Aiyima A70 speaker amplifier review - lil'boy that has it all
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- Опубліковано 17 вер 2024
- As you may remember, Im trying to follow class D development as (IMHO) there is great potential for superb sound quality from very compact devices.
This time we have newest and the best of Aiyima amps - A70. New looks, XLRs, 12V trigger, sub out - what more would you need?
I have no idea why no one was using PFFB earlier as literally every TPA3255 has this technology.
You can get yours from the same shop I got mine from (so tested as safe and reliable - and thats not always the case, but you do not get to see the reviews for the equipement that was damaged or lost on the way, obviously):
Grab one for ~150USD here:
s.click.aliexp...
and remember that tonight there will be a Ali sale so you can lower the price via some coupons!
Looking foreward to your comparison of chinese famous amp clones.
Love this review .
thank you
Doing God’s work
Love to see how it stacks up to the Loxjie-a40, not many A40 reviews around
Yes Loxjie in general is not as popular, which is great for buyers because it lowers the prices :)
(Huge fan of D40 and D40 Pro here!)
Hi, have you had a chance to listen to the Aiyima T9 Pro? If so, I was wondering if you can compare the sound against the A70. Thank you.
T9 - but these are very familiar. T9 is less precise, has less detail, but if you love tube sound you may like it even with stock tubes. Sound wise, A70 is better.
Thanks for the review very analytical I'm skeptical about class d amps in general ,can you compare the sound with musical a1 class a clone you recently evaluated, the mids have the same body and 3d sound ! or less.
@@nikosdm well that wouldn't be a fair race as MFA1 is clone of one of the legendary A class amps and even as a clone costs like 2.5 or 3 times more. But it doesn't sound thin, though it doesn't have same level 3dimensionality. It sounds different from all 3255 amps that I've reviewed previously. And I get that you're sceptical, I was like that after getting A07. But then I realized these are baby steps now: and the development goes in the right direction. So I try to get every interesting device that brings something new to the table (like last week I got BRU5, 3255 with programmable DSP chip inside).
No way will these cheap Class D amps sound as musical as an A1. They are not bad, though, and have their purpose.
@@ChicagoRob2 Exactly, they are not as musical as MFA1, but the fact is that 90prc amps on the market is not as musical as this MF excells in this regard. But this particular cheap amp IS musical which is like light from heavens - another step for D-class!!
@@k4syx You could put together a killer system with the A70, $129 Schiit DAC, and Elac speakers. You could add a Wiim streamer and still be less than $1000, total.
@@ChicagoRob2 Yes! It's a great time to be a music lover as entry point is very low, and with every d-class generation it gets lower. Same for DACs, former flagship Sabres and AKs are really available now and 4493 or 9028 are still amazing chips!
When the volume is turned up, does the volume knob turn beyond the '+'? Not that anyone would listen at that level 😂 but just want to check if there are QC issues. I also observed that at very low volume levels ~ 1db there is some imbalance in channels which goes away as volume increases...
yes it does, these + and - are more for general info than scale. You can also remove the knob and put it back in the position you like more :)
Havent heard this imbalance, I wasnt listening with volume so low :)
Great review
Thank you!
fyi the 3db boost barely seems audible, and xlr is not really louder either compared to rca
@@chinmeysway standard max V level for XLR is +2V to -2V, for RCA it's 2V. If your sources follow this you'll have twice as much on the XLR as on RCA so unless there is a gain reduction XLR will be louder. That was also true for A70 in my tests, but the reason was not the A70 itself but the source voltage level :)
Yes the 3dB boost is not very loud, but I would still recommend enabling it when using both inputs. Cheers!
@@k4syxok thank you. oh one thing - is there a way to boost voltage level from say an iphone first before it hits an amplifier?
@@chinmeysway I'd say that you're looking for some kind of preamp or maybe an USB dongle with line out?
So now you have to get the Fosi v3 mono's as well because those also have pffb. But maybe the class D Mono blocks you already teased out do this already.
Now that you’ve had the A70:for a while, what’s your recommendation for reasonably priced opamps? Any experience with the OPA1656? Schiit uses them in the Modi+ DAC and they sound quite good.
OPA series are a very good choice, in the descending order: OPA828, OPA627,OPA1656 and OPA1612 (both at the third place)
@@k4syx Have you tried your akliam lc5 with the a70? will it be a good budget choice for the a70 or is there anything else that i should go for around that budget?
@@madeuce190 These are the best within that budget, however A70 has no space for anything discrete I am afraid. Even if you'll fit them with adapters (they are too tall to fit straight into the sockets) then you'll have problems with cooling and venting the heat as there's very little space between the boards...
@@k4syx i think ill use those dip8 flexible extenders. those should allow the lc5 to lie horizontally on the bottom board with a double sided foam tape between them working as a insulator. worst case, ill have to leave the enclosure open but that doesnt bother me much. performance is all that matters after all. but hey, thanks for the input on the lc5. placed an order on ali, now the wait begins haha.
@@madeuce190 these are great, but be warned that they DO need air circulation as they run hot. If you'll insulate them to be sure they will not touch anything (which is what we do want to avoid) it will also keep them from cooling down :(
I ordered a D5 Pro from Fun Kenya HiFi store via Ali Express back in June and they gave me a delivery date of 8/8 but never actually sent the amp. Now they are saying I need to put the order in again and then they will refund my money for the first order. Ha ha! I think I've got my fingers burnt here. I wouldn't advise anyone to deal with this shop. Don't do it, all that glitters is not gold!
@@michaelbooth6007 have you tried contacting AliExpress for refund? That's simplest way if anything goes wrong
That sucks! Funkenya was fine for me for an A1 clone. I am dealing with the Fiio shop now. I ordered a $500 DAP and they sent me Bluetooth earbuds. No reply from seller so trying refund. Good luck!
@@mattmiller4978 These few times I had problems I've asked Ali to step in and I always got full refunds. These are random, like transport damages, like packages lost. It takes some time but I always got refund at the end. Try that!
@@k4syx Ali Express won't recognise my order number
@@michaelbooth6007 don't you have this in your purchase history? You just can start dispute from from there? Everything you order through Ali has order numbers, internal AliExpress unique IDs
It was a design error not to have space for good op amps. This makes it impossible for me to buy the amplifier.
It will fit Sparkos and that might improve the top end quite a lot.
@@veristaconvicto9881 I think the idea was that it's meant for IC replacements like OPA or AD series.
To be fair, discrete A class opamps are wildly different in sizes and it's very hard not to block them not only by height, but also by spacing of other components on the board.
But that's part of the fun, isn't it? :)
@@D1N02 Yes, I didn't thought about that, Bursons and some others will also fit there with no problems. Just the large ones will be a problem, but these usually pose a challenge:)
Does it sound better than zero zones?
@@Junan.Reclaimed Similar in some ways, but overall no: these are 3 times more expensive.
@@k4syx thanks. is it pffb like a70? waiting for your full review.
@@Junan.Reclaimed No, its not - review will be available soon, already recorded!