[rhing]

I ordered one of these Yuan Jing TPA3116D2 amps directly from Yuan Jing Audio to compare to my Sure Electronics TPA3110D2 amp:

http://www.yuan-jing.com/tpa3116-class-d-2-0-stereo-amplifier-board-50w-50w

Wow! This sounds really nice. I have a faint buzz that I suspect comes from the long hookup cable that came with the amp. My speaker binding post connections should be shortened as well. When playing music, I don't hear it, but it bugs me because I'm OCD about noise in my system. I may need to add my own custom-made shielded cables later on, but just wanted to listen to it in stock form first. Compared to my most recent Sure Electronics TPA3110D2 build, the soundstage is deeper with more space between musicians, the imaging seems to be well focused, the bass is deeper and it sounds warmer to me than my modded TPA3110D2 Class D and TDA7297 chip amps. Keep in mind, this is only based on some limited listening on SACDs and CDs I am very familiar with. I really have to give this amp more time and listen to more music to make a call in this, but I think this amp is very promising in stock form.

One thing to note is that they have the left channel connections labeled as right channel and vice versa, but it's nothing like feeding the right input and getting the output on the left channel. The channels are consistent, they are just mislabeled. At least the power supply terminal connections are properly labeled. I checked those before plugging the amp in.

I am using my trusty modified Power One SMPS set at a 12.5V DC / 6A output. I don't think I'll need more power than this for my 98dB Klipsch Forte IIs unless someone really convinces me that I need to upgrade to more power.

[Poultrygeist]

Nice "cheap and cheerful" case. Painting the plexi is a good idea. I was looking for smoked plexi for mine, but couldn't find any locally.

 BTW/ here's a tip I developed for cutting plexiglass: score BOTH sides with a utility knife and a straightedge. If you have a table saw, place the fence near one end of the table. Put the sheet of plexi under the fence close to the score line. Lock the fence down. Just lift the free end of the sheet, and it will break exactly at the score line. You could do the same thing with a couple of boards and clamps, but the tablesaw fence method is really quick and easy.

Thanks for the tip. I have a table saw and will try your method next time. The guy at Lowe's was in a hurry and botched two sheets before one broke even.

One tip on spray painting plexi. Make sure it's absolutely clean and lint free and paint only the underside.

[wushuliu]

I ordered one of these Yuan Jing TPA3116D2 amps directly from Yuan Jing Audio to compare to my Sure Electronics TPA3110D2 amp:

http://www.yuan-jing.com/tpa3116-class-d-2-0-stereo-amplifier-board-50w-50w

Wow! This sounds really nice. I have a faint buzz that I suspect comes from the long hookup cable that came with the amp. My speaker binding post connections should be shortened as well. When playing music, I don't hear it, but it bugs me because I'm OCD about noise in my system. I may need to add my own custom-made shielded cables later on, but just wanted to listen to it in stock form first. Compared to my most recent Sure Electronics TPA3110D2 build, the soundstage is deeper with more space between musicians, the imaging seems to be well focused, the bass is deeper and it sounds warmer to me than my modded TPA3110D2 Class D and TDA7297 chip amps. Keep in mind, this is only based on some limited listening on SACDs and CDs I am very familiar with. I really have to give this amp more time and listen to more music to make a call in this, but I think this amp is very promising in stock form.

One thing to note is that they have the left channel connections labeled as right channel and vice versa, but it's nothing like feeding the right input and getting the output on the left channel. The channels are consistent, they are just mislabeled. At least the power supply terminal connections are properly labeled. I checked those before plugging the amp in.

I am using my trusty modified Power One SMPS set at a 12.5V DC / 6A output. I don't think I'll need more power than this for my 98dB Klipsch Forte IIs unless someone really convinces me that I need to upgrade to more power.

Nice. I think I'll get one and call it a day on the TPA amps. I think this YJ board is the one we've been waiting for in terms of parts quality and performance for the price. Not to mention it looks much more mod-friendly.

I'd be curious to know how it compares to the TBI Millenia.

Still wonder why no other companies are going retail with these chips already. There's a niche in the market these could easily fill.

[Taterworks]

Still wonder why no other companies are going retail with these chips already. There's a niche in the market these could easily fill.

They still don't have the marketing cachet of Tripath and Class-T. Even though they're better chips, enthusiasts are still looking for the "T-amp" designation for trustworthy class D power from a chip amp. We have Lepai, Sonic Impact, and Dayton Audio to thank for that.

[lacro]

I ordered one of these Yuan Jing TPA3116D2 amps directly from Yuan Jing Audio to compare to my Sure Electronics TPA3110D2 amp:

 Do you have your own Gulfstream, and just go pick-up a new board from China at will? How do you get these so quickly?
 Looking forward to your thoughts on this new board.

[rhing]

Do you have your own Gulfstream, and just go pick-up a new board from China at will? How do you get these so quickly?
 Looking forward to your thoughts on this new board.

I just ordered the board last weekend and it was shipped to California within a week. Being on the West coast certainly helps, but Yuan Jing ships out of Hong Kong, which also helps with getting Chinese goods more quickly.

I'm spinning vinyl now, and I can't turn the volume knob up too much since this amp's output is significantly higher than my TPA3110D2 amp. Even though I do not need all this power, the additional power provides some incredible headroom for reproducing complex passages without the soundstage collapsing. The soundstage seems larger in all three dimensions with this amp. It has a big sound like a good KT88 push-pull amp. I can't call it tube bloom, but it is almost like that. The bass is also stronger and deeper, but not in a boomy since. I just hear more bass detail, and I can also feel it more. Spatial cues like concert hall acoustics are more apparent. I get the same thing from my TPA3110D2 amp, but this amp sounds more relaxed reproducing these effects.

Even though they are similar amps, the TPA3116D2 sounds better to my ears. My guess is that the TPA3116D2 amp is more recent technology from TI. In stock form, this amp is as smooth as my Elna Silmic II-modified TPA3110D2 amp. I haven't even begun thinking about mods yet.

[Poultrygeist]

Turns out this $49 Chinese 6N3 tube preamp from ebay is absolutely stunning with the 3116.

I thought I liked the 3116 just as an integrated amp but there's no comparison to the sound with this tube preamp. I tried the 3116 with a Bottlehead Foreplay III expecting even more but the magic wasn't there.

If I hadn't already built them as separates I'd put both in the same case.

[rhing]

Turns out this $49 Chinese 6N3 tube preamp from ebay is absolutely stunning with the 3116.

I thought I liked the 3116 just as an integrated amp but there's no comparison to the sound with this tube preamp. I tried the 3116 with a Bottlehead Foreplay III expecting even more but the magic wasn't there.

If I hadn't already built them as separates I'd put both in the same case.

I completely agree that tube preamps and these TPA31xx amps are magical combinations. I recently installed two tested and matched pairs of JJ E88CC/6922 tubes in my ARC LS7 line stage and two tested and matched pairs of Genelex Gold Lion E88CC/6922 tubes in my ARC PH5 phono stage, and this combination with either the Yuan Jing 2.0 TPA3116D2 amp or the Sure Electronics TPA3110D2 amp make great music together.

I'll have to share the eBay tube preamp with my friend in Alabama. He just purchased one of a Yuan Jing 2.0 TPA3116D2 amps like mine, and he'll enjoy it more with a tube front end. Interesting that the amp didn't do as well with an Bottlehead tube preamp. It might be an impedance mismatch between the low output impedance of the tube preamp and high input impedance of the TPA31xx amp.

[Poultrygeist]

Yes there is a mismatch somewhere.

While the 3116 and Bottlehead preamp driving Lowthers sounds congested I can't get enough of the 3116 and 6N3 preamp driving the Frugal Horns.

[Folsom]

Is there RF issues with Bottlehead? What was the lack of sound? You want to have the impedence higher on amp side. There is a prefered ratio, but the purpose of most preamps is to be a buffer to lower source impedence; gain isn't explicitly the value for a preamp but can help some setups.

I'd be worried about RF getting forced into preamp since it's an easier path most likely. It depends on power source for the amp. Once that starts it may go towards the signal side, which can be burned up via resistors with a ground path, your speakers and the grounding through PSU.

It's a partial flaw to some small amp setups.

[rhing]

I made some custom shielded cables for my Yuan Jing TPA3116D2 amp using some Mundorf Silver-Gold wire, Teflon tubing, Teflon tape, Tinned Copper braided shielding, Techflex sleeving and some heat shrink. The noise floor has decreased going to shorter, better cables. I kept the 3-pin connector and wrestled with the crimped pins to reuse them. I am very pleased with this amp. To my ears, it sounds slightly better than my latest Sure Electronics TPA3110D2, but not by much. It definitely sounds better than my TPA7297 chip amp and it easily beats any Tripath Class D (T-amp) I've had:

• Modified Sonic Impact TA2024
• Virtue Audio Two with TK2050
• Helder HiFi TA2020 MkIII
• SMSL SA-S1 TA2020)

[wushuliu]

An easy next mod would be trying out different inductors. I and KJA at diyaudio were impressed with Bourns, but there are many options. Lots of fun to be had.

[Poultrygeist]

Is there RF issues with Bottlehead? What was the lack of sound? You want to have the impedence higher on amp side. There is a prefered ratio, but the purpose of most preamps is to be a buffer to lower source impedence; gain isn't explicitly the value for a preamp but can help some setups.

I'd be worried about RF getting forced into preamp since it's an easier path most likely. It depends on power source for the amp. Once that starts it may go towards the signal side, which can be burned up via resistors with a ground path, your speakers and the grounding through PSU.

It's a partial flaw to some small amp setups.

No issues whatsoever with the ForeplayIII/Paramours driving the Lowthers but when I substituted the 3116 for the Paramours things deteriorated. I use an active crossover but no amount of tweaking brought the sound to what I would expect from the fine sounding 3116.

[Poultrygeist]

I love my red board 3116 but wonder if there are sonic improvements with the blue board or is it just easier to mod?

[rhing]

My opinion--so take it for what it's worth--is that the YJ blue board's metallized Polypropylene input caps impart a slightly different sonic signature than the YJ red board's SMD input caps (presumably ceramic-type). Different dielectrics can impart different sound quality.

I don't have the YJ red board, but I do have the Sure Electronics TPA3110D2 amp, which uses the SMD input and output caps. Quite a few people had advised me that the Sure amp and the YJ red board sounded very similar except for the YJ's higher power. The YJ blue amp and the Sure TPA3110 both sound good and more alike than different due to the fact that they use Texas Instruments' Class D amp chips. The Sure board has a more crisp, incisive sound while the YJ blue board has a smoother presentation. Some may prefer one over the other, but I like the YJ blue board more, because I like the smoother presentation. This was evident when I compared both amps playing a Decca CD of Holst's "The Planets." This is one of those recordings that can sound really bad on a bad or average system, or awesome on a very good system. Both amps sound great with this recording, but the strings on the Sure amp sounded slightly more steely and strident, while they sounded less strident and more natural with the YJ blue board. Both amps do an admirable job with maintaining their soundstages on complex passages. The YJ blue amp seems to have more presence and a slightly stronger bass than the Sure amp. Keep in mind that I'm comparing a stock YJ blue amp to a modified Sure amp (Elna Silmics, additional Panasonic FM cap on power supply connection). With careful mods of the YJ blue amp with new Bourns inductors like wushuliu recommended along with a few other tweaks, the YJ could be a giant killer. For now, I am really enjoying the stock YJ blue amp. For $26, this is a no-brainer to try out, even if you already have the YJ red amp.

[matt_garman]

I ordered one of these Yuan Jing TPA3116D2 amps directly from Yuan Jing Audio to compare to my Sure Electronics TPA3110D2 amp:

http://www.yuan-jing.com/tpa3116-class-d-2-0-stereo-amplifier-board-50w-50w

How hard do you think it would be to convert that board to a single-channel 100 Watt version?  I believe this is called "parallel bridge tied load" or PBTL.

Seller "audiobah" on ebay has a "Amplifier board, TPA3116 Class D, 2x50W or 1x100W - Stereo or Full PBTL" (current link).  I.e. you can buy it pre-wired for mono.  But it costs more than the Yuan Jing, and the YJ just looks nicer to me.

I'd like to have the TPA31xx sound in a higher-power package (>100 watts at 4 ohms ideally).  Two of these in PBTL mode in the same chassis running off a single power supply would be nice I think.

[HaroldHill]

When I hook up my stock Sure TPA3110D2 to an iPod (via the iPod's headphone jack) and my headphones (via the speaker outputs on the amp), everything works fine. But when I replace my iPod with a DAC (connected via USB to a MacBook), I get a very loud buzzing. Any suggestions on what's wrong and how to fix it?

[Folsom]

How are you powering it? What's the DAC's output impedance? What handles volume?

[HaroldHill]

How are you powering it? What's the DAC's output impedance? What handles volume?

The DAC is an CDAC+, an optimized ODAC that's described here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/694411/cdac-modded-odac
I'm not sure of the output impedance for the CDAC+ but I've read the ODAC has an output impedance of over 400 ohms. Unlike the ODAC, the CDAC+ has an external 5V switched power supply.

The Sure itself is powered by an 18v smps that I salvaged from an old router. I'm using the MacBook's system volume to control the volume.

EDIT: I tried a different DAC (standard ODAC powered via USB) and a different power supply for the Sure amp (18V wall wart from an ancient laptop). The buzz persisted, but less loud. I then tried the ODAC again, but replaced the RCA connection to the amp with a TSR cable. Still an annoyingly audible hum/static, but far less loud than with the CDAC+ and the loud buzz.

Also, note that the Sure is not equipped with ferrite beads yet.

[Folsom]

What if the MacBook is running on battery?