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TPA325x amps: the next step in Class D?

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I think they need to come down in price to where the 3116s are now before I consider them I already have 4 3116 amps that I don't use. I like them I just don't have anywhere to put them. I consider them spares in case of an accident.
 
KingBubba said:
I think they need to come down in price to where the 3116s are now before I consider them I already have 4 3116 amps that I don't use. I like them I just don't have anywhere to put them. I consider them spares in case of an accident.
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I hope they don't come down in price. The sound quality you get for what they cost now is incredible, flat out incredible and the ultra low cost I think contributes to these amps not being taken seriously. $55 shipped for an amp of this quality that puts out >100W and does 4 ohm or even 2 ohm(!!!) with the 3251 is. In. sane.

The next level of experimentation is swapping out the opamps on the boards that allow it. I think there's plenty of sound quality improvement still left on the table. Normally I would have forged ahead with tweaking but my 3eaudio TPA3251 sounds so good I just haven't felt the urge, especially as theirs has opamps soldered directly to the board.
 
A very curious reply there wushuliu. I got a cellphone for twelve dollars that used to be $215. I wouldn't wish that you could not get a similar deal. You leave me puzzled.
 
KingBubba said:
A very curious reply there wushuliu. I got a cellphone for twelve dollars that used to be $215. I wouldn't wish that you could not get a similar deal. You leave me puzzled.
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If we're comparing audio amplifiers to the cell phone market then I'm in the wrong thread.
 
Great idea, thanks for starting this thread on the next series of TPA chips.

I have REALLY enjoyed playing with TPA-based amps and learned a ton from these forums. I started by buying boards, then moved to buying the cheap, pre-built units. I love pushing the price-to-performance ratio. The nobsound/breeze TPA3116 amps blew me away on that front. Plus they had a nice case and form factor. I put them all over the house. :)

Then I tried the TPA325x-based amps, like the one you show and the FX502SPro. They are a big step up in sound quality vs the nobsound/breeze, it isn't even close. (I haven't dipped into the Allo line, so I can't comment on their products.)

Please share any TPA325x-based amps y'all find. As designs improve, I'll surely get more. :) At these prices, one can experiment much more easily.
 
bubba42 said:
Please share any TPA325x-based amps y'all find. As designs improve, I'll surely get more. :) At these prices, one can experiment much more easily.
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If it has not been linked already, the $55 3255 with replaceable opamps are available here. There is also a 3251 version for 2-4ohm.

The TPA chips/amps don't have much real direct competition (2-8ohm capable, up to 300w, single rail PS and .006 THD) and therefore are really only competing with themselves. The TPA3116/8 amp prices have been stable for several years now and have been appearing in higher end mainstream products. The 3116 has been so popular that the 325x have been much slower to gain traction even after 3 years, despite being audibly better.

At $55, the amp I linked above is ripe for power supply cap and opamp swapping. Every TPA amp I've ever owned, going back to their earliest versions some 8(?) years ago, responded audibly to power supply caps changes, both in value and by brand (Elna vs. Nichicon, etc).
 
wushuliu said:
If it has not been linked already, the $55 3255 with replaceable opamps are available here. There is also a 3251 version for 2-4ohm.

The TPA chips/amps don't have much real direct competition and therefore are really only competing with themselves. The TPA3116/8 amp prices have been stable for several years now and have been appearing in higher end mainstream products. The 3116 has been so popular that the 325x have been much slower to gain traction even after 3 years, despite being audibly better.

At $55, the amp I linked above is ripe for power supply cap and opamp swapping. Every TPA amp I've ever owned, going back to their earliest versions some 8(?) years ago, responded audibly to power supply caps changes, both in value and by brand (Elna vs. Nichicon, etc).
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Any advice or links to swapping opamps in these units would be appreciated, especially on what makes a good opamp. I've never done it, but assume it's something like tube rolling. Changing caps is no problem for me.
 
wushuliu said:
If it has not been linked already, the $55 3255 with replaceable opamps are available here. There is also a 3251 version for 2-4ohm.
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Thanks for the link. I hadn't seen that one before.
You have the 3251 version?
Guess I didn't follow what you posted in comment #24.
 
Gnesen said:
Any advice or links to swapping opamps in these units would be appreciated, especially on what makes a good opamp. I've never done it, but assume it's something like tube rolling. Changing caps is no problem for me.
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Not much advice since there have only been a couple reports so far at diyaudio (don't know how this forum feels about other forum links but there's an active TPA3255 thread at their Class D section). But since these amps use the ubiquitous 5532s you should be safe with any of the usual opamps that are often swapped with it like OPA2134/2227, LM4562 and its variants, etc. Currently at the other forum a member has used OPA627 and the newer OPA1622. The 1622 has outstanding specs so I'd be most curious about that one.

Arguments can be made that the opamps supplied with the amp is all you need and optimized for the amp, but the same thing has been said for other gear with opamps for decades now and opamp-swapping is as popular now as it was then.
 
45rpmspinner said:
Thanks for the link. I hadn't seen that one before.
You have the 3251 version?
Guess I didn't follow what you posted in comment #24.
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I have the 3eaudio TPA3251. But I will probably get one of these other cheaper ones to mess with at some point.
 
Just a heads up...
I've been eyeing a TPA325x after having heard one driving a pair of Yamaha NS1000.
Check the item origin / item location. Some of the ones i've seen are from Wuhan, China.

*edit*
If anything, estimated delivery times might not hold.
And theres the issue of the virus.
 
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