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TPA 3116 vs the tripaths

Poultrygeist said:
A faint pop on 89 db speakers is not a big deal but on 98 db speakers it can be very annoying.
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I see, so its a function of the efficiency of the speakers. I am not having that issue with my Pioneers because at 85 db, they are "absorbing" the pop. My NHTs are about the same at 87 db.
 
Here I go again

Put away YJ black and now testing ChengZhi blue board. This one is totally another animal - no pops no cracks on powering on/off! Sound is excellent via 1x12AU7 tube Dynavox tpr-2 preamp, and no more issues on higher volume here, experienced with that spk.protect. board earlier. :banana:

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Jadran said:
Put away YJ black and now testing ChengZhi blue board. This one is totally another animal - no pops no cracks on powering on/off! Sound is excellent via 1x12AU7 tube Dynavox tpr-2 preamp, and no more issues on higher volume here, experienced with that spk.protect. board earlier. :banana:

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Thanks, Good info. Looks like these TPA3116 boards are slowly evolving and the glitches are being engineered out. What site did you order this board from?
 
dlh2 said:
Thanks, Good info. Looks like these TPA3116 boards are slowly evolving and the glitches are being engineered out. What site did you order this board from?
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You're welcome, yes there are so many boards around. This one is rare, I found it at panli shop - taobao agent, kind of complicated shoping there but they are realiable.
However, I would recommend this green one off Aliexpress there are some very positive feedbacks out there, and the price is unbeatable. Might get one for myself as well?!
 
Mini RCA plug

Hi guys,

My TPA3116 board (back/blue 2.0) did not come with a mini RCA plug. Do you where I can get one (looks like a std. plug)? Tried the search function but did get anything (sorry for the question if it's been asked already).

Appreciate any inputs

Thanks
 
YJ - second chance

As I was doing some caps replacement on one of my preamp. boards (6N3) so decided - while solder iron is hot :D - to play a little with that problematic YJ black&blue board.
I took out 2 DC power caps and 4 inductors and replaced those with 2 Blue Elko's 1000µF/35V BC, and 4 Coilcraft's RFS1412-223KE. Inductors I got earlier from the company as the free samples (really generous folks at Coilcraft, must admit!)
Well, there are bad and good news now - bad is - ON/OFF cracks in speakers remain :gigglemad
Not sure but noticed that RCA connector caused some cracks as well, not so good connection with RCA input cable - this is something Poultrygeist suggested earlier I think, so could be related or not? Will play with that tomorrow and fix stable connection for the input signal.

Good news are: inductors are dead cool all the time - like Horacio from CSI Miami :D
Heatsink of the chip warm, but that's normal.
Sound; brilliant, crisp and clear, a lot of bass as well. Separation is excellent, while focusing 'mathematically' exact. Someone might call such sound 'analytical' and it's definitely different than anything I can hear from my tube amplifiers. Tube amps. have that 'warm touch' while this one is more clean, and just as those inductors - very cool. Perfect for the summer time.
Yet, still need to do some forensic investigation where is the problem with those 'cracks'
Horacio would agree, me think :D
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For me, while the turn on "pop" can get loud with red boards, I just crank the gain down on my red boards when I power up. I've tried them with no input at all connected, same thing, it's not the tube pre amp that causes it. It might be the mono mods I made to my board, but I think others with a stock red board have mentioned it too.

In any case, since the tubes on my pre take some time to warm up at initial power on, doesn't matter much. With tubes the sound at start up is bad as it is.

You have some nice builds going Jadran, I saw your other post in the tube pre thread, good job. Looks like you have a very nice integrated in place, so quit tweaking and enjoy :) That's what I have done.
 
Yes Lico, thanks, think I'm done with YJ black and this set-up, and already enjoyed the first hour listening how is great sounding this mish-mash :D Box needs to be finished and that's it.
But the best part of all after struggling with those annoying cracks is that are gone - GONE for good :banana: I think the key solution is in four inductors, dc power caps, and the proper wiring of the input signal. I simply did remove that RCA terminal from the wires and solder the ends directly to the 6N3 board's outputs. (Image will follow, 'cause posting from mobile now).
 
I know, I'm late to the party but I got my red board yesterday along with a few accessories (took 14 days) and made a trip to Radio Shack today for a few more items. Can't wait to get started!
 

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dlh2 said:
I know, I'm late to the party but I got my red board yesterday along with a few accessories (took 14 days) and made a trip to Radio Shack today for a few more items. Can't wait to get started!
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Looks good, welcome to the club! I am awaiting my 4th TPA3116 board. Prior to my participation in this thread, I had never built an audio component.
 
dlh2 said:
I know, I'm late to the party but I got my red board yesterday along with a few accessories (took 14 days) and made a trip to Radio Shack today for a few more items. Can't wait to get started!
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Glad you joined us. The great fun of putting it together may only be surpassed by it's excellent sound.

Didn't see a power supply in your picture?

Those RCA inputs are very flimsy so don't use tight cables as they can pull them apart. I had that happen twice before cutting them off and soldering the leads to better quality RCA's.

The plug in input cable that comes with some of the boards looks to have three leads so the ground lead must be shared. The one with the RCA's attached is a little easier to work with as it has four leads.
 
Promised earlier to post more about removed RCA terminal. Well, since it's gone and signal wires are soldered to the preamplifier board directly no more 'pops, cracks' in speakers. New, better and higher value inductors helped a lot as well, better DC power caps too! What a relief... phew
Have also improved power connection for the board with that metal sockets, but for the truth it was PITA, so small pins and hole not wide enough for the cable, it took me more than an hour to fix it.

@dlh2, Welcome to the party and post the news, hope you will be luckier with that RCA plugs. :thmbsp:

@davidflas, congratulations! my first build out of nothing too, although I was doing a lot of mods to my other gear previously. This thingy makes it even more interesting to play with, almost feel like a kido in the Lego land :D

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