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tftdguru
68
Nov 3, 2017
10% THD? Ten percent?  Is that a typo?
d0sk3y
0
Nov 3, 2017
tftdguruI don't think so. At 60W in 8 ohms, which is RIDICULOUSLY high for such a tiny amp, 10% THD sounds fair. This is however the figure valid only for full load, as stated.
tftdguru
68
Nov 3, 2017
d0sk3yOdd they'd publish such a high distortion number instead of a more typical figure, like this for a Yamaha A-S301 " 0.04% THD, 30 W, 8 Ohms: 10 Hz to 50 KHz ". I recognize that's missing some data with which to make apples to apples comparison, but still, .04% vs. 10%?
tshrey
3
Nov 3, 2017
tftdguruDigital amps always look bad using the traditional ratings system because their output stages are fully on (they don't ramp up like traditional amps and that is where the energy is lost as heat) and there is ripple as they snap on. New class D amps have more accurate mosfets that can eliminate this. In my experience these small amps sound just as good as normal amps at moderate outputs but get harsh near full volume. I have the SA-50 in my garage driving in-wall speakers and it sounds good. If you want monitor-quality sound this isn't the amp for you, but driving bookshelf speakers in a room it is great. The 50 w/channel SA-50 is on Amazon for $68.
tftdguru
68
Nov 3, 2017
tshreyI'm not saying the SMSL amps don't sound just fine, especially at their price point. Heck, I use an SMSL A2 driving a pair of Infinity RS3's in my home office system. I'm questioning their calling attention to a very high distortion level in order to emphasize power output that, frankly, isn't practically usable with that much distortion.
tftdguru
68
Nov 3, 2017
tftdguruFor example, here is how the specs read on the SMSL A2:
  • Output power: 40 W + 40 W (4 ohm)
  • Chip: TDA7492
  • THD + N: < 0.05%
  • Signal-to-noise ratio: > 90 dB
ZeosPantera
1246
Nov 3, 2017
tftdguruRunning any small formfactor "digital" or class D amp to its limits will get you here. At nominal power it remains SUPER clean. like 0.01% under 45watts probably. Only getting really messy above 80watts. So 95% of the time you never break 1% distortion with 8Ω speakers on a desk or even in a room. Only when you push to the limits does it stumble.
tftdguru
68
Nov 3, 2017
ZeosPanteraI agree with you, so why publish the worst case data? It looks really awful. Makes me think this amp is only suitable for PA systems in big box stores. Just scratching my head.
ZeosPantera
1246
Nov 4, 2017
tftdguruIf they limited it like TEAC does they could tell you its a 45wpc amp with 1% or a 32wpc with 0.01% but when you are dealing with the non-audiophile community that huge 80wpc number looks appealing. Most people who buy it aren't going to know what THD even means. They might even think higher is better.
tftdguru
68
Nov 4, 2017
ZeosPanteraOkay. So the marketing team at SMSL makes choices to reach a different market than audiophiles. Let's take that premise as given. So, how lazy is Massdrop to publish "low distortion" in the description and 10% THD in the specs then offer it to the Audiophile community ? I ran a technology marketing team. Something this questionable would never have seen the light of day.
JohnBooty
2
Nov 4, 2017
tftdguruWhat you're really asking for here is for SMSL to adhere to some kind of standard power output rating scheme so that consumers can more easily make informed decisions.
That's a good thing to wish for. Problem is, no such power output rating system exists. Even RMS power ratings are not a good predictor of how a speaker will perform, and (surprise) there's no reliable standard for how those RMS power ratings are measured.
Complicating things even further is the fact that even if there was a reliable way to compare power output ratings across different amplifiers... consumers still wouldn't know what was going on. They see "50w" vs. "100w" and think "100w is twice as loud!" Well, surprise, it's only slightly louder. Because the response of the human ear is logarithmic, you actually need ten times as much power (500w in this case) in order to achieve twice the apparent loudness.
So, not only is there no standard rating scheme for manufacturers to adhere to... those output numbers still wouldn't even mean what consumers think.
tftdguru
68
Nov 4, 2017
JohnBootyNot really. I was just questioning why any tech company or tech reseller in their right mind would publish a 10% THD figure in their copy, knowing how out of whack with industry norm such a figure is. Caveat emptor.
John-Booty
2
Nov 5, 2017
tftdguruSadly, it *is* the norm for Chinese Class D gear. If you manufactured Class D gear, would you be the one to take that brave stand? Imagine the Amazon listings.
"TFTDGURU'S AWESOME CLASS D AMP.... 23W $99"
"TOPPING'S AWESOME CLASS D AMP... 50W $99"
"SMSL'S AWESOME CLASS D AMP... 50W $99"
tftdguru
68
Nov 5, 2017
John-BootyI reject your assertion that it is the norm for Chinese class D amps. See the specs for The SMSL A2 I posted earlier in this thread.
Ruudh
32
Dec 21, 2017
tftdguruThis discussion is pretty old. From what I've read once, many moons ago Denon started using only low THD figures in their marketing. Apparently there where others also providing 10% thd figures. And it made Denon look bad for a while. In the end the market got smarter and other companys followed. But not in China. Where specs are always measured downhill. It's exactly what John-Booty says. SMSL might have figured that out the hard way and has conformed to these "unreal" standards just to not lose sales. I completely agree with you that these specs shouldn't be on this site. But if it's all SMSL provides, Massdrop doesn't have much of an option that doesn't involve them going out of their way to get some descent ratings.
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