TPA 3116 vs the tripaths

I believe the SMSL amp uses a different, but similar TPA chip. It sounds basically the same, but has much less power. 25W vs. 50W (at maximum rating, of course).

The "Latest" amp adopts a German weimaraner! :D

All I have first hand experience with is the Sure boards, and they do sound great. But of course you're on your own for enclosures. If you go with the "Latest" amp, hope that the components (capacitors especially) are real, and not fakes.
 
jhoyt said:
I believe the SMSL amp uses a different, but similar TPA chip. It sounds basically the same, but has much less power. 25W vs. 50W (at maximum rating, of course).

The "Latest" amp adopts a German weimaraner! :D

All I have first hand experience with is the Sure boards, and they do sound great. But of course you're on your own for enclosures. If you go with the "Latest" amp, hope that the components (capacitors especially) are real, and not fakes.
Click to expand...

Check power again in Texas Instruments datasheet.
 
That 25W reference was from the SMSL auction text for the TPA3118D2. Is this what you're referring to?
 
I guess I should make my intentions a bit clearer. I don't mind doing assembly from a board if it gives better results but I do not intend to do any mods. If a finished amp gives very close to the same results I will take the lazy way out.

From what has been written here it seems the 3118 is just a 3116 without heat sink so it delivers or is rated for a little less power, 20 vs 25w. Not a problem for my intended uses. There is no way any of these amps will put out enough power to drive my 82db (in)efficient M-3si or enough current to cope with the demands of the bass boost from my Kef 107 KUBE (we used to shut down LV-105s and Audiolab 8000As with bass notes while doing demos at the store). This would be for desktop or office system use.

Are all SMSL SA-36A PRO amps from the same source or do I have to worry about inferior versions?
 
Raynald said:
I guess I should make my intentions a bit clearer. I don't mind doing assembly from a board if it gives better results but I do not intend to do any mods. If a finished amp gives very close to the same results I will take the lazy way out.

From what has been written here it seems the 3118 is just a 3116 without heat sink so it delivers or is rated for a little less power, 20 vs 25w. Not a problem for my intended uses. There is no way any of these amps will put out enough power to drive my 82db (in)efficient M-3si or enough current to cope with the demands of the bass boost from my Kef 107 KUBE (we used to shut down LV-105s and Audiolab 8000As with bass notes while doing demos at the store). This would be for desktop or office system use.

Are all SMSL SA-36A PRO amps from the same source or do I have to worry about inferior versions?
Click to expand...

I haven't heard of fakes.. I have personally had my SMSL SA-S3 t-amp for going on 3yrs I guess now.. it was well built and has had no issues.

I bought mine from this seller on ebay who is still there with high feedback so I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them again.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SMSL-SA-36A...rg=20131231084308&rk=7&rkt=24&sd=121351610214


I also enjoy this somewhat random picture of santa on a jet ski they use in their ads ALL YEAR LONG ???
 
possibly dumb question..but looking at the listening for the 3118 based SMSL SA-36A Pro, could one open it up and put a little heatsink with themal tape on the 3118 chip (seems to have room for some little memory heatsinks) and then run it harder / up towards 3116 output levels? or would other design /component choices still leave it lagging behind the 3116 on output?

I'm sort of surprised SMSL , Muse or Topping have not yet jumped abord the 3116 bandwagon..
 
Raynald said:
Great thread. Now I know why I did not get an answer when I posted about the 3116 in Solid State, everyone is hanging out here!

Having read all 164 pages I feel like I have done my due diligence and can start asking questions here. It seems like a pretty good way to start for a first 3116 type project would be the Sure board:

http://store.sure-electronics.com/aa-ab32178
Click to expand...

I have both the Blue/Black Yuan-Jing board and the green Audiobah board. The Audiobah board is really, really, really, for real great. Without any modifications. There is an almost inaudible turn on/turn off pop as an added bonus.

I replaced, without any great expectations, the electrolytic capacitors on the Blue/Blac Yuan-Jing board for some Rubicon YXF ones. No difference at all. Not even a slight placebo effect.

I replaced them on the notion that they the original Jamicons would be fake or out of spec. I measured them afterwards, and they were indeed some 50uF off. Other than that, no anomalies...

attachment.php


My meter shows an ESR of 0.00 ohms, which might not be accurate. Still, I have issues with believing that the PSU capacitors can have remotely as much influence on the sound quality as some of the reports on this forum claims.

The ripple rejection on the TPA3116 is quite good, and I want someone to show me why it isn't sufficiently good to not perform different when used with regulated power supply and a battery. The claim is that a regulated PSU is better. The Audiobah board, for me, is exactly the same whether I use a Dell laptop charger, a regulated PSU with a toroidal transformer or batteries. A Lenovo laptop charger didn't change anything either.

I'm not trying to start a flame ware here, but I sincerely think that insulated cables and a preamp improves the performance of these boards a whole lot more than the PSU caps.
 

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tpa3118=tpa3116 only topheatsink pad 3116 is placed on bottom chip for 3118. A heatsinkless 3116 is less powerfull than a heatsinkless 3118 LOL I never needed a heatsink for my 3116's.
 
Raynald said:
I guess I should make my intentions a bit clearer. I don't mind doing assembly from a board if it gives better results but I do not intend to do any mods. If a finished amp gives very close to the same results I will take the lazy way out.

From what has been written here it seems the 3118 is just a 3116 without heat sink so it delivers or is rated for a little less power, 20 vs 25w. Not a problem for my intended uses. There is no way any of these amps will put out enough power to drive my 82db (in)efficient M-3si or enough current to cope with the demands of the bass boost from my Kef 107 KUBE (we used to shut down LV-105s and Audiolab 8000As with bass notes while doing demos at the store). This would be for desktop or office system use.

Are all SMSL SA-36A PRO amps from the same source or do I have to worry about inferior versions?
Click to expand...

I ordered my SMSL SA-36 Pro from this site because I wanted to be sure it came from an authorized SMSL dealer and had the latest circuit board version. I got the 24V power supply with it. See the Q&A's...

http://www.shenzhenaudio.com/smsl-sa-36a-pro-20wpc-tpa3118d2-digital-amplifier-power-adapter.html
 
Coucal said:
Has anyone tried one of these with the TPA3116 - specifically the Sure board, but any feedback would be greatly appreciated?:scratch2:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BK-6J1-x2-H..._Audio_Amplifiers_Preamps&hash=item5d4ad01a76
Click to expand...


I had one of those back in March, and liked the hint of tube sweetness it produced when connected to a TPA 3116 "red board". I upgraded to a Little Bear P3 pre, then to a P8, but ultimately settled on a version 1.2 P3 which I now use with a Sure TPA3116 to great effect. I feel the extra $25 that the P3 costs is worth it.

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showpost.php?p=7643644&postcount=313
 
dlh2 said:
I ordered my SMSL SA-36 Pro from this site because I wanted to be sure it came from an authorized SMSL dealer and had the latest circuit board version. I got the 24V power supply with it. See the Q&A's...

http://www.shenzhenaudio.com/smsl-sa-36a-pro-20wpc-tpa3118d2-digital-amplifier-power-adapter.html
Click to expand...


I ordered one myself a couple of days ago from the same site. I had a Muse TA2020 T-amp a few years back and liked the sound quality but it had trouble driving the speakers that I was using at the time. The Klipsch Quartets that I am using now are a lot more sensitive and I am anxious to try this little amp with them.:yes:
 
natger said:
This one seems to have 100k outputimpedance. That would really be a mismatch with any 3116 and probably with any other poweramp IMO
Click to expand...


Oh, well - for $2.79 plus P&P I'll give it a bash. I just wonder if the 100k is input impedance, not output. Or perhaps should have read 100Ω and something got lost in translation. Thanks for the input.:D
 
Finally got around to testing a tpa 3116.
Yesterday.

Audiobah board with wires gaffer taped to a maple plank to keep things from sliding around.
Sitting on top of an Astron RS-12A.
No mods, took minutes to set up.
Looks like a grade 4 science project.
So ugly it is unbearable.
Have to turn off the lights to listen.

Took a few pictures but can't figure out how to post them from my touchpad.
It's a good thing I suppose.

Not being experienced in DIY, first run was done like this.
POS Denon CD player --> soundstage killer Yaqin pre --> Audiobah/Astron --> flat and lifeless Ratshack vintage speakers.

Not only did nothing blow up but after a couple of hours things were actually sounding pretty good.
With everything crowded onto a coffee table the little speakers, with only a couple of feet between, were throwing a noticeably large soundstage that was not only wide but had really good depth.
Better than expected bass, good clarity, nice dynamics, blah blah blah, blahblahblah...blah.
Encouraging.

So tonight it was with great anticipation that Audiobah/Astron was introduced into this system.
Oppo blueray --> Beard pre --> Audiobah/Astron --> diy University 312 open baffle.

Fifteen hours in and this is my impression:
Audiobah/Astron is insanely good.

Art
 
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