AMP for Front & Atmos

[arunlouie]

Hi All,

Looking for opinion on amp kits to choose. Amps I am planning to built is primarily to offload the load of the AV receiver.
Plan to have a 2 channel amp for the Fronts and 4 channel amp for the Atmos channels.

I have shortlisted TPA3255 based amp kit for the front channels (probably 3e Audio board- read some good reviews in diyaudio forum). It will be driving Klipsch R-51M. Hope this should serve good amp for fronts in 5.1.4 and also for stereo to use with TV daily usage.

For 4 channel yet to decide between these 2,

DIYclassd.com

** Attention: This product is discontinued, we're selling our last stock of 8pcs ** Datasheet

www.diyclassd.com

Hifime Audio | Audio Directly from Manufacturer - US,EU,CN warehouses

Hifime is making great value audiophile equipment. We focus on the inside parts and quality of the products which makes us able to provide affordable audiophile gear at really affordable prices.

hifimediy.com

Hypex is 35w @8ohms (comes with built in PSU) and hifimediy is 40w. Will this be good enough. Speakers to drive are 4 Boston soundware XS.

 

[SanjeevM]

I'm using the TPA3255 EVAL board from Texas Instruments. It's very good. You may have to ask someone to get it for you from USA.

 

[MaSh]

Interesting Project. Is it because you want to DIY it that you are not looking at 5 channel power amps or are these kit amps really good?

Have you considered FM @shaan V4 which is also 50w at 8ohms? The boards are mono and quite compact. You could work out a 5 channel power amp with them. There is is also DD amp from @Aniket which is a stereo board.

MaSh

 

[Love4sound]

Hi All,

Looking for opinion on amp kits to choose. Amps I am planning to built is primarily to offload the load of the AV receiver.
Plan to have a 2 channel amp for the Fronts and 4 channel amp for the Atmos channels.

I have shortlisted TPA3255 based amp kit for the front channels (probably 3e Audio board- read some good reviews in diyaudio forum). It will be driving Klipsch R-51M. Hope this should serve good amp for fronts in 5.1.4 and also for stereo to use with TV daily usage.

For 4 channel yet to decide between these 2,

DIYclassd.com

** Attention: This product is discontinued, we're selling our last stock of 8pcs ** Datasheet

www.diyclassd.com

Hifime Audio | Audio Directly from Manufacturer - US,EU,CN warehouses

Hifime is making great value audiophile equipment. We focus on the inside parts and quality of the products which makes us able to provide affordable audiophile gear at really affordable prices.

hifimediy.com

Hypex is 35w @8ohms (comes with built in PSU) and hifimediy is 40w. Will this be good enough. Speakers to drive are 4 Boston soundware XS.

Well as per my knowledge using a PA will not offload the avr. You can definitely go for a PA for better performance but not to offload the avr. Reason being is that as per my understanding the avr doesn’t have any function to turn off the amplifier circuit While using a PA. I used a 5 channel PA and used my Denon 4500 just to power two atmos speakers svs elevations which shouldn’t be any load to the avr. But i found that the avr was running extremely hot same as to when I used without the PA. To confirm I played some music in pure direct mode where only the LR speakers will be working which is powered by the PA. The avr again was running extremely hot same as when powered by avr. Read some where that in DENON 3600 if we use a 11 channel PA the amplifier circuit will be turned off and it will only act has a processor

 

[saikatbiswas82]

Hi All,

Looking for opinion on amp kits to choose. Amps I am planning to built is primarily to offload the load of the AV receiver.
Plan to have a 2 channel amp for the Fronts and 4 channel amp for the Atmos channels.

I have shortlisted TPA3255 based amp kit for the front channels (probably 3e Audio board- read some good reviews in diyaudio forum). It will be driving Klipsch R-51M. Hope this should serve good amp for fronts in 5.1.4 and also for stereo to use with TV daily usage.

For 4 channel yet to decide between these 2,

DIYclassd.com

** Attention: This product is discontinued, we're selling our last stock of 8pcs ** Datasheet

www.diyclassd.com

Hifime Audio | Audio Directly from Manufacturer - US,EU,CN warehouses

Hifime is making great value audiophile equipment. We focus on the inside parts and quality of the products which makes us able to provide affordable audiophile gear at really affordable prices.

hifimediy.com

Hypex is 35w @8ohms (comes with built in PSU) and hifimediy is 40w. Will this be good enough. Speakers to drive are 4 Boston soundware XS.

3e audio isn't ready to ship their boards to India. If you want them, you need to buy from US.

DIYers have appreciated Hypex and Hifimediy Tripath modules both. So it would be hard to compare without listening to them.

In case you are buying from US, you may check Hypex NC modules available on eBay. Another alternative could be ICEPower modules.

 

[superczar]

Hi All,

Looking for opinion on amp kits to choose. Amps I am planning to built is primarily to offload the load of the AV receiver.
Plan to have a 2 channel amp for the Fronts and 4 channel amp for the Atmos channels.

I have shortlisted TPA3255 based amp kit for the front channels (probably 3e Audio board- read some good reviews in diyaudio forum). It will be driving Klipsch R-51M. Hope this should serve good amp for fronts in 5.1.4 and also for stereo to use with TV daily usage.

For 4 channel yet to decide between these 2,

DIYclassd.com

** Attention: This product is discontinued, we're selling our last stock of 8pcs ** Datasheet

www.diyclassd.com

Hifime Audio | Audio Directly from Manufacturer - US,EU,CN warehouses

Hifime is making great value audiophile equipment. We focus on the inside parts and quality of the products which makes us able to provide affordable audiophile gear at really affordable prices.

hifimediy.com

Hypex is 35w @8ohms (comes with built in PSU) and hifimediy is 40w. Will this be good enough. Speakers to drive are 4 Boston soundware XS.

If you want to offload your AVR amp for partial channels, you should be looking at LCR rather than LR and ATMOS
Reason being music playback primarily taxes the LR channels and movies the Centre channel.
The surround channels and ATMOS (even more so) typically have limited and low loads

Well as per my knowledge using a PA will not offload the avr. You can definitely go for a PA for better performance but not to offload the avr. Reason being is that as per my understanding the avr doesn’t have any function to turn off the amplifier circuit While using a PA. I used a 5 channel PA and used my Denon 4500 just to power two atmos speakers svs elevations which shouldn’t be any load to the avr. But i found that the avr was running extremely hot same as to when I used without the PA. To confirm I played some music in pure direct mode where only the LR speakers will be working which is powered by the PA. The avr again was running extremely hot same as when powered by avr. Read some where that in DENON 3600 if we use a 11 channel PA the amplifier circuit will be turned off and it will only act has a processor

The load on the amp section is a function of the amount of current driven through the individual channels
Even if the amp circuit is on, if there is no load connected to the output, there will be near zero load on the output transistors and transformer
That will leave the power circuits with a lot more headroom for the remaining channels that are still being driven through the AVR

 

[Love4sound]

If you want to offload your AVR amp for partial channels, you should be looking at LCR rather than LR and ATMOS
Reason being music playback primarily taxes the LR channels and movies the Centre channel.
The surround channels and ATMOS (even more so) typically have limited and low loads


The load on the amp section is a function of the amount of current driven through the individual channels
Even if the amp circuit is on, if there is no load connected to the output, there will be near zero load on the output transistors and transformer
That will leave the power circuits with a lot more headroom for the remaining channels that are still being driven through the AVR

Ok but I didn’t find a any difference in the performance of the avr that was driving the other speakers. Heat level was same with and without the PA. What was surprising to me is even in stereo the heat level was the same where the avr was just processing and the the LR where driven by the PA. There is a video by Gene from Audioholic’s also on this topic where he also mentions that 3600 may have the option to shut the amplifier circuit but only when all 11 channels are driven by PA. Hopefully in the future manufacturers introduces this feature

 

[superczar]

Ok but I didn’t find a any difference in the performance of the avr that was driving the other speakers. Heat level was same with and without the PA. What was surprising to me is even in stereo the heat level was the same where the avr was just processing and the the LR where driven by the PA. There is a video by Gene from Audioholic’s also on this topic where he also mentions that 3600 may have the option to shut the amplifier circuit but only when all 11 channels are driven by PA. Hopefully in the future manufacturers introduces this feature

The heat level you feel is not truly a reliable indicator of the load on an AVR

Also a complete cutoff for power to the amp section may be ideal but there isn't much you stand to gain by it.
A powered amp with open output will draw minimal current - same way as a transformer/stabilizer with no load draws very little power by itself.

There are two reasons why people add dedicated Int amps to an AVR

a) To have more headroom for each channel - The power supply section on most AVRs is typically quite limited - It is more than adequate to drive the audio decoder/ video decoder etc but will start dropping voltage during loud, bass heavy portions with all channels driven

b) Longevity: Voltage drops/ bad power can kill components on the non amp sections also. In addition, clipping can damage speakers and also overload the amp section transistors

The solution, in order of cost complexity

1) Simply raise the X-over for all speakers to 100 or 120 hz and set the subwoofer to handle everything 120 and below. Mid range/high hardly tax your AVR amp section. Lower frequencies at high volumes are the ones that draw far more power. This presumes one has a decent sub.

2) If adding Amps, do the LR first followed by C. Surrounds / wides/ ATMOS draw very little power

3) Offload all amplification to dedicated amps.

Personally , I use option 2 for L/R alone. The power amp section thus gets free from the load of the demanding FL/FR. Having said that, I had a spare Marantz Pm17 and I would have used option 1 instead of buying Int amps if I did not my old Amp.
Think you posted about a sub recently - you should give option 1 a shot

 

[elangoas]

Plan to have a 2 channel amp for the Fronts and 4 channel amp for the Atmos channels.

If you want to try DIY power amps then fine..

You may consider this cost effective method to add power amps to your AVR.. Plenty of used stereo amps (With Pre-out & Main-in) jumpers are on OLX for as little as 5K.. You may scout them and it..

I did all 11 channels of external amplification, by choosing all used power amps / stereo amps from OLX.. Here is a thread to the same - https://www.hifivision.com/threads/a-stingy-7-2-4-ht-set-up-in-a-living-room.78211/#post-860738

 

[Love4sound]

The heat level you feel is not truly a reliable indicator of the load on an AVR

Also a complete cutoff for power to the amp section may be ideal but there isn't much you stand to gain by it.
A powered amp with open output will draw minimal current - same way as a transformer/stabilizer with no load draws very little power by itself.

There are two reasons why people add dedicated Int amps to an AVR

a) To have more headroom for each channel - The power supply section on most AVRs is typically quite limited - It is more than adequate to drive the audio decoder/ video decoder etc but will start dropping voltage during loud, bass heavy portions with all channels driven

b) Longevity: Voltage drops/ bad power can kill components on the non amp sections also. In addition, clipping can damage speakers and also overload the amp section transistors

The solution, in order of cost complexity

1) Simply raise the X-over for all speakers to 100 or 120 hz and set the subwoofer to handle everything 120 and below. Mid range/high hardly tax your AVR amp section. Lower frequencies at high volumes are the ones that draw far more power. This presumes one has a decent sub.

2) If adding Amps, do the LR first followed by C. Surrounds / wides/ ATMOS draw very little power

3) Offload all amplification to dedicated amps.

Personally , I use option 2 for L/R alone. The power amp section thus gets free from the load of the demanding FL/FR. Having said that, I had a spare Marantz Pm17 and I would have used option 1 instead of buying Int amps if I did not my old Amp.
Think you posted about a sub recently - you should give option 1 a shot

Ok I used a 5 channel PA to drive LCR and surrounds. Sold it to a friend.

 

[arunlouie]

My phrase of "taking load off the AVR", I didnt mean to take it off completely. But to give enough power what AVR drives.
For now I will first go with Fronts and then will see for other channels step by step...

 

[arunlouie]

3e audio isn't ready to ship their boards to India. If you want them, you need to buy from US.

DIYers have appreciated Hypex and Hifimediy Tripath modules both. So it would be hard to compare without listening to them.

In case you are buying from US, you may check Hypex NC modules available on eBay. Another alternative could be ICEPower modules.

Just today realized my fronts Klipsch bookshelves with 93bB sensitivity and current handling of max 85 watts RMS. Is TPA3255 a overkill for these speakers? Will is be still fine to use?

 

[arunlouie]

If you want to try DIY power amps then fine..

You may consider this cost effective method to add power amps to your AVR.. Plenty of used stereo amps (With Pre-out & Main-in) jumpers are on OLX for as little as 5K.. You may scout them and it..

I did all 11 channels of external amplification, by choosing all used power amps / stereo amps from OLX.. Here is a thread to the same - https://www.hifivision.com/threads/a-stingy-7-2-4-ht-set-up-in-a-living-room.78211/#post-860738

Yes I checked before. But I still want to use AVR amps.

Also the latest Class D amps are much better in dynamics (just my assumption). For Almost 8k can get an excellent 2 channel amp in less space.

 

[saikatbiswas82]

Just today realized my fronts Klipsch bookshelves with 93bB sensitivity and current handling of max 85 watts RMS. Is TPA3255 a overkill for these speakers? Will is be still fine to use?

I don't think 150wpc will be overkill. You'll have a bit headroom to play with.

 

[elangoas]

Yes I checked before. But I still want to use AVR amps.

Also the latest Class D amps are much better in dynamics (just my assumption). For Almost 8k can get an excellent 2 channel amp in less space.

Sure.. Whichever method you are convinced of and like to try.. Good luck on your DIY effort, do share your DIY class D power amp effort.. Sounds interesting..