Nobsound amp, 3 tone knobs, bt & internal power supply

[MC Bodge]

I recently picked up a used Nobsound amp with High, mid and low tone knobs, Bluetooth 5.0 & (apparently) 36V internal power supply for peanuts.

It has apparently had an issue with not starting up when warm, but I've yet to experience it. If/when I do, i will open it up to investigate.

I'm no audiophile, but the sound from it is very, very impressive, both via Bluetooth and plugged in.

I've tried it with a pair of small (another bargain and much better than might be expected) two-way Hitachi 50W speakers and was genuinely surprised by the sound quality.

It drove the two-way Mission 700 bookshelf speakers in my garage very well too. The sound from the Missions appeared to be better than when powered by my old NAD 310 (the 700s have good bass, but the bass always seemed a bit muddy)

The ability to adjust the tone of the Nobsound amp allowed it to work well with both sets of speakers.

It is not as powerful as claimed, but it is more than adequate.

[bcr5784]

The giveaway with a lot of these Class D amps is the power supply - many (most?) do not have as much wattage as the claimed output power - and you can't get more power out than you put in. That's a pity because it makes you wonder about any other claims they make.

[MC Bodge]

bcr5784 said:

The giveaway with a lot of these Class D amps is the power supply - many (most?) do not have as much wattage as the claimed output power - and you can't get more power out than you put in. That's a pity because it makes you wonder about any other claims they make.

This one apparently does have an adequate power supply.

[bcr5784]

MC Bodge said:

This one apparently does have an adequate power supply.

The later version of this amp only has a 90W power supply 19v @ 14.7A despite still quoting 200W. Has yours got a bigger one? The Texas chip in the current version (TPA3116) is only rated at 2X50W

Edited by bcr5784 on Wednesday 15th February 14:40

[MC Bodge]

bcr5784 said:

The later version of this amp only has a 90W power supply 19v @ 14.7A. Has yours got a bigger one?

36V 9.6A

So, theoretically, up to 346W

Edited by MC Bodge on Wednesday 15th February 14:40

[OutInTheShed]

A lot of these cheap Class D amps seem to sound fine.
I've got a Lepai one which takes 12V DC, which I use in my workshop.
It's loud enough with a pair of old speakers which I don't know the history of.

Also I have cheap Car head unit, with MP3, that isn't bad either and 'just works' unlike broadcast radio around here, or streaming on a bad day.

[MC Bodge]

OutInTheShed said:

A lot of these cheap Class D amps seem to sound fine.
I've got a Lepai one which takes 12V DC, which I use in my workshop.
It's loud enough with a pair of old speakers which I don't know the history of.

Also I have cheap Car head unit, with MP3, that isn't bad either and 'just works' unlike broadcast radio around here, or streaming on a bad day.

Indeed.

Our kitchen radio is a 12V Lvpin amp (not Class D) with a plug-in car DAB receiver, driving 3" speakers in some DIY housings. Small, discrete and it sounds infinitely better than the Pure Evoke DAB & aux speaker that we had before.

The Nobsound in the garage is superb, though. £17 well spent

[heisthegaffer]

I had a Topping VX2 which was really good other than lack of bass.

[MC Bodge]

The Nobsound driving my old style Mission 700s gives plenty of bass.

I've been listening to a range of music through them in my garage today. It sounds really, really good, even over Bluetooth.

The NAD 310 may need to go on Marketplace.

[MC Bodge]

MC Bodge said:

OutInTheShed said:

A lot of these cheap Class D amps seem to sound fine.
I've got a Lepai one which takes 12V DC, which I use in my workshop.
It's loud enough with a pair of old speakers which I don't know the history of.

Also I have cheap Car head unit, with MP3, that isn't bad either and 'just works' unlike broadcast radio around here, or streaming on a bad day.

Indeed.

Our kitchen radio is a 12V Lvpin amp (not Class D) with a plug-in car DAB receiver, driving 3" speakers in some DIY housings. Small, discrete and it sounds infinitely better than the Pure Evoke DAB & aux speaker that we had before.

The Nobsound in the garage is superb, though. £17 well spent

Ps. To continue the theme, I picked up a small passive sub for £5 from a local chap. The Lvpin kitchen amp has a subwoofer output and, with the sub on top of a kitchen wall cupboard (~20cm from the corner of the walls and the vaulted ceiling), it sounds amusingly good.

I re-purposed an old Android tablet as a dedicated audio player, connected to the aux in.

Bargain-tastic. Again.

Edited by MC Bodge on Thursday 23 February 13:11