blue/black. That green board is a tiny thing! Sheesh.
 
phalanger said:
And a well deserved 100 pages too! Great thread that introduced many people to these great little cheap amps, and got some folks introduced to DIY as well I think. It's always nice to see that great sound isn't always about spending a lot of money.
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Agree completely! It made me get out my soldering gun again. So far I have only burned a few things in the process...oy...but mostly successful.
 
Poultrygeist said:
I started out using these but found that the silver caps pulled right off with tight cables. My solution was cutting off the RCA end and soldering the leads to the cheap RCA jacks from PE that I posted earlier.

There are two white and two black leads. White is soldered to the RCA jack center pin ( positive ) and the black ground leads are soldered to the side tab ( shell ).
Click to expand...

Those PE RCAs are a good deal, I picked up some at a similar price elsewhere awhile back. Never ended up using them in my build though, since I re purposed the existing jacks.

Having a mini audio input on these boards would more sense than the 3 pin connector - there is one board out there that has it (I'm sure it's been mentioned before in this thread but thought I'd mention it again). Especially for those with portable players.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TPA3116-50W...mplifier_Parts_Components&hash=item2a3df87282
 
Does the TPA-3116 have a standby or mute mode? Probably what the switch is for. Single pole, so it's definitely not in series with the speaker outputs! ;)
 
J English said:
Hey 100 pages! WTF.
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It's a testament to how much fun the 3116 is.

In terms of replies, this thread is now #2 on Modern Audio, behind "So what are you listening to tonight?".

In terms of views, it's #3 behind the same "what are you listening to tonight" thread and Art's Rega Brio-R thread, which seems to a massive number of views, most of which are probably from Art :)

I predict the 3116 thread will overtake them all.
 
chicks said:
Does the TPA-3116 have a standby or mute mode? Probably what the switch is for. Single pole, so it's definitely not in series with the speaker outputs! ;)
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Yeah... there is a mute input (normally grounded thru a resistor on most of these boards), that I believe when driven high by an external pre amp could solve the speaker pop issue at turn on. That's about all I know.. the green board must do something like that.
 
I'm curious if anyone has actually run the 3116 in PBTL Mono mode yet? And if there are any sonic or other advantages (or disadvantages) to that, other than increasing max. output. Also how many ampere PSU should ideally be used when doing that (10A?)

I kinda feel like ordering a 2nd green board and using them as dual mono, but then again 2x50w is pretty much enough for my system so I'm wondering if it would be a complete waste of time/money or not.
 
Hey PG, congrats on a 1,500 (and counting) post thread! It's not often that a thread on AK or anywhere gets me to part with my money, but I'm glad this one did. It seems like the TPA3116 is really the beginning of maturity for a new Hi-Fi renaissance.
 
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