jeromeoflaherty
New Head-Fier
I thought I would share some details on the latest Amplifier from Aiyima the A07 MAX. But first a little history of the reasons why this amplifier is special
But recently one of their competitors (Fosi Audio) went "back to basics" with their design for the Fosi Audio V3 - not adding "features" but using higher quality components, a new orientation of the amplifier board and better cooling to provide a high quality alternative to Aiyima TPA3255 products. So I love competition in the audio industry and I was very interested to see what Aiyima would do in response to this challenge and I am glad to see that the Aiyima A07MAX is a great response to Fosi Audio.
The Aiyima A07MAX:
1. New Design and the Board layout
I think the wider design on the MAX allows allot more space at the back of the Ampflifier - meaning cables are well separated - see photo below. They effectively redesigned the MAX so it's wide instead of deep. See picture below of the base of the MAX:
2. Nicer binding Posts
The “offset” of the binding posts is much better and I think they have much higher quality binding posts than the V3,
3. Mono mode (and the switch)
This is a great option IMO - it shows off the upgradability - i.e. start with 1 A07MAX in stereo, then buy a second one and setup each as a Mono Block Amplifier (with a pre-amp controlling the volume)
The advantages of the V3 compared to the MAX:
1. Volume control on the V3 is more subtle control over lower volumes.
Aiyima have confirmed they are the same analog linear potentiometer as the V3 but the sensitivity of the A07 MAX is twice that of V3, so while the A07MAX volume is nicer than previous Aiyima Amps but IMO the volume on the V3 is slightly nicer and it is very subtle with lower volumes with the Aiyima having more control over larger volumes.
2. Lower THD+N / Higher SINAD value
The Aiyima published THD+N results for A07 MAX are slightly behind the V3 (0.003% for the V3 and 0.007% for the MAX) this translates into SINAD values of -90 for the V3 and -83 for the MAX. Note: these measurements have not been independently confirmed yet but they are inline with the expectation based on previous results.
3. Some may like the vent hole pattern on the top of the V3 - obviously both have the vent holes on the bottom and on the sides but the V3 vents on the top have a nice pattern ( though I do wonder about stacking components with the V3).
The internal layout of the A07MAX looks good and I believe their new design has been optimised for minimising the heat when used for extended periods:
As for powering A07MAX has excellent choices with power supply especially when using it in PBTL Mono mode (in a dual mono-block configuration):
So in summary, so far I think it's a very nice upgrade over previous Aiyima TPA3255 Amplifiers like the V3 and over the Fosi Audio V3.
A brief history of TPA3255 amplifiers
The Aiyima A07 was the first "cheap" class D amplifier recognised by the audio community as "audiophile" quality yet at a nice price for those starting off in the hobby of home audio. It provided clean / neutral sound without the noise / "tinny" sound of previous class D amplifiers in the equivalent price range. It was praised by subjective "YouTube" audio reviewers like the CheapAudioMan yet also highly praised by objective reviewers from AudioScienceReview and others for its excellent SINAD / THD+N values (meaning it provided clean audio without distortion at high levels of output with a neutral accross bass, midrange and treble). There were other competitors in this market but Aiyima iterated over the design of the A07 with the A08 and a number of other class D amplifiers adding more features like bluetooth / tone controls etc to the basic TPA3255 design.But recently one of their competitors (Fosi Audio) went "back to basics" with their design for the Fosi Audio V3 - not adding "features" but using higher quality components, a new orientation of the amplifier board and better cooling to provide a high quality alternative to Aiyima TPA3255 products. So I love competition in the audio industry and I was very interested to see what Aiyima would do in response to this challenge and I am glad to see that the Aiyima A07MAX is a great response to Fosi Audio.
The Aiyima A07MAX:
Comparison of the A07MAX and Fosi Audio V3
Both amplifiers are effectively very similar (basically both are getting the absolute most you can get out of the TI chipset) so the choose about which is best for you is probably down to what you want for now and how you might want to expand you home audio setup going forward. The advantages of the MAX compared to the Fosi Audio V3:1. New Design and the Board layout
I think the wider design on the MAX allows allot more space at the back of the Ampflifier - meaning cables are well separated - see photo below. They effectively redesigned the MAX so it's wide instead of deep. See picture below of the base of the MAX:
2. Nicer binding Posts
The “offset” of the binding posts is much better and I think they have much higher quality binding posts than the V3,
3. Mono mode (and the switch)
This is a great option IMO - it shows off the upgradability - i.e. start with 1 A07MAX in stereo, then buy a second one and setup each as a Mono Block Amplifier (with a pre-amp controlling the volume)
The advantages of the V3 compared to the MAX:
1. Volume control on the V3 is more subtle control over lower volumes.
Aiyima have confirmed they are the same analog linear potentiometer as the V3 but the sensitivity of the A07 MAX is twice that of V3, so while the A07MAX volume is nicer than previous Aiyima Amps but IMO the volume on the V3 is slightly nicer and it is very subtle with lower volumes with the Aiyima having more control over larger volumes.
2. Lower THD+N / Higher SINAD value
The Aiyima published THD+N results for A07 MAX are slightly behind the V3 (0.003% for the V3 and 0.007% for the MAX) this translates into SINAD values of -90 for the V3 and -83 for the MAX. Note: these measurements have not been independently confirmed yet but they are inline with the expectation based on previous results.
3. Some may like the vent hole pattern on the top of the V3 - obviously both have the vent holes on the bottom and on the sides but the V3 vents on the top have a nice pattern ( though I do wonder about stacking components with the V3).
The internal layout of the A07MAX looks good and I believe their new design has been optimised for minimising the heat when used for extended periods:
As for powering A07MAX has excellent choices with power supply especially when using it in PBTL Mono mode (in a dual mono-block configuration):
So in summary, so far I think it's a very nice upgrade over previous Aiyima TPA3255 Amplifiers like the V3 and over the Fosi Audio V3.