TPA3116 class D stereo amplifier board review - best one yet?

This board was included in a package of electronics that a viewer sent to me. Because of this, I don't have a link or the cost so searching the usual places that sell these things may turn something up.
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Thank You!

[@copernicofelinis]

Glad to see Snickers doing well.

[@tossancuyota7848]

i like this dudes review he s more thorough at testing than most reviewers ive seen so far , youve gain a subscriber

[@waynerowlinson6177]

I used one of these exact amps hooked up to a set of Axiom AX 1.5 speakers in the shop where I used to work. I used an LG G4 phone as the source (decent source). The power source was a 19V, 3.42A laptop adapter. I would have to say the sound quality was excellent, and when turned up, did a great job of filling the shop, which was huge. With my eyes closed and this amp hooked up to my vintage Wharfedale E50's at a moderate volume, I can't really distinguish the difference between this amp and the vintage Yamaha amplifier that is normally hooked up to them. If I didn't like rattling the walls once in a while I think this amp would be fine. I retired this amp, but now have a few Bluetooth TPA3116 D2 amps on the go that also sound great. The direct connection from the G4 was better than Bluetooth, but the convenience of Bluetooth won out.

[@MassimoTava]

Hey John, KZbin algorithm seems to love questions, posts, and surveys. You should see if it makes a huge difference on how often videos get suggested.

[@Gersberms]

If so, he could get a lot more bang for the work he puts into these videos.

[@paulocpc81c94]

Caught a glimpse of the board model at 2:02, it’s XH-M190, though at the usual suspects I’m seeing at least two different board designs or revisions - yours’s got the output coils and caps in line across, I see another with the coils paired at the edges of the board and the (black box, not yellow) caps in a neat little square in between. Some have the blue KRE connectors all bunched up together, others have the green ones... Keep up the good work, kudos from Brazil!

[@bjorn2fly]

I just purchased a hw-303 v3, it seems to have the caps and the coils like you mention, the only differenve being that the coils are 100v not 68v, but both seems to be 0,68 micro farads. I have ordered som oscilloscopes, so will chech how my amp works, compared to the one under test. Thinking to run mine on 12v and hoping for better results, we will see.

[@ats89117]

I'm surprised that Snickers hasn't left home due to that music! ;-)

[@kernalkorn1514]

Nothing wrong with 'Bongo Madness'! :-)

[@KissAnalog]

Nice review John!

[@cubacarlosrojas4441]

you are the best ... and the best part is the book with the voltage table and real watts at the end of the videos

[@damacc8365]

These boards usually have set their input gain really high, you can lower it by changing the resistors values which will improve the distortion. Note that this also changes the input impedance so you might want to change the input capacitor too if you do this.

[@JohnAudioTech]

For line level, the gain is too high, for headphone output levels is just right.

[@michamaecki8104]

I think it would be good idea to make a video about choosing right output filter for class d amps (maybe with specific core choices? ferrite vs iron powder? how big it should be for how much power?), because chinese can't get it right. I'm using right now tpa3116d2 amp and original inductors burned down almost in flames (amp in free air), and they were pretty chunky toroidal ones, with iron powder core and something around 50 or 60uH if i recall corectly.

[@bijouxbijouxbijoux]

Great Video John, I see you got yourself a nice Siglent Scope 👌 I'll obviously keep my Tektronix 2252 scope, but I think I'll invest in this one aswell 👍. My regards to Snickers the Electronic cat 🐈

[@dirindirin3983]

ur frequency response test was pretty interesting, I was curious to find an easy way like this.

[@Algray_]

Hey John, glad to see you around. That board has bad output and input filters. L should be 10uH and C 1uF in the output according to the datasheet. Try putting some 10uH high current inductors and change the caps as well. If you want to go even further, place a 1uF metal film cap for inputs and change the gain to 20DB. With your Preamp, that board will then sound great. The output filter resistors seems the correct 3r3 ones.

[@MickeyMishra]

Is there a video out there showing these mods? I have to admit, it almost seems a better idea to just buy cheap car amps as they are all in one, good heat sink, and great power and price with a simple 11.5 to 14.9v input and can work really well with a battery charger. Some even have built in bluetooth all for $60 bucks. And you often get 4 channels and 2 ohm stable as well. Seems the way to go if you ask me.

[@Algray_]

@@MickeyMishra I don't think there are many videos around about modding those TPA boards. But the diyaudio community is very helpful. Give a search on their forums and you might just find someone who modded the board you want to get.

[@MickeyMishra]

@@Algray_ Thank you. I always forget about the DIYaudio site and community.

[@antibrevity]

Ah, this brings back memories for this channel :). Those 33µH inductors seem to be the standard part for these amps, so Chinese manufacturers must have mountains of them ;). I'd like to see this amp's frequency response fixed, but I understand that you don't want to fiddle with tiny SMD capacitors and frustrating SMD inductors; I don't, either. It's wiser to purchase an amp without these problems in the first place. This was a common design a couple years ago, but more expensive boards with more features seem to be popular these days. I like the simpler boards as they often don't have preamp buffers which, as you've sometimes found, can be poorly implemented. I have an application for one of these amps, but can't accept the poor frequency response. I'd happily trade half the power for full-range frequency response. This chip will never have flat response to 100kHz, but it's inexcusable to roll off the bottom 2+ and top octaves.

[@TheDradge]

"Meatloaf posture" haha. You have a great assistant!

[@maxchau8558]

Thank you for the very interesting information. Does the sound quality change with different voltages power supply? given the same loudness?

[@XtremeKremaTor]

Can we have a follow up with larger caps and different coils please?

[@omarr2423]

Awesome review.. what recommendations do you have for connecting balanced xlr +4bu signal to it ?

[@peterwu831]

I have one TPA3116 board getting quite hot loaded with 4-ohm speakers, while another TPA3116v2 board staying cool with the same load. I'm wondering if the board is getting hot because of inadequate inductor selection on it.

[@kermets]

Hi John, are you able to review the 2.1 version of this board and a idea of a boom box setup with say 1x10 and 2x 6.5 as a semi portable system, I cant find any calculators for a all in one enclosure, cheers Brett

[@alimahdavi2276]

Hey john! Could you do a bench test for TDA7388 or TDA7560? These are very common car audio chips, and there's no bench test out there on youtube for them, so it would be worth the effort. Cheers!👍

[@joethechickencool3215]

Which amplifier boards would you best recommend for sound quality?

[@DJNADJIBBeatz]

thanks fot the infos, i just wanted to know if there any hiss/buzz noise from this amp ?

[@bobking7347]

Wish there was brand information to fund it on ebay, also what calculations would you need to choose better inductors for 4 ohm use? Or what my rating would you recommend.

[@franklekwan5860]

Very nice video. Concerning values of the output filter, you can look at TPA3116's datasheet. It tells you that one should use 10µH for 4Ω load (in BTL Stereo) and 2Ω load (in PBTL configuration). This board uses 33µH filters which make it over-damp (i.e. high frequency roll-off) for all loads below 10Ω. In fact, for 8Ω load one should use 22µH filter (and the 0.68µF capacitor combination). IMHO, Class D amps like this should be optimized for 4Ω. In this case, any load higher than 4Ω will be under-damped (high frequency gain) , and any load less than 4Ω will be over-damped.

[@williamfraser]

Very informative, thanks.

[@imqqmi]

I diy'ed some desktop speakers (SPL is flat from 200 to 20k within 2.5db) to go with my 8/16 bit home computers (MSX2 and Amiga1200). They are a bit heavy on the bottom and top end and 4 ohm. I think they'll pair well with this amp. I've ordered one that also includes a sub channel, switch for 1x/2x boost input signal, treble/base and sub adjustment. It seems to have 150uH inductors so should be a little better for 4 Ohms. I'll power it with a meanwell 24V 8.4A psu. Thanks for the thorough review!

[@amitghosh6966]

I have questions - 1. If a 10 watts single ended amplifier and a bridged 10 watts amplifier are to be tested, how much can we expect from the bridged 10 watts amplifier than the single ended one ? 2. Is it possible to get 20 watts from a single ended single supply amplifier ?

[@dozyproductionss]

So how does thisXH-M190 3116d board compare to the newer ZK-1002 3116d?

[@kernalkorn1514]

That's a very realistic toy cat you have there!

[@atmosphericpressure3560]

Oh yeah! Crazy what it can drive. Comes in around 60hz Mine has 10 105C caps, 4 coils (bare copper wound)

[@jean4756]

Perfect work i like. Tank you. Yes one good amplifier easy system to plug and play. In dc 18v at 22v. Tank you

[@KuntalGhosh]

We want a detailed review of snikers and also load testing + thd measurement.

[@robnic52]

Thanks John, looks like one of the better TPA3116 boards so far and it sounded really crisp and punchy on on your speakers. Bet that heatsink got pretty warm while you took the high volt/amp measurements. I wonder if Snickers might perk-up and start eating better if you layed off the wierd eastern European kretzmer music for a while. Some English folk, Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick or Carthy and his daughter mighte soothe his troybled browe.

[@m3chanist]

Does sound very good and I like the music. What is that?

[@piconano]

What's the rating on the On/Off part of the volume? Can it take 2~5Amps of current at 24V without melting? Also, Iq=50mA ideal current for a class D? Wow!

[@daijoubu4529]

I don't think it's a real switch, it just mutes the output

[@jeffm2787]

Heads up, I got a Nobsound NS-04G a few days ago with reduced part count. It has some serious flaws. You can actually hear music playing with no speakers connected because of the terrible inductors used. It also distorts terribly over 10 Khz. TPA3116 amps can be done right or wrong. I've got a few that work well and well now one that doesn't. I have a 6 channel TPA3116 board that does OK.

[@Domaudeo]

Issue always present with those boards is the power on pop, that's why they put the power switch on the volume dial, so the volume is always all the way down when the amp turns on and thus "prevent" the pop to happen. If you know a way to eliminate the pops when applying power directly with the amp turned on, please show us in a video, that would be very interesting

[@alimahdavi2276]

Yes I would double that question!

[@ACELog]

The old fashioned way to limit power-on pop was a relay in series with the speaker outputs, powered on by a delay, possibly a capacitor charging slowly. A two pole relay would be ideal. My 30 year old Pioneer stereo amp has this. You'd only need to switch one leg of each speaker output.

[@jstwatchnread8420]

You can read the datasheet, there is mute pin on IC that you can build delay circuit or manually as you wish instead build complicated expensive relay set...

[@Domaudeo]

@@jstwatchnread8420 I'm aware of the mute pin, and actually most of those mini amp use the mute pin as power on/off, else since the power switch is the same as the volume control, the pop is not heard on turn on. I was looking for a mini amp that does not have any turn on pop even if I use the power input as turn on switch.

[@oraz.]

I have fostex pm0.4c powered speakers and I think the electronics are holding it back so I'm interested in these amps.

[@justinking5964]

This unit is not good at base sound but how to remedy it? what is surface mount? Can you make vedio to explain? from China.

[@reviewsdejogosetecnologia1690]

have you tested any one better by now??

[@whippetgas]

Hey John, what values might you recommend for the LC output network for 4 ohm loads then?

[@damacc8365]

You can find everything you need to modify these amps in the TPA3116 datasheet!

[@EngineeringVignettes]

Perhaps first thing to try is to see if the chopping frequency can be increased. There are 5 frequencies available. Higher frequencies will make the LC output filter more efficient when matched to a lower impedance output.

[@BASSBOYDecepticon]

How similar is this amp to the dayton kab100m?

[@Daglu_96]

Can it handle 24V 8A DC input?

[@beamer.electronics]

Interesting video, thank you. You could parallel another cap across the surface mount input caps for better LF response, without removing it. Also for a class D, it's not very efficient - 24VDC @ 3Amps = 72 Watts for 29 Watts audio for a 8 Ohm load = 40.3%. And, for 24VDC @ 5.4Amps = 129.6 Watts for 55.4 Watts audio for a 4 Ohm load = 42.7%, that's some wasted heat to dissipate in that small sink, if (not recommend), operated at that power level!

[@JohnAudioTech]

Keep in mind it is both channels driven during the test for 110.8 watts out vs. 129.6 in = 85.5% which is good for 4 ohm loads.

[@beamer.electronics]

@@JohnAudioTech Ah, that makes much more sense (both channels are being run under test), and in keeping with typical class D. Sorry about the misunderstanding, thank you.

[@jj74qformerlyjailbreak3]

“Meatloaf” Postured 😂 “All Tucked In” 😆 😝 What are your recommendations for a low budget OScope??? ❤️ your Work, Always Learning Something New 👍

[@jj74qformerlyjailbreak3]

I just realized you’re in Oh 👍 45601 Be worth a drive to me to get a ☕️ with ya.

[@roofi747]

Another great video. I have a question for you. Which one is better in your opinion? (sound quality). TPA3116 or TDA7492/7498?. Thank you in advance for your answer.

[@JohnAudioTech]

When setup properly, I wouldn't expect any discernible difference in sound quality.

[@roofi747]

@@JohnAudioTech I would like to use 4 ohm speakers for now (but I consider 8 ohm in the future) and 19V 4A laptop power supply. Does it change anything?. Greetings, thank you.

[@AutoBodyEverything]

What’s minimal voltage for two 8ohm speakers 10-20 watts each?

[@Odyss2023]

12v

[@syduploads1990]

Recently bought these amps and both of them have these chongx, chang capacitors 35V 1000uf , would you recommend changing them to better quality Nichicon FW audio series?

[@JohnAudioTech]

It wouldn't hurt.

[@syduploads1990]

@@JohnAudioTech Thank you for the response , Nichies it is!

[@ford1546]

Hello. Can you help me? When connecting a regular potentiometer between the CD player and the amplifier and twist it to one side then there will be a short circuit between R. and L. This happens when R and L. GND. is linked together. Is there anything I do wrong? I take miter pin to amplifier and one side to the CD player and other side GND. All RCA GND is linked together and it creates problems!

[@JohnAudioTech]

Is this to a stereo or mono amp? If mono, you need to mix the L and R signals together through resistors. 1K Ohm on both the L and R should work. The amplifier's input should be connected to the center lug (wiper arm) of the pot.

[@ford1546]

@@JohnAudioTech It is a stereo potentiometer to a stereo amplifier. If you take both GND and connected them together and then you measure between R. L. at the output then you measure the short circuit if the potentiometer is turned to one side. I have tried with 2 potentiometers. a common and a blue alps with the same result. can you test it? Thanks

[@ford1546]

@@JohnAudioTech You will get mono sound either when the volume is at full or at minimum. it depends on which way you connect the potentiometer! yes I connect the amplifier to the center lug. I think this problem has been overlooked by many!

[@vipi6375]

Hi, after connecting the Bluetooth module, I hear a lot of noise, hum, whistling ,. how to remove this? common voltage source.

[@Herman-iw3fj]

If its powered by 5v use a DC to DC isolator, "B0505S-1".

[@vipi6375]

@@Herman-iw3fj hello friend.! thank you for the reply. I have module LM2596, and this filter B0505, but it doesn't work. :( thanks

[@Herman-iw3fj]

@@vipi6375 Could try a LC filter, or try using a linear regulator, those ebay LM2596 are pretty noisy.

[@4lokkod5out5mthaf9TC]

Thanks for informing us in English

[@jozh5718]

I have one of these with 4x 4700uF 50v caps and that works beautifully @ 24 volts.... I can drive a pair of speakers with 30 cm woofers at full volume without clipping :)

[@payam1408]

true because yours is original and this one is fake with 16 pins chip. i wonder how he didn't notice that!

[@robertusdony6961]

this actually 2x50W or 2x100W?? because using 2 x TPA3116 im thinking this Amps is 2x100W

[@iceberg789]

please review TPA3118 too.

[@AutoBodyEverything]

Hello!! Hey is there some way we can chat back and forth on this subject?? I’m into rc and inventing stuff and I’ve been thinking of building a Bluetooth amplifier rig for my large rc car. Was thinking of just buying a cheap Bluetooth speaker unit bcs it’s got all the things I need including aux in with its proper cell but then again it’ll be the same to shop the parts myself. I can do it all without any help but the thing is you already have heard almost every unit out there and already know compatibility with other speakers and cells. Soo I think it would be cool and fun if you could chat with me about this unique project I want to do!

[@AutoBodyEverything]

It’s got to be light, and loud and with minimal power draw OR.. just a separate battery that’s not large or heavy. It’s a large rc car soo I have space... there’s soo much I want to add but that’s why I want to chat with you if it’s possible.

[@andymouse]

Cheers.

[@EngineeringEssentials]

High-frequency roll-off was at 9kHz which means the LC filter was designed with a crossover frequency of 10kHz? that is terrible.

[@alimahdavi2276]

With a load of 8 ohms the cutoff freq should go above 20kHz, no worries😊 However, if you want this board for low frequency applications, that's not goona be a problems anyways.

[@RobertDickens2002]

So is this per channel or total?

[@JohnAudioTech]

I measure power per channel.

[@RobertDickens2002]

@@JohnAudioTech cool thanks for answering

[@worstuserever]

0:09 Assisting? I think you mean supervising.

[@JohnAudioTech]

Yep. He stayed their through the whole shoot.

[@beppe2672]

Best tpa3116 boards I’ve played with so far are the XH-M590 boards.

[@amylee849]

Meatloaf posture 🤣😂🤣😂

[@m3chanist]

Yeah, immediately made me hoot with laughter, reminded me of B Kliiban, how to tell a cat from a meatloaf

[@weerobot]

I Added Thermal Compound...

[@matthewtempest7756]

the amp is a xh-m190

[@dfabeagle718]

and yet 3 watts is enough to get the cops called on you

[@Berecz]

yep, depends on your neighbours :)

[@SDS-1]

Snickers loaf

[@payam1408]

Dude i guess this module is a fake one you've been tested it. that's why it got distorted at 2ohms above 12v. remove heatsink and probably there is 16 pins chips not two original tpa3116d2. i have original board and there are some differents between yours and mines. plz check it and let me know, because mine works very well at 2ohms with 24v-5a supply.

[@ergindemir7366]

Class d amps are great for subwoofers.

[@socatekun]

Those green terminal block connectors are actually extremely bad, the blue ones are better, I had to deal with hundreds of them breaking.

[@norsmart]

I always solder wires to the board and bypass those connectors

[@akkudakkupl]

That's bridged output imo, not parallel

[@JohnAudioTech]

No, each channel on the chip is bridged and those two channels are paralleled together. Take a look at the datasheet for how it is setup.

[@indridcold4210]

Doesn't look like the best one yet to me. The mono board you reviewed on Jul 8, 2018 was much better. If I am going to go to the trouble of building a stereo amp, I would much rather have two of them than one of these. For only a couple of dollars more, you have more heatsinking, good freq response and low distortion with the pair of mono boards.. An off-board vol. control and a slightly bigger case would be the only issues at all.

[@Joshua.26]

2 24V power supply

[@JohnAudioTech]

It's a toss up between them. It uses the same filter component values. Some things were done better, some worse.

[@indridcold4210]

@@JohnAudioTech It seemed that your scope showed a better low freq. response on the mono board. Nearly flat,. Whereas this video of the stereo board showed a low freq. response that would be unacceptable to me personally. Unless I misunderstood your results on the mono board video from 2018

[@indridcold4210]

Plus I bought two of the exact same mono boards over Christmas based on your video. They were $11 for a pair on Amazon with free shipping. I haven't connected them yet so I still have my fingers crossed that I got the best diy boards inexpensive enough to play with and hopefully actually use.

[@JohnAudioTech]

@@indridcold4210 That's true, it has larger input caps for better bass response.

[@geertbuevink4632]

dislike because the volume difference in this and almost every other video , please use a volume leveler in the editing please . content is good by the way

[@goupigoupi6953]

I'm still partial to class A amplifiers.

[@nitescuvalentin6872]

I like class AB like LM 1875/1876 or the legendary 3886 .Class A is highly inefficient and needs a big heatsink.

[@JohnAudioTech]

@@nitescuvalentin6872 I tend to agree. Class A is trying to fix a problem that is not really audible (to me anyway).

[@goupigoupi6953]

@@JohnAudioTech I've visited some demo rooms in the past, for high end class A vacuum tube amplifiers (and matching loudspeakers). I'll never be able to afford anything like that, they were like $50,000 for a "plain" stereo system, and I almost cried. The sound was out of this world, who cares about efficiency.