ICEpower 200As2 versus 300AS2 blind test

[@gsanani]

Hi Guther I wanted to ask you if you have used these boards with unbalanced inputs? and if it has given you good results, I want to connect an Arylic HD DAC to the 200AS2 and I don't know if it would be a good idea, could I place a 50K potentiometer between the streamer board and the amplifier? Thanks for your video

[@chryoko]

Thanks a lot Guntar for all those super informative (and relaxing voiced) videos ! I plan to get some new amplis for the Side and Central channels of my 5.1 configuration : It looks like a pair of your 200AS2 based TCR200 ampli may work well for these 100W 8 ohms speakers.😀 Too bad you do not have some multichanel casings to offer.

[@guntarssmits2104]

I will have multichannel chasing in late September with 12v trigger and wake up from signal options

[@chryoko]

@@guntarssmits2104 Great news and perfect ! Thanks Guntar and enjoy summer in the meantime, no urgency for me.

[@eduardo.e.a]

I know Icepower well, and I totally agree with your conclusions, even I was more extreme, I had come to the conclusion that it is not necessary another board more than the 1200AS2, your vision wider than mine is more correct, thanks for making me see it.

[@guntarssmits2104]

As always there is no free cheese. When you design a product you know the end price before starting the design and it determines component compromises for the amplifier as well for DSP. Class d amplifier quality mainly is determined by the quality of power supply and speed of output MOSFETs produced by a couple of companies in the world. You can achieve good results with mainstream MOSFETs which are used in Crown design, but not an exceptional quality. And you are right it is the perfect device for bass and midrange which have lower requirements to power MOSFETs.

[@michalkrol1062]

I am close to buy one of icepower modules. I so yours videos but after that i wanna ask for help. 125asx2 or 200 as2 will be better for home using? Please try to explain. I was reading technical data but I still don know. Good videos again.

[@guntarssmits2104]

Please write me an email and describe your complete sound system. My email is on my website.

[@Acoustic_Theory]

A key difference is the 125ASX2 uses a discrete output stage (power mosfets on heatsink) while the 200AS2 is using a TI TPA3255 chip as output stage. The TI chip is well regarded and I don't think most people would have an issue with its performance.

[@MrButuz]

These amps are very worth experimenting with my dad just built a 300AS1&300A and it sounds good in my system easily as good as any other £1000 amp except it cost under £400. Good value! I am very tempted to try a 1200AS2 for myself as my speaks are 4ohm nominal and I could use the extra grunt.

[@guntarssmits2104]

Yes, Audio technologies made a big step ahead and managed to solve the most critical factors combining power, efficiency, and quality.

[@audiogear6978]

Hi Guntars, have you tried the crowns XLS DriveCore 2 Series? Man, they have included DSP and the price is very low. I think to drive bass and medium frequency in an active setup is very good. Take a look of that.

[@marruiz]

good video! thanks for sharing

[@tomerikstokness276]

The importance of damping factor is interesting. The damping factor is the relationship between the amplifiers output impedance , and the loudspeaker impedance. The biggest advantage of a high damping factor (low amplifier impedance compared to the loudspeaker impedance) is to "brake" the back-EMF generated from the loudspeaker. But here is the fun bit: When the loudspeaker generates high back-EMF is when the cone excursion is high, but when the excursion is high, the impedance of the speaker is always high in most cases, due to resonances and so on. This will then automaticly increase the damping factor..

[@guntarssmits2104]

Thanks. When drilling down into some parameters often used in marketing, unexpected learning comes from experts. 😀

[@rogerperreault441]

Could you do a video on signal attenuation for 125asx2 not using active preamp? I need to control levels from a 8 Chanel active cross over to 4 125asx2 amplifiers. Not sure if passive resistor audio signal attenuation will work well with the 125 ASX2 amplifier boards. I Find your video for informative.

[@guntarssmits2104]

There is no way for passive volume regulator due to frequency defendant input impedance. 125ASX2 has filter at input and for low frequencies input impedance is 20K and for high frequencies it is just 8K. You need active preamp with output impedance of 100Ohms what is industry standard. You should regulate channel volumes inside active crossover and buffer output to provide 100-150Ohms output impedance what is industry standard.

[@rogerperreault441]

Thank you for your information very helpful.

[@Acoustic_Theory]

300AS1 monoblocks would still be a good addition to a line between 200AS2 and 1200AS1 because the stereo separation is the absolute best it can be. A 1200W amplifier for stereo listening is probably a lot of fun but it's more than a lot of people need, and it's a physically large chassis with a high price tag. The benefits of modern Class-D amplifiers are incredible; there is now no need for a large case, heavy transformer, and heavy heatsinks. It seems like the product line should be structured: 200AS2, 300AS1, 1200AS2, 1200AS1. For my own use I plan to build a 200AS2 for my desktop and a pair of 300AS1 for my second system. My main system is using Hypex NCoreX NCx500 monoblocks with 1200W power supply and that is more power than I require, but this was the point - no further upgrade path.

[@guntarssmits2104]

The price of the 300 AS1 project is very close to 1200 AS2. But 1200 Is by far the better solution. You can use it as an end-game amplifier for desktop to large floor standings. Self noise is so low that it seems the system is silent from 10cm.

[@Acoustic_Theory]

I completed my 200AS2 stereo project and dual 300AS1 monoblock project. I feel like the sound from both amps is state of the art in the application where I am using each one, when feeding each one with a modern, nearly-perfect DAC with volume control, such as the SMSL RAW-MDA1. A benefit of the 300AS1 monoblock is that it has more power supply capacity dedicated to each channel; the 200AS2 shares a 300W SMPS between two amp channels that can deliver 200W individually or 150W when both operating together, while the 300AS1 has a dedicated 300W SMPS for each amplifier channel, there are just two boards required when providing 2 channels of amplification to a 2-channel audio system, two cases, etc.; naturally that costs more.

[@guntarssmits2104]

@@Acoustic_Theory It is great to hear that the project is successfully completed. Today DIY specialists with some knowledge can build incredible systems for a fraction of the market price.

[@fgungormez]

Hello i have questions. Hi Adam sub10 mk2 subwoofer owner. It's got an icepower200asc class d amp in it. It is now broken, do you think I can use the 300as1 model because it has a similar structure. The connections are the same, only the 300as1 looks more powerful.

[@guntarssmits2104]

Yes, you can use it instead, but check the dimensions first.

[@fgungormez]

@@guntarssmits2104 thank you for reply. I think I can adjust the size part.

[@guntarssmits2104]

@@fgungormez I have good experience with this board. Good luck with your project

[@fgungormez]

@@guntarssmits2104 I have a question, First of all, thank you. The card came, I plugged it in and it works. But I didn't know which pins I should use in the P4 schematic for auto standby mode. I plugged the existing cable to pins 5 and 6, but it works in always on mode.

[@guntarssmits2104]

@@fgungormez On the back side of the TCR 1200 kit, there is a switch to set the board on stand-by mode. You can test it by switching the board on with the volume to 0 and then adding the volume. It will start. After 18 minutes without a signal, the board will go to sleep. If you do not have my kit, write me an email. you can find it on my website at www.tcrastrs.com

[@tallpaull9367]

dual Mono amp using 200AS1 boards would be interesting to compare to others

[@guntarssmits2104]

Strictly talking dual mono 200As2 boards costs are about 300USD. and it is delivering 200W only for 4Ohms, 100W for 8 Ohms. Adding 150USD you can purchase 1200 as2 board which is Quadro balanced where each channel consists of 2 amplifiers set in a bridged connection. I would save some morning coffees and aim for 1200AS2. There you will have true vou effect. This is the main reason why I did not release kits for 200AS1 and 300AS1 boards.

[@tallpaull9367]

Strictly talking performance, the dual mono 200AS1 is really good. I used a Ghent case for mine.

[@guntarssmits2104]

@@tallpaull9367 I agree, it is a great board especially when running as monoblock.