Just bought the Wiim ultra preamp and I pair it with the 20 Watt amplifier you recommended and I can't believe the sound quality and the functionality you get. This is a stunner.
Could you please share the amp name? Want to do it with my A70, replace a SMSL Do100pro with Wiim Ultra . The main reason for me is HPF because I have a 2.1 setup and want to take off some load from my shelf speakers
When these manufacturers socket the opamps it seems pretty clear they are intending this to be a feature. It would be very helpful if they would allocate a slight increase in case dimensions to accommodate a little extra size to fit the popular choices.
Hello! Another great review! Many thinks for continuing for reviewing products for us. Wanted to ask: did the sound quality improve the same way of magnitude when you did the OAMP swap on the ZeroZone TPA3255 monoblocks? I finally pulled the trigger on those monoblocks but sadly I'm not liking the sound at all, it is sounding like compressed/lifeless/flat, like if everything is in one layer, also missing details. Since I don't have a proper DAC I'm using a portable Tempotec E44 (2*CS43131) with balanced out directly to the monoblocks but I just ordered for the meantime a Fosi ZD3 to see if improves, Also went for a pair of R3 Meta (87dB SPL, 4Ohm). Don't like this combination at all . I know there is a huge difference between devices but I was not expecting it sound less good than a IEMs that is little less than the monoblocks! When compared to small integrated Krell with entry level Sonus Fabers (88dB SPL 4Ohm) It's night and day,.
OK so a couple of things here: 1. Get better opamps for ZeroZones, thats a night and day change. 2. Your Tempotec is the source of the problem, it is good enough for a particular range of headphones, but its nowhere near whats needed here. 3. My ZD3 review will be up this week, just done it yesterday, its great but its even better with better opamps and it would be a good match for ZeroZones. Tempotec is good for driving small IEMs, but there you will not have all that spatiality that can be heard with speakers. For all dongles that I've tested so far, there is none that would be able to properly do imaging with speaker system :(
Intrigued I just built a 2xTPA3255 board with 2 dedicated VU meters and a Tube buffer and upgraded OPAMP. I will still get one because it looks FUN to combine with my A07 running Subs
Do you hear any hiss or static noise when your ears next to the tweeter (TRS input) ? Do they have the same Fully Balanced design similar to Aiyima A70 stereo amp? looking forward to hear your final take on the clones 😀
No hiss, its silent. But its not full balanced. Take a look at block diagram here: www.aiyima.com/products/aiyima-a80?_pos=1&_psq=a80&_ss=e&_v=1.0 (final take is closing with every posted review! :))
29:50 You should put OPamp rolled in your vid title to differentiate this review from other reviews. Also you can use second DAC by using TRS then you can rca for your turntable! 😃 Then you can connect the Optical to your tv and the second optical on your outboard DAC can connect to a Streamer or CD player😃
I reviewed this amp with both stock and my choice of opamps, the title has a limit on number of characters you can place there and I already feel like I'm stretching it :)
Just got my ALi haul! You have to check out the LHY opams, the LHY voltage regulators, and the mofi Synchronous rectifier/Ideal Diode Bridge. I upgraded my Accuphase clone pre, eversolo, and Dartzeel. HUGE improvements!!! Very easy solder job, and really cheap to do :)
Free professional recommendation for the manufacturer .. Aiyima should provide an easy upgrade with the suggested opamps or with an upgraded version with suggested opamps and filters ... Cool design plus good sound and reasonable price .... Kick ...😊 One entry level all in Dac /amp .. the high end products can penerate easier ! McDonald happy meal strategy
@@k4syx the sound can talk and can sale .. at least name the version as Greg's signature version or HI FI zone version .. I will buy one for your modified design in the category of best sound for unit dollar for any situation ..living room , bedroom , desktop , causal listening or burn in unit Most music lovers can enjoy better song in a reasonable price in a simple way ! Computer or phone + hifi zone version Dac/amp and a decent speakers = hifi sound ..hifi sound everywhere and reachable !
@k4syx if they are smart , they need to send you the prototype and check first .. they do have in house tone adjustors but not everyone have the talent and experience for all the legendary sounds !
Nice video! It would be nice if you make some comparisons in terms of sound quality with other products from your channel, like zero zone monoblocks wich have same chip, or marantz sa9 clone, wich in same price category, to help us for matching better in our systems. All the best!
What's the difference between OPA828 DIP8 Dual and single at the link you have provided ? and can you please do a sound test of the A80 when the A80 is connecting to a power amp ?
Hi thanks for the video. great review. I wanted to know if I can use tone controls while preamp out to a powered speakers? or just volume control. I need the tone controls. Best regards
Thanks so much for the quick answer. Just to confirm. Can you change the tone controls from the remote control also for the pre out ? I will only use powered speakers.
Thanks for this review it looks like an interesting all in one especially the ability to swap op amps and make an appreciable difference to SQ. If I hadn't just bought a Loxjie D40 Pro DAC on your recommendation I would be interested in purchasing it. Whilst we are talking about DACs here is something completely different. Have you or any of your viewers have any experience of the HIFI stereo 6Z4 + 6N11 Tube decoder NOS AD1865 + CS8412 DAC. Sorry that's a bit of a mouthful but it doesn't have a name. The most expensive version of 2 versions is about £128 + shipping. For that price it might be worth taking a punt but it would be good if anyone has any views/opinions/experience of it. Thanks in advance.
I find 49720 warmish, I have a pair of 2134 but I strongly prefer 627 and 828. I dont think warm opamp would be a good match here: too much of the good thing
@ I ordered the 828s using the link you provided. Excited to hear what the combo will sound like. Awesome job on the review! You got so many details right that the other reviewers were too lazy to be accurate about.
for DAC + SLP-90 you'd still need power amp at the end of the chain, and we are talking about completely different price level then. SLP-90 clone alone will be more expensive :) If you have budget (and room!) for that go for separates, this is great value all-in-one so diiferent class really
Oh your right this is very different from what I want to achieve, sorry. I researched a bit more. I think I have decided on the complete chain. Wiim Mini + SMSL SU-1, Cary SLP-90, Dartzeel NHB-108. This totals just a bit over 1000€ and I hope that's extremely good for the electronics side and give maximum value. What do you think about this chain?
According to block diagram here: www.aiyima.com/products/aiyima-a80?_pos=1&_psq=a80&_ss=e&_v=1.0 yes it goes through DSP. But do mind that this is something completely different than v3 monos, that are basically just pure tpa mono amps and they literally cant do anything else :)
Havent heard RAW-HA1, cant answer honestly. As for LDAC, Ive done some serious comparisons last year and the difference towards Aptx-hd was very small and I could hear it only when I manually set my sources (tablets, phones and hiby) to quality mode via developer settings (thats 909kbps transfer rate). But with that setting effective range dropped to 2-3m, and there were stutters here and there. When I went for adaptive, thats lower bitrate, there was no problem, but then sound quality was basically the same to my ears as what I was getting with aptx-hd :(
@@k4syx Thanks for your comment. I guess responsible for the stuttering is your source rather then of the receiving part? As far as I know best would be to use a phone with a recent snapdragon processor (like Huawai) in it. But I could be misinformed just as well The family member I have the integrated dac power amp in mind for, will likely use bluetooth mainly. And thus I'm looking for an option that degrades the sound as little as possible (LDAC). Thanks for your hard work here btw, it's useful.
@@lucdevries8732 I have P60 Pro ;D The stuttering comes from too high bandwith required and EMI noise. It works on if I will place the source very near to the antenna, but that beats the point. For something like that I could just connect my phone to DAC with USB cable
@@k4syx Ok, that's something to take into account. Perhaps it will not be as simple as I'd hoped. It's just that my sister wants to select songs from her tablet or phone and send the data wireless to a dac. No cables in between. And a streamer would be just another device, she doesn't like that. That's why I hope to be able to use LDAC and even though the difference with APTX(hd) is small, it's a nice to have that feature anyway.
@lucdevries8732 you may try to look for external bt receiver that does ldac to spdif, and get that connected to one of the inputs. These are usually small and can be hidden somewhere in the back. Have your seen any of these?
This is the best review for this because you compared opamps and opened it up! I would love to hear what you think about the Oracle II 02 opamps. They do take some burn-in I’ve discovered so keep that in mind. They have amazing specs and are basically same size as IC opamps. They are considered a hybrid discrete/IC. I bought 10 of them because I like them quite a bit.
I have them on my shopping list, I was trying to get to the producer as I have no idea if they are all the same and real - chinese companies have no problem with copying local products too ;) Can you share the shop offer name so I will look for these you got? (link will be censored via yt)
Yes, these are my go to IC solution, best of the best integrated stuff. I have box full of different OPAs, ADs, LMEs. Ive settled with OPA627 and then 828, sometimes 1612 and 1656
I love Aiyima but they are quickly falling behind in the chifi wars for me. Their aesthetics and feature sets are just not right, and there are so many options today to choose from.
The way I see it is that its goog that the race is so fast, we all benefit from it. I remeber that Aiyima was always good place to get cool cheap devices (not only amps)
They are confusing their customers by assigning different products to the same product lines. A80 does not look to me an upgrade to A70, it’s just a different product, a DAC+amp combo. Plus still no HPF, plus a mini jack as a SW OUT…..
Imagine you are working from home. And you have this desk, that has to be enough for your monitor, keyboard, mouse, small speakers (DIY, with amt tweeters, but still small) and you'd like to have decent sound quality there: what else would you use? Any regular amp and DAC will take like at least 1/3 of my desk, and I'm looking here at the smallest clones I've reviewed. There are little options for decent sound and small footprint today, that's one of them..
Just bought the Wiim ultra preamp and I pair it with the 20 Watt amplifier you recommended and I can't believe the sound quality and the functionality you get. This is a stunner.
Thanks for sharing!:)
Could you please share the amp name? Want to do it with my A70, replace a SMSL Do100pro with Wiim Ultra . The main reason for me is HPF because I have a 2.1 setup and want to take off some load from my shelf speakers
@@sergey4162 musical Fidelity A1 that HiFi zone reviewed .
@@sergey4162 music fidelity a1 clone 20 watts per channel
@@sergey4162 I think Eugene meant Musical Fidelity A1 clone but that needs to be confirmed
When these manufacturers socket the opamps it seems pretty clear they are intending this to be a feature. It would be very helpful if they would allocate a slight increase in case dimensions to accommodate a little extra size to fit the popular choices.
Exactly!
These seem do not take into account any class A discretes, only different types of ICs
Sparkos ss3602 will probably fit. I wonder how these Fosi and Aiyima's tpa3255 amps compare to the Zerozones you reviewed.
These are horizontal so yes, I need to finally get my hands on pair. ZeroZones are better, but they are twice the price and thats for amps without DAC
Hello! Another great review! Many thinks for continuing for reviewing products for us. Wanted to ask: did the sound quality improve the same way of magnitude when you did the OAMP swap on the ZeroZone TPA3255 monoblocks? I finally pulled the trigger on those monoblocks but sadly I'm not liking the sound at all, it is sounding like compressed/lifeless/flat, like if everything is in one layer, also missing details. Since I don't have a proper DAC I'm using a portable Tempotec E44 (2*CS43131) with balanced out directly to the monoblocks but I just ordered for the meantime a Fosi ZD3 to see if improves, Also went for a pair of R3 Meta (87dB SPL, 4Ohm). Don't like this combination at all . I know there is a huge difference between devices but I was not expecting it sound less good than a IEMs that is little less than the monoblocks! When compared to small integrated Krell with entry level Sonus Fabers (88dB SPL 4Ohm) It's night and day,.
OK so a couple of things here: 1. Get better opamps for ZeroZones, thats a night and day change. 2. Your Tempotec is the source of the problem, it is good enough for a particular range of headphones, but its nowhere near whats needed here. 3. My ZD3 review will be up this week, just done it yesterday, its great but its even better with better opamps and it would be a good match for ZeroZones.
Tempotec is good for driving small IEMs, but there you will not have all that spatiality that can be heard with speakers. For all dongles that I've tested so far, there is none that would be able to properly do imaging with speaker system :(
Intrigued I just built a 2xTPA3255 board with 2 dedicated VU meters and a Tube buffer and upgraded OPAMP.
I will still get one because it looks FUN to combine with my A07 running Subs
Good looking unit. Nice review. Whatever happened with the FM acoustics fm255 full review? I've been waiting 😁
Its in line, I will be catching up with loooong waiting stuff in coming weeks as I was focused on getting as much audio gear during sales lately
Do you hear any hiss or static noise when your ears next to the tweeter (TRS input) ? Do they have the same Fully Balanced design similar to Aiyima A70 stereo amp? looking forward to hear your final take on the clones 😀
No hiss, its silent. But its not full balanced. Take a look at block diagram here: www.aiyima.com/products/aiyima-a80?_pos=1&_psq=a80&_ss=e&_v=1.0
(final take is closing with every posted review! :))
29:50 You should put OPamp rolled in your vid title to differentiate this review from other reviews. Also you can use second DAC by using TRS then you can rca for your turntable! 😃 Then you can connect the Optical to your tv and the second optical on your outboard DAC can connect to a Streamer or CD player😃
I reviewed this amp with both stock and my choice of opamps, the title has a limit on number of characters you can place there and I already feel like I'm stretching it :)
Just got my ALi haul! You have to check out the LHY opams, the LHY voltage regulators, and the mofi Synchronous rectifier/Ideal Diode Bridge. I upgraded my Accuphase clone pre, eversolo, and Dartzeel. HUGE improvements!!! Very easy solder job, and really cheap to do :)
Thats great, can you reach me via my mail address thats in the channel decription? Or give me yours? Id like to ask for some details :)
@k4syx sent
@@Pete.across.the.street thanks Ive seen it, I will reply tomorrow, today was to busy :/
Free professional recommendation for the manufacturer .. Aiyima should provide an easy upgrade with the suggested opamps or with an upgraded version with suggested opamps and filters ... Cool design plus good sound and reasonable price .... Kick ...😊
One entry level all in Dac /amp .. the high end products can penerate easier !
McDonald happy meal strategy
(I wrote a similiar message to them, this one should be delivered with better opamps as stock to show its true potential)
@@k4syx the sound can talk and can sale .. at least name the version as Greg's signature version or HI FI zone version .. I will buy one for your modified design in the category of best sound for unit dollar for any situation ..living room , bedroom , desktop , causal listening or burn in unit
Most music lovers can enjoy better song in a reasonable price in a simple way ! Computer or phone + hifi zone version Dac/amp and a decent speakers = hifi sound ..hifi sound everywhere and reachable !
@k4syx if they are smart , they need to send you the prototype and check first .. they do have in house tone adjustors but not everyone have the talent and experience for all the legendary sounds !
@@richardlui8914 Well lets hope that will be the case :D
Nice video! It would be nice if you make some comparisons in terms of sound quality with other products from your channel, like zero zone monoblocks wich have same chip, or marantz sa9 clone, wich in same price category, to help us for matching better in our systems. All the best!
Thanks! thats a good idea, in my comparisons that I plan to do I will include everything!
(zerozones are better but twice the price and no dac there)
What's the difference between OPA828 DIP8 Dual and single at the link you have provided ? and can you please do a sound test of the A80 when the A80 is connecting to a power amp ?
ones single, ones dual. You can only replace dual with dual and single with single
@Pete.across.the.street So what's needed to be ordered two singles ?
@@RanTausi Google the part number of the opamp in your current equipment to see if it's dual or single. Most are dual i think
@@Pete.across.the.street It is like in the video 5532 is the same my Fosi audio P3 have.
You need the dual for this amp, a dual is two singles, one soldered on top, the other on the bottom of the board
Hi thanks for the video. great review. I wanted to know if I can use tone controls while preamp out to a powered speakers? or just volume control. I need the tone controls. Best regards
Hi! Yes, as long as you'll connect them via analog aux out.
Thanks so much for the quick answer. Just to confirm. Can you change the tone controls from the remote control also for the pre out ? I will only use powered speakers.
@@virtualevans yes as you do that via menu, not dedicated knobs. so you just enter the menu via remote and then change the values
Thanks for this review it looks like an interesting all in one especially the ability to swap op amps and make an appreciable difference to SQ. If I hadn't just bought a Loxjie D40 Pro DAC on your recommendation I would be interested in purchasing it.
Whilst we are talking about DACs here is something completely different. Have you or any of your viewers have any experience of the HIFI stereo 6Z4 + 6N11 Tube decoder NOS AD1865 + CS8412 DAC. Sorry that's a bit of a mouthful but it doesn't have a name. The most expensive version of 2 versions is about £128 + shipping. For that price it might be worth taking a punt but it would be good if anyone has any views/opinions/experience of it. Thanks in advance.
D40Pro is pure DAC only so different class of device really :)
I havent heard or seen that small guy earlier, looks interesting!
What are your thoughts on swapping out the opamps with LME49720 or OPA2134?
I find 49720 warmish, I have a pair of 2134 but I strongly prefer 627 and 828.
I dont think warm opamp would be a good match here: too much of the good thing
@ I ordered the 828s using the link you provided. Excited to hear what the combo will sound like. Awesome job on the review! You got so many details right that the other reviewers were too lazy to be accurate about.
@@Benjaminsullivanorg Thanks! And yet I get comments that my reviews are to long :D
Do you need dual or single opamp's?
Two pieces of duals.
Would you recommend using this or rather the CP-90 SLP with another cheap DAC? Will the CP be significantly better?
for DAC + SLP-90 you'd still need power amp at the end of the chain, and we are talking about completely different price level then. SLP-90 clone alone will be more expensive :)
If you have budget (and room!) for that go for separates, this is great value all-in-one so diiferent class really
Oh your right this is very different from what I want to achieve, sorry. I researched a bit more. I think I have decided on the complete chain. Wiim Mini + SMSL SU-1, Cary SLP-90, Dartzeel NHB-108. This totals just a bit over 1000€ and I hope that's extremely good for the electronics side and give maximum value. What do you think about this chain?
@@SalvadorZerker And again (Im just going down notifications line) SU-1 will be a serious bottleneck here :D
Does the trs input go through AD dsp DA chain? This would be lesser than a fosi V3 mono for pure path.
According to block diagram here: www.aiyima.com/products/aiyima-a80?_pos=1&_psq=a80&_ss=e&_v=1.0
yes it goes through DSP.
But do mind that this is something completely different than v3 monos, that are basically just pure tpa mono amps and they literally cant do anything else :)
No LDAC? That's a pity.
How would this device compare to SMSL RAW-HA1 soundwise?
Havent heard RAW-HA1, cant answer honestly.
As for LDAC, Ive done some serious comparisons last year and the difference towards Aptx-hd was very small and I could hear it only when I manually set my sources (tablets, phones and hiby) to quality mode via developer settings (thats 909kbps transfer rate). But with that setting effective range dropped to 2-3m, and there were stutters here and there. When I went for adaptive, thats lower bitrate, there was no problem, but then sound quality was basically the same to my ears as what I was getting with aptx-hd :(
@@k4syx Thanks for your comment. I guess responsible for the stuttering is your source rather then of the receiving part? As far as I know best would be to use a phone with a recent snapdragon processor (like Huawai) in it. But I could be misinformed just as well
The family member I have the integrated dac power amp in mind for, will likely use bluetooth mainly. And thus I'm looking for an option that degrades the sound as little as possible (LDAC).
Thanks for your hard work here btw, it's useful.
@@lucdevries8732 I have P60 Pro ;D
The stuttering comes from too high bandwith required and EMI noise. It works on if I will place the source very near to the antenna, but that beats the point. For something like that I could just connect my phone to DAC with USB cable
@@k4syx Ok, that's something to take into account. Perhaps it will not be as simple as I'd hoped. It's just that my sister wants to select songs from her tablet or phone and send the data wireless to a dac. No cables in between. And a streamer would be just another device, she doesn't like that. That's why I hope to be able to use LDAC and even though the difference with APTX(hd) is small, it's a nice to have that feature anyway.
@lucdevries8732 you may try to look for external bt receiver that does ldac to spdif, and get that connected to one of the inputs. These are usually small and can be hidden somewhere in the back. Have your seen any of these?
This is the best review for this because you compared opamps and opened it up!
I would love to hear what you think about the Oracle II 02 opamps. They do take some burn-in I’ve discovered so keep that in mind. They have amazing specs and are basically same size as IC opamps. They are considered a hybrid discrete/IC. I bought 10 of them because I like them quite a bit.
I have them on my shopping list, I was trying to get to the producer as I have no idea if they are all the same and real - chinese companies have no problem with copying local products too ;)
Can you share the shop offer name so I will look for these you got? (link will be censored via yt)
What is sound quality with changed op amps compared to Aiyima A70 (not mono, also with changed op amps) and good DAC ?. how big is difference ?
Its very similiar and thats why it wins, as you can have two devices here for price of one. As long as you are using comparable DAC with a70 :)
Did you try those opamps in something else before ?
Yes, these are my go to IC solution, best of the best integrated stuff. I have box full of different OPAs, ADs, LMEs. Ive settled with OPA627 and then 828, sometimes 1612 and 1656
I have the sabaj A30a the sound is top notch along with the build power and looks .. But it's not cheap at £450 ..
Yes it is, both great and expensive. And it keeps the price, it didn't get any lower during last year
Is this a Chinese Clone of a Quad 606?
no, its a completely different device
I love Aiyima but they are quickly falling behind in the chifi wars for me. Their aesthetics and feature sets are just not right, and there are so many options today to choose from.
The way I see it is that its goog that the race is so fast, we all benefit from it. I remeber that Aiyima was always good place to get cool cheap devices (not only amps)
Have you seen a screen lile that from other brands????? No
I still use the aiyima t8 as DAC/preamp, I believe is the best
They are confusing their customers by assigning different products to the same product lines. A80 does not look to me an upgrade to A70, it’s just a different product, a DAC+amp combo. Plus still no HPF, plus a mini jack as a SW OUT…..
Thats good point, yes, the model number here is confusing. I wonder how they will call their DAC - probably A90? :)
Order one yesterday 😂
Just got a second one 😂😂😂
@@ferryvandijk3008 Are you collecting them? :)
@@k4syx one for my 8year old son, and one for the bedroom (and diy with)
Looks OK but it’s a pass from me. They need to focus on music performance more than gimmicks. IMHO
i think i would have to cut a hole out of the top to try other opamps...lol
Noooooooo Ive seen that a couple of times and nooo way I would scar my amp like that
@@k4syx haha have you ever tried SX52B op-amps from ali ?
It looks good but it's expensive
for DAC and amp combo I dont think theres anything in comparable price
@@k4syx AIYIMA T9 PRO maybe!?
@@piksinjo69 I have T9, its good but the DAC inside is nowhere close to 9038Q2M.
I got T9 as it was almost two times cheaper then "pro"
1st.
congrats 😑
More cheap audio man junk.
Imagine you are working from home. And you have this desk, that has to be enough for your monitor, keyboard, mouse, small speakers (DIY, with amt tweeters, but still small) and you'd like to have decent sound quality there: what else would you use?
Any regular amp and DAC will take like at least 1/3 of my desk, and I'm looking here at the smallest clones I've reviewed.
There are little options for decent sound and small footprint today, that's one of them..
Looks OK but it’s a pass from me. They need to focus on music performance more than gimmicks. IMHO